"Plan A was to hike in the White Mountains, but the Canadian wildfire smoke convinced me to switch to Plan B: hiking a few hills closer to home. Not that it wasn’t hazy near Boston, but the air quality was certainly better. I set off from the parking lot at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy just before 8:30am. It was a humid day but the haze dulled the sun, so it wasn’t too hot. The bugs were still a nuisance, however. Other than the final ascent along the Skyline Trail, the hike up Wampatuck Hill was very mild and mostly along wide graded paths. A small section of Fox Hill Path near Chickatawbut Road was very overgrown, but I luckily didn’t pick up any ticks. The ascent and descent of Fox Hill was much more gradual than Wampatuck Hill. I briefly bushwhacked up and over Little Dome, then began the bushwhack up Great Dome. This is where a doe and her fawn ran across my path and disappeared into the woods. I saw another pair of deer after rejoining the Skyline Trail near Saint Moritz Pond. I returned to the parking lot just before 10:15am." — JCalautti • Aug 4, 2025