Mount Greylock
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 through Pittsfield, where I picked up route 8 toward North Adams. It was a pretty ride through an area I rarely visit. For entertainment along the way I listened to the 9/11 Commission hearings on NPR. Eventually I entered the town of Cheshire, where I pulled into a church parking lot to review my maps. My plan was to use the Cheshire Harbor trail as my route to/from the summit. The shelter trail, if it existed, branched off the Cheshire trail just below the summit and I thought I could explore it on the return trip.
I managed to find the roads I needed to get me to the trailhead and fairly quickly found myself heading up a bumpy narrow farm road at the base of Greylock's eastern slopes. I passed a small parking area I thought might be my trailhead but signs there said it was for the Gould trail. Not mentioned on my maps or in my guides, but I suspected it might be the trail to the shelter, extended all the way down the mountain. I decided to keep driving, figuring I could return if no other trail appeared, but a few minutes later the road ended at a dirt cul-de-sac with trail signs. I parked and checked out the signs. Sure enough, I was at the base of the Cheshire Harbor trail.
The signs were not the usual trail indicators. Greylock is a true mixed-use area and the Cheshire trail served as a snowmobile trail to the summit in the winter. Other routes for the sleds also departed from the parking area and the signs pointed to the way to those as well. It wasn't entirely clear which path into the woods was the one I wanted, but I guessed I could find it. I returned to the car, packed up my gear (using my new birthday present daypack) and started walking. Though the ground was snow-covered, there were only a few inches of depth. I left the snowshoes and full crampons in the car, but brought a pair of instep spikes just in case.
It was a mild, sunny day and I hiked without a jacket or gloves, with just a ball cap on my head. I checked out the various snowmobile routes leaving the parking area and quickly figured out which one was the Cheshire trail. A matched set (going and returning) of boot prints in the snow helped confirm the route. I guessed some local had done a run up the mountain that morning or the previous day.
It was about 10:40 when I started and one of the trail signs at the parking area indicated it was 3.6 miles to the summit. The trail passed an access gate and started climbing into the woods on an obvious, well-maintained path. A season's worth of snowmobile use had packed the walkway into a nice firm footbed and I had no trouble making my way up the slope. A short time after starting I passed a side trail with a sign saying it linked to the Gould trail. There were no tracks in the snow on that trail and it didn't look like the snowmobiles used it either. A bit later the trail split, with the Old Adams Road snowmobile trail departing to the left while the Cheshire trail continued to the right toward the summit.
The trail kept up a constant ascent and I found myself thinking I'd like to have skis or snowblades or a sled for the descent. Thanks to the grooming done by the snowmobiles, it would be a fun, fast ride. Maybe another day. Today I just kept plodding along, enjoying the woods and peering through the trees to gauge my progress. The summit appeared from time to time and always seemed a long way off. I also kept an eye out for signs of what I assumed would be an abandoned side trail, then I spotted an actual wooden sign nailed to a trail. Peck's Brook Loop, it said. Peck's Brook was where the shelter was, but this trail didn't seem right. Looking, I spotted a faint blue mark on one tree but that was it. No indication on the ground of a trail and no more obvious tree blazes. I checked my elevation using my GPS and I was much lower on the mountain than where my maps said the trail should be. Obviously a newer trail that perhaps linked over to the trail I wanted. I thought I could try to follow this loop trail on my return if I didn't find another path.
Shortly afterwards the trail began making some switchbacks and it appeared I was approaching the top, or at least the ridge where I'd pick up the auto road. Just then an obvious side trail appeared, marked with snowmobile tags. A handwritten name on one marker said it was the Superhighway, though it didn't look like it was used much. The direction fit with the side trail I wanted but again the elevation was all wrong. Too high on the mountain this time. Another possibility for an exploratory hike on the return trip.
Soon after this junction the trail emerged onto the auto road, when I encountered the first deep snow of the day as I waded through some small drifts to get out onto the roadway. Snowmobiles had packed this route as well and I decided to follow the road versus plowing into the snow in the woods to follow the foot trail. I only went a short ways though before arriving at an intersection where the Notch Road came in from the north. A small parking area to the side had signs for the Gould Trail & Shelter and I walked over to investigate. There wasn't much info on the signs there, but I did manage to spot a trail and some snowshoe tracks heading down into the woods. This had to be the trail I wanted, though it didn't jibe at all with my maps. I hoped I'd find a better trail map at the top to confirm my assumption.
At this point I had a choice. I could continue along the road, following a long loop to the east, north and west of the summit, or I could follow the Appalachian Trail into the woods on a beeline route. I chose the later. The snow was significantly deeper than at the base - over a foot, using my hiking poles as a guage - but previous hikers had packed down the trail and I only had to make my way thorough six inches or so of new snow. The bigger problem was the snow on the branches overhead. The snow base pushed me up into the trees, where the warm temps had resulted in large clumps of soggy snow bombs just waiting to drop on my head. I used my poles to knock them down as I went along but I still got nailed by a few of them.
