Holyoke hike help?

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Umsaskis

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I'm looking for some info on a hike in Massachusetts. I've spent all my time in the northern mountains and never hiked in MA, but in a few weeks I'm meeting up with a college friend to do something somewhere nice down there. I'm thinking of doing about a 10-mile section of the Metacomet-Monadnock trail in the Holyoke Range, spotting a car at each end. My friend is a pretty good hiker, but she's stuck in a lab for most of her life and desperately wants a day out. What is the best 10-mile stretch in the Holyoke area - looking for some views, hopefully not crossing too many roads. We'll be going on a weekday, so hopefully crowding won't be an issue. Thanks for any help out there!
 
Hi Umsaskis:

IMO, the best hike near Holyoke/Northampton is the M-M Trail/New England National Scenic Trail traverse of the Mt. Tom Range. You can spot a car near the Log Cabin at the south base of Mt. Tom, then cross Rt. 141 and take a herd path to the Telephone Line Trail, which is unmarked but easy to follow. I've done this hike several times and follow the telephone line to the Metacomet-Monadnock (M-M) trail crossing, after a steep, scrambly climb of maybe 300' vertical. The M-M is blazed white, and you take a left on it. It diverges into several herd paths. The funner ones, to my taste, are the ones which go furthest out on the cliffs, within reason. Keep ascending toward the radio and TV towers, which are at the summit, 1202', about 650 above your start and about 1050' above Easthampton. Follow the White Blazes north and rise and fall several times. If you follow the White Blazes to Mt. Nonotuck, the northern peak of the range, and then work your way back either by the road or side trails, it's about 9 miles. A nice day's hike with numerous great viewpoints, especially the 2 mile cliff walk, almost continuous, from Mt. Tom's summit to that of Whiting Peak.

IMO, this hike compares favorably with many in the Whites and higher Greens (the ones I've done so far). It's one I like to hit at least once a year and a great place for taking pics and taking in the views. There's a nice viewpoint about 0.3 north of Tom's summit, high up on rocky ledges, where you get a nice view between Deadtop (the next highest summit on the ridge to Tom) and Mt. Holyoke right across the Connecticut River. Between the two is UMass, and on a nice, clear day, right behind the ridge behind UMass is Mount Monadnock. Also, views to the West and North, between Mt. Tom and Whiting Peak (the third main peak of the range as you head north) pretty well continuously include Mt. Greylock and several VT peaks, including Mt. Haystack and Mt. Snow and, in places, Stratton. For so short a mountain, it has grand views - from Tom's summit and on the climb from the south, there are superb views along the Metacomet Ridgeline deep into Connecticut - downtown Hartford visible most days as well, Springfield certainly so.

Caution: keep in mind that copperheads do dwell in those hills - a guy was bitten by one, non-fatally so far as I know, last fall. There's a ton of foot traffic, though -it's probably the most popular hike in the Happy Valley - so the risk is probably minimized by that. Gaiters might be good attire. Also, there are some tricky, scrambly spots in places, both going up and down, but all passes are reasonably negotiable with proper care and attention.

PS: You can do one car if you like, or park in the state reservation. There are several options. Check out their website here: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/mtom.htm
 
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The Mt. Tom is indeed a very good hike, along the ridge top, a fair amount of sun, unless I guess you go in the AM as the rail meanders on the the top of the steeper western side for much of the way.

You can also do either all or half of the Holyoke Range. (Mt. Holyoke to the road past Norowttuck (spelling?)) More shade with good views from the Holyoke House, Bare Mt & Mt. Norowttuck plus horse caves.

Not sure I'd want to be on Tom in a T-storm or a Hot Humid sunny day, but other than that, it's the better hike.
 
The horse caves on Norwottuck are total fun... and if you are hiking on a hot day, they are the most welcome piece of shade you'll see all day.

Copperheads? Really? I didn't think poisonous snakes lived in New England.
 
The Holyoke Range is good hiking, too - I like Mt. Holyoke itself the most of them, and the Horse Caves of Norwottuck are beautiful, as Mike mentions. But with one hike to do, on a good day, I agree - Mt. Tom.

One convenient thing with a friend who doesn't hike as much - it's easy to cut the Mt. Tom hike into shorter loops. A challenging hike which gets the best views in, to my eyes, is to do Tom through Whiting, then catch Christopher Clark Road back to the Log Cabin. That might sound dreary, but the road is neat - you hike back at the base of the cliffs you just traversed and get views up the talus fields, through the trees, up to the ridgeline. Very pretty couple of miles. There's also a trail which runs parallel and below the road. Or if your legs are game for it, you can head back up the three peaks the way you came. There are numerous other loop options.
 
The horse caves on Norwottuck are total fun... and if you are hiking on a hot day, they are the most welcome piece of shade you'll see all day.

Copperheads? Really? I didn't think poisonous snakes lived in New England.

Copperheads live all up and down the Metacomet Ridge. Rattlesnakes are often seen in the Berkshires and Taconics of Mass and CT.

Mt. Tom copperhead bite: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/holyoke_police_snake-bite_vict.html

Pics of Rattlers in the Taconics of CT/MA/NY: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/sho...ook-Falls-MA&p=1488828&viewfull=1#post1488828
 
You can also do either all or half of the Holyoke Range. (Mt. Holyoke to the road past Norowttuck (spelling?)) More shade with good views from the Holyoke House, Bare Mt & Mt. Norowttuck plus horse caves.
I would use the advantage of 2 cars to do the linear trip over Mt. Holyoke past Norwottotuck, if you like the area Mt Tom is better suited to a loop later

Copperheads? Really? I didn't think poisonous snakes lived in New England.
As mentioned they are fairly common in rocky parts of CT and MA, there are even a few in VT and NH including a Nature Conservancy preserve
 
Thank you very much! That gives me a couple of options, and we can check the weather closer to the hike to see if one is better than another. Thanks for the copperhead warning, too. I hadn't considered that, being up north where we have no poisonous snakes. It would be fun to see a copperhead, albeit at a distance!
 
You're welcome! The two hikes neighbor each other across the CT River. Geologically, they're part of the same formation. Tom's cliffs are more pronounced, meaning better views, but also meaning more lightning risk. I'd say stay away from either hike with thunder and lightning nearby. Mt. Toby a bit north of Amherst in Sunderland also is good hiking. No great cliff-walk, but a bit higher than Tom and it has a fire tower up top, to boot. A big one.
 
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