Trip report
Mt. Greylock Loop Hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 04/21/2012 - 04/21/2012
Trip/Event Location: Adams, MA
US
Trip Leader(s): shep5
Max # People: 12
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Join me for this 6.5 - 7.0 mile loop hike to the summit of Mt. Greylock. This is Massachusetts' highest point at 3491 feet. Rising above the surrounding Berkshire landscape, dramatic views
...In Adams...just south of the intersection of Rts 8 (Commercial St) and 116 (Center St), turn west onto River Street. As the road crosses the river, this road will become Harmony Street and shortly thereafter will fork to the left as Fisk Street. Turn right onto West Road and very quickly turn left onto West Mountain Road. The Gould trailhead parking will be approximately 0.9 miles up this road. If you pass greenhouses, then you've gone too far. Look for a grey Hyundai Elantra. There is no fee for parking.
Trip Report/Photos
On Saturday, April 21st, five of us (Rich, Tom, Gil, Rick and myself) met up for the loop hike around Mt. Greylock (3491'). It was somewhat warm (50's) with overcast skies. There was a view of the summit from the parking area, but it was covered in clouds. After waiting for about 15 minutes we headed out at about 9:45AM.
The Bellows Pipe Trail meandered through the woods on its way to Gould Road Trailhead. The trail was blazed; however, there are many unmarked trails which cross it (making it somewhat confusing). We continued along the Bellows Pipe Trail as it started to climb in elevation along Peck's Brook North. At about 10:30 we reached the falls, which drops through a narrow ravine. From here we proceeded and soon reached the lean-to. From this point the trail became slightly more steep as it headed up to the ridge. The trail was decent and it gained its elevation through a series of switch-backs. Once on the ridge the clouds started to break up with periods of sun and we could intermittently see the summittop tower. We reached the road by noon and continued along the trail for a short distance to the old ski area warming hut. From here it was another short distance to the war memorial, which is prominent on the summit. We headed over to an open ledge-type area and enjoyed our lunch with an open view of Adams below. It was now mostly sunny and had warmed into the 60's with very little wind. After about a half-hour we walked over to explore the Bascom Lodge (another Conservation Corp structure around the summit) and began looking for the Gould Trail. The park trail map was a bit confusing, but we were finally directed to take the AT off the summit to where the Gould Trail veered off of a lower parking lot.
The Gould Trail desended off of the mountain at a modest grade along Peck's Brook South. The brook was pretty dry and we did not go exploring for the other falls on this side (in the vicinity of the Peck's Brook Shelter). We just continued back to the parking area, where we arrived by just after 3PM. From the parking area there was now a very nice view of the summit, since it had turned into the picture perfect day by this time. To cap off the day, most of us (Tom had a date that night) headed into Adams and had a early light dinner at C.J.'s Sports Pub.
Despite the ominous weather forecast, it turned out to be a wonderful day with a great group of guys. Thank you all for joining me on this hike...it was a fun day out. I'm looking forward to seeing you all on another activity soon!
Note: Tom (vtrunnr) from Brattleboro apparently did the hike, but never ran into us. He was late and never ran into us on the trail or summit.
There are 37 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
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