Just as the "beeline" route seemed to be taking much longer than expected, and right after I noted that I only had 10 minutes to go if I wanted to summit by noon, the trail emerged from the woods and rejoined the road. A few steps later and I was passing Bascomb Lodge and staring up at the Memorial Monument. I made my way across the windy summit lawn to the monument, noting a lone snowmobiler who roared up at the same time as I, then departed just as quickly. After having the mountain to myself all day, I finally meet up with someone at the top! I checked out the summit signage, hoping for a trail map but finding none, took a quick look at the view to the east, then went to the monument to find a wind-sheltered spot for lunch. A fleece jacket came out of the pack along with some hot coffee and the food. It was fairly windy and somewhat chilly, but not too bad. The sun helped a bit. The sun and wind also caused huge hunks of snow and ice to loosen their grip on top of the War Memorial and every so often one would come crashing down behind me as I ate. A bit disconcerting.
I made quick work of lunch, called my parents on my cell phone, took a few pictures and then began my descent. I actually made it all the way back to the woods before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the Memorial, so I backtracked, got the shot, then headed back down for good. I'd considered taking the road down but decided to just follow the AT again. It was much easier going downhill and I was back to the road intersection in just a few minutes. Now it was decision time. I could just follow my footsteps back down, maybe checking out the various side trails I'd seen, or I could take a detour to explore the Gould trail. I had no idea how far down the shelter would be and the trail wasn't very well indicated (old snowshow marks and some faint blue tree blazes). Still, the day was young and this was why I'd come up here, so what the heck! I set off down into the woods.
Thankfully this was all downhill. The snowmobiles did not come this way and there was a good amount of snow (6-8 inches) to walk through, so coming up through this would have been a pain. Going down however was a pleasant semi-slide of a journey. The only problem I had was the trail kept disappearing. The tree blazes were either very faded or non-existent, leaving only the faint marks of an old snowshoe passage to guide my way. Convinced I'd lost the route at one point, I backtracked and explored what looked like another way but then decided the original route was the correct one. This didn't last too long fortunately, and the trail became more obvious as it descended. In fact, I now had enough confidence in the path that I decided I'd just follow the Gould path all the way down. At worst, I'd emerge on the road at the lower pull-off and would have to walk up to the car on the road. Ideally I'd find the side trail linking up to the Cheshire Harbor trail and would finish my walk back at my original trailhead. Either way, I'd get a loop walk out of it.
Clumping along quite happily now I spotted snowmobile markers on some trees (little bits of reflective tape) and thought I must have found the other end of the Superhighway, but try as I might, I was unable to see where the route went up into the woods. Oh well. A few minutes later I came to a trail sign saying I was at the shelter. A few hundred yards of side trail quickly brought me to the lean-to. It was great. In excellent condition, clean and solid, perched on the edge of a ravine with a waterfall to one side and an expansive view to the east in the other direction. It probably got great sunrises. It didn't look especially used either, at least not in the winter. In the surrounding woods, open spots could accommodate overflow tenting. Definitely worth a return visit for an overnight.
I lingered awhile to enjoy the spot, then returned to the trail and continued my walk out. As the snow depth dropped, the trail occasionally became a muddy stream bed instead of a path but for the most part the walking was fast and easy. One large blow-down forced a short detour around the fallen tree, but otherwise the trail was clear. All along the way I kept looking for the link to the Cheshire trail, but I never saw it and the Gould trail abruptly ended at a snowmobile trail intersection. A sign indicated the Gould trailhead was directly ahead and I started that way at first, then decided to follow the snowmobile trail parallel to the road, figuring I'd stay in the woods a bit longer. At the same intersection another trail departed back up the slope and I suspected that might be my link. There was no sign saying where it went though and I'd had enough climbing so I just stayed on the trail I was on. After a few hundred yards it emerged at the road. I took a few minutes to get a picture of the summit from the road, but otherwise it was just a steady plod on the pavement back to the car, where I arrived around 2:20. A man with 3 large dogs came back from a walk about the same time and another man was nearby working on a snowmobile. He was joined by another man just before I left and the two of them spewed out a long string of curses about the balky machine.
I spent a few minutes in my car trying to find a route home. I thought I might follow some unexplored back roads, and maybe even get in some fishing, but finally decided to head north and take Route 2 back home. It's a pretty ride and would give me a loop drive of the state to match my loop hike. I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to listen to the 9/11 hearings and enjoying the scenic route home.
