Sunday, November 26, 2006

Berry nice

After Turkey day, I had to get out and do a hike to burn off those extra calories (too much stuffing!). Howie and I drove just over the NY border into MA.
We started at a parking area on Route 20 and hiked north on the Taconic Crest Trail (TCT) ... all the way to Berry Pond campground. It was a nice ridge walk that was marred only by the occasional sounds of ATVs on nearby trails/roads (unfortunately they are legal here in the Pittsfield State forest, but at least there were none on the trail I was on). We saw only a few other hikers and one pooch today. Given that I hiked over 5 hours, I figured that I burned around 2400 calories.

Round-trip Distance: 12.0 mi


View from overlook


Berry Pond

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Gray day

Howie and I did a hike today near Williamstown (a small college town in Massachusetts). Deer hunting started this weekend in NY, but we were safe from Elmer Fuds as there is no hiking on Sunday in MA (some out-dated blue law).

We started out on the "Pine Cobble" trail that lead us to ... surprise! ... Pine Cobble - a rocky outcrop with a view of the village below and the surrounding hills. We continued on to Eph's lookout and the Appalachian trail (AT) which we took North to the Vermont border. Turned around and took the "Class of 98" trail back to the Pine Cobble trail and then returned to the parking area.

We saw quite a few hikers and two back-packers out on this gray, overcast day.

Round-trip Distance: 6.0 mi
Elevation Change: 1700 ft















View from Pine Cobble














"Turn back now!!!!"

Friday, November 10, 2006

What are the chances

What are the chances of seeing other hikers on a mountain with no trail and on a weekday? Pretty good I guess ... since that is what happened today.
I took a day off from work on this sunny day to climb North Dome in the Catskills. Howie and I started off on the Devils Path trail. After about a mile, we headed off the trail and up toward the peak. Not far from the top Howie and I met up with the group of three that had the same destination this day. They were surprised to see us (likewise). I passed them and went on to the top of the peak. I signed the log book in the canister. The group caught up to me again later as I was wandering around the summit trying to find the view point. I followed them a little ways until we reached the rock ledge with a 180 degree view. Stopped for a quick lunch and then said goodbye to the group and headed back down to the car.

Summit Elevation: North Dome 3610 ft
Round-trip Distance: 4.5 mi
Elevation Change: 1830 ft












View













Howie and I

Saturday, November 04, 2006

The white stuff is back

Howie and I did a hike in Southern vermont. We climbed Bald mountain near Bennington. As we went up, the amount of snow went from nothing ... to just a dusting ... to about an inch near the top. I was a little surprised by the amount of snow on this rather low mountain.

The summit is no longer bald (caused by forest fires in the previous century), but is covered with evergreen trees. We didn't see any other hikers except for one couple as we were headed back to the car.

Summit Elevation: Bald 2857 ft
Round-trip Distance: 7.2 mi
Elevation Change: 2160 ft












Intersection just shy of the summit













View from White Rocks