New England Trail/Metacomet-Monadnock Trail: MA Section 11

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Features Commonly Backpacked · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Wildlife

This section starts from Packardville Road and follows an old woods road that melds into a singletrack. It climbs up to Mount Lincoln past an area filled with blueberries and wintergreen. It skirts around the left side of the tower and heads down the broken asphalt road. *Unfortunately, the tower is closed to the public.

The area that makes up this mountain is loaded with either meteorite or volcanic stone; due to volcanic activity this area used to see, I would say it's probably volcanic stone. It travels along a long stretch through the woods, then turns right onto Amherst Road. Turn left onto North Valley Road and follow it until the trail turns back into the woods. It travels through another long woods stretch, then turns right onto a rough woods road.

It follows Brewer Road (woods road) for a ways, then turns left off the road. It travels through the woods until it arrives at Shutesbury Road, where it turns right. Follow Shutesbury Road until you reach the parking area for New England Trail/Metacomet-Monadnock Trail: MA Section 12.

Though the website shows this section starting from the top of Mount Lincoln, the signs (on location) have this section running from Packardville Road to Shutesbury Road.

Flora: White Pine, Wintergreen, Mountain Laurel, Running Cedar, Eastern Cedar, Partridgeberry, Bracken Fern, Sheep Laurel, Striped Maple, Sugar Maple, Red Oak, Blueberry, American Chestnut, Paper Birch, Trailing Arbutus, Beech.

Fungi: Tinder Polypore, Birch Polypore, Parchment Fungi.

Fauna: Coyote (scat), White-Tail Deer, Chickadee, Woodpecker.

Geological Interest: Quartz, Basalt, Meteorite or Volcanic Rock.