Walk to the Windmill on October 13

posted Friday, September 28, 2018

This is one special and very different hike! Leaders from the Putney Mountain Association and Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association will guide hikers from different starting points, via different routes, to converge upon the site of the ancient windmill that inspired the names for Windmill Mountain, Windmill Hill, and Windmill Ridge. This free, coordinated hike will take place on Saturday October 13, beginning at either 10 AM or 11 AM and ending around 2 PM. The times depend upon the routes taken. Because of necessary carpooling to and from different trailheads, advance registration is required so that detailed directions and information about the routes may be given and the groups can be relatively even in size. The rain date is Sunday October 14.

The plan is for participants to meet at noon at the site of the ancient windmill, located at the junction of five different hiking trails, for a celebration of shared history and conservation, past and present, by the two volunteer organizations that made these protected lands and their trails possible. At the celebration, hikers will learn about the Five Corners, the early ridgeline settlement there, and the history of the ridge and its conservation by the Putney Mountain Association and the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association. Picnic lunch will follow.

Participants should bring water, a bag lunch, insect repellant, and perhaps a walking stick. All trail routes are rated medium, but several have steep sections. The five starting/parking points are the trailheads at Putney Mountain, Grassy Brook, and Holden Trail; plus private houses on Banning Road and Windmill Hill Road South. Trails taken will traverse parts of Putney, Brookline, and Westminster.

For information and required registration, please contact Elizabeth Bissell at [email protected] or 802-387-4587. A map showing the different routes and giving information about their rate of difficulty and their start times and locations may be found at www.putneymountain.org or www.windmillhillpinnacle.org. The Pinnacle Association is also on Facebook at facebook.com/windmillhillpinnacle/.

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