Pawtuckaway State Park - Saturday, June 10, 2017

Home of the local mosquitoes. Deet is a must on this trail.

View from the fire tower

A beautiful June Saturday, nothing on the calendar, time for a hike. We chose Pawtuckaway State Park, less than an hour's drive from home, with plenty of trails to choose from.  We checked in at the Park Office, and a friendly clerk gave us the hike we were looking for - about 5 miles to a good view point.  We took the Mountain Trail to the Fire Tower. She told us on a clear day some say you can see all the way to Boston. 

The trail had some inclines, but was easily manageable. The biggest challenge was getting around multiple muddy areas.  We managed by either going into the edges of the trail or by rock stepping our way through.  My foot only landed in the mud once or twice. The last half mile was quite steep, but easy to climb. We met a group of  15 boy scouts at the top, they were going to be tenting in a remote location - brave leaders!  After taking in the view (we couldn't really identify Boston, but the view of Pawtuckaway Lake was a beauty), we circled around to hike back down.  I was relieved that we didn't have to go down the steep rocks we climbed up. I have to admit, going up was easier than down. with the ankle twisting rocks and roots taking a toll on tired feet and legs. Despite that, we came off of the trail feeling great, forgetting about the last 1/4 mile uphill hike on the hot road back to the parking lot.  After that "cash out" we knew we earned our reward.

The famous Tuckaway Tavern just happens to be about a mile from the park.  We wrapped up our hike just before four and felt confident there would be two bar stools waiting for us there.  No luck - the bar was packed and there was an hour and a half wait for a table. That's a deal breaker, so we moved on to the Holy Grail in Epping.  Plenty of room at the bar, tables outside on the patio, friendly patrons and bartenders, and lots of local brews on tap. We settled in with a 603 Summatime Ale and a Moat Mountain Czech Pilsner. Onto food: I had the Pear and Goat Cheese salad, between the sugared walnuts and sweet pears, it was like dessert on a salad.  Very happy with my choice, especially since I was able to steal fries from Jeff's burger plate. Good food, good beer, good hike, good day.