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Berkshire • Hampden • Suffolk • Essex • Norfolk |
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Massachusetts's Counties
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Massachusetts has never been on my radar for hiking, mainly due to its distance from Arizona. I was here in 2000 to nab the state highpoint and one nearby county highpoint. I came back in 2006 with my wife for a revisit of the state highpoint. In 2010 I was in Boston for a conference. I had just enough time to get some of the easy ones not far out of Boston. As of 2010 I have five of the fifteen finished. I project a completion in about 2030. Check back then.
In July 2000 I flew east on the long Independence Day weekend to take advantage of an "open-date" to visit the Rhode Island state highpoint, which was restricted due to the recalcitrant landowners at the time who didn't much take a shine on visitors. I flew in to Manchester (NH) on a Friday, then spent all day Saturday driving throughout Rhode Island and Connecticut, visiting their various county and state highpoints. I spent Saturday night in Torrington (CT), bagged one more Connecticut county on the Sunday morning and then drove up into Massachusetts for a visit to its state highpoints at Mount Greylock. I didn't have big plans for Massachusetts; I added another county highpoint in Hampden County mainly for its logistical ease (close to the highway, on my way, etc). I needed to get back to Manchester for the flight out the next morning and didn't want to get caught up in Boston-area traffic. Anyway, Massachusetts...
First Visit, July 4, 2000: It was about 10 a.m. when I actually entered Massachusetts from Connecticut, 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 veterans, 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.
July 4, 2000: It was about noon when I arrived at Round Top, coming down and over from Greylock via Chester. This was definitely backwoods Massachusetts, although Chester was a nice little town. After following a few dirt roads, 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. I took a break in the open, but couldn't see much. This one was for the list, definitely. Coming down I slipped and got my pants caked in the thick brown mud of the hillsides. They were goners for the trip. I'd have to take them home like that in a plastic bag and hope they were salvageable. As for the trip, this was my last highpoint for the 2000 trip. I drove back to Manchester, New Hampshire, and lazed in a local hotel before flying home the following morning.
November 12, 2010: I was in Boston for a conference, mainly as an author of one of the new calculus books coming out in 2011. The conference was held at the Copley Marriott in downtown Boston, and my first day was filled from sun-up to sun-down with meetings, greetings, lunches, dinners, and a video-shoot (yes, you read right). My second day (today) was also busy, busy, busy, but not as bad as yesterday. I saw I had a couple hours between commitments, so I decided to go check out Bellevue Hill, the highpoint of Suffolk County and the city of Boston. I think the two entities are one and the same, however, I am not 100% sure of that. Suffice to say, Suffolk County is quite small in area and basically encompasses Boston. The highpoint is just a few miles southwest of downtown, in the community of Bellevue. To get there I got on the subway, the T as they call it in Boston, and rode the orange line to its south terminus at Forest Hills. My plan was to take a bus the two miles more to the Bellevue Hill area, but when I got on what I thought was the right bus, the driver said the bus "don't go there". Just to be safe I went ahead and spent $10 for a taxi to take me the remaining distance via Washington Street (a boulevard, more accurately). He dropped me off on a residential road and from there I walked the road, then entered the forested hill along a leaf-covered path. I walked up some stairs and onto a clearing where a big water tower sits. I walked the perimeter of the fence and surmised the highpoint to be on the south side, a small rise on the hill near a tree. It was all very pretty, all things considered. From there I exited and walked back onto Washington Street, and caught the bus as it drove back to the train depot. From there, I took the train back to downtown. The whole round trip, from hotel to highpoint and back, took less than two hours. It was that simple! I was amused I used four modes of transportation: foot, taxi, train and bus. I was back to my hotel by 1 p.m., where I took a quicky shower and made it back for some more presentations that afternoon. My walking portion covered about a mile, including the bits needed to get to and from the train. I had considered walking from the train to Bellevue Hill via Washington Street, but was not sure what kind of area I'd be walking through. It turns out the whole stretch is middle class, not great but not shabby either. It definitely was not gangsterville. I'd probably be okay with walking it in day. At night, I might give it a pass, but why do the highpoint at night?
