The Katie Metzger Town Forest Trails

In mid-November, on a brisk day with snow flurries in the late afternoon, my longtime friend, Curtis Carroll, and I decided to check out a new hiking opportunity: the Katie Metzger Town Forest Trails in Fitzwilliam. The 2.4-mile loop system, maintained by the Fitzwilliam Conservation Commission, traversed a hardwood, pine and hemlock forest, offering views of wetlands and ancient stone walls along the way. The first part of the hike, on the Blue Trail, moved over a rolling terrain; the Red Trail had several steeper sections up a hemlock-forested ridgeline. After donning blaze-orange hats and jackets, we started out on the Blue Trail, and in a short time came to a mailbox with maps. An interesting natural feature was the trail itself, leaf-matted and strewn with acorns. All of the leaves were variations of brown: tan, taupe, chestnut, coffee and chocolate. Not a single-colored leaf (red, yellow or orange) was visible. There were also lime-green moss-covered rocks and boulders throughout, and patches of foliose lichen, flat and leaf-like with raised edges, on the ground. Five minutes after starting out, we came to an intersection and turned left. A few minutes of walking brought us to the "Laurel Loop" on the right, where a sitting bench was located. We followed the white-blazed loop past marshland and displays of mountain laurel. Minutes later we found ourselves back on the Blue Trail, and soon we came to a magnificent, lichen-covered stone wall on the left. There is always joy in these sights, but this wall was particularly noteworthy. After our examination, we continued on the trail which moved uphill through a section of beech trees. We noted an intersection on the right which indicated the Blue (return) Trail. The stone wall continued to "follow" us on the left. There was lots of up and down walking along this section of the Blue Trail. After turning right and beginning a descent, a half-hour after starting out, we came to a yellow-blazed trail on the left which led to a pond view. The Blue Trail moved through a gap in another stone wall. On the left, we noticed what looked like another trail branching off our route. "That's probably an old road," said Curtis. As we continued on the Blue Trail, the trail widened and the area looked like it had been logged. The woods were more open. Soon, the trail narrowed, turned back into thicker woods and moved uphill. The forest landscape now consisted of more hemlock trees. A marker indicated that we were now on the Red Trail, where we heard the loud jeer of a blue jay nearby a Fitzwilliam Town Forest Boundary sign. The Red Trail moved up to high ground on a ridge. We noticed more short, steeper sections, indicating we needed to put in more effort. After passing a "Not a Trail" sign and moving through a clump of black birch saplings, we continued along a ridge with lots of hemlock. The natural sights and sounds were a pleasure to behold: sunlight streaming through feathery hemlock branches, and the gusting wind — the only soundtrack. An hour and ten minutes into the hike, we stepped through a gap in a stone wall and came to a junction for the Red/Blue trails. We continued on the Blue Trail where five minutes later we reached another impressive stone wall on the right. A few minutes more of walking brought us to the Laurel Loop junction and approximately 10 minutes later we reached Route 119 and the parking area. The 2.4-mile loop takes about an hour and a half to hike. To get to the Katie Metzger Town Forest Trails, from the junction of Routes 12/101 in Keene, take Route 12 for 0.9 miles to Route 32 (Old Homestead Highway). Continue 11.7 miles on Route 32 to its intersection with Route 119. Turn left onto Route 119 and continue for 4 miles to a small, pull-off parking area on the north side of Route 119. Dogs on leashes are welcome.