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.

Harvey Mountain(Harvey Mountain State Forest-Columbia County/Taconics)

Following this week's blockbuster Noreaster I decided to get out and do a little snowshoe hike to 2065 foot Harvey Mountain along the NY/ Mass state line in the Taconics.  I parked at the trailhead along East Hill Road in the town of Austerlitz, elevation 1570 feet.  There were three other cars there when I arrived so I knew the trail would be broken out, making my job much easier, as I set out on the blue blazed trail heading SE.

There was about a foot of new snow on the ground here, but a good trench had already been formed from today's hikers so it was fairly easy going.  Around 1/3 of  a mile in I picked up a red blazed trail, which soon came to a screened view NE over the valley of Baldwin Brook.

After a drop down to a brook crossing, the trail begins steadily re-climbing again.

As I gained elevation, nearing in on 2000 feet, the scene became increasingly wintry, with snow clinging to nearly every branch of every tree.

Mixed forest up high on Harvey's slopes.

Entering an area of thinned out hardwoods just below the open blueberry fields near the summit.

Exiting the woods and arriving in Harvey Mountain's wide open blueberry fields, covered in a deep snow and a thick wintry glaze. Unfortunately the normally nice views to the south were obscured by clouds and falling snow.

North facing views.

Looking back west at the neighboring ridge.

After enjoying the views, I continued on about 1/10 of a mile over to the wooded 2065 summit.  This summit marks not only the state line between NY and Massachusetts, but also the high point in Columbia County.  When I stepped out of the trench created by other hikers, the snow was nearly knee deep up here.  Glad I wasn't breaking trail today.

It was a nice and easy descent back the way I came, easily making it back to the car just before dark.  3.5 miles RT with over 800 feet of ascent.

Mahanna Cobble via Bosquet Ski Area(Berkshires)

With snow in the forecast for this afternoon, I decided to head east just over the state line into Massachusetts to check out the Berkshire Natural Resources Council's newly constructed trail from Bosquet Ski Area up to 1889 foot Mahanna Cobble, which is the northern summit of Lenox Mountain.  Although hikers have always had access to the explore the ski slopes, they were never allowed during the winter ski season.  All of this changed recently when the BNRC partnered with Mill Town to build a hiking trail from the ski area up to the top of the Cobble, with minimal impact to the ski operations.  

From the parking area(elevation 1125 feet), head over to "Tube Town", where a trail map and signage will point you in the right direction.  Blue markers and signage aide you as the trail crosses over ski slopes as well as woodland areas on its way to BNRC property.  I chose to bare boot it because there were only a few inches of snow and it was all very well packed and supportive.

After about 6/10 of a mile, the trail comes to a BNRC kiosk and continues SW, slowly gaining elevation on the east slopes of the mountain. There are screened views to the east through much of this part of the hike.

Do I have a witness??

The trail switchbacks a couple of times just below the top of Mahanna Cobble, with more filtered views to the east.

From atop Mahanna Cobble, there are very nice, open views to the south where Kennedy Park and Yokun Ridge make up the most prominent ridges.  "George's Bench" makes a perfect spot to stop and rest, while soaking in the views.

From Mahanna Cobble, there some options.  You can either hike back on the trail you just came on or continue either north or south along Yokun Ridge.  I chose to head north towards the top of Bosquet's ski slopes.  This part of trail, while still used, showed much less foot traffic.

There are a pair of towers atop the ski slopes, set back in the woods a bit.  I believe one is a cell tower and the other bring a radio tower.

Just a few yards past the towers, the woods open up to a wide open, sprawling view from atop Bosquet's ski slopes.

The view is pretty remarkable from up here.  To the far left is the Taconic ridge, with the Greylock Range front and center.  Much of the city of Pittsfield can be seen sprawling in the valley below. 

After enjoying the views, I headed back to the "Secret Trail", which briefly lead me through the woods and back to the Mahanna Cobble Trail.  It was a nice and easy return route from there.  Hiked about 3.2 miles RT with 850 feet of ascent. 

This morning's route below.     Red=Ascent         Blue=return(descent)

 

Hand Hollow State Forest(New Lebanon, Columbia County)

Did a little exploring at Hand Hollow State Forest in the Columbia County woods after work this afternoon.  The State Forest, located in the town of New Lebanon, consists of 518 acres and is split north and south by County Route 34.  A marked trail to a 10 acre pond can be found crossing the road and heading south, while there are no marked or maintained trails to the north.  My ambition today was to bushwhack around the northern part of the State Forest, checking out the woods and hitting a pair of small unnamed peaks.  Although the skies were blue, there was a definite bite in the air, with wind chills hovering around 0 as I set out from the marked parking area along County Route 34(elevation 870 feet).

From the parking area, I quickly picked up an informal hunters path that crosses the meadow and then entered a dark, hemlock forest.  There was a remarkable amount of blue, pink and red paint on many trees throughout these woods.  Not sure of any specific meaning but it was literally everywhere.

Most of this land was farmed a century ago, so it was no surprise that I crossed over an old stone wall, as well as spotting several others along the way.  Only about 2 or 3 inches of crusty snow covered the ground making for pretty nice bare boot hiking.

The public land forced me in a general NE direction, slowly gaining elevation and crossing over a tiny drainage stream in between ridges.

