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  1. #1
    Senior Member Grumpy Squatch's Avatar
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    MA> Monroe State Forest Solo Overnight

    Monroe State Forest sits on the Vermont border in Northwest Massachusetts, between the towns of Monroe and Florida. Heck, it might as well be Vermont given the area's different feel from the rest of the state. It also receives very little use, despite having (or maybe because it has) some of the only backcountry camping in the state other than along the AT. Those 11 miles of trails sport three well-maintained shelters where camping is allowed. There are also a few truly disbursed sites that see decent use. Black flies, ticks, and mosquitoes are about what you'd expect, so take precautions.

    The forest offers 11 miles of hiking trails (you can connect to neighboring forest and other recreation lands as well to extend this) along scenic brooks and easy trails. There is abundant (filterable) water available from all the brooks and streams and the trails and facilities are in good shape. Monroe State Forest also sports some of the only old-growth hemlock and hardwood stands left in Massachusetts and in much of the New England. So in late April I decided it was a good time to test some equipment and shake out some bugs in the system and I headed down the Dunbar Brook Trail for an overnight hang. Between early Saturday morning and late Sunday afternoon I encountered only 6 humans and didn't really have to talk to any of them. Perfect.

    The Hike
    Leaving from the Tilda Hill Rd. parking area at the intersection with Raycroft Road, I followed the Dunbar Brook Trail south east. The trail is easy to follow and the elevation doesn't change that much. Most of it is typical New England trail.

    IMG_20160430_132010.jpg

    After a few miles of trail one passes Parsonage Brook via a small bridge.

    IMG_20160430_140538.jpg

    Then just as you reach Haley Brook, the Dunbar Brook Shelter and it's well-maintained privy appear.

    IMG_20160430_143504.jpgIMG_20160430_142652.jpg

    At this point, on a small peninsula between two brooks I decided to camp and hoped no one else would be coming to the shelter. (Spoiler alert: no one did.)

    I pitched my tarp in porch mode and set up my hammock about 30 yards away from the shelter itself. Temps were in the 50s and expected to drop into the 40s with rain by morning. So I brought my UGQ Winter Dream, and my UGQ 20° Renegade topquilt along with my 3-season (25°) Arrowhead Equipment Potomac underquilt. I pitched it in porch mode so I could enjoy the view.

    IMG_20160430_161525.jpgIMG_20160430_161451.jpg

    The shelter was typical, with the usual stuff left behind. It had a new roof and was solid. If I were a shelter person I'd have no qualms about sleeping here. But I had my Dream Hammock to get back to, so I just used the areas for cooking and hanging by a small campfire at night. First thing I was happy with - tried some new packing methods in my Osprey Exos 48 and it carried great with a 26 lb. total load including 3 liters of water and more food than I needed. (This is down more than 11 lbs. from last year when I decided I needed to re-think some gear and made a lot of changes.)

    IMG_20160430_143510.jpg

    So I put down my Jerry Chair, busted out the cook kit, and got to making dinner so I could try out a couple of Packit Gourmet meals. The Shepherd's Cottage Pie is a winner. And my solo stove worked great with my trusty Imusa 12cm pot and Reflectix cozy. I didn't need to burn a single ounce of alcohol for either meal of Sunday's breakfast. Just used the twigs and bits I found on the ground near the fire pit.

    IMG_20160430_181343.jpgIMG_20160430_170638.jpgIMG_20160430_173722.jpg

    After a few hours reading by the campfire it was off to the Dream Hammock and sleep.

    IMG_20160430_183741.jpg

    I woke up to the sound of light rain on the tarp. Nothing too heavy, but the recent seam-sealing I did seems to have stopped the minor leakage I experienced early last winter.

    IMG_20160501_092602.jpg

    After eating breakfast (a portion of Bangers and Mash), moving everything under cover of the shelter and taking down the hammock, it was a simple matter of reversing the previous day's hike out. After a couple of hours driving home I found one more use for the backyard hammock stand: drying the tarp.

    IMG_20160501_160917.jpg

    I will absolutely be exploring more of Monroe State Forest in the future. It's about the closest you can get to the solitude of New Hampshire or Vermont without having to leave the state.
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    Last edited by Grumpy Squatch; 05-15-2016 at 22:05. Reason: Added pack weight.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.
    - Daniel Webster

  2. #2
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing. Looks like a nice area to hang. It's always good to find time in the woods.

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