Tekoa Mountain(Tekoa Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Massachusetts)

If you have ever driven the Massachusetts Turnpike(I-90) eastbound, you've probably noticed a large, rocky peak perched high above the interstate a few miles before Exit 3 in the town of Russell.  That impressive area of cliffs and open rock had always intrigued me, and after doing some digging I discovered that the peak is 1121 foot Tekoa Mountain and it is open to the public.  I decided to pay a visit today, starting from a Mass Wildlife Management Area informal parking area near train tracks and an old, abandoned factory off of what is marked as Pochassic Road(Elevation 250 feet). 

Beyond the Wildlife Management Area sign, a good woods road heads uphill, climbing steadily east/northeast.  Fallen leaves cover the ground, making for a bit of a slick go in spots.  On again-off again red paint blazes help guide the way.

A short distance in, the woods road peters out, quickly being replaced by a foot path and still marked with red paint but a bit less obvious.  The ascent becomes increasingly steep, soon passing over open rock slab with some pretty decent views.  The rocky spine of the nearby ridge makes for quite an impressive backdrop.

As the elevation and open rock areas both increase, the views to the south really begin to open up, providing a nice glimpse of the Westfield River and Mass Pike below.

As the foot path levels out, it emerges into a large clearing.  From there, two herd paths drop down to a set of south facing ledges and incredible vistas.  Traffic can easily be seen traveling along the Mass Pike as it crosses over the Westfield River with the hills of Connecticut on the horizon.

The ledges here are truly incredible and well worth the effort of exploring them.  There are many solid vantage points to enjoy the surrounding countryside.  Here is a view SW towards Russell Mountain, with the Westfield River again snaking below.

After enjoying the open ledges, I headed back up to the large clearing, where the red blazes continue north on a wide woods road again.  After a very short distance on that, I took a left turn onto a faint foot path, blazed with occasional white paint.  With just a little searching off that path, I was able to find a view towards another large area of nearby rock ledges.

As luck would have it, the white blazed path lead me directly over to the open rock and its amazing views.

To the SW, I found this great view towards Woronco, a small village along the Westfield, as well as the rolling hills of Hampden County.

Continuing along, I seemed to find one good clearing after another, each providing spectacular views. 

The path leads close to the 1121 foot summit, which is fairly nondescript, and marked with a small rock cairn.

After hitting the top, I decided to continue north along the ridge for just a bit, descending down ever so slightly to some more views.  The nearby hills to the NW were now visible from this part of the ridge.

After the trail began to drop a bit more steadily into the woods, I decided to turn back, heading back south towards the first large clearing I had come to.  Instead of going all the way back though, I decided to turn SE onto another foot path which heads off onto another arm of the peak.  From this arm, I was able to locate additional views, this time stretching to the east. 

From an open ledge off trail, I enjoyed this view of the unnamed ridge to the east, which looked like it may have views to offer as well.

A small clearing on the SE arm provided this great view of the first set of ledges I had been on earlier. 

Back on the main trail, I found some more SE views. 

After finally dragging myself away from the many awesome views atop Tekoa's ledges, I headed back down the red blazed path and woods road to the car.  Back near the bottom of the mountain, I passed by two bow hunters who nodded and then continued into the woods.

A lot of bang for the buck on this beauty, with 3.3 miles RT and 1300 feet of combined ascent.  There is still a lot of exploring to be had on this mountain that I didn't get to today.  What a fun little hike this proved to be.  The only downfall from today was that I didn't have more time available.