Bay Circuit Trail Hike End-To-End Stats

I've compiled a few statistics from my run/hike on the Bay Circuit Trail.  I don't have the best memory but I think they're fairly accurate.

Total distance: 231 miles. Whew!
Distance as the crow fly: 55 miles. If only I could fly.
Trails and dirt roads: 135 miles or 58%.
Paved roads and bike paths: 96 miles or 42%. More road walking on the southern half vs the northern half.
Miles hiked: 128 or 55%.
Miles run: 103 or 45%.
Longest hike: 19 miles. (last day on trail)
Longest run: 30 miles. Good training run for the Damn Wakely Dam Ultra.
Shortest hike: 4 miles (trying to hike north with southbound directions. No Bueno)
Shortest run: 12 miles (my first day on trail)
Elevation gain and loss: 18,000 - 20,000 feet estimated. More elevation gain and loss on the northern half vs the southern half.
High point: Nobscot Hill, 602 feet.
Low point: Northern and Southern Terminus, sea level.
Number of days on trail: 15. Once on snow-covered trail in Rocky Narrows.
Number of nights on trail: 0 (legal camping is scarce).
I traveled through: 37 Cities and Towns.
Green spaces I explored: 54 State Parks, Town Forests and local conservation areas.
Rivers Crossed: 13 (and many more small brooks and streams often getting my feet wet).
Most cemeteries seen on one hike: 3.
Miles driven to and from trail: far too many!
Number of falls: Less than usual :)
Photos taken: 746 Yikes! No wonder it took so long to finish.

If you have any questions about the trail please post a comment here and I'll do my best to answer them.

Bay Circuit Trail Hike Report - Reaching The Southern Terminus

I did it!

After five years, two months and seven days I finally finished the 231 mile Bay Circuit Trail reaching the southern terminus at Bay Farm in Kingston, MA on a warm, sunny afternoon. I'm not really sure what I was expecting or how I would feel when I stepped on the beach sand and touched the ocean's water, but in the end it was an anticlimactic finish to such a long journey. To be honest, I completed this trail out of pure subborness (some may say determination) and not because I enjoyed hiking it. At least not the last 100 miles.

That's not to say I didn't have some fun along the way. Running the first 100 miles, at times with a friend or two (or three), was truly the most enjoyable time spend on the trail. Discovering the BCT's hidden gems like Ford's Folly was very interesting to me. Getting lost and navigating my way back to the trail, although frustrating at the time, was a good learning experience. Were these moments enough to offset the many miles of road walking and countless hours hiking alone? I'm not so sure about that.

The final 18 miles of the BCT through Pembroke and Kingstown were uninspiring at best.  Road walks, very little change in topography, unmaintained trail, a completely overgrown and undiscernible trail at the Rt. 27 entrance of the Veterans Commemorative Town Forest in Pembroke and a section of trail blazed in two directions (east and west!) in the Hathaway Preserve in Kingston made for a slow and confusing hike. 

If I knew how long this hike was going to take I would have hijacked this jeep and drove the route.

A quiet back road in Pembroke.

A sign of things to come.

I know there's a trail in here. I just have to find it.

Well I wasn't alone 100% of the time.

 A nice view in Tubbs Meadow.

And another one.

The trailhead at Veterans Commemorative Forest. Really, I'm not joking. Can you say bushwhacking?

This barn at Silver Lake is being reclaimed by the forest.

Beautiful old church in Kingston.

Less than one mile to go. The best sight I saw all day!

Grassy meadow at Bay Farm.

View of the bay from the trail.

Standing at the Southern Terminus of the BCT!

What do I do next?

Bay Circuit Trail Hike Report - Reynolds Landing, West Bridgewater to Nathaniel Thomas Mill, Hanson

Last month I returned to the Bay Circuit Trail to fill in the 14 mile gap I created in March when I hiked 4 miles northbound from Pembroke State Forest to the Nathaniel Thomas Mill in Hanson. This early April hike took me through the three surprisingly rural "Bridgewaters" and into Hanson. I have now run or hiked 211 miles of the 231 mile BCT from the northern terminus on the sea shore of Newbury to the forests of Pembroke. One more hike will take me to my final destination, the southern terminus at Bay Farm on the coast of Duxbury/Kingston. But first I need to shake the pneumonia that has filled my lungs and drained my body of energy.

Route was mostly road walking but often past farmland on quiet roads so not all bad.

Starting point at Reynolds Landing in West Bridgewater.

This is the canoe launch into Town River.

Walking a quiet dirt road in West Bridgewater.

This is the site of a former Iron Work on Town River in Bridgewater.

