Visited Peru in the hilltowns of the eastern Berkshires to hike 2185 foot Garnet Hill, a small peak with a little bit of history tucked into it. The humidity was fairly low making for a beautiful summer day to do a little exploring after work. To get started, I parked in a small pull off along Curtin Road, a rough dirt road, far away from civilization(Elevation 1790 feet)in the Peru State Forest.
A Mass DCR sign for Garnet Hill marks the start of the hike, heading west on an abandoned old CCC road. The hike along the road is quite rocky, but still easy, very gradually gaining elevation along the way.
After nearly 3/4 of a mile, a foot path/ ATV trail leaves the road and heads south, marked with occasional American flags as trail markers.
Just a bit over 1/3 of a mile from the road, I arrived at a Memorial Site. This marked the spot of a horrific 1942 plane crash, involving 19 US Air Force Paratroopers, claiming the lives of 16 of these soldiers. The men were returning from a training mission during the height of World War 2.
From the Memorial site, I retraced my steps back to the old CCC road and then continued my slow ascent up to the summit. The road ends in a meadow like clearing just below the true summit, complete with a fire pit and a view.
The summit views aren't great, but at nearly 2200 feet, the view east is still nice.
I attempted to get a better view, but unfortunately it didn't help.
I explored the area around the summit, and it is filled with the most abundant areas of fern glades that I may have ever seen. Nestled in amongst the waist high sea of ferns were impressive old stone walls as well!
I eventually wandered up to the true 2185 foot summit, that sits about 100 yards off the old road and itself sits in a small clearing. Not really much to see though.
Map Below. Red=Old Road/ ATV Trail Blue=Foot Trail/ ATV tracks to Memorial Black X=Memorial
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