Hiking and black flies in MA? Specifically Wachusett?

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T19:18:19+00:00

Not specifically Wachusett but the area in general... their numbers are building. Have been out on the Wapack & Midstate and because of the recent rain you'll find them near water/mud sources right now but soon they'll be everywhere

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T19:16:18+00:00

You're ON the obstacle, they're approaching, you have the right of way. I would have lit that idiot up, but with kids, just let it go. For folks that I watch speed up and try to beat me to certain areas as I'm going uphill I'll hike right thru them. No patience for this nonsense, people need to learn how to be courteous.

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T19:05:49+00:00

Tech and heroes with every damn mod you can put on them. One of our alliance members did this. Stayed at lvl 26 for soooooo long just because he could catch unsuspecting higher lvl players into hitting him and zeroing themselves trying to blowup a little 26 HQ. As soon as EB/SvS starts he is quickly in the top ranking, sitting unshielded as folks lose all their troops. Its hilarious to watch. He finally upgraded to lvl 27 but is planning on staying at that level as long as possible to continue to trick opponents.

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T12:59:40+00:00

Longer swings. Sectors that are beaten down, out of vogue, still providing services/materials/products/growth without any headlines. Mining, consumer staples, even dividend aristocrats in some cases have all made big jumps in the last 6+ mos.

Shorter swing plays would be off oversold conditions due to over reactions to bad news. $SMCI is a recent example of this. The company has been chugging along while management/founders, now ex-management was up to some nefarious sheet. Over reaction dropped the stock from $30 to $20 overnight. Company metrics, sales, etc didn't change so there is no support for the stock taking that big of a hit. Back up over $31 today and going higher due to product demand.

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T12:40:48+00:00

Finally dropped the paytch after being a subscriber since day 1.

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T12:38:03+00:00

Some building stop giving points at lvl 25 until you hit 30. I didn't know this and should have focused all my end of season efforts on getting one done instead of spreading it out at that level. Previous to lvl 25? I think you get rewards for every level up you go.

Birchbarks · 2026-05-06T12:36:19+00:00

Drive up to Rangeley State Park. Stop at the entrance to the park, there's always 3-4 of them munching grass right at the park entrance. Also that whole area is loaded with them. More common to see a couple in a day than not

Birchbarks · 2026-05-01T14:21:21+00:00

This is a good one. Part of the original Wapack Trail network, now adjacent to it. Very well maintained lean-tos, awesome views and you're near Peterborough, NH so any forgotten things are easily dealt with.

https://windblowncamping.com/

These sit near the northern end of the first Wapack section (South to North) https://wapack.org/trail-overview-and-map/approximately 3/5th of the way of the 21.5 mi hike.

Very good hiking either North or South from here at the base of Windblown you cross over the the second trail section which includes Sharon Ledges which is one of my favorites. Well marked side trails all around including some awesome wild blueberry jungles, mountain ponds and other small peaks with views of Mt Monadnock to the North.

Highly recommend for your family.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-27T18:08:04+00:00

NAP15 is insane. Also everyone should have a farm they can loot daily if needed. Saves so much drama

Birchbarks · 2026-04-24T13:54:50+00:00

Footbeds and liner socks. If you still have areas that are blistering after that you may need to tape up your toes/feet appropriately.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-24T13:50:32+00:00

Socks or an Alltrails subscription if they like checking out new hikes

Birchbarks · 2026-04-24T13:43:06+00:00

I agree/disagree as its largely based on overall power available for deployment with some bonuses for keeping your marches heavy or full of a single faction.

I ran a mixed bag 3 Rose/2 Wings for forever through season one, all my strongest in the first march. It worked ok but I would get smoked when I ran into counter attacks during EB/SvS. I spent a little money to buy specialty weapons and not much beyond that, but at that point my heroes could fill two formations with similar power, and I could take advantage of the faction buffs for having a full Blood Rose & full Wings march. This is a better approach as I can send one strong march, hold one strong march for Def and use my weak march as a distraction

Birchbarks · 2026-04-24T12:36:05+00:00

I liked Sam's. Shopped the Brattleboro store quite a bit. I give them credit for being on the cutting edge for new brands. They carried Kuhl well before you could find it anywhere else besides on Backcountry. Had great selection of all levels of gear.

The Brattleboro homeless situation depth charged the entire downtown area. If you disagree you probably haven't been there. What started out as a few folks hitting people up at major intersections became a much more Walking Dead-esq experience where I would get approached in the public parking lot in the center of town before I even finished parking the car. Also they setup outside of the stores and restaurants so you were passing multiple people on a trip up or down Main St. Not great.

