June 15, 2021
I had yet another doctor appointment in Cambridge today, so on the way home I returned to Minute Man NHP to do the remaining trails and to see the Visitor Centers.
There is so much to do in the Boston area and its neighboring communities; it seems I will never run out of Park sites/wildlife refuges/Recreation trails! That’s a good thing, since I need to be here for another two years while my youngest finishes high school.
The site’s main visitor center was open. There are many displays and a lot of information to take in; I took a ton of photos, but I won’t include them all here…just a couple of examples…go see this for yourself. Photos never do a place justice.
I picked up a paper map while at the visitor center to better find maintained trails. Only two are mentioned on the map: Fiske Hill Loop Trail and Vernal Pond Trail. There are other little trail lines here and there, but they seem to go to the neighboring communities like they are local access paths. Once upon a time, there was the Minute Man Trail behind Hartwell Tavern, but when I went to check it out, I could not find a sign, and the path looked like the other paths that lead to local communities. I therefore decided that I will only count named, maintained trails on my quest. That path behind the tavern used to be maintained – a local ranger confirmed that for me – but it doesn’t look like it is anymore, it is not named or mentioned on the map/info pamphlet, and the ranger said it hadn’t been officially used “for a very long time.” I felt justified in skipping it.
Fiske Hill Loop Trail was the first trail I tackled. This is less than a mile in length, probably including the few branches that all interconnect (except for one, which dead-ended into a little swamp with head-high vegetation). I walked the trail imagining the fighting that happened there so long ago, and also wondering how soldiers manage to stay cool when it’s hot outside and they have to wear and carry all that clothing and gear. I personally have to strip down to the bare essentials when it gets even slightly hot or humid. Though I guess if I was being constantly shot at, the heat and humidity would be the last thing on my mind.
I saw a male turkey with all his ladies in one of the fields. I had to get a bit close to him to stay on the path…for a few seconds I was worried he would charge me. I spoke to him politely and explained I just wanted to walk by, then I made for the trees on the other side of him. I had visions of people on the road below witnessing a woman in a brightly colored dress screeching and running while a turkey flew at her, but luckily none of that happened and the male just eyed me suspiciously as I quickly walked by. I also saw a deer on the branch that dead-ended.
Turkeys 
After the Fiske Hill hike, I drove down the street to Hartwell Tavern. Between the parking area and the tavern is one of the trailheads for Vernal Pond Trail. This is a short and wooded trail that leads to, well, a vernal pond. It pops out by the Bloody Triangle. Taking a right on Battle Road Trail takes you back to the beginning. All in all, it’s around half a mile.
After the little hikes, I checked out the North Bridge Visitor Center. The building was not open, but there were rangers out front at tables and guided tour programs. I spoke for a bit with the kind rangers at the table. Nice fellows.
The North Bridge grounds are gorgeous, and there are a ton of monuments telling the history of what happened here. Here is where the first shots were fired on British soldiers; one can not help but imagine the battle as one walks through the landscape.
Note that just off the parking area there is the Robbins House. It is currently still closed due to COVID, but there are information cards attached to stakes along the sidewalk. Robbins House was the home of several prominent African American families (descendants of formerly enslaved Patriots) during the 1800s.
This bench sits beside Robbins House 
I have to say I love this Quest of mine. There is so much to do, so much to see! I enjoy learning while visiting Park sites, I enjoy the hiking (be it serious hiking or touristy hiking), and I enjoy both isolated wild backcountry experiences and easy walks in areas of note. This country offers so much variety – the history, the cultures, the landscapes! I’ve traveled overseas extensively throughout my life and visited fifteen countries on four continents. Now I am excited to truly explore my own nation. America is beautiful – it contains every type of landscape that exists in the world. My own country has so much to offer, and as a bonus, most of the sites are free or extremely inexpensive to visit (outside of however much it costs to get there if you are not local).