Foundation of one of the buildings on site.

I assume the swift moving river created by the dam was used to turn a water wheel back in the day.

One of the noisy road walks as I enter into East Bridgewater.

A nice old home on the Mistletoe Tree Farm in Bridgewater.

An old mill building on the banks of the Satucket River.

A glimpse of the Satucket River through the trees.

A quiet spot for reflection.

These stepping stones helped to keep my feet dry.

A nice section of trail through the Phillips Wildlife Area.

A tranquil space created as a memorial to Amy by her parents. Shortly after leaving this spot I had a long and moving conversation with Amy's mother.

The land was purchased and cleared by Amy's parents. All are welcome to wander the quiet, well-maintained paths.

Our time on earth is fragile and fleeting. Use it wisely.

Crossing Poor Meadow Brook on a long boardwalk.

The boardwalk is in serious need of repair.

Walking past a cranberry bog in Hanson.

Taking the Indian Crossway over the open water in the Burrage WMA in Hanson.

I had to get my feet (and more) wet here!

The end of the hike in Hanson at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill.

More photos and videos of my hike can be found here.


Stats: BCT Maps 12 & 13: 14.3 miles  
Surface split: 4.8m trails and dirt roads, 9.5m paved roads  
Elevation gain: 411 feet  
Highest point: Bonney Hill, Hanson 232 ft.  
Start point: Reynolds Landing, West Bridgewater   
End point: Nathaniel Thomas Mill, Hanson
Other towns: Bridgewater and East Bridgewater  
Green Spaces: Satucket River Conservation Area, Poor Meadow Brook, Burrage Pond WMA
Hydration: 40 oz water  
Fuel: Two Cilff Bars  
Footwear: Scarpa Spark trail runners, Smartwool socks  
Total BCT covered to date: 211 miles  
Surface split: 122 trail and dirt roads, 82 paved roads, 7 paved rail trail  
Total elevation gain: 8500+ feet
Highest point: Nobscot Hill 602 ft  
BCT remaining: 17m estimated

Bay Circuit Trail Hike Report - NOGO On The NOBO

Another cold Saturday morning, another hike on the Bay Circut Trail. This time the plan was to hike 17 miles from Reynolds Landing in West Bridgewater (where I ended my hike last weekend) to Shepherd Forest in Pembroke. That plan went up in smoke when I could not obtain a ride from Pembroke to West Bridgewater. Pembroke does not have taxi service and the nearest Uber was 30 minutes away. I could have waited for the Uber but decided to start my hike from Shepherd Forest, walk North, and do an out and back of 10-12 miles total.

All my previous hikes on the BCT have been in a southerly direction. There are two reasons for this. The first being I live closer to the northern terminus than the southern terminus so it just made sense to start the trail up north. The second, and more compelling reason to hike southbound is because the trail guide's directions are written for a north to south hike. In hiking jargon, I am called a SOBO because I am hiking the trail SOuthBOund. If I were hiking the trail south to north I would be a NOBO. 

I've heard from other BCT hikers that going north can be confusing and more difficult. I now know first hand that this is true. It wouldn't be a problem if the trail was well blazed but it is not. Trying to interpret the guide in the opposite direction was challenging to say the least. I was able to stay on trail with some minor detours but forward progress was very slow. I decided to turn back after four miles. My first hike NOBO hike was a bust.

 Walking a canal dredge pile next to a cranberry bog.

 Cranberry bog in Pembroke.

Crossing the Pembroke - Hanson border.

 This benign looking house in Camp Kiwanee looked creepy to me when I passed it.

Snow-covered trail in Hanson Town Forest. 

 Stormy looking sky.

 Sun breaking through.

Nathaniel Thomas Mill and dam built in the 1690's.

 I could have used a lot more of these.

I learned a valuable lesson. Stick to SOBO! 

Bay Circuit Trail Hike Report - Borderland State Park, Easton To Reynolds Landing, West Bridgewater

After months of thinking and talking about doing a hike on the Bay Circuit Trail (BCT) I finally found the motivation I was lacking all winter to actually do it. A sunny 30 degree day and a touch of cabin fever was all that was needed to get me moving again. I hiked 17 miles from Borderland State Park (BSP), on the border of Sharon and Easton, to Reynolds Landing, a canoe launch in West Bridgewater. This puts me within 35 miles of the BCT southern terminus at Bay Farm on the Duxbury/Kingston line. I hope to reach my final destination in the next two weeks.

Inching my way closer to the southern terminus of the BCT.

