Monument Mountain Reservation(Berkshires)

Decided to revisit Monument Mountain Reservation, an old favorite of mine in the Berkshires, on a uncomfortably sultry summer afternoon.  With a heat index well into the 90's, I wanted to do something short and sweet and this beautiful spot hit the mark.  Parked at the Trustees of Reservations parking area along Route 7 in Great Barrington and set out heading first south on the blue blazed Indian Monument Trail. Trailhead elevation is about 950 feet.

The trail begins fairly benign, passing beneath giant red pines before beginning a gradual climb into a mixed forest.

As the trail ascends it turns more northerly, following an old carriage road up the west side of the peak.  I followed this trail to a junction with the red blazed Squaw Peak Trail.  This trail turns right, east, heading straight up towards the enormous cliff bands near the summit.

On the way towards the summit, the trail passes several peek a boo views towards the west, but the best is yet to come.

Suddenly, the trail climbs quite steeply up towards the first impressive set of ledges.  The view from this spot is not to be missed!  Being sure to keep good footing, the view south towards the Devil's Pulpit is quite breathtaking.  The line of mountains beyond only enhance the scene.  Just beyond Squaw Peak's long southern ridge is Three Mile Hill(foreground center), with Beartown Mountain, the ski slopes of Butternut Ski area(Warner Mountain) and East Mountain running left to right in the distance.

To the east, the view takes in the long ridge of Beartown Mountain State Forest on the horizon, as well as the local middle school and high schools down in the valley.

These ledges actually sit just off trail, but make for a spectacular perch to enjoy the view.  This is looking SE towards more of Beartown Mountain State Forest.

This entire area has dangerously vertical drop offs, so it is not to be taken lightly.  If you pay attention and are careful though, you should have no issues.

After a small up and down back on the trail, one last steep push brings you up towards the 1642 foot rocky summit of Squaw Peak.  There are many good views to be enjoyed from these rocks.  Wandering over to a west view, I enjoyed this look towards Mount Everett and the Egremont valley towards NY state.

NE views stretch into the town of Stockbridge and also take in the north end of Beartown Mountain where the popular trail to Ice Gulch and Laura's Tower can be found.

The north facing view features a good look over Agawam Lake, and even a hint of Mount Greylock in the far, far distance through the haze.

A bit of a zoom view towards Agawam Lake and its wetland, which some people have speculated served as Herman Melville's inspiration for the great white whale in Moby Dick. The lake does have a bit of a whale "look" to it.

After enjoying the abundance of views, the trail begins to drop, losing elevation quickly, before arriving at Inscription Rock and a trail junction.  The blue blazed Indian Monument Trail turns right, and the yellow marked Hickey Trail heads right.  I chose to take the Hickey Trail, forming a loop back to the car.

The Hickey Trail, blazed in yellow, drops steadily down through a deep hemlock forest, with the help of stone steps along the way.

After a fairly steady descent, the trail turns south, leveling off a bit, passing through a very pleasant forest.

Just off trail, I snuck a quick peak at some of the steep, enormous piles of rock rubble below the summit.

Got back to the car, drenched in sweat, but satisfied.  A nice and easy, but hot, 3 mile RT with over 800 feet of climbing. It had been a long 7 years since my last visit here, and I don't plan to wait that long again next time.