Pine Cobble / East Mountain(Berkshires)

As November draws to a close, and we stare down the barrel of a long and cold winter ahead of us..it is days like this that you want to truly relish.  A cool start and a little early morning mist were just the precursors to a beautiful mid 50's degree, sun filled day.  My sunrise drive on my way to the northern Berkshires through the quiet Taconic farmland was so peaceful and serene that I had to soak in some of the morning views.  The Taconic ridgeline of Mount Lebanon to Perry Peak rise above the New Lebanon countryside here, marking not only the eastern horizon but the Massachusetts state line.

Birds of a feather...certainly flock together.  This small farm pond on the lower slopes of New Lebanon's West Hill provides a peaceful retreat for the local duck population, while offering their human counterpart unbeatable views of the Taconics that make up the Pittsfield State Forest.

A bit further north and east, on the slopes of Sheep Hill in rural Williamstown, the Greylock Massif is quite an impressive site.  A blanket of mist rises up from the valley floor and between the ridgelines creating a wonderful composition.

I wanted today's hike to not only be a revisit to Pine Cobble, a fantastic rock outcrop on the south face of East Mountain, but a bushwhack venture to East Mountain's true summit and a visit to a spot on some maps called Bear Swamp.
The trail portion of the hike is a steady climb up from under 700 feet to start through an open hardwood forest.  There was very little if any snow down low, and mud underfoot to start.  Once above 1500 feet, the trail becomes a rock stairway, with screened views to the valley below.

A final steep push up through a couple inches of crusty snow got me up to 1893 foot Pine Cobble, with some really incredible views.  The nearby ridgeline that makes up the Clarksburg State Forest is easily visible above rock outcropping and low brush.

Just a few yards further is the spectacular view down into the Route 8 valley with the Hoosac Range rising above on the horizon.

Circling around a bit further to the west is the best view of all.  Nearly all of Williamstown and its surrounding peaks spread out before you.  This sweeping view encompasses (L-R)the Greylock Range, Brodie Mountain and the Taconic Ridge beyond.  The many peaks along the Taconic ridge can be hard to pick out, but Misery Mountain, Berlin Mountain and Mount Raimer are the peaks visible here.

A bit zoomed in, the view towards Williamstown with Berlin Mountain and Mount Raimer high above.

After enjoying the views on Pine Cobble I continued north, picking up the Appalachian Trail for a short distance before doing some off trail exploring to check out one of several enormous rock strewn boulder fields. 

Basically what I found were jumbled rock piles sporadically placed on much of the East Mountain ridge.  I found this large boulder field on WRLF(Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation) property, off trail, but good views west towards the Taconics.

 Passing by another large, jumbled pile of rocks, interspersed with pines and oaks.

As I gained elevation up and over 2000 feet and passing back over into the Clarksburg State Forest I began to encounter more snow.  I continued my bushwhack on top of about 2 to 3 inches of crusty snow to the nondescript 2254 foot summit of East Mountain.

I crossed over the Appalachian Trail, which had not been used since the last snow, making my way towards the area called Bear Swamp.  Suddenly the hardwoods quickly transitioned to conifer as I dropped down towards the swamp.

I truly had thought that I was alone in the woods, until I saw this large bear track in the snow, heading the same direction as I was.  I guess that's why they call this Bear Swamp. 

 Bear Swamp was really just a large wetland, that may be more impressive when the vegetation is green.  Today, the Swamp took on a wintry appearance and I stopped to relax for several minutes in this quiet no-man's land.

 Using Bear Swamp as my turn around point, I headed back from there, soon picking bakc up on the Appalachian Trail, which continues south along the ridge of East Mountain towards the Pine Cobble Trail.  I stopped briefly along the trail to check out yet another boulder field, this one, complete with several rock cairns and an over the tree top view of the Taconics.  This spot is known on maps as Eph's Lookout, although today it is really not much of a "lookout".

Passed by a couple other people once back on the Pine Cobble Trail, each out enjoying a sun filled, mild, late November day.  Hiked about 5.5 miles RT, with 1800 feet of ascent.
Today's Route.     Red=Trail     Blue=Bushwhack