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Hampshire County High Point – West Mountain 2,106’
I met Albee at the first turnout on Plainfield Pond and we set out at 8:00 AM on a bright but very cold late fall morning. The forest was very open and the few blow-downs were easy to avoid. We quickly passed the forest boundary which coincides with the first stone wall crossing. Once on the summit we found the benchmark and the witness markers. There was a light dusting of snow in the forest but the three markers were bare. Due to the temperatures in the teens and a stiff breeze we made haste from the top. It took us 20 minutes to climb and 15 to descend. We then took a scenic drive through Hawley and Florida on our way to Crum hill.
Franklin County High Point – Crum Hill 2,835’
We parked at the intersection of Bliss road and Tilda. The temperatures at 9:00 AM were in the upper teens and there was a biting wind. There were a few excellent views of a white dusted Mt Greylock on the ride from one hike to the other. The trail was easy to see (it was lightly dusted with snow) and very easy to follow. There was a veritable forest of red surveyor flags on both sides of the trail about half-way up the climb. Al noted that it looked like a scene from CSI. We reached the summit in 20 minutes and spent 5 minutes signing the register and taking a few pictures. The register is nearly full and a replacement is needed. We stopped in the clearing where the wind testing tower is still operating and checked out the large cairn. The view from this spot is quite good. We had a clear view of Monadnock (among others). The total time round trip was 50 minutes (we came down a bit slower as there was some ice on the steepest section of trail.
Both hikes were nice, with Crum having the bonus of a neat view. I also got three runs of three miles each (two before and one after the hikes) in six towns (Heath, Rowe, Plainfield, Windsor, Shirley, Lunenberg). My goal of running in every town in Mass is now past half-way.
Great day to be outside….
Pictures: http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s209/davedunham/2007 west and crum/
I met Albee at the first turnout on Plainfield Pond and we set out at 8:00 AM on a bright but very cold late fall morning. The forest was very open and the few blow-downs were easy to avoid. We quickly passed the forest boundary which coincides with the first stone wall crossing. Once on the summit we found the benchmark and the witness markers. There was a light dusting of snow in the forest but the three markers were bare. Due to the temperatures in the teens and a stiff breeze we made haste from the top. It took us 20 minutes to climb and 15 to descend. We then took a scenic drive through Hawley and Florida on our way to Crum hill.
Franklin County High Point – Crum Hill 2,835’
We parked at the intersection of Bliss road and Tilda. The temperatures at 9:00 AM were in the upper teens and there was a biting wind. There were a few excellent views of a white dusted Mt Greylock on the ride from one hike to the other. The trail was easy to see (it was lightly dusted with snow) and very easy to follow. There was a veritable forest of red surveyor flags on both sides of the trail about half-way up the climb. Al noted that it looked like a scene from CSI. We reached the summit in 20 minutes and spent 5 minutes signing the register and taking a few pictures. The register is nearly full and a replacement is needed. We stopped in the clearing where the wind testing tower is still operating and checked out the large cairn. The view from this spot is quite good. We had a clear view of Monadnock (among others). The total time round trip was 50 minutes (we came down a bit slower as there was some ice on the steepest section of trail.
Both hikes were nice, with Crum having the bonus of a neat view. I also got three runs of three miles each (two before and one after the hikes) in six towns (Heath, Rowe, Plainfield, Windsor, Shirley, Lunenberg). My goal of running in every town in Mass is now past half-way.
Great day to be outside….
Pictures: http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s209/davedunham/2007 west and crum/
