Mt. Greylock - Massachusetts High Point

Where: Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts
Parking: Notch Road ( 42.669884,-73.167740)
Elevation at top: 3,489 ft
Mileage: 11 miles
Wildlife: Frogs, thru-hikers, mosquitos, tourists, chipmunks

And: Money Brook Falls
Mileage: 3 miles

This weekend, I tackled one of a series of state high points I will be doing, Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts. For this hike we started out at the trail head parking on Notch Road. From here we proceeded on the Appalachian trail southbound, passing through Mt. Williams and onto Mt. Greylock. We then did a loop on Overlook trail leading back to the summit of Mt. Greylock and headed back along the AT on the same path we took. In total, this was about 11 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Most of this gain, was again in the beginning of the hike, up to Mt. Williams. It's not hard to not get lost, as the AT goes directly to the summit, but maps are available at the trail head parking lot.

The summit is one of the ones you have the choice to drive up to. It kind of defeats the purpose and takes away from the feeling of accomplishment of hiking up to a grand summit when you choose that option. But it is a great option for those who are unable to hike and still want to have that chance to take in the beauty of a view from the top of a mountain. That said, the summit does not afford the peace and serenity you may be looking for when hiking, as it is much more accessible to everyone. It does offer lodging and a cafe/gift shop at the top. It reminded me very much of Mt. Mitchell, the high point in North Carolina. As you can also drive up there and the road to drive there has many spectacular viewpoints you may pull off to the side of the road to view.

Actual High Point

Mt. Williams is on the way up to the summit and also affords a nice view. This spot has an Appalachian trail book log you can sign into. Remember to bring a pen with you!

It was in the Mt. Williams area that 3 thru-hikers in a row passed by us. It looked to be 3 solo young-ish guys. I still have not seen a female thru-hiker. The third thru-hiker seemed to be a bit bewildered. We were resting at the summit of Mt. Williams and he comes blazing thru asking repeatedly and agitatedly "Where is the white blaze? Where is the white blaze???" pacing back and forth. For the most part the thru-hikers I've seen are friendly, but this one seemed to be on the trail too long. Interestingly, I passed him on the trail again the next day. He must have stayed at Wilbur's Clearing shelter. And he seemed to be a lot calmer. :)

Our group stayed at Birch Campground. It's a drive to the parking area and then just over a mile hike in to the site. This was the first time I got to test out my new backpacking gear before I do a real trip. I'll post my gear list, once I do my first backpacking trip.

The next day, I did a 3 mile out and back hike to Money Brook Falls. This trail also starts at the same parking area, but in the opposite direction. It starts on the AT north bound and then goes onto the Money Brook Falls trail. It's definitely worth a side trip if you're a waterfall lover. The Wilbur's Clearing AT campsite offers ample room for thru-hiker's to camp out at for the night, with many platforms, a lean to, a camp fire and bear box.

Tent platform

Lean-To

One Section of Money Brook Falls

 

Scenic drive by

Along the drive, there were many chipmunks darting across the road! Be careful not to run them over. Just like the butterflies of the catskills. :)

Me

Music for this hike:

Yellow Ostrich - Up in the Mountains

Schunnemunk Mountain - NY

Where: Schunnemunk Mountain
Mileage: ? ~around 8-10 miles
Elevation gain: around 1800 ft
Time: 6 hours
Wildlife: rattlesnake! toad, lots of insects, cicadas


We made an attempt at Schunnemunk Mountain this weekend. The beginning is quite a climb and after that it levels off among open ridge lines of rocks, rocks and more rocks! Be prepared for the sun in the summertime. I would not attempt this hike as an absolute beginner, as the climb can be considered steep. The majority of the elevation gain is in the first 1.5 miles. The yellow trail has a short side trail (white) that will lead you to the Megaliths, which is the focal point and main goal of this hike. Make sure not to miss this. A fun activity I learned this hike, is the popularity of geocaching. This is a type of treasure hunting game you can use on almost any trail hiking. We tried to look for the box around the Megalith area, but we couldn't find it unfortunately. A geocaching app can be downloaded on to your phone.

