Vacation 2013: Western Massachusetts

Memorial on Mount Greylock

Well, that only took forever. I've just spent the last half hour trying to log in to the blog just so I can begin writing this post. I'll spare you the details but its now midnight, so I'll try to curtail this so I can get in bed soon.

Williams College is watching you

This day I primarily hiked at Mount Greylock State Park to reach the top of Massachusetts' highest peak. Generally when I do this, the resulting posts read along the lines of "and then the trail became composition soil, with lots of ferns and heavy canopy. I developed some traction problems...." Last one awake please set the alarm. I'll try to avoid that nonsense. As well as detailed descriptions of my calorie intake (lots of carbs for hiking fuel).

This day started out really nice, with sunny skies and crisp air, but by the time I made it to Mount Greylock, it had become gray (yes, I've been eager to write that since it happened). Then, I almost made it out of town before realizing I left two of my three bags back at the Inn. Good thing I wasn't all the way to Vermont. Route 7 up to the park is heavily wooded most of the way, though it runs through Pittsfield. That's a pretty obviously blue collar town where I stopped at the Burger King to eat...salad. Sound choice huh? Well I was running late and needed to get out there. So let me tell you, Texas' fats have nothing over the New England fats. They may not have Tex-Mex, but they sure find a way to carry around my entire body weight just above their belts. I see plenty more abandoned old factories and mills and think how this region must have prospered during those days. Those jobs all went to China and Korea and the Philippines and Vietnam and other such places. Family run companies, where management had personal ties to the region, resisted such moves. Ultimately though, shareholders looking for higher returns and profits overrode that loyalty. In all fairness, if they hadn't moved, they'd have gone bankrupt from other companies who did move undercutting their prices. So its really six of one, half dozen of the other. There's an old Sam Kinison line about famine afflicting people who live the in the desert: "MOVE TO WHERE THE FOOD IS!!!" Why have these people not moved to where the jobs are? Or, more practically, retrained themselves to do something else? Those factories closed a long time ago. Time to move on. I understand you don't want to leave family and friends behind, but these days, we live more and more in a nation, not a state or town or neighborhood. I'm guessing a lot of these people work at video stores (also dying), WalMart (I actually haven't seen many WalMarts on this trip), or rely on welfare. That's a recipe for regional death. Signed, Detroit.

You'd think if I were trying to shorten this I'd avoid the rants. Eh, it was on my mind.

So anyway, Mount Graylock. Highest peak in the state. By this time I'd lost the sunny day and it was threatening rain . You can hike the entire mountain, if you've got around five hours and monster quads to devote to the task. I had neither, so after the helpful information office lady pointed out a good trail, I was off to a parking lot at roughly the midpoint of the mountain. This park charged no admission fee, and I think that none of the state parks here charge admission. It also has a well maintained road that runs the entire length of the mountain to the summit, so once you arrive, you find a bunch of non-equals who really don't deserve to reach the top because they didn't earn it by climbing or hiking. Sure, I cheated, but all in all I was on the trail about three hours, and that counts.

OK, trail description. The first part is a dirt trail with some rocks here and there, but fairly root-covered. By that I mean tree roots were protruding from the trail, making it imperative to watch your step.  Birches and maples were thick through the surrounding woods. As usual, the temperature dropped the higher elevations I reached. It had already gone from about 68 to 62 on the drive up, and was getting colder all the time. About midway up, the trail joins the Appalachian Trail to reach the Summit. The trail also became rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Gollum-like, I resorted to scrambling over the rocks to reach the entry into Mordor. Err, the summit. My hands kept getting colder and colder. The lower section features a lot of small creeks and bridges. Two thirds of the way there's a small pond with an abandoned shack, resembling a scene in a Scooby Doo cartoon. I kept looking for a ghost. I briefly got off the trail (I misread the map for a bit) and hiked along the summit road. An antique car club was driving through the area, with lots of 1960s Corvettes and other classics. I was able to photograph a couple of them as they sped by. The summit provided incredible views of the communities and features below. Even with the cloud cover visibility was really good. The top also features some sort of hiker's lodge, with a small restaurant and bar. Several people were eating, while some others were checking in. The lodge appeared to support the Appalachian Trail segment.

At the top, I found the state's official World War I monument. It basically looks like a pawn on a chess board, with a light installation at the top. The inside features a graphic on the ceiling, a US seal on the floor and an inscription around the walls. The whole thing is deteriorating badly and the state should be embarrassed. From what I understand, that's true of monuments all over the country though. Very sad, but I suppose we need to spend tax money on more important things, like (insert countless examples here). I finally made it back down the mountain just as the rain started coming down.

One more thing? I saw another rabbit. That makes four. What's going on with that?

I still had some daylight and took a route that would lead me through Williamstown so I could see Williams College. An old colleague of mine and a very fine lawyer, Sey Zimmerman, attended Williams and spoke very passionately about his time there. I can see why now. It boasts a charming campus with a mix of styles. I also liked the town itself, with some rolling green hills and lots of well preserved older homes. Check the photo above; the college art museum featured a novel outdoor installation with what I assumed were lighted frog eyes appearing to emerge from underground.

As it rapidly reached darkness, I finally made it into Vermont and headed on to Bennington to spend the night. That's where we'll pick up tomorrow. Spoiler: Bennington isn't exactly your typical New England community. By a long shot.

NEXT-uh, Vermont. Like I just said.