The woods were remarkably open as I continued meandering my way NE, when suddenly I came across a very intact woods road as well as an.....abandoned car?

Sure enough, it was a Subaru hatchback that someone had apparently gotten stuck.  This was a first for me..finding an abandoned car in the middle of the woods.  These are the reasons I love to explore.

Beyond the car, I followed the woods road for a short distance NE before leaving it for yet another, lesser woods road, which headed due north before eventually disappearing. From that point, I simply continued heading north, bushwhacking right up the steepest slopes I saw all day.

On my way up, there were a ton of coyote and deer tracks in the snow.  It's always so fascinating to see the footprints and animal activity in the winter woods.  The climb was fairly straightforward and uneventful, as I soon arrived at the wooded 1364 foot peak.  This would mark the highest spot I hit all day. 

Again, private land forced me in a direction I didn't necessarily want to go, heading south off the summit and momentarily leaving the main ridge.  As soon as I saw the state land open back up I headed east up the slopes of the next ridge.  Once up high, I cheated to the steeper north slopes in hopes of a possible view. 

Unfortunately, the trees blocked any substantial views, but there were nice filtered views all around.

Approaching the next high spot on the ridge as well as my next destination.

Bon apetit?

Just below the summit, I hit another remarkably well preserved stone wall.

There were a couple of similar looking high spots but this appeared to be the true 1348 foot summit, which was completely wooded.

I took my time on the return hike heading basically west towards the setting sun, soaking in the solitude.  A sliver of the late afternoon sun poking through the trees and splashing light on a tributary of Hollow Brook was the highlight of the day for me.  

Hiked about 4 miles total with over 900 feet of combined ascent.  Today's rough route below.

Beebe Hill State Forest-North(Canaan, Columbia County-Taconics)

Headed east after work this afternoon to do some exploring in the far northern part of the 2018 acre Beebe Hill State Forest near the NY/ Mass state line.   Most folks are well aware of the fire tower atop Beebe Hill, but what many don't realize is that there are several other small peaks that few hikers ever see in these woods.  My goal for today was to park at the closed Sunoco gas station just off the B3 exit in Canaan, and bushwhack my way up to an unnamed 1785 foot high point just north of No Bottom Pond.  As I set out(elevation 940 feet), I headed north on an unplowed old road, which parallels I-90, and provides access to state land about 3/10 of a mile away. This was certainly the worst part of the hike, with rushing traffic just 20 yards away and a heavy snow squall bearing down on me.  In summer, this part of the road could easily be driven, cutting off some time from the hike.

Once I left the paved road, I picked up a good 4 wheel drive road that leads up to a State Forest parking area.  From the parking area, I followed a herd path, then a woods road along a thin strip of state land that continues northwest, closely hugging the interstate.  A short distance in, I came to some kind of an old quarry with views northeast across the interstate towards Deane Hill.(or even possibly an area of earth and stone moved to make room when they built the interstate)

Just beyond the quarry, my true bushwhack began.  The slopes were quite steep and public land didn't go straight up so I sort of had to angle my way up., heading generally SW.

I did my best to stay on state land, with several annoying ups and downs on the rocky slopes.

The higher I climbed, I began to be rewarded with screened views to the NW, with I-90 cutting through the rolling hills.

Although there was a crusty 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground and a fresh coating of an inch or two on top, these conditions didn't slow me down at all.  As I made my way up the steep slopes, the skies actually began to clear out as well.

At just over 1600 feet, I momentarily left the hardwoods behind, heading through a dark, coniferous ridge.  This extremely large boulder caught my attention here, seeming so out of place. 

Once over 1600 feet, the terrain leveled out nicely, with just a small rise through wide open hardwoods again. Suddenly, out of nowhere..I saw light!   After countless cloudy days, the sun broke through, brightening up the winter woods! 

I did my best to stay up on the ridge, heading SW through the open woods.  Just when I thought I had it easy, about 1/3 of a mile from the high point, I hit a large area of mountain laurel.  Even during the dead of winter these can still be a royal pain. 

Lucky for me, I easily side stepped the mountain laurel and stumbled upon a very good woods road, heading right towards the high point(and the sun). I followed a pair of coyote tracks on this road to within less than 1/10 of a mile of the high spot.

I left the woods road and whacked my way up to the nondescript 1785 foot high spot I was shooting for.  This spot, although just an unnamed bump, is actually higher than Beebe Hill itself. 

On my return, I made good time following the woods road which I had somehow missed on the way up.  I left it again, however, down around 1600 feet in search of potential views from the steep NW slopes of the ridge.

Try as I may, I simply couldn't find a clear view from up high.  The through the trees views across I-90 were quite good however! 

On the descent, I decided to go check out the pond in the far NW corner of the state forest, right beside the interstate.  Unfortunately, early sunset and thick prickers were working against me.  I did get down to the frozen, snow covered shore, but with darkness setting in, I quickly moved on, fighting my way through the scratchy woods.  Arrived back at the car just after dark and feeling a little exhausted.  Hiked nearly 5.5 miles RT, with over 1400 feet of combined ascent.  The rough terrain made this "easy" hike much tougher than I thought it might be.  

Rough route below.  Blue=Ascent   Red=Descent