Alford Springs(Berkshires)

Decided to take advantage of a gorgeous mid winter day by heading east after work to explore The Saddles Trail just over the state line in Massachusetts at the BNRC's 899 acre Alford Springs.  I was the only car there when I arrived, but the trail had clearly been broken out so it would be a pretty straightforward snowshoe hike.  Elevation at the trailhead was 940 feet, so there would be some decent climbing ahead of me to get up to the high point at 1645 feet.

The trail initially follows an old road, passing by private residences as it climbs.  Saw something today that we haven't seen much of the last couple of months....sunshine.  And boy did it feel good!!  Unfortunately, being on the east side of the Taconic Ridge in the late afternoon meant I was mostly in deep shadows the entire hike.

A short distance in, at the top of the old road, there are awesome views east towards Tom Ball Mountain from a small clearing.

 

Just a few yards away from the view, the trail enters the woods and continues to slowly gain elevation.  The bright sun was doing its best to bust through the deep hemlocks as I slowly ascended via the blue blazes.

The combination of a fresh snowfall and bright sun made for ideal winter conditions.  With temps in the mid 30's it almost felt downright balmy!

The Saddles Trail basically runs south for one mile, first climbing, then descending a bit to a junction with the white blazed Father Trail.  With fleeting daylight, I opted to turn right(northeast) and head straight up towards the high point on the Father Loop.  This part of the trail ascends an old road as it circles above a drainage, angling back to the south and then up the next ridge.

The climb up the old road bed is quite pretty, lined with paper birch trees and mountain laurel.

The climb is steady but never too steep, and soon arrives in an enormous clearing up and over 1500 feet.

From the clearing, there are very nice views stretching from the north and east.  In 2016, this 25 acre spot was cleared as part of a forestry project, and now provides these wonderful views.

The small peak directly to the north lies completely on BNRC land and looks like it would be nice to climb.  If I had more time today I would've checked it out, but for now it will have to wait.

Snow capped Mount Greylock can be seen north in the far distance.

I continued past the clear cut area and up to the high point, which I had marked at 1645 feet.  From there I unfortunately had to turn back, retracing my steps back to the car, arriving in the parking lot with just a few minutes to spare before dark.  A nice 4 mile RT with about 850 feet of climbing.