Mount Greylock - On the Roof of Massachusetts

[Graeme D]

This is a day walk from our recent holiday in New England. We had spent four days in New York City before catching the train up to Hartford in Connecticut, where we hired a car (well, more like a tank actually) and then headed north west to the Berkshire Hills in north western Massachusetts where we were spending two nights in the cool little college town of Williamstown, perched on the border with Vermont.

When we had initially planned this holiday I had really fancied heading further north east into the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine but with Debbie then becoming pregnant and being almost 5 months gone, we decided we'd better lower our sights and stay a bit further south. At least the famous New England Fall colours would be likely to be more vivid in the southern states.

On the Saturday we decided to climb Mount Greylock, the highest peak in the Berkshires and the highest point in the state of Massachusetts. OK, if the soaring peaks of the Rockies or even parts of the Appalachians are the Empire State Buildings of US mountains, then Greylock is a mere 15 storey building, but hey ho, from the summit the views were said to be stunning, stretching south and east across western Massachusetts and beyond into Connecticut, west into New York state, and north well into Vermont and New Hampshire. Sadly, it didn't look like we were going to see these views at their best though, waking up to a slightly grey and drizzly morning.

A half hour drive from our hotel took us to the parking area a couple of kilometres up the service road at the foot of the Bernard Farm trail, one of a number of trails which snake up all sides of the mountain.

Car park at the start of the Bernard Farm Trail

Into the woods - no midges, but there might be bears!

Road crossing

Playing chicken - at least it's not the Interstate

Pausing to admire the foliage

Colourful carpet

The Bernard Farm trail leads eventually onto the Appalachian trail, which itself crosses the summit of Mount Greylock as it winds it's way along the spine of the Applachian Mountains, from near Atlanta in Georgia to close to the Canadian border in Maine. One day I might just get around to tackling all 2,100 miles of it, but today I'd have to settle for a few miles along the summit ridge of the Mount Williams/Mount Greylock massif.

We had the trail almost entirely to ourselves until we reached the AT, where we encountered quite a few other walkers. I wonder how many were just out for a day walk like us, how many were taking on the daunting task of through hiking the whole thing?

Reaching the Appalachian Trail

On the AT

The leaves begin to thin out

The trees eventually thin out too

Just below the summit, to the side of the large car park, we reach a substantial stone building which is signposted as the Thunderbolt Shelter. It looks like a good dry place to have lunch. Inside it is extremely spacious with a large central four sided carousel style fireplace arrangement. A bit different to the likes of Culra Bothy and the Tarf Hotel!

Thunderbolt Shelter

Lunch inside the "bothy"

Wise words near the summit

More mountain poetry

The summit of Mount Greylock is crowned by a huge tower with a (no longer functioning) light housing at the top. This is the Massachusetts war memorial and a spiral metal staircase leads up into the old light housing at the top, where plaques on the wall tell us what we would have been able to see had the place not been totally clagged in. I dunno! You come all this way to Massachusetts and you get clag!

View indicator North

East

West

South

Greylock information plaque

Summit war memorial tower with Debbie in foreground

Aircraft wreckage encountered on way back down

The following day (Sunday morning) was a lovely sunny day so before heading for the Litchfield Hills in Connecticut we took the drive back up to the summit to see the views our efforts should have rewarded us with yesterday. Although the tower was closed, the summit was really quite busy this morning with both people who had clearly, like us, had driven up and others who were carrying large packs and obviously on a bit more than a mere day hike.

Appalachian Trail info plaque - must have missed this yesterday in the clag!

A better look at the tower

Debs enjoys the sun and the views for a change

Memorial inscription

[Merry-walker]

OMG

you could've invited me

cool walk... always fancied here...

[Graeme D]

sorry Merry! I'll remember next time!

[gammy leg walker]

Nice autumn colours in your pictures Graeme,typical Americans,everything has always to be bigger.Reminds me of a wee story I heard about 2 American tourists visiting Stirling Castle a few years ago,one of them turned to a soldier on guard duty and said you call this a castle,in America we have chip shops bigger than this,to which the soldier pointed to the Wallace Monument and said but have you got a vinegar bottle that size.(sorry stretch)

[Stretch]

Nice autumn colours in your pictures Graeme,typical Americans,everything has always to be bigger.Reminds me of a wee story I heard about 2 American tourists visiting Stirling Castle a few years ago,one of them turned to a soldier on guard duty and said you call this a castle,in America we have chip shops bigger than this,to which the soldier pointed to the Wallace Monument and said but have you got a vinegar bottle that size.(sorry stretch)

Didn't see this the other day, but I'm laughing now, thanks Gammy.

Graeme, that's nae tank, that's a small car in the states. When I get in cars here I have to fold in half. Great pics of fall up north, now it's time to come down south and visit the Tennessee section of the AT in the Smokeys!

[HighlandSC]

Nice report Graeme. Love the Fall colours

2 weeks before you Michelle and I drove N from DC to Niagara - the colours were just starting to appear then

[Michelle]

You picked the best time of the year for it Graeme- the colors are superb!

[JB likes a beer]

hi graeme great report awesome photos and story to match well done

[robertian]

Smashing report and photos there graeme.
Remember to read Bill Bryson's '' A Walk in The Woods '' re his experience of partially completeing the Appallachian Trail.
Cheers
ian

[Graeme D]

Cheers folks!

Smashing report and photos there graeme.
Remember to read Bill Bryson's '' A Walk in The Woods '' re his experience of partially completeing the Appallachian Trail.
Cheers
ian

Read it many years ago and tried to look it out again the other day for a repeat read, but cannae find it. Reckon it must have gone to a jumble sale at some point!

[monty]

Great report Graeme,
That must be a bothy, American style Excellent autumn colours on the photos. So thatll be another munro bagged.