Barnstable County Highpoint Trip Report

Pine Hill (306 ft)

Date: December 24, 2005
Authors: Sue Ann Miller and Frank Price

We provide an update to previous reports that are now 5 years old and from a time when the world was different. We attempted to access the Massachusetts Military Reserve (MMR) at the west side, Buzzards Bay Gate. The zig-zag approach lined with Jersey barriers leading to a guard house manned by men in uniform suggested that the post 9-11 MMR is no longer relaxed about visitors. A military ID and level one status are now needed to enter the reserve. Men at the gate closest to Pine Hill denied entry. We did not inquire at other gates, but the west boundary of the reserve, closest to the HP, has frequent postings along Route 28, "WARNING Military Reservation, No Trespassing, Violators will be Prosecuted." As Denis Hanson wrote, the locals have guns.

The phone number that Dave Covill posted still works, though on holidays one gets a recording. We had not called or written in advance and that might have made a difference. So, we submit a report of a failed attempt on a sunny Christmas Eve on Cape Cod. We'll just have to return in more peaceful times or with advance arrangements.