Firehouse duties seeing to it that we didn't get an early start, myself,Young AK, and Barbcat tried to think of a short , close, but interesting little hike to finish off the weekend. One that came to my mind was the Falls Brook Trail in the Royalston, Mass. + Richmond, N.H. area. Not having been there in about 15 years or so my memory had all but failed me on this hike. I remembered that there was a substantial waterfall somewhere out there and that was about it.( for you younger people, go ahead, laugh. Your times coming! ) I decided to get to the trailhead from the N.H. side, mostly because that's how I remembered. 'Twas much further than I recalled. Also, don't remember the MUD being 2 feet deep either! But, the mighty JEEP got us there. No one @ the parking area. No surprise given the mud. We packed light , drinks, granola bars and raingear.From the Mass. side, we started out, the trail easy, flat, and wide. In no time, we were standing at the top of Royalston Falls, an 80+ foot waterfall . The recent rains we've had definately made for an awesome sight ! This waterfall in nothern Mass. made Arethusa Falls look lackluster. Ice still lingered in the shadows despite the warm temps lately. Thoroughly impressed, we decided to follow the yellow blazed trail further, this being ALL of our first time since I couldn't remember anything else !The trail above the falls was even more impressive . How the heck could I forget something like this? Everywhere the brook went it carved out bowls in the rock very similar to the Basin in the Whites to the north. Some of these were 40 ' or so across. The three of us were in awe. All this wonder not 20 mins. from home. We continued north on the trail , the skies occasionally opening up. This did not dampen our spirits though. We came to a trail junction that I seriously DO NOT REMEMBER from a dozen years before. A footbridge led across the brook , and at the top of the ridge in front of us was some sort of shelter ! This was truly perplexing! My mind raced , were we trespassing ? The yellow blazes were next to me on the tree, how did they get all this stuff in here ? Who built this thing ? THere on the path leading up to the shelter was a familiar sign. The white diamond of the Metacomet Monadnock trail. This shelter was built by the AMC , Berkshire Division. WOW. You have to see it to appreciate it . Barbcat and myself both commented on how smart we were to forget the cameras , AGAIN. This place is so cool. Sleeps like 20 people. Open front door , but all else is pretty weather resistant. There's a logbook inside that you can comment on , entries every few days ! Never knew so many people came through here. This is a place one could spend a weekend getting away from it all w/o getting too far away. One thing I noticed was, everyone that had used it showed respect for others by leaving it the same or better condition than they found it ! Place was cleaner than my house !
We continued on still amazed by the haven we had stumbled upon. The trail still dazzled us as we went. The water provided a constant distraction from the mountain laurel, spruce, hemlock and other bushes starting to green up in the light rain we were now getting.We finally reached the Greenwoods Rd. in N.H. and decided we would return to the car the same way we had come. So, despite the rain which was getting heavier, we walked slowly back to the shelter just because. We sat on one of the benches, drinking , talking , and watching the rain from the comfort of the porch. After a few, we headed back to the car. We commented on how quiet the trail was , the spruce and hemlock needles silencing our footsteps. Birds , rain , and the sound of the brook were all we could hear. Pretty tough to take. We hopped in the jeep, totally content with ourselves, and our little walk in the woods. ( hikes don't always have to be up the side of Everest, or half the length of the AT to be enjoyable, refreshing ) It amazes me that there are places around Southern N.H. and Northern Mass. with this type of hiking. Great day of discovery !
Ed
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