Pecks Brook Lean To and Falls(Mount Greylock-Berkshires)

When I got out of work this afternoon, the temperature was in the mid 60's, and even with a solid wind, it still felt very nice.  Due to the mild weather, I thought I'd grab a quick hike up the east side of Mount Greylock State Reservation to the Pecks Brook Shelter and waterfalls.  Access is off West Mountain Road in the town of Adams, at the first parking area on the right.  I was surprised to find that I was the only car there when I arrived.  I was going to be hiking the blue blazed Gould Trail up through Greylock Glen, which leaves directly from the parking lot.  The trail head is unique in that the summit is clearly visible right behind it when you start.

 The trail immediately passes a large area of white birch.

 Staying on the blue marked trail past a trail junction, you soon cross over babbling Pecks Brook on a  footbridge.

 The trail climbs steadily nearly the entire way, climbing the southeast face of Greylock and along the north side of Pecks Brook ravine.

 Most of the hike is through hardwood forests, with a couple of softwood area interspersed.  Once some elevation is attained, there are screened views that unfold to the east.

 After passing another trail junction(the Cheshire Harbor Trail cut off through the ravine), a sign for Pecks Brook Shelter and spur trail will be found at 1.4 miles into the hike.  Elevation at this point is just shy of 2500 feet, with an elevation gain of nearly 1200 feet from the car.  The spur trail is also marked in blue and crosses a tributary of Pecks Brook on its way towards the shelter.

 

About .2 of a mile and 150 feet lost in elevation, the spur trail arrives at Pecks Brook Lean To.

The Lean To sits literally on the edge of the ravine.

 Looking out from inside the Lean To, with obscured views beyond the ravine.

Steeply downhill from the Lean To are a series of beautiful falls formed on Pecks Brook.  Please be careful and watch your footing if going down for a closer look.

  It's pretty easy to follow the many different cascades and chutes upstream from the bigger falls downstream.

More picturesque cascades upstream.

 I bushwhacked down the very steep slopes in front of the Lean To to a great view of lower falls on Pecks Brook.  This is the best of the many falls on the brook, although hard to see because of the steep walls of the ravine. 

 There are also a nice series of falls formed on tributary to the left, but these are even more difficult to see because of the terrain. Here is the best shot I could get.

After climbing back up out of the ravine, I retraced my steps  to the Gould Trail and followed it down.

 On the descent of the mountain, I passed by this hollowed out tree, which literally could fit an average adult inside.

 Finally arriving back down at the footbridge crossing Pecks Brook and back to the car.

Hiked a little over 3.2 miles RT on a breezy but mild last day of March.