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Jay Wade, left, and John Dignam

 

 

Hiking buddies Jay Wade and John Dignam recently completed a hike that was unusual for them in that it went straight, instead of up. Last month they finished that 94-mile Midstate Trail, which runs down the center of Massachusetts from the New Hampshire line in Ashburnham, Mass. to the Rhode Island line in Douglas, Mass.

Jay, a financial adviser and former Putnam resident who has hiked all his life, said “the experience was very rewarding although somewhat bittersweet. It’s like reading a good book, you can’t wait until you finish it, but when it’s done you want it to continue.”

Jay has hiked all the New England 4,000-foot mountains often accompanied by his sons, Aaron, Nick, Zachary and, most often, Ryan. John started hiking 20 years ago when son Tim was in high school. For many years Jay and John have been hiking, kayaking and cross-country skiing together.

John, a Putnam resident and retired  Telegram & Gazette reporter and editor, called the Midstate  hike a “great walk in the woods. Climbing a mountain is a more intense experience, takes more planning and has a certain amount of time to start and finish. This was like being a kid and playing in the woods for the day.”

The two hiked the first segment on Nov. 11, 2013, and did the last on Nov. 21 this year. They liked that they could make last-minute decisions to go walking in the Midstate woods depending on weather and their own availability and inclinations.

The total walk actually took nine days of hikes that ranged from 6 to almost 15 miles, starting each hike about 8 a.m. The two would leave a car at the end point of that day’s hike, then drive to the starting point. When they completed that segment they would go back to pick up the other car.

The longest hike was 14.7 miles from Westminster, Mass., through the Leominster State Forest and over Mt. Wachusett. Most of the hike was through undeveloped land down the center of Massachusetts along wooded trails, abandoned roads and cart paths.

Mt. Watatic at the trail start, Mt. Wachusett, Barre Falls Dam, miles of stonewalls, abandoned cellar foundations, cliff views, wooded lakes and streams were among the trail highlights. Their least favorite segment was through Oxford, most of which was on roads. Most of the segments were 10 miles or longer. They saw few other hikers and, except for John’s wife Lauren, retired Putnam teacher, joining them on the next to the last segment, they hiked alone.

Their final segment was about 6 miles through the Douglas State Forest to the Rhode Island line, but they kept going another 5 miles on a trail called the North-South Trail, which is their next woods hike. That trail goes about 78 miles from the Massachusetts line to the Atlantic Ocean in Charlestown, Rhode Island.