Looking for a not-too-freezy and not-too-breezy adventure this weekend? Interested in getting out of Boston without an alpine start or late return to the city? Join us this Saturday on the not-too-tall and not-too-faraway Wachusett Mountain!

Wachusett Mountain is 2000' above sea level (1000' prominence) and features 360-degree views of the surrounding area. If the weather is clear, you'll be able to see Boston from the summit. We'll hike about 7 mi / 1.5k ft (route tbd!) on trails that require microspikes and/or snowshoes. The cold will make this hike a bit tougher than the stats suggest.

If conditions allow and the group is interested, we might go sledding, play around with stoves to make hot bevvies, or practice singing the Wachusett jingle.

Prerequisites

Have you done a hike that's ≥ 5 mi and ≥ 1000 ft of gain in the last year? If so, this could be the trip for you! If not, that's fine too, but please email the leaders and briefly describe your hiking experience (if any) and workout routine (if any). This trip is open to all, but we do want to have a general sense of everyone's fitness level to make sure it's a good experience for everybody.

This is an okay first winter hike, but the very cold weather (maybe -20F wind chill) make it more challenging, so this shouldn't be your first-ever hike. Because of the cold, you'll need to: stay dry / have layers that keep you warm but not too warm / keep a steady pace (no long breaks).

Logistics

There will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting on Thursday (Jan 22) at 5:45pm at the MITOC office.

We'll try to coordinate logistics with the other Saturday Wachusett trip and may shuffle participants/cars so that both trips have enough drivers.

We aim to leave not-too-early Saturday morning and be back early-to-mid afternoon.

We have space for more than 5 folks but are trying to shuffle cars/participants -- please join the waitlist if you're interested and this trip shows as full!