Join us for a local half day hike in the Blue hills! We'll leave early and hike a loop around Ponkapoag pond in the blue hills. The hike will be about 4.5 miles without much elevation gain (~300ft).

This hike is great if you're new to winter hiking and layering and want to test out your gear systems on a shorter trip. It's also good if you have things to get done in the afternoon and can only be out for half a day. Even though we're not going far north, the weather will still be nippy (38F / 3 C).

Mandatory Pre-Trip meeting 6:15-6:30 in the MITOC office. We'll discuss at the pre trip meeting how we can incorporate skill building for anything folks want to learn! If you have your own boots, please wear them to the pre-trip meeting to size micro spikes.

Plan:

• 8am - Meet at the MIT Student Center
• 8:15 - Cars leave
• 8:45m - Regroup at trailhead
• 9 - Hike! (expected 1.5 - 3 hrs depending on pace)
• 12 - Regroup at parking lot and head home

Required Experience: - No winter hiking experience necessary!

Required gear:

• Layers, Hat, Gloves
• No cotton!
• Sturdy insulated boots
• Microspikes
• Large backpack (40L+) to hold your layers and help carry group gear
• 2L water in wide mouth bottles
• Snacks for yourself
• Compass, headlamp, whistle (built in to backpack is fine)

Optional things to bring:

• Snacks to share