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[at-l] Pittsburgh in New England #1...



Day One - Notch Road (north of Mount Greylock) southbound to Cheshire MA
post office - 11.4 miles...

Weather - hot and humid in the morning - mild thunderstorm from about 1pm to
3pm - stayed cool after that...

Left motel at 7:45am and drove both vehicles to Cheshire.  Asked at PO where
to park - told to go up the road to Community Center.  Left one vehicle
there.  Drove second vehicle to Notch Road.  Started hiking at 9:00am...

*** FLASH *** --> water is not a problem - it apparently has been very wet
of late...

Most of the trail throughout the hike is rocks, roots and mud.  Footing was
at times treacherous.  I took one spill - was on the ground before I knew I
was falling - no damage.  Bugs were manageable while we moved - swarming
when we were stationary...

The beginning of the hike is a moderate - sometimes steep - climb to Mount
Williams.  There is evidence of some recent (within a couple of years)
relos, adding switchbacks - much appreciated.  Trail could use more
waterbars and puncheons.  The trail ascends gently for a couple of miles on
it's way to the Mount Greylock summit.  The last 0.5 mile is steep and
unattractive.  Bascom Lodge, an odd shaped monument, a cell tower, a large
parking lot, and many tourists adorn the top of Mount Greylock.  We stopped
in the snack shop at Bascom Lodge and ate lunch.  We were there from 11:15
to about noon.  Fully refreshed, we hiked on...

Distant thunder moved closer and closer as we hiked on.  The trail descends
gently, with some irritating little ascents here and there.  The rain
finally arrived - never heavy, but steady and chilly.  We passed by the Mark
Noepel shelter as the rains fell.  We had to watch our footing during the
rain.  The rains slowly dissipated, and the sun finally broke through anew.
The trail increased it's descent as we got closer to Cheshire.  We walked
along a sidehill section of the trail for a piece - my favorite type of
terrain.  It offers some wonderful views to the right, with a dash of daring
thrown in - one false step and you're a rag doll flopping down the side of a
mountain...

As the trail leveled out near powerlines, we stopped to relax and munch some
snacks.  We had stopped once or twice before, but the skeeters got us
quickly moving again.  Other than our time a Greylock, this was our only
stop of any length.  After the powerlines, the trail goes in and out of the
canopy - skirting fallow fields, passing homesteads, and passing through cow
pastures.  There was one conventional "ladder" type stile at Outlook Avenue,
and then a type of stile that I had never seen a bit further along the
trail.  It apparently was built by a dog lover - it is open at ground level
for your pet to pass through.  I'd explain it better, but my words would not
paint the proper picture (I took a photo)...

We ended our hike at 4:30pm at the post office in Cheshire, right across the
street from the Cheshire Cheese Monument.  I took 23 photos that will hit
the webpage in a few days.  After driving to Notch Road to collect the
second vehicle, we headed back to the motel and cleaned up a bit.  We then
had a wonderful dinner at a local establishment in celebration of the day...

pittsburgh

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