Five of us from the Conn. Section of the Green Mtn. Club are section hiking the Taconic Crest Trail. The trail follows the crest of the Taconic Mountains in western Mass. and eastern N.Y., clipping the SW corner of Vt. along the way.
We did the first, southernmost, section on Saturday. This section is entirely in Massachusetts, from Pittsfield to Hancock. Conditions were good. It wasn't too hot, it didn't rain, and the bugs were minimal. The trail surface is generally pretty smooth, although with a lot of ups and downs. There were several ponds along the way, including an extensive beaver pond which isn't on the map. There's one viewpoint in this section, on Berry Hill, but it's a very nice one, with extensive views to the west. There were several very nice fern fields along the way. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, but we did come across some bear scat.
The hike ended with a road walk of a couple miles, which I think is going to be the longest road walk of the trail.
We plan on two more hikes to complete the trail, one in July and one in August.
Here are the pictures.
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Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 84/115 (59/67, 23/46, 2/2)
NEFF: 50/50; Cat35: 39/39; WNH4K: 41/48; NEHH 89/100
LT NB 2009; CT NB 2017
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
We did the first, southernmost, section on Saturday. This section is entirely in Massachusetts, from Pittsfield to Hancock. Conditions were good. It wasn't too hot, it didn't rain, and the bugs were minimal. The trail surface is generally pretty smooth, although with a lot of ups and downs. There were several ponds along the way, including an extensive beaver pond which isn't on the map. There's one viewpoint in this section, on Berry Hill, but it's a very nice one, with extensive views to the west. There were several very nice fern fields along the way. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, but we did come across some bear scat.
The hike ended with a road walk of a couple miles, which I think is going to be the longest road walk of the trail.
We plan on two more hikes to complete the trail, one in July and one in August.
Here are the pictures.
--
Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 84/115 (59/67, 23/46, 2/2)
NEFF: 50/50; Cat35: 39/39; WNH4K: 41/48; NEHH 89/100
LT NB 2009; CT NB 2017
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
