Trip report
Tully Trail East
Hiking/Walk DATE: 01/08/2012 - 01/08/2012
Trip/Event Location: Royalston, MA
US
Trip Leader(s):
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Come join me as I hike the Eastern side of the Tully Trail. This hike will bring us along numerous elaborate waterfalls, including Royalston Falls, Spirit Falls, and Doanes Falls. We will also get to
...The hike will begin at the DCR Royalston Falls Parking lot, and end at the DCR Doanes Falls Parking Lot. I will pre arrange with someone on the hike to have a car parked at Doanes Falls to shuttle us back to Royalston Falls.
Directions to DCR Royalston Falls;
From Rt 2 in Mass, take exit 18, Rt 2A, follow West into Athol. At the intersection of Rts 2A/32 in Athol, cross Millers River bridge and bear right onto Chestnut Hill Rd. (Becomes Athol Rd) North towards Royalston. From Royalston Center, follow Rt. 68 North until it ends. Then follow Rt 32 North for 1.7 Miles until you see the Royalston Falls DCR entrance on the right.
(Please beware, sign bandits took some of the Rt 68 and Rt 32 signs, but you can still easily find your way)
From NH and VT, take Rt 119 to Richmond NH general store and 4 corners. Take Rt. 32 South, and look for the Royalston Falls DCR entrance on your left, less than 5 minutes after passing the MA/NH State line.
Trip Report/Photos
I would like to thank everone who attended for an excellent hike! We started at 9 AM sharp to hike the eastern side of the Tully trail, one of my favorites. The weather was great, and the views were all clear. We stopped to observe the excllent views of the three major wateralls along the way. Royalston Falls, dumping 45 feet into a deep canyon was not frozen, but had plenty of ice along the sides. Spirit falls, a wide brook followed the trail down a several hundred foot descent was only frozen in a few small pools. Doanes Falls, with three major sections brought a great end to the hike, as it is where we had spotted cars.
We also stopped at two seperate sections of ledges viewing the flood control areas and Tully lake, one where we had lunch. Between the major sights, we followed the trail along the perimiter of the flood control area. We passed signs of former land use, including old foundations, rusted equipment, and old dams wich are out of use.
Everyone kept an excellent pace, and we made good time. It took us 5.25 hours including lunch, I had extimated it would take 6 hours. This completed the hike at 2:15, allowing people plenty of time to get back to different points around New England.
This could be an excellent prelude to a full 22 mile Tully Trail loop hike in the spring!
There are 23 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
What Members Are Saying About This Trip/Event
- One of my favorite hikes in Massachusetts. The falls were spectacular. Thanks for organizing a wonderful day out, Brooks! - shep5
|
|
||
