Walking Across Nashoba — Bolton Part 4
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Our original plan had been to cross the district in two days. But after completing 16.9 miles on the first day and assessing the wear and tear on our bodies we began to rethink. After consulting out schedules we decided it would be more prudent to complete our walk over three days at a more leisurely pace. Our planned trip for the second day would be significantly shorter but would also include the highest elevation of our trip and some of the lowest as we traversed the basin of a former glacial lake. By the time we met at noon on the next day I had purchased a new knee brace that helped me to get through the remaining miles. Bob had a massage to get his muscles refreshed and back into shape for the rest of the journey. We decided to use Bob’s house on Neck Road as the stopping point for that day’s walk, so I picked him up and we headed back to Bowers Springs.
Bowers Springs is a ninety-one-acre conservation parcels that straddles the Bolton-Harvard line. A combination of ponds, wetland, and open fields make it a popular destination for walkers. The trail system also connects to several other conserved parcels in both Bolton and Harvard creating many choices for the explorer. The springs themselves are the headwaters of Bowers Brook which flows into Bare Hill Pond in Harvard before emptying into several other ponds in Ayer. Bob and I walked past the pond and through the surrounding wetlands before heading up the hill toward Bare Hill Road. After a quick jog north on Bare Hill Road we headed due west across the field of Freedom Farm to reach the base of the Vaughn Hills. At…