This hike was also with a group, but a fellow hiker and I got a bit off track and paved our own route, so mileage is an estimate.
What we did was:
Starting Point: Otterkill Road
Trestle (White)->Long Path(aqua, but recently repainted as orange) ->Barton Swamp (orange)->Western Ridge(Blue)-> Jessup(yellow)-> Otterkill Trail (Red)

Original Plan was:
Trestle (White)->Long Path(aqua, but recently repainted as orange) -> Jessup(yellow)-> Sweet Clover trail (White)-> Otterkill Trail (Red)

Needless to say, we strayed and if not for the good chance of running into hikers with maps who were friendly enough to share, the hike could've been a wash. But we powered through and rerouted with successful navigation.

Along the route I encountered my first rattle snake. The first indication to identify it was the unmistakable rattling hiss it let out as we hiked by. It let out a fair warning. The cicadas were also out in full force. Many times they flew right into us!

Rattlesnake...look closely

Top of the rock elev. 1664

Mountain Laurel

The Megaliths

Neat Teepee

Links:

map

trails

Flashback Friday Doube Take - October 2011 - Franconia Ridge, NH

Where: Franconia Ridge, NH
Mileage: 8.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,900 ft
Peaks: Mount Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack
Time: 6.5 hours
Views: Awe Inspiring, 10 out of 10
Wildlife: Didn't see much. Lots of people though.

This is an incredible hike in terms of views. When you reach the top and get to the ridgeline, it is an incredible feeling looking out around you. The climb to the top can be quite strenuous as it is a constant uphill climb. You'll want to make sure you train with plenty of day hikes before attempting this one and allocate plenty of extra time to hang out at the top and soak up the views. The top is also very windy so bring a jacket.

Link:

Hike Info

Flashback Friday - May 2012 - Robert Moses Lighthouse, Babylon, NY

I decided it would be a nice idea to put up some past hikes/walks I've done once a week. Today I will post about Robert Moses Lighthouse located as part of Fire Island.

This is one of my favorite places to walk on Long Island. It has a short walk on a boardwalk among the sand dunes that leads to the Lighthouse. You may then also climb the stairs to the top and get a better view of the ocean on a clear day.

If you keep walking past the lighthouse, you will come to the small village of Kismet, which has little beach houses you can rent and sidewalks that lead to the sandy beaches. You may rent bikes here to travel farther to the next town.

Wildlife: You are almost guaranteed to see deer along the boardwalk.
Views: Ocean beach

Unfortunately, due to Hurricane Sandy, the boardwalk is not currently open. Thus I thought this was deserving of a flashback. It's important to appreciate what is there when you get the chance, as you don't know when you won't have it anymore.

Dunes

Cute Pair

Head in the Clouds

Link:

Lighthouse

AT Section Hike - NY

Location:  Appalachian Trail - NY
Mileage: 15 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,500ft
Time: 7.5 hours

This hike was done with a hiking group so no DSLR photography was done so as to keep up with pace. I will post some pictures taken with my phone though.

We started out at Bear Mountain Bridge with a slight uphill climb right in the beginning. We tacked on an extra mile to check out the view at nearby Anthony's nose. It's definitely worth the extra time to check out. I found the terrain was pretty steady with a few up and down hill climbs, but a good amount of steady level hiking. There was only one viewpoint, a small outcropping to the side, along the AT on the second half of the hike. About 6 miles in we stopped at the Appalachian gas station/Deli. It offers many lunch options and other supplies for AT thru-hikers to refuel on. We finished at the trailhead parking lot on Dennytown Road.

Of course, how can on go on the Appalachian trail and not run into a thru-hiker or two? When we finished up at Dennytown, two AT thru-hikers came out shortly after us, completing 25 miles for their day. The two young lads had been on the trails for about 3 months and were going on all the way to Maine. They would be camping out at that parking area for the night. What is nice about that parking area, is that they have a free water source running which is pretty convenient.

Wildlife:
Lots and lots of cicadas!! Their buzzing throughout certain areas of the hike was quite high!
We saw 3 snakes, one of which was quite large.
A frog.
A bear print?

Anthony's Nose

Bear print?

Our Route (provided by our hike leader)