November 13, 2010: Still in Boston at the conference. Today (Saturday) was not as busy and I had most of the afternoon open between meetings and other engagements. Prior to leaving I had contacted Roy Wallen, a pal from the county highpointers club. Roy lives in the area, but I had not seen him since 2002 in Texas. Roy was gracious enough to show me around a couple county highpoints, both "in the area" and close to Boston. I took the orange line north to its end at Oak Grove where Roy picked me up. First on the list was Holt Hill in Essex County, not far from the city of Lawrence. The weather was spectacular! We went north a small bit along Interstate-93 then followed some smaller feeder highways to a residential area. I couldn't really tell you where we were, but Roy obviously knew where he was going. We parked in a small lot near the park that includes Holt Hill. This is a small land preserve set amid some very nice homes. The park has a number of trails, some going direct to the top, others more meandering. Roy chose a nice one that swung south, then east, then north to the grassy hilltop. The one-way hike covered maybe 15 minutes in a combination of wooded paths, open grassy meadows, and some old access roads. The top is very broad, features a lookout tower, and at the summit itself, a set of stones laid out in the cardinal directions. There were lots of people about, oldsters out for a hike, and families with small kids. The Boston skyline was visible way to the south, probably 30 miles yonder. Even Roy commented what a clear day this was, that it was unusual. Temperatures were about 60, no breeze, and not a cloud anywhere. After about 15 minutes at the top we took a shorter, more direct path back to Roy's car. After about 40 minutes zipping along the beltway highways of the Boston 'burbs, we arrived at our next objective...
November 13, 2010: We exited the I-93 in the Dedham area, getting ourselves onto northbound highway 138. Great Blue Hill is pretty big for these parts, with a summit at over 630 feet, give or take a little. The hill was visible from the highway. It's the highest of a small "range" of hills, notable for its big even profile. We parked in the southern parking lot, south of the museum. Given the day's great conditions, the lots were jam-packed; we were lucky to find a spot. We started up some service roads near the small ski run, cutting northeastish to catch the main hiking trail, which we followed up and up. Much of the trail is over rocky outcrops, and in places there were puddles and mud from a recent storm. There were also many, many people. It was quite a scene. I was also mildly surprised at the moderate effort needed to make this summit! We hiked up at a good pace and soon came upon a stone observation tower named "Eliot", for an architect and conservationist who did a lot of "park architecture", including Bellevue Park. Anyway, we climbed up the stairs to the observation deck. I was able to catch a couple photos of the Boston skyline amid the chaotic jumble of people (and dogs). Must have been 20 people up in that little place! This is not the highest point, though. The highpoint is just a few more yards up a path to another building, this one a weather observation station. It has been re-done as a tourist draw with tours, or you can wander the area on your own. The views here were better toward the west. We had climbed about 400 vertical feet to gain this highpoint. Not bad for a hill so close to Boston. We spent a little while up here, then walked down the asphalt service road back to the north parking lot, then from there to Roy's car. Roy mentioned again that he'd never seen so many people here ever before. We were two-for-two today, and I was tickled because I didn't think we'd get this one due to time restrictions. From the parking lot Roy drove us up highway 138 into Boston, then along major boulevards into the downtown area, where he dropped me off at the hotel. Given all we had done today, it was still not yet 3 p.m., so I had some time to shower up and then go wander the Marriott with all the math people who were also wandering around. My sincerest thanks to Roy for being such a good tour guide and driver! I had a blast, and was happy to get the local county highpoints, and not take up a whole day to do them. They were surprisingly easy ... assuming you have a good driver who knows his way around town! The next day, I flew back to Arizona, but I was able to get in an urban hike along the Freedom Trail, which goes to many of the old buildings and points of interest in downtown Boston.
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(c) 2000, 2008, 2010 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. |