For this trip, we backpacked in Greater Worcester Land Trust properties in Worcester, starting at Donker Farm, passing through Cook's Brook, Cook's Woods and ending in KinneyWoods.
We had 2 Scouts and 4 leaders participating on this trip. It included a few firsts for us, at least since 2006:
- Backpacking on snow shoes.
- Obtaining all of our water from melting snow.
- Camping in Worcester.
With over a foot of snow on the ground from recent snow storms, two of the participants hiked on snow shoes. The rest were able to negotiate the trails with hiking boots. In order to comply with park rules, we carried a portable toilet from GWLT; that unit was a backpack of its own that we transported with some other gear on a toboggan.
We encountered several other people on the trails and at times passed within view of one participating Scout's house. See our actual trail as recorded by Keith MacNeal:
My Maps - map uploaded into Google My Maps
GPX file
We used a snow shovel to clear the two tent platforms at the camp site. For the tents not on platforms, we compacted the snow by stomping on it with snow shoes. We did all of our cooking with lightweight stoves.
The temperature was relatively moderate for this time of year, dropping only to 25°F overnight.
This was our one hundred forty sixth consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Page updated 3/1/21
J. Froimson
