Ritzhikes

Where: Westfield River When: 10/16-17/2004 With: Chip & Dave I was looking for an early fall hike (something with trails and backpacks) and initially suggested the weekend of September 11-12 to Chip. That seemed fine, but Jane reminded me that we had a friend's birthday party to attend on the 11th, so we rescheduled to October 2-3. I was thinking it would be just Chip & me and we'd go north to the Whites, but we sent out invitations to the other BUMS anyway. Seth responded quickly that he'd be interested so the destination shifted south and west, to the Alander Mountain area. We'd tried to hike there last spring, but foul weather cancelled that trip. Dave also signed on for the adventure and we were all set, until my brother Bill contacted me the week before the hike to confirm he'd be visiting that weekend. Crap! I'd forgotten about Bill's visit. I told the other BUMS to go without me, but instead a new date of October 16-17 was proposed. I chec...

Where: Collinsville, CT When: 7/24-25/2004 With: The Stupids I'm not sure who initiated the preparations this year, but the usual flurry of emails and phone calls secured a mutually agreeable date for another edition of the Farmington River Trip. A few brief suggestions of other destinations and activities were quickly dismissed in favor of a return visit to Collinsville to see if Jack was still waiting for us. Jack, for those who haven't read last year's write-up, was a huge bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. The amount consumed on that trip (2/3 of the bottle) had had a significant influence and as we packed to leave the campsite we debated what to do with the remainder. In the end we decided to hide the bottle at the campsite and leave Jack in Fate's hands. It was now time to head Back to Jack. A month or so prior to the trip we got news that altered the focus of our gathering. Chip announced he was dealing with some serious personal issues related, in many ways, ...

Where: Hidden Valley Scout Reservation, NH When: July 4-10, 2004 With: Andy & the Scouts Andy's second year at summer Scout camp. I drove him up, then just came home. At the end of the week, Jane came with me to get him and we visited Weirs Beach for lunch and the arcades before going home. More photos

Where: Mt. Greylock When: 03/24/04 With: Solo For my traditional birthday vacation day I considered either a fishing trip to the Westfield River or a hike up Mt. Greylock. I wound up tossing the gear for both activities in the car and headed west toward Greylock. I'd seen an indication on some maps of a shelter in a ravine on the eastern slopes but none of my information sources (maps, trails guides, etc.) seemed to agree on its existence. On some maps it appeared at the terminus of a dead-end trail from the summit. Other maps didn't even show the trail and trail guides made no mention of it at all. I figured I could get in a nice hike and make a side trip to check it out to see if it might have potential for a future trip. I also had tentative plans for a camping trip in the southern Berkshires (Mt. Alander) the following week and wanted to check out the ground (i.e., snow) conditions. So, west I drove, following the Pike out to Lee and then travelling north on Route 7 up...