More pictures
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 through Pittsfield, where I picked up route 8 toward North Adams. It was a pretty ride through an area I rarely visit. For entertainment along the way I listened to the 9/11 Commission hearings on NPR. Eventually I entered the town of Cheshire, where I pulled into a church parking lot to review my maps. My plan was to use the Cheshire Harbor trail as my route to/from the summit. The shelter trail, if it existed, branched off the Cheshire trail just below the summit and I thought I could explore it on the return trip.
I managed to find the roads I needed to get me to the trailhead and fairly quickly found myself heading up a bumpy narrow farm road at the base of Greylock's eastern slopes. I passed a small parking area I thought might be my trailhead but signs there said it was for the Gould trail. Not mentioned on my maps or in my guides, but I suspected it might be the trail to the shelter, extended all the way down the mountain. I decided to keep driving, figuring I could return if no other trail appeared, but a few minutes later the road ended at a dirt cul-de-sac with trail signs. I parked and checked out the signs. Sure enough, I was at the base of the Cheshire Harbor trail.
The signs were not the usual trail indicators. Greylock is a true mixed-use area and the Cheshire trail served as a snowmobile trail to the summit in the winter. Other routes for the sleds also departed from the parking area and the signs pointed to the way to those as well. It wasn't entirely clear which path into the woods was the one I wanted, but I guessed I could find it. I returned to the car, packed up my gear (using my new birthday present daypack) and started walking. Though the ground was snow-covered, there were only a few inches of depth. I left the snowshoes and full crampons in the car, but brought a pair of instep spikes just in case.
It was a mild, sunny day and I hiked without a jacket or gloves, with just a ball cap on my head. I checked out the various snowmobile routes leaving the parking area and quickly figured out which one was the Cheshire trail. A matched set (going and returning) of boot prints in the snow helped confirm the route. I guessed some local had done a run up the mountain that morning or the previous day.
It was about 10:40 when I started and one of the trail signs at the parking area indicated it was 3.6 miles to the summit. The trail passed an access gate and started climbing into the woods on an obvious, well-maintained path. A season's worth of snowmobile use had packed the walkway into a nice firm footbed and I had no trouble making my way up the slope. A short time after starting I passed a side trail with a sign saying it linked to the Gould trail. There were no tracks in the snow on that trail and it didn't look like the snowmobiles used it either. A bit later the trail split, with the Old Adams Road snowmobile trail departing to the left while the Cheshire trail continued to the right toward the summit.
The trail kept up a constant ascent and I found myself thinking I'd like to have skis or snowblades or a sled for the descent. Thanks to the grooming done by the snowmobiles, it would be a fun, fast ride. Maybe another day. Today I just kept plodding along, enjoying the woods and peering through the trees to gauge my progress. The summit appeared from time to time and always seemed a long way off. I also kept an eye out for signs of what I assumed would be an abandoned side trail, then I spotted an actual wooden sign nailed to a trail. Peck's Brook Loop, it said. Peck's Brook was where the shelter was, but this trail didn't seem right. Looking, I spotted a faint blue mark on one tree but that was it. No indication on the ground of a trail and no more obvious tree blazes. I checked my elevation using my GPS and I was much lower on the mountain than where my maps said the trail should be. Obviously a newer trail that perhaps linked over to the trail I wanted. I thought I could try to follow this loop trail on my return if I didn't find another path.
Shortly afterwards the trail began making some switchbacks and it appeared I was approaching the top, or at least the ridge where I'd pick up the auto road. Just then an obvious side trail appeared, marked with snowmobile tags. A handwritten name on one marker said it was the Superhighway, though it didn't look like it was used much. The direction fit with the side trail I wanted but again the elevation was all wrong. Too high on the mountain this time. Another possibility for an exploratory hike on the return trip.
Soon after this junction the trail emerged onto the auto road, when I encountered the first deep snow of the day as I waded through some small drifts to get out onto the roadway. Snowmobiles had packed this route as well and I decided to follow the road versus plowing into the snow in the woods to follow the foot trail. I only went a short ways though before arriving at an intersection where the Notch Road came in from the north. A small parking area to the side had signs for the Gould Trail & Shelter and I walked over to investigate. There wasn't much info on the signs there, but I did manage to spot a trail and some snowshoe tracks heading down into the woods. This had to be the trail I wanted, though it didn't jibe at all with my maps. I hoped I'd find a better trail map at the top to confirm my assumption.
At this point I had a choice. I could continue along the road, following a long loop to the east, north and west of the summit, or I could follow the Appalachian Trail into the woods on a beeline route. I chose the later. The snow was significantly deeper than at the base - over a foot, using my hiking poles as a guage - but previous hikers had packed down the trail and I only had to make my way thorough six inches or so of new snow. The bigger problem was the snow on the branches overhead. The snow base pushed me up into the trees, where the warm temps had resulted in large clumps of soggy snow bombs just waiting to drop on my head. I used my poles to knock them down as I went along but I still got nailed by a few of them.
