masshysteria
Member
The final leg of my exploration of Lenox Mountain, this time the northern end. I started on West Mountain Rd. and hiked on Audubon property to the top of The Cobble. I descended the west side of that hill, and came into an overgrown field. Thick with barberry, Oriental bittersweet vines, blackberry bushes, and the dreaded wild roses. It was the hardest part of the day, getting through that.
The bushwack up the east side of Lenox Mountain was through open woods, with the occasional old woods road to follow. I gained the col between Yokun's Seat and Mahanna Cobble, known as The Damp, and headed north along the ridge. I soon hit the trail that follows the ridge, and climbed to the top of Mahanna Cobble. This mountain had just been purchased by the Berkshire Natural Resources Council. There was a gorgeous view to the south/southeast that was recently cut. To the far south you can see Monument Mt., Mt. Everett, Rattlesnake Mt. and Beartown Mt.
After a half hour enjoying the view and my lunch, I continued north to the top of Bousquet Mt. and its ski area. Great views of Pittsfield and Greylock from here.
After retracing my route back to the top of Mahanna Cobble, I found an old woods road that looked to be going back down the mountain in the direction I wanted to head. It brought me steeply down the mountain and close to where I was parked. 3 hours, 4 1/2 miles, and some cool open woods (except for the grown over field) bushwacking. The view from the new lookout was stellar, and I'm glad the entire West Stockbridge/Lenox Mountain Ridge is owned by the BNRC! Congratulations to George Wislocki, Tad Ames and the rest of the crew at BNRC!
More pics; http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578991158ZthxCc
The bushwack up the east side of Lenox Mountain was through open woods, with the occasional old woods road to follow. I gained the col between Yokun's Seat and Mahanna Cobble, known as The Damp, and headed north along the ridge. I soon hit the trail that follows the ridge, and climbed to the top of Mahanna Cobble. This mountain had just been purchased by the Berkshire Natural Resources Council. There was a gorgeous view to the south/southeast that was recently cut. To the far south you can see Monument Mt., Mt. Everett, Rattlesnake Mt. and Beartown Mt.
After a half hour enjoying the view and my lunch, I continued north to the top of Bousquet Mt. and its ski area. Great views of Pittsfield and Greylock from here.
After retracing my route back to the top of Mahanna Cobble, I found an old woods road that looked to be going back down the mountain in the direction I wanted to head. It brought me steeply down the mountain and close to where I was parked. 3 hours, 4 1/2 miles, and some cool open woods (except for the grown over field) bushwacking. The view from the new lookout was stellar, and I'm glad the entire West Stockbridge/Lenox Mountain Ridge is owned by the BNRC! Congratulations to George Wislocki, Tad Ames and the rest of the crew at BNRC!
More pics; http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578991158ZthxCc
