Howard Swain Memorial Forest

 Today started out with some rain/snow/slush. I opted to wait that out and by the time I was finished doing some chores, I realized I was running out of daylight. So I needed something close and short. I chose the trails at Howard Swain Memorial Forest in Deerfield. Another SELT maintained property. Total distance was just 1.5 miles, but enough to get the blood flowing and check off some more trails on my redlining spreadsheet for the AMC South Trail Guide. A small parking area can be found off Nottingham Road. There was a light layer of snow on the ground and I could see no one had been here yet today. I had about an hour before the sun would set, so I quickly got myself together and headed out. I wore spikes, which were sufficient. There are 2 trails at this property which help create a loop of sorts. The trail starts on Howards Path and heads out for about a quarter of a mile before splitting. In that quarter mile there is one very short moderate incline, but that's really it for anything strenuous on this property. At the bottom of the incline is an area that could sometimes get wet, but SELT has filled the area with rocks to try and prevent too much flooding. A nice overlook of a marsh area can be seen from here. I chose to do the Quarry Trail first since it was a little bit longer. This weaved around the marsh and through the woods for about half a mile before meeting back up with Howards Path and a quick out and back to the end of the trail. Here is a very pretty overlook of another marsh, and Rocky Ridge which is actually the outskirts of Pawtuckaway State Park. A granite bench has been placed so you can see and enjoy the view, which I did for a moment as the sun started to set before retracing my steps to the intersection with Quarry Trail. This time taking Howards Path all the way back to the car. Short and sweet. 

Strava Activity

Looking over at Rocky Ridge