Mt Greylock State Reservation - Part 1

When Mrs and I were returning home from our last trip to Jamaica, VT we took a bit of a detour into far western Massachusetts so that I could get a look at the trailhead I was planning to park at and use to get into Sperry Campground at Mt Greylock State Reservation the following weekend.  The trailhead is at the end of Hopper Road in Williamstown, MA.  What a gorgeous place!

Hopper Road from trailhead parking area.

Old barn along Hopper Road.

Opposite side of the above barn.

Active farm at the trailhead.  When we visited they were working on haying the fields.

Signs at the end of Hopper Road at the parking area.

I pretty much already had in mind that I would be taking the Hopper Trail from this trailhead up to the campground.  Mrs and I camped here last year and went in via the Campground Trail.  I wanted a bit more of a challenge, and I got it.

The campground at Sperry Road is formerly a drive-in car camping type campground.  The road was closed years ago and it is hike in only now.  The rangers do still use the road to bring in supplies, firewood and maintain the composting toilets.  Mrs and I had stayed here for an overnight in August of 2013, so I knew what I was in for.  An added bonus was that the weather forecast for the time I was planning to spend looked beyond perfect, though a bit hot which is perfectly fine with me.

I left the Cape around 8:30 on Friday June 27th and made it to the parking area at about 1 pm.  I wanted to be on the trail by 1:00, so I was about on schedule.  On the way through North Adams, MA I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker who was clearly a long distance hiker.  Turns out she was an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker named Jan.  She just needed a ride into Williamstown to the Howard Johnsons where she would be spending the night and hitting the post office for a resupply box she had sent ahead.  She had started her hike in March in Georgia and was flying through the trail.  I mentioned that I was following a guy on YouTube going by the trail name of Red Beard.  She had hiked with him for a time in the south and I was able to find her in one of his videos.  She was trying to get ahead of the "bubble" of hikers and clearly doing so in a big way.  She is probably long since finished with her hike to Maine and Red Beard is through Vermont and getting into New Hampshire this week.

Anyway, after dropping her off at the HoJos, I made the short drive to the trailhead and got my gear together.  There were a couple of odd ducks sitting in a car there, so I waited around a bit until they departed.  I hit the trail at 1:30, but had to run back to the car to grab bug repellent I had left in the door, so really I hit the trail at 1:40 PM.

 Looking back at the parking area from the trailhead.

Gorgeous day to be in the mountains.

Terrible photo, but here I am ready to hit the trail.  On my back I have the Osprey Talon 44, and this is the first real test of my Ribzwear pack which turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of kit to have.

So, the Hopper Trail is no joke, going up at least.  And it does just that.  Goes up.  The heat and humidity probably made it a bit more of a challenge, but at least it was fairly short and I made it to the campground in about an hour and a half.  Great birds to serenade me to my destination including black-throated blue, black-throated green warblers, scarlet tanagers (awesome!), red-eyed vireos, veery (MORE AWESOME!), wood thrush and ovenbird.

One example of the steady upward climb of The Hopper Trail.

Probably about half way to the campground.  Pouring the sweat at this point, but could not be much happier.

As I emerged at the campground I was a little confused as to whether or not I was in the actual campground, but luckily the rangers were there doing some work and pointed me in the right direction and I signed in while I was talking to them.  Same guys as we met last year.  Off to the campsite.

I had campsite #7 reserved.  This is not the best campsite for tenting, especially with anything bigger than a two person tent.  There was one area large enough to handle something bigger, but I could see that it was prone to flooding even in a minor rain.

I settled on a grassy spot between two downed trees, which was just right for my new Big Agnes Lone Spring 2-person tent.

I set up my tent in minutes and made up my simple sleep system.  My crash pad this trip was the Therm-A-Rest Z-Lite which we got cheap cheap from Sierra Trading Post as an "irregular" (I have yet to find the flaws) and my MontBell Downhugger sleeping bag.  I ended up using my fleece jacket as my pillow which worked great.

I went to work gathering up wood for the fire.  There was plenty of dead downed wood nearby so I was never really searching for any with much difficulty.

Fire pit ready to go for after dark.  I never used a match or lighter this trip.  Just a fire steel which produces a very hot spark.  I had made up some cotton balls with Vaseline at home which is how I started the fires.  In the image you can see various small piles of sticks from small to large which when done ahead of time is almost a guarantee for a great fire.  I probably didn't need to have fires during the trip, but they are something to do to pass the time and watch while thinking about the days events and days to come.  More on the fire starter later on.

After getting camp set up and the fire ready for later, I walked up to The Ledges Overlook which is at the end of Sperry Road.  There is a beautiful overlook of The Hopper and Mt Greylock.  I just love this spot.

 Mt Greylock.

The Hopper.

I spent some time here just enjoying the solitude and peace.  On the walk back to the camp I came across a large porcupine climbing a tree.  I watched the beast for a while.
Added golden-crowned kinglet and least flycatcher to my loosely kept bird list.


I fired up my little stove and boiled up some water for a Backpackers Pantry meal in a bag.  Sticking with plant-based lifestyle I chose Louisiana Red Beans & Rice.  Quite good and satisfying.  I also made water for a Starbuck's Via coffee.

My little cooking system, which really does nothing more than boil water.  It worked quite well the entire trip, though I am not so sure I trust my cheap little $8 stove, so I am planning to get a brand name stove, an MSR Pocket Rocket.

After supper I cleaned up the site a bit and stashed anything a bear might find appetizing in the bear box provided at each camp site.  Bear boxes are great and save the camper from having to hang a bear bag up in the trees.  Another plus for this campground.

Site 7 bear box.

Around 8:00 pm I started the fire and quickly had a nice one going.  Dry weather really helps.

Here is the fire steel, cotton with Vaseline and some birch bark to really get it going.  I made a sort of nest of small, dry sticks for the cotton to sit in.  One strike of the steel is usually all I need to get a fire going.

The spark easily catches the cotton and then the Vaseline feeds that.  I then sort of wrap the sticks around the fire and add fuel of smaller twigs, then sticks on up until it's hot enough to accept larger material.

I enjoyed the fire and listened to the birds sing well into the evening.  American robins, ovenbirds, wood thrush, American redstart.  At 8:45 it was still very light out and the barred owls began to call.
Most excellent.  I hit the hay a little before 10:00.  A successful travel and hiking day.