Mont Greylock is the highest mountain in Massachusetts, at almost 3500 feet high. It is in North Adams, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, only about 30 miles from Albany NY, where I was staying.
Despite having been born and raised in Massachusetts, and having been able to see Greylock from my brother's house, 50 miles to the east (before trees grew up and blocked the view), I had never been there. It has long been on my "to do" list.
The weather was not particularly cooperative, I had the choice of Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and rain was possible on either Wednesday or Thursday, so Tuesday it was, despite the forecast being clouds and very hazy, not good weather for views from the top of a mountain.
Conveniently for me, there is a road all the way to the top (actually there are two different roads), originally paved by the WPA in the 1930's. It isn't a difficult ride up the mountain, and the road ends at a parking lot directly adjacent to the summit.
There is a tower at the top, a 93 foot tall circular stairway will take you to the lookout. I skipped this; with COVID prevalent, crowding inside an unventilated tower did not seem wise, and the weather wasn't good for distant views anyway. I stayed on the ground.
The Appalachian Trail is an almost 2200 mile long foot trail running from Georgia to Maine. It is the longest trail in the eastern United States and crosses the peaks of a number of mountains, including Mount Greylock. As you can see from my photographs, I can now say I hiked the Appalachian Trail, well, about 200 feet of it! I did see a number of hikers who were doing the whole trail, some going north, some south. Two hikers I spoke to had started in Georgia around Easter, they hoped to get to the end in Maine before Thanksgiving! What a way to spend most of a year.
As I had predicted, it wasn't a great day for mountain-top views, very hazy with occasional low clouds covering the mountaintop with fog. But, I'm glad to have been to the second of the "high places" on this trip's agenda. I may well attempt a return visit sometime.
Despite having been born and raised in Massachusetts, and having been able to see Greylock from my brother's house, 50 miles to the east (before trees grew up and blocked the view), I had never been there. It has long been on my "to do" list.
The weather was not particularly cooperative, I had the choice of Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and rain was possible on either Wednesday or Thursday, so Tuesday it was, despite the forecast being clouds and very hazy, not good weather for views from the top of a mountain.
Conveniently for me, there is a road all the way to the top (actually there are two different roads), originally paved by the WPA in the 1930's. It isn't a difficult ride up the mountain, and the road ends at a parking lot directly adjacent to the summit.
There is a tower at the top, a 93 foot tall circular stairway will take you to the lookout. I skipped this; with COVID prevalent, crowding inside an unventilated tower did not seem wise, and the weather wasn't good for distant views anyway. I stayed on the ground.
The Appalachian Trail is an almost 2200 mile long foot trail running from Georgia to Maine. It is the longest trail in the eastern United States and crosses the peaks of a number of mountains, including Mount Greylock. As you can see from my photographs, I can now say I hiked the Appalachian Trail, well, about 200 feet of it! I did see a number of hikers who were doing the whole trail, some going north, some south. Two hikers I spoke to had started in Georgia around Easter, they hoped to get to the end in Maine before Thanksgiving! What a way to spend most of a year.
As I had predicted, it wasn't a great day for mountain-top views, very hazy with occasional low clouds covering the mountaintop with fog. But, I'm glad to have been to the second of the "high places" on this trip's agenda. I may well attempt a return visit sometime.
2021 Holiday Letter Pictures
284 hits
2021 Holiday Letter Pictures
257 hits
2021 Holiday Letter Pictures
251 hits
2021 Holiday Letter Pictures
235 hits
2021 Holiday Letter Pictures
264 hits
Mt. Greylock, North Adams, MA
180 hits
Mt. Greylock, North Adams, MA
202 hits
Mt. Greylock, North Adams, MA
170 hits