Warner Hill(Town of Dalton, Berkshires)

Did a quick afternoon hike up Warner Hill along the Appalachian Trail in the central Berkshires after work today.  Parked on the wide shoulder of Grange Hall Road in Dalton(Elevation 1650 feet), where the AT crosses and set out under sunny skies and comfortable conditions. Crossing the road, I headed south on the trail, gradually climbing up through abundant fern glades and the familiar white blazes of the AT.

After only 3/10 of a mile, a blue blazed spur trail leads over to the Kay Wood Shelter, which sits on a hillside above Barton Brook.  The Lean To was occupied by a friendly man from England who was doing a thru-hike.  After chatting for a few minutes, I headed back over to the Appalachian Trail, continuing south.

A bit over a half mile from the car, the trail passes beneath power lines, with decent views southwest into Pittsfield.

The trail basically rolls along uneventfully for about 3 miles, with small ups and downs along the way.  The high point is just off the true summit of wooded 2092 foot Tully Mountain.  A light breeze was enough to keep the bugs at bay today.

 

Just prior to reaching the summit of Warner Hill, the woods are quickly replaced by open fern glade meadows.  This is a very scenic and unique spot.

From the top of 2050 foot Warner Hill, there are views to the northwest with the Greylock Range on the distant horizon(right).  In the foreground is Tully Mountain, which I had climbed over to get here.  The Taconics are on the horizon, left.

From the summit, I retraced my steps back north to the car for a total of 6.3 miles RT, and a bit over 600 feet of combined ascent.  In addition to the fellow at the Lean To, I only saw two other groups hiking northbound on the trail.