Trail head is in Burlingame Camp Ground at 28 Sanctuary Rd, Charlestown; loop ~ 7.5 miles and 2 hrs 40 mins.

The Vin Gormley Trail is an easy and pretty loop with a mix of woods, paved, and dirt roads. It was my first time there, but a well known trail to Mike. His tip was to leave the parking lot and head left because he prefers to head out on pavement and return on the dirt road. This is apparently the opposite of the way the trail is marked, (the mile markers were all in reverse for us), but I agree with his logic and it was nice to come back with Watchaug Pond as the reward.

We saw lots of cool flowers and mushrooms along the way. We passed the Poquaint Brook and saw some really pretty lily-like purple flowers, but I was not able to get a good enough photo to identify them.

Some notables along the way:

• Spotted wintergreen
• Bird’s foot trefoil
• Tamarack trees
• Coral fungi
• Bondarzweaceae mushroom
• Cedars

Adventurers included: Jes & Mike