Mount Greylock – Massachusetts’ Finest
This weekend we had a few firsts. We backpacked in Massachusetts. We summitted Mount Greylock. We hiked in the heaviest rain we’ve ever seen together. What’s odd, but also comforting, is that although it was unfamiliar, it wasn’t scary.
As I mentioned, we had a tough first hike in Maine on Memorial Day Weekend. We followed it up with a hike on familiar territory, taking a trip to Stratton Pond on the Long Trail. For me, being back on the trail in Vermont felt like being a college kid visiting your old high school. I felt a bit like a big shot. The severe difference in how I felt hiking on new terrain in Maine vs on familiar trails in Vermont made me nervous to venture into the unknown in Western Massachusetts this weekend.
(A tangential note: even before I knew anything about the Massachusetts stretch of the Appalachian Trail or Mount Greylock, I always felt protective of them. Being a native of the state, I couldn’t help but boldly defend our hills and highest summit. Boastful is our default here.)
We had a rough morning on our way to Cheshire, including a scare with the car and discovery of a parking ticket I’d gotten the night before – oops. Add in some formidable rain clouds following us on the highway, and thunder claps we heard as we marched out of the tough-to-find parking lot… and you can imagine the mood I was in when we started.
But we were prepared this time. It was raining hard, but I had my new Outdoor Research raincoat. Mike lined the bottom of his pack with a trash bag, ensuring his sleeping bag stayed dry. My shoes held up and fit well. We had backup plans in case weather conditions made it unsafe for us to summit. Realizing our preparedness was exciting.
Going into the woods is still an adventure, but anxious fear has been replaced with confident curiosity. It’s no longer “fear of the unknown” and what may happen, but excitement at what new terrain we’re going to see. This weekend, I realized the competence and capability that’s come from a year’s worth of experience. I’m still humble as hell but have a little more faith in our abilities.
It rained hard all morning, but it was a good hike. We took lunch at Mark Noepel Shelter around 1:30 and were lucky enough to catch the caretaker. We asked him for advice about the various trails and if the summit would be safe given the weather conditions. His response? “It’s all wooded! Yeah, you can keep going. Don’t know why you would though. I’m about to crawl into my sleeping bag with my book.”
We pressed on and it wasn’t long before the rain stopped. Most of the trail to the summit followed a wooded ridge line. Within the last mile, though, we crossed the Greylock auto road three times, each point marked with a sign noting the little distance we’d covered since the previous sign. The summit was surrounded by so much fog we could barely make out the War Memorial Tower, despite it being a whopping 93-feet tall. I popped into the Bascom Lodge while we up there, which has an atmosphere that’s more suitable for the people who drove up the mountain than the ones who climbed up.
As usual, we didn’t stay on the summit too long before returning to the Mark Noepel Shelter. The shelter was an interesting build, three sided with four bunks and a loft in the roof. The caretaker explained it was called the “K-Wood style,” named for an AMC volunteer, Grandma K.
On Sunday we woke up early and set back for Cheshire. The weather was beautiful, allowing us to make good use of our new camera.
