Views and Brews Gathering 1 - Wrap Up

[Tom Rankin]

Short version:

This didn't work out perfectly, but nothing ever does.

There were 5 of us, lower than I expected would show up. It was Paula, her son, Paradox, and Laurie and I.

If I had remembered that the Pittsfield Brew Pub was closed, we probably would not have stayed where we did, only a few miles from NY. So, we did a lot of driving, but we did manage to hit 6 brewpubs, and hiked some new destinations and some old ones. None of the brew pubs were new to me, but that was ok, they were all very good.

Longer version:

We left Friday afternoon from Tillson, and were at Great Barrington by 4:00. Since I've had all the beers before, I will let others comment on them. We stayed briefly there, and then headed off to meet Paradox at Brewmasters. We had dinner there, and then drove to the Jericho Valley Inn.

Here, the Views and Brews Banner was unveiled!

We got a pretty early start Saturday and drove down to CT's High Point, Mighty Mount Frissell. The trailhead is at the end of a longish road that turns to dirt/mud the farther you go. The 'end', is gated and would be Connecticut. It was only about 25 degrees in the morning but it seemed to warm up rapidly, and we were rapidly shedding layers. There is a well marked and well maintained red blazed trail. About half way up, when we got to Round Mountain, we could see Frissell was snow free, so we made a big pile of our snow shoes and headed off for the next summit. Frissell's summit is in Mass., at 2453'. This is reached by a very short side trail to the right. It does have an ammo box and a few odd items inside, as well as a register. I guess this is the High Pointer's register, since there was no register at the high point. A short walk down to 2380' and you are there. There is a large rock cairn, and a metal spike next to it. A short walk to the West yields nice views of the Catskills, still obviously snow-covered. (Continuing, you would hit the CT/MA/NY triple point in 1/4 mile, but we skipped this).

Back at the car, there was a mob scene of scouts and leaders, getting ready to head in another direction from the trailhead. We snaked past their vehicles and headed off to Opa Opa. Next, we hiked another Mighty Mountain, Mt. Tom, the one near Northampton. The trail starts at the Southern end of the ridge and quickly gains elevation following a power line. You can take a longer, windier, flatter path if you can find it, a little to the east. We took it going down. Laurie, ever the snake magnet, found not one but 2 snakes! My poor wife! We made it to the top in one piece, and were greeted with great views in all directions and a huge collection of electronic gadgetry. There are dozens of towers up here! There are also many structures that have been torn down, evidenced by empty footings, and stair cases that go nowhere. I saw an amazing solar arc up here. It went thru a Sun dog and the Sun, and made a giant arc in the sky. I found one example of it here:

http://www.atoptics.co.uk/fz539.htm

Maybe John has a picture?

The next pub was Northampton. Always great beer, they had an awesome IPA!

For dinner, we went to People's Pint. Also, very good food and beer!

Sunday Morning, John left early for another high pointing adventure. I'll let him supply the details. We had breakfast with the innkeeper, and then left for a hike to the Ice Glen, and Laura's Tower. These 2 destinations are both up the same access trail, near Stockbridge, MA. First we hit the Ice Glen. It definitely has a lot of ice left in it! Most of us were bare booting, which was ok, but slow. There are numerous rock features and ice sculptures here. Paula tried to find a geo-cache but was unsuccessful. Then we went on and climbed Laura's Tower. It was about 600' up a moderately steep trail. At the top, there is a fire tower like structure, that has a stair case attached to the side, a unique set up! We could see Graylock, and many other peaks, referenced by a steel display at the top of the tower. Paula did find her cache here! After this, we went to Brown's in Troy, NY. We had a delicious lunch and good beers and were home by 4:00.

So, it was good to have a gathering, and hang out with a few good friends. Maybe next year, it will be a LOT of good friends!

 

[Paradox]

Clearly the first Annual Views and Brews gathering was a smashing success. While I am not what you would call an avid beer drinker, Tom and Laurie gave me a crash course in some of the finer points of beer tasting in the state of Massachusetts. The weekend had a somewhat auspicious start as it was noted that the Pittsfield Brew House is no longer open for business and I began to think we were on a collision course with disaster. But Tom's selection of Western Mass for the first Gathering was no accident, as there are many fine brew pubs in the Western part of the state.

We first met Friday evening at the Brewmasters Pub in Williamsburg Mass. where I met Paula and Steve for the forst time. We enjoyed a few samplers here and had dinner, my favorite beer in the sampler was the KING OAK MILK STOUT. We then headed for the Jericho Valley Inn where we turned in early for an early start the next day.

On Saturday we headed off, early to hike to the Connecticut State high point. We had a pleasant 3 mile hike to the summit of Mount Frissell and easily found the Geocache on the summit. We made the short descent to the State Line and the State high point. Pics and GPS After some photos we headed back to the car and found the parking area inundated with about 25 Boy scouts there for a weekend backpacking trip. We brought snowshoes and microspikes but had no need for either. We packed up the car and headed to Great Barrington and the Barrington Brewery for a pint. I enjoyed a nice Berkshire Blond. Next we headed for Texas/Southwest decorated Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery in Easthampton. Opa Opa has a business relationship with the Brewmasters Pub and their extensive list of offerings is available at both establishments. There were several good offerings in our sampler, the watermelon was reviewed highly but it was not very good in this batch.

We then headed for Mt. Tom. Pics and GPS track. A short hike of only 0.6 miles takes you to the top but there is about 600 feet of elevation gain. The views are terrific from the top of this 1200' mountain. Just do not look at the top of the mountain, as it full of antenna, barb wire, and crumbling concrete. Tom pointed out a solar arc and a sun dog.

We then headed for the Northampton Brewery, a very "Yup" scale establishment. Lots of suspended staircases and pastel colors reminiscent of a food court at an art museum or a university campus center. The steam beer had a bit of an anticeptic finish, but that may have been the ambiance of the place.

Tom had saved the best for last: "The Peoples Pint" in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This one did not opt for the "artsy feel" or the goofy Texas tack. The Peoples Pint is a downtown pub that brews its own great beers and offers them at very reasonable prices, with a busy, yet affable clientele. We liked all of the beers which included an oatmeal stout and a "Farmer Brown" brown ale that were wonderful. We had some great burritos for dinner and a Ploughmen's Platter. All great stuff.

GPS waypoints of brew pubs