I was a little concerned that all the rain earlier in the week in addition to the heavy overnight rainfall would impact some of the trails along this low lying section of the BCT, I checked in with the ranger at BSP to get an update on trial conditions. He told me if I encountered any water within the first eight of a mile on the Rockland Trail I should consider turning back because trail condition would worsen the deeper I went. I should have listened.

I was feeling chilled as I started out from the BSP Visitors Center walking towards the Ames mansion and its expansive lawn. After a brief stop I continued down the long dirt road to the Rockland Trail. This is where trail conditions deteriorated considerably and my progress was slowed due to several areas of submerged trail. I was able to negotiate many of them without much effort but was forced to use a rock wall and downed trees to cross the worse flooded section. I thought this may not be the last underwater trail I would see and I was proved correct a short time later.

Ames mansion in Borderland State Park.

Easy walking on a dirt road in BSP.

One of the few dry sections on the Rockland Trail.

This is what most of the trail was like.

Leaving the Rockland Trail I crossed the street into wooded area that would bring me to a trail under high-voltage power lines. I had only walked in a short distance before I was stopped in my tracks by a brook with fast running water. It was too wide to leap across and too deep to wade through. If it was warmer, wading the brook would have been fine but with a wind-chill in the low 20s that wasn’t an option. After much wasted time searching for a way across I decided to return to Rockland Ave for a one mile road walk. From this point I was able to access the power line trail.

There was no way to cross here and still stay dry.

From here the BCT followed Beaver Brook for 2.5 miles through the Fox Mountain Lot and some paved roads to Old Pond in Easton. The wooded section was wet but not as bad as the trail through BSP. The footbridge over Beaver Brook was a bonus since it was far too deep and wide to ford. After a one mile road walk on busy streets I got off road again at Wheaton Farm.

A welcomed sight in Beaver Brook.

Old Pond in Easton.

Old Pond Dam

Loud waterfall and a busy street.

The open meadows in Wheaton Farm offered sweeping views of the property below but the cold, strong wind soon reminded me to keep moving. The meadows lead to a narrow 100 year old cart path. This was the first dry trail I had walked on all day. Although the trail was dry, my progress was slowed by numerous blowdowns of varying sizes. None were very difficult to get around and it was better than trying to keep my feet dry on waterlogged trails. Leaving the Wheaton Farm area I was treated to a beautiful view of Fuller Hammond Pond. Arguably, it was the best view of the day.

Road in Wheaton Farm covered with sea shells.

A view back to the farmhouse.

Too many blowdowns to count but I did anyway. Total count = 12! 

Beautiful Fuller Hammond Pond.

On the 1.5 mile road walk that ensued, I sat down on the steps of an abandoned building to tie my trail runners. When I later reached in my pocket for the trail guide it was missing. I assumed it fell out when I sat down to tie my shoe. Sure enough it was there when I returned but backtracking to retrieve it put me further behind schedule. At least I found it!

The next section through the Hockomock Swamp was mind numbing. The eight – ten foot wide path under power lines went on for miles cutting a straight line through the largest fresh water swamp in Massachusetts. In summer, it may be a more interesting place with birds and other wildlife in abundance. But in late February it is just a boring, brown tunnel.

My view for the next three miles.

I was hoping to see an alien or bigfoot but neither came out to play.

By the time I exited the swamp I had hiked about 13 miles and was getting fatigued. I still had another 4 miles to go, all on roads. Ugh! The fast moving traffic, and little or no shoulder, made some of the walk pretty sketchy but the upside to road walking is the miles are covered at a much faster pace. In a little over an hour I was back to my car which was parked at Reynolds Landing in West Bridgewater.

It felt great to be back on the BCT. I hope to finish the trail by hiking over the next two weekends. Once the BCT is complete I can focus on completing the North-South Trail in Rhode Island. It’s time to get busy.

More photos of my hike are HERE.

Stats: BCT Maps 11 & 12: 17.1 miles  
Surface split: 9.2m trails and dirt roads, 7.9m paved roads  
Elevation gain: 179 feet  
Highest point: Borderland State Park 249 ft.  
Start point: Borderland State Park, Easton  
End point: Reynolds Landing, West Bridgewater  
Other towns:None  
Green Spaces: Borderland State Park, Fox Hill Lot, Beaver Brook, Hockomock Swamp 
Hydration: 40 oz water  
Fuel: Two Cilff Bars  
Footwear: Scarpa Spark trail runners, Smartwool socks  
Total BCT covered to date: 193 miles  
Surface split: 114 trail and dirt roads, 72 paved roads, 7 paved rail trail  
Total elevation gain: 7872+ feet
Highest point: Nobscot Hill 602 ft  
BCT remaining: 35m estimated