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Massachusetts's Counties
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The previous day I had visited all of Rhode Island's five counties and six of eight of Connecticut's counties. I visited one more down in Connecticut this morning, then passed into Massachusetts. On the docket was the state highpoint at Mount Greylock and a nearby county highpoint in Hampden County. On we go...
It was about 10 a.m. when I actually entered Massachusetts from the MA/CT line, and Mount Greylock sits fairly high up in the northwest bit of the state, so I had about 50 miles of driving along curvy country roads to negotiate. None of it was problematic other than traffic in and around the city of Pittsfield. The signage could be better, too, especially in downtown Pittsfield, where I found myself on the wrong road more than once. But I made it through the city and headed north via US-7 to North Adams. From North Adams I took Notch Road as it curved up Mount Greylock all the way to the summit. So, there was no hiking involved (there are some parking areas along the road where one could park and hike a trail to the top, if one so desired, as I didn't due to time). The summit is topped by a huge stone lookout tower honoring Massachusetts' war victims, and it is a huge tourist destination. On this day there was easily over 100 people milling out and about. There is also a gift shop and snack bar. A number of bicyclists had rode up, as well as numerous motorcyclists. I'm surprised no one landed in an ultralight! The day was a bit hazy and although the views directly below were pretty nice, the views farther away were occluded by the haze. I spent about a half-hour here, then took the south road out back to Pittsfield and toward Chester, along US-20, and the Hampden County highpoint.
Second visit (August 8, 2006): Beth and I were in the area, having visited some highpoints up in Vermont and heading south into New York toward West Point. We stayed in Bennington, Vermont, which is just about 30 minutes north of Greylock. The day started cool and foggy with a stiff breeze. The fog lifted but the weather was still pretty blustery. We drove up the road from North Adams to the top. Our visit was short - Beth was feeling ill, but we did walk up to the monument and I spent some time snapping photos. We exited by going south back to US-7 and then on down into Connecticut and New York. This was Beth's sixth state highpoint.
It was about noon when I arrived at Round Top. This was definitely backwoods Massachusetts, although Chester was a nice little town. A few dirt roads and I was at the base of Round Top. I began my hike up by following a rudimentary trail marked by white blazes on the trees. In places the trail was nonexistent but the blazed route helped considerably. And it was steep! My map seemed to indicate that it was about 100 feet of gain but then I realized I had one of those confounded metric topos, and it was actually more like 300 feet of gain. It was short, steep, and quick, and I was at the summit in about 20 minutes, a grassy top with rocks and trees. After staying a bit, I headed back down, following the same blazed route that I followed up. About 100 feet from my car on the hillside where there wasn't much of a trail, I slipped on a loose rock, and slid about 6 feet down in the heavy black mud. My pants and boots were caked in mud! Back to my car, I changed into some cleaner duds and hit the road.
This would be it for my highpointing journey for this trip. I hadn't planned on any other Massachusetts highpoints so I just decided to get on the Massachusetts Turnpike and zip the 70 or so miles toward Worcester, then up to Manchester, New Hampshire. I had hoped that I'd have time for some New Hampshire highpoints but it was about 5 p.m. when I arrived in Manchester, the weather wasn't so great (heavy rain later that night), and I didn't have the jones to do more driving or hiking. I was perfectly content to get a hotel, get a nice dinner, and watch television. My flight left very early the next day.
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(c) 2000 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience. |