Mt. Tom in Massachusetts

On Thursday, Eric and I started off for the Catskills but once we were on I-90, car problems turned us back. Back in Easthampton, we worked on the car, loafed around, ate some wild blackberries and blueberries, played with the cats and eventually decided to spot a car and go up Mt. Tom, the one in Massachusetts and not the one in New Hampshire or anywhere else for that matter.

We put one car on the Rt. 5 side of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and then drove over to the trail head on Rt. 141. Steep hiking all the way to the summit of Mt. Tom. Then we walk along ridge. There are lots of good view points. We wander around a little, find some old Mt. Tom Ski area apparatus, look at the strange things sticking up into the sky, admire the Turkey Vultures, admire the view from the many cliffs, admire the cliffs, look at small toads, enjoy the woods, talk about jumping from rock to rock. Eventually, Eric needs to take a break. We sit down and eat snacks: I eat Peanut Butter M&M's and Eric eats something that I don't pay attention to. He apparently forgot his sandwich or something.

After a while the trail drops down several 100 feet to some picnic areas and we walk around there and head back to the trail. The trees get noticeably larger and the woods more lush from this point on and not as many ledges. There is, however, a firetower on the summit of Goat Peak. Then on the next peak over there is a fine view of the Oxbow Lake in Easthampton (the greatest town on Earth) and Northampton.

We walk on; Mt. Nonotuck has some ruins from an old hotel area or something and some cretins are hanging around. Then we take the beautiful woods road down to Eric's car. About 3 or 4 hours of nice hiking (in a mountain in my backyard!!) and about 1500' of elevation gain.

Go Pioneer Valley!

Pictures: Here

-Dr. Wu

On Nonotuck, that'd be the Eyrie House ruins. When there not long ago I saw that they'd added a sign with information about what it once was. Roller skating??? Mt Tom too had a summit house at one point.

The cliffs are magnificent, aren't they? If you take East street west from route 5, you'll get a good view of them from the road. There's some other, better views, from the network of roads - if you take East to 141 S then turn onto Plain Street going west.

dr_wu002 said:

... eventually decided to spot a car and go up Mt. Tom, the one in Massachusetts

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Nice! I've got to go there!

Dugan said:

On Nonotuck, that'd be the Eyrie House ruins. When there not long ago I saw that they'd added a sign with information about what it once was. Roller skating??? Mt Tom too had a summit house at one point.

The cliffs are magnificent, aren't they? If you take East street west from route 5, you'll get a good view of them from the road. There's some other, better views, from the network of roads - if you take East to 141 S then turn onto Plain Street going west.

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Yeah, I know about the Eyrie House Ruins -- I just didn't feel like elaborating on them last night . I've also done some research on the Mt. Tom Hotel and I'm interested in the train that went up to the summit. I also take East Street just about every day it seems so I've gotten those views too. When the leaves come down I have a great view from my house to Mt. Tom... maybe not as good as the one from East Street but pretty durn good nonetheless. When the leaves go up though I can't see a thing.

I've been up Mt. Tom about 30-40 times but this was Eric's first. I'm hoping for a decent winter so that I can get a lot of hiking in the snow. It's a great little Mountain!

-Dr. Wu

I know I say this about every hill, but Mt Tom really is one of my favorites!

Thanks for TR and pics. I've also climbed and enjoyed that mountain. Interesting hike!! Thanks

Hey, I have something to add: about 1/3 way through the hike, Eric and I are walking and all of a sudden something bit me and it felt like someone stabbed me in the back of the knee with a letter opener. Now, I've got bitten by deer flies before (I let a bunch bite me once while on West Bond just to see what they felt like) and I don't think this was a deer fly. This freakin' hurt! Like something stabbed in my leg. And then every step for the rest of the hike was durn near agony. In fact, my leg was in throbbing pain for about 24 hours. About 48 or so hours later the pain had gone away but then it was a rash or I got bit by another mosquito so now I just have an itchy thing there.

The original bite never really swelled up at all. It just felt like someone kept stabbing me with a letter opener. Maybe it was just the location -- That soft, tendony area on the inside part of the back of my knee. I don't know -- I think that maybe it was a horse fly. I've never been bit by one of those before but I understand they can be painful. Incidentally, I didn't see the bugger that bit me and although Eric was walking behind me, I kinda doubt that it was him. Oh, and also... the thing left one of those missing skin areas like you get when a deer fly bites you. It wasn't all bloody but there was a rectangle of skin about 3mm X 2mm missing. Any ideas what got me?

-Dr. Wu

Sounds like a horse fly to me. 2 or 3 times the size of a deerfly but about 100 times as painful. They're around too, saw a few on the Sisters last weekend.

Dugan said:

Sounds like a horse fly to me. 2 or 3 times the size of a deerfly but about 100 times as painful. They're around too, saw a few on the Sisters last weekend.

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That's what I think -- and it was probably more painful because it was on such a flexible section of my leg.

Oh well, I was thinking that maybe it was a wild monkey or something that bit me but I'm going to have to go with horse fly.

-Dr. Wu

Unless it was one of these.

My guess would also be a horsefly as well. For some reason, Mt. Tom seems to be the only spot I get bitten by them.

One of these days, I need to spend some time exploring the massive talus slope on the western side.

Probably not related, but there is a 'rash' of bug bites in Chicago right now.

Mt. Tom is one of my local (from work in Hartford) favorites. Last time I mowed the lawn I ran over a yellowjackets nest. (confirmed by the hole in the ground & the p!$$ed off 100 or so buzzing about)

Same bad bite sensation, unsure how many got me but it the sting area itched for a week. Maybe broken stinger but hard to confirm where it was, couldn't feel anything though

Mike P. said:

Mt. Tom is one of my local (from work in Hartford) favorites. Last time I mowed the lawn I ran over a yellowjackets nest. (confirmed by the hole in the ground & the p!$$ed off 100 or so buzzing about)

Same bad bite sensation, unsure how many got me but it the sting area itched for a week. Maybe broken stinger but hard to confirm where it was, couldn't feel anything though

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Last time I was there I got bit by some kind of bear fly or goat fly or something like that. Some flying Tyrannosaurus Rex -- it ate about 7 or 8 pounds of flesh off my calf; almost took off my freakin' leg.

There are some crazy bugs there!

-Dr. Wu