Prospect Hill Park in the Snow

Yay! I went out and did something yesterday! Between winter weather (albeit pathetic, half-hearted winter weather), winter scheduling (working, meetings, family stuff, social stuff) and winter mood (I can't believe it's dark, again) I haven't been doing much of anything outside the house in my spare time.

So yesterday morning when we had to take my car out for gas, because I coasted into Waltham at midnight on fumes, we decided to head to Prospect Hill Park. We figured that between the predicted snow storm and the chunky drizzle we ended up getting, people would be home booking flights to tropical islands and we would have the park to ourselves.

For the most part, we did. There were a few walkers, and family driving an ATV around the parking lot, for no apparent reason. We parked in the Totten Pond Road lot. That first steep stretch of the trail almost did me in, but at least it's winter so it wasn't so sweaty. Now that we know the park better and don't take all the scenic detours off the main trail, walking to the radar tower at the top and back down to the car took us about an hour.

Prospect Hill is an especially interesting park because it is not impeccably maintained. It was once a ski resort and there are all sorts of artifacts along the trails if you know what you're looking for. We discovered a metal contraption - two hinges with a metal bar between them - that had been moved to a large rock near the shelters on the Boy Scout Trail. Kevin figured out it was probably the lap bar from a lift seat, and speculated that lots of detritus was chucked into the woods when the park closed for skiing.

There are two huge concrete buildings side by side near the top of the hill, and then a radar tower at the very top, near the end of the Ridge Trail. Kevin loves to wander around and tell me what things were used for, and I nod a lot and imagine I am on the set of Lost.

Next time I go, maybe in the spring, I would like to do the whole Ridge Trail. We went halfway down the rocky path from the top last time, but I was tired and started to worry about getting back up it and over the hill again, so we bailed. Next time we'll head all the way down, I hope.