Mt Greylock State Reservation - Final Post

Sunday June 29, 2014

(Excerpts from my field journal, some modification)

Another near-perfect day. Slept ok, but was wide awake around 3:30 am.  I did manage to get back to sleep after listening to barred owls muffled a bit by the wind in the treetops.

Out of the tent and coffee by 8:20.  Late, but I'm in no hurry.  I noticed an uptick in the bugs late yesterday.  Holding true today.  More coffee and oatmeal again for breakfast.
Mostly sunny, around 85 degrees already.  Wonderful though.  I do love the heat.

The previous evening I loaded coordinates for a bunch of Geocaches in the area into my GPS receiver with the hope of getting out today to search for some.  I set out for the Roaring Brook Trail from the campground.  I found a couple then decided to bag the activity as it was eating up the day with little enjoyment out of these particular caches.  I decided to head back and pick up the Deer Hill Trail to try for another one near a waterfall.  The trail was a bit more steep than I anticipated and rather nasty in places, particularly near the waterfall.  The waterfall itself was ok, though I imagine it would be quite cool after a heavy rain or snowmelt.  I failed to locate the cache here, so I fought my way back up the trail and headed back to camp for lunch.

I had some black bean soup for lunch and then decided I would summit Greylock again.  I passed a ranger on the road at the campground, waved and headed up The Hopper Trail towards the summit again.  I didn't stop as much this time and made it in about 40 minutes.  On the road near the summit I saw the same ranger I saw in the campground and he remarked about how I made good time.
I also saw Jared, the ranger who checked me in this year as well as on our 2013 trip.  He recognized me as "in site number 7" and inquired if I was having a good stay.  The rangers seem genuinely concerned that all is going well for the campers.

I walked around the summit again enjoying the day and people watching.  I also went in to Bascom Lodge and used the public restroom which allowed me to thoroughly wash my hands and get a look in the mirror to see if my appearance was acceptable.  I found no really giant bits in between my teeth and my hair mostly in place.  I enjoyed the summit some more then headed down via The Hopper Trail.  I made it down in 31 minutes.  Very enjoyable hike.

I found the campground to be empty except for me and a woman in site #1.  She appeared to be a multi-day backpacker crashing for the night.  I decided to walk around and check some of the nearby sites.  I found that site #9 is probably one of the best sites in the immediate area having more space for tents, private but still close enough to the privy and trailheads.

I walked up to The Ledges Overlook again to enjoy this stunningly beautiful afternoon and also found one of the geocaches I was looking for.  I had the place to myself.  On the way back to the campground I passed a couple of young men with heavily loaded packs, gallon jugs of water and two good-sized coolers.  Enjoy your night, gentlemen.

I boiled water for my final supper here at Greylock, for this trip anyway.  A Pad Thai meal from Backpackers Pantry.  I started a fire but had to let it die down a bit and didn't allow it to get too big.  There was an increase in wind that shifted blowing almost in the direction of my tent.  I was fairly sure it was far enough away, but didn't want to chance getting a hole in it or the fly.  Kind of a bummer as I had a load of wood, but I left quite a bit for the next campers.

Slept well.

Monday June 30th -

I woke and went to work packing up my bedding before exiting the tent.  I heated water for coffee then continued to break down the camp and repack my backpack.  I was glad to be rid of some of the weight from the food and I didn't carry as much water out.  I had my filter system and knew I would be hiking by and over some rivers.  I wanted to get back to the car via a different trail called The Money Brook Trail so I could see an area I had seen on YouTube.  I am glad I did.  Great hiking along and over a few streams.  I started hiking down Hopper Trail and took a right onto Money Brook Trail.  What a really nice hike down this was.  The rivers are really nice and good for a change of scenery.

 As I approached what I believed to be the trailhead where the 4Runner was parked, I came into an area that was like an overgrown hay field.  I was still following trail markers, but didn't expect to be in a field.  The trail was not wide at all and at times hard to see.  I came across a small one-person tent set up next to the trail that appeared to be unoccupied.  I eventually got to a familiar area and had an amazing view of the farm and hills.  I wished then for my good camera, but was pleased with the shots I got with the little point-and-shoot.

I made it back to the car in about an hour, sad to have my trip over, but happy to have done it.  It was a good experience for me.  My first time alone in the woods.  Hoping for more adventures in 2015.