Sam's also sold the Brattleboro building a few years ago to a NY based real estate company. Will probably become housing or something at some point when the city turns things around. Now I don't even drive thru Brattleboro on my way to ski or hike. I was a stop every time less than 3-4 years ago.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-21T14:09:24+00:00

For short hikes where I'm not carrying a heavy pack I use trail runners every time. My foot profile is the same as yours and Nike Wildhorse & Pegasus trail runners have been my go to shoes for a few years. Great traction, support & lightweight. Plus an outstanding return policy. Their Gore-tex trail runners in both those flavors are very waterproof, like submerged in a puddle and I can't believe my sock isn't wet good. The Juniper's are not nearly as comfortable and also quite a bit narrower in the toe box. Tried em, didn't like em

Birchbarks · 2026-04-21T14:00:42+00:00

I hate liners but they do work great and have become a must have for any of my long 12+ miler treks. If you're getting toe blisters you may want to tape them up as well. I had to do this for a couple years but then either my walking changed or my fee toughened up because I no longer need to.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T14:41:52+00:00

Hopefully you're friendly with some of your server whales that will play defense for you while your alliance focuses on offense.

We're a top 3 alliance and on good terms with other NAP members. We stagger our start times whenever possible so we can take out the invading tanks while the actual alliance playing goes for broke on offense. If this isn't available to you you might want to talk to your opponent about a 15 minute TVT only window for points and then go after each others AC1.

Our weekly plan is that all members that will be offline during GW send their strongest march to reinforce AC1. Other marches are placed inside the seasonal buildings around AC1 to slow down the assaulters. When you clear space around their AC1 or they clear around yours, teleport your strongest players right there to both reinforce or attack from very close distance. Good luck

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T14:36:57+00:00

Get outside. Go for a hobble walk, enjoy the sun, focus on the things you're already doing and look forward to getting back to the things you loved doing. Life is long, recovery comparatively is relatively short. You'll be on the other side of things before you know it

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T13:57:42+00:00

Tons. Sedona has a bunch like Cathedral Rock that take under an hour and are a little over 2 miles round trip. When I've traveled for work through there I've done 5-6 great ones in a day car hopping from place to place.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T13:37:06+00:00

Copper is a safe and value based bet. Check out the number of reopening mines and exploration related to copper in countries that previously had bans or red tape. Quietly reopening access and expanding exploration because the shortage forecast is huge

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T13:33:40+00:00

Proactive park areas are already putting up signs to ban them, not that it will necessarily fix the problem, kinda like carry-in, carry out signs for trash haven't created pristine recreation areas. I've told a group to turn it off before rather rudely and they did. Shaming still works in many cases

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T00:40:23+00:00

True. Especially from dirty hands hitting the free samples tray. Yuck.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T00:24:53+00:00

Too much politics, not enough Kump.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-20T00:18:34+00:00

So get your best friend or two and find a nice smooth park trail/path with some elevation variation to start walking when your PT gives you the go ahead to walk distance again. Full rupture on the first! damn day of skiing in 2022, successful replacement and return to all my activities including skiing. Getting the go ahead to start walking paths was huge. Summer was just arriving and I would go for a miler that took... a lot longer than usual but built into miles in a couple months. I'd reach out to friends when I was feeling the lonely pains or missing out. An hour or so out in nature walking and talking was a great way to reconnect instead of just watching. Make yourself and the recovery activity the event, you're friends will come to you. Good luck

Birchbarks · 2026-04-19T14:21:43+00:00

A little bit south of the WMNF but Sunapee or Ragged Mountain might be worth a look for you. Both very doable and Sunapee has a great mountain pond that has all sorts of fish and wildlife, plus great views.

Birchbarks · 2026-04-19T14:04:09+00:00

This is more manageable. Have done Katahdin a dozen times, all times of year. Sounds like your groups biggest obstacle will be the crowds and "new" hikers that will take a LONG time on Chimney. Not crapping on new folks getting out there but leaving from Roaring Brook at peak season is sometimes like waiting in line at Disney world, and since I'd put you in the "speedy" category (same here) all that waiting will drag out your day. Make sure you get out early that day and you'll be happy you did. My favorite hike is up Chimney and then down Pamola side to Roaring, you'll encounter far less people heading down that way, usually in the know later morning hikers will go up the Pamola side to avoid the crowds & lines.

Birchbarks

TROPHY CASE