Just as the "beeline" route seemed to be taking much longer than expected, and right after I noted that I only had 10 minutes to go if I wanted to summit by noon, the trail emerged from the woods and rejoined the road. A few steps later and I was passing Bascomb Lodge and staring up at the Memorial Monument. I made my way across the windy summit lawn to the monument, noting a lone snowmobiler who roared up at the same time as I, then departed just as quickly. After having the mountain to myself all day, I finally meet up with someone at the top! I checked out the summit signage, hoping for a trail map but finding none, took a quick look at the view to the east, then went to the monument to find a wind-sheltered spot for lunch. A fleece jacket came out of the pack along with some hot coffee and the food. It was fairly windy and somewhat chilly, but not too bad. The sun helped a bit. The sun and wind also caused huge hunks of snow and ice to loosen their grip on top of the War Memorial and every so often one would come crashing down behind me as I ate. A bit disconcerting.
I made quick work of lunch, called my parents on my cell phone, took a few pictures and then began my descent. I actually made it all the way back to the woods before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the Memorial, so I backtracked, got the shot, then headed back down for good. I'd considered taking the road down but decided to just follow the AT again. It was much easier going downhill and I was back to the road intersection in just a few minutes. Now it was decision time. I could just follow my footsteps back down, maybe checking out the various side trails I'd seen, or I could take a detour to explore the Gould trail. I had no idea how far down the shelter would be and the trail wasn't very well indicated (old snowshow marks and some faint blue tree blazes). Still, the day was young and this was why I'd come up here, so what the heck! I set off down into the woods.
Thankfully this was all downhill. The snowmobiles did not come this way and there was a good amount of snow (6-8 inches) to walk through, so coming up through this would have been a pain. Going down however was a pleasant semi-slide of a journey. The only problem I had was the trail kept disappearing. The tree blazes were either very faded or non-existent, leaving only the faint marks of an old snowshoe passage to guide my way. Convinced I'd lost the route at one point, I backtracked and explored what looked like another way but then decided the original route was the correct one. This didn't last too long fortunately, and the trail became more obvious as it descended. In fact, I now had enough confidence in the path that I decided I'd just follow the Gould path all the way down. At worst, I'd emerge on the road at the lower pull-off and would have to walk up to the car on the road. Ideally I'd find the side trail linking up to the Cheshire Harbor trail and would finish my walk back at my original trailhead. Either way, I'd get a loop walk out of it.
Clumping along quite happily now I spotted snowmobile markers on some trees (little bits of reflective tape) and thought I must have found the other end of the Superhighway, but try as I might, I was unable to see where the route went up into the woods. Oh well. A few minutes later I came to a trail sign saying I was at the shelter. A few hundred yards of side trail quickly brought me to the lean-to. It was great. In excellent condition, clean and solid, perched on the edge of a ravine with a waterfall to one side and an expansive view to the east in the other direction. It probably got great sunrises. It didn't look especially used either, at least not in the winter. In the surrounding woods, open spots could accommodate overflow tenting. Definitely worth a return visit for an overnight.
I lingered awhile to enjoy the spot, then returned to the trail and continued my walk out. As the snow depth dropped, the trail occasionally became a muddy stream bed instead of a path but for the most part the walking was fast and easy. One large blow-down forced a short detour around the fallen tree, but otherwise the trail was clear. All along the way I kept looking for the link to the Cheshire trail, but I never saw it and the Gould trail abruptly ended at a snowmobile trail intersection. A sign indicated the Gould trailhead was directly ahead and I started that way at first, then decided to follow the snowmobile trail parallel to the road, figuring I'd stay in the woods a bit longer. At the same intersection another trail departed back up the slope and I suspected that might be my link. There was no sign saying where it went though and I'd had enough climbing so I just stayed on the trail I was on. After a few hundred yards it emerged at the road. I took a few minutes to get a picture of the summit from the road, but otherwise it was just a steady plod on the pavement back to the car, where I arrived around 2:20. A man with 3 large dogs came back from a walk about the same time and another man was nearby working on a snowmobile. He was joined by another man just before I left and the two of them spewed out a long string of curses about the balky machine.
I spent a few minutes in my car trying to find a route home. I thought I might follow some unexplored back roads, and maybe even get in some fishing, but finally decided to head north and take Route 2 back home. It's a pretty ride and would give me a loop drive of the state to match my loop hike. I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to listen to the 9/11 hearings and enjoying the scenic route home.
More pictures
