You Are Here: Wapack Trail - Binney Pond, Pratt Mountain

I'm going to be off trail for several weeks, so I wanted one last hike with some bang for my buck. The foliage is at peak and I decided to head south and tackle some more of the Wapack Trail. My original plan was to start at the southern terminus and actually finish the section that I needed to Pratt Mountain plus a couple side trails. I had concerns the parking area would be full, as I've heard it's not overly large and had in the back of my head a Plan B should that be the case. I pulled into the parking area for Mt Watatic on Rt 119 in Ashburnham, MA and literally the last spot was being taken. Several cars were pulling in after me as I left, so it's definitely a popular area. After grumbling under my breath that I should have gotten up earlier (I arrived around 9am) I plugged into my GPS Binney Hill Road, New Ipswich which I knew was an option as the first time I hiked any of the Wapack Trail I encountered some nice gentlemen, also section hiking, who had car spotted on Binney Hill Road. Not really knowing how much this would add to my planned hike, I quickly looked for any trip reports and found one that said it was about 1.2 miles extra.. not willing to drive the 2 hours back home, or come up with an alternative, I headed the 15 mins over to Binney Hill Road. There is a small parking area at the very end of the road that can accommodate 4 or 5 cars if everyone parks appropriately. When I arrived, 3 cars were already there, so I grabbed a spot and geared up. The walk up from this parking area to the Wapack Trail ended up being about 0.5 miles, a moderate incline on a rocky Class VI road, not bad and the foliage was already spectacular. I wasn't upset with Plan B. At the intersection with the Wapack Trail was a kiosk and gate. I looked at my map, as my planned hike was now a sort of out back on 2 sides and decided to do the shorter side first. This was a right off Binney Hill Road along an old road which was wet in places but mostly flat. At the intersection with the Frank Robbins Trail, I stayed to the right on the Wapack Trail which then became more of an actual trail. The section alongside Binney Pond was just gorgeous. Mostly flat with peakaboo views over the pond, except for one small section on bridges with a clear view across the pond. It was beautiful. Once you reach the far end of the pond, there was a spur signed Water, which I explored on my return. A few hundred yards to a stoned spring that was looking very leafy, but did have water. From here to the Pratt Mountain summit, it's a good moderate to steep climb up. Good footing, but a steady up. I was surprised to hear voices at one point as I was taking a breather break and looked back to see 4 guys pushing mountain bikes up the trail. They cruised past me and I felt all my years at that point! Just under half a mile up there is an unmarked (and honestly I wouldn't have noticed it except I saw it marked on a map) overlook of Binney Pond that is not to be missed. Once you come out of the woods on rock slab, look right and you can see the overlook a few hundred yards out. Absolutely gorgeous view over the pond and over to Mt Watatic. It's a couple more easy tenths to the Pratt Mountain summit. I looked for a sign as I've seen a picture of one nailed to a tree, but I didn't see anything. Having been up here before a couple years ago on a frigid day, thankfully much different than today, I knew there was an overlook just beyond the summit over towards Mt Monadnock. I headed over there and took some pictures before heading back down to retrace my steps. On the steep descent as I was carefully placing each step so as not to slip on all the leaves, a young guy came flying down past me running. I don't think his feet were even touching the ground.. and again I felt all my years! Back to the Frank Robbins Trail intersection and I took this trail knowing I would get the section of the Wapack Trail I needed on my return. This started out on a wide road and descended. After a couple tenths it turned off into the woods and started a gentle climb. This whole trail from here back to the Wapack Trail was rather overgrown, though easy to follow and quite uneventful. Once I reached the Wapack Trail again, I was starting to feel tired. Looking at the map, I knew there was some good elevation gain up Mt Watatic and again on the State Line Trail on my return. I contemplated my options and realized I was going to have to create a Plan C. It was here I was grateful I was parked where I was, as I was afforded this bail out option. Plan A had no bail out options and I imagine I would have been really gassed had I taken that route. Everything happens for a reason. I decided to at least take the Wapack Trail down to the MA state line and use that as my turnaround point, knowing then I could create a shorter loop to complete the sections I needed at a later time. This section of Wapack Trail was wide road, eroded in places and rocky in places, but easy enough. I reached the MA State line, turned around and retraced my steps, this time staying on the Wapack Trail when I reached the Frank Robbins Trail junction. Just beyond this was a cool area that was marked on the map as a field in the process of regenerating after some logging done in previous years. It was literally just an open area with tall grasses, but the foliage was colorful and created a lovely break from the previous terrain. The gate for Binney Hill Road was on the other side of the field and then I just had to go back the half mile to the car.

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