First Night Campout

As has been my tradition the last couple of years, a hike on Mount Greylock in Adams, MA, is how some friends and I start the year.  This year we planned to stay overnight and celebrate New Year's Eve on the mountain.  We left home about mid-day on the 31st and arrived at the Gould Trail parking area and trailhead about 2:30pm.  It was overcast with light snow predicted for the night.  Reports for hikers in the parking lot told us the trial was broken and we would not need snowshoes, which we had with us just in case.  We donned our packs and microspikes and headed out.  It is a steady climb and with the packed snow on the trail it was a little slippery.  Our pace was slow as we climbed higher, our full packs and winter gear weighing us down.

We arrived at the Pecks Brook Shelter after 2 hours of hiking, it was slow going for us.  We also followed a spur trail for a bit before realizing it was not the trail to the shelter. After back tracking and finding the correct trail we made camp at the shelter.  There were already two other hikers staying at the shelter and they made room for us as well.  Two of us slept in the shelter and two set up a tent just outside.  The shelter is in OK shape.  It is in a nice spot sitting on the edge of a ravine with Pecks Brook running down into it.  There are some nice water falls if you climb down to look, but we did not.  Someone had left a tarp at the shelter and we used it to cover the front, helping to keep any blowing snow out and dampen the wind.  It worked well. 

 As the day light faded away we cooked dinner and sat around the fire that was going nicely. For dinner I cooked up some Packit Gourmet Poblano Corn Chowder.  It was packed with corn and had a good taste, with just a little spiciness to it.  It also rehydrated well. After dinner and changing into dry cloths I sat around the fire for a bit and chatted with the other hikers.  It was a nice evening. Everyone turned in early and it was quiet except for the wind. We were all up by 6:30 and started getting breakfast together.

After eating, packing up, and a final check of the shelter we made our way back to the Gould Trail. Our intention was to climb to the summit of Mount Greylock and then head back to the car, but I had to be back home by early afternoon and we didn't think we would make it.  So, we headed straight back to the cars.  It was a smooth hike out and we were back to the car quickly.  It was then off to get our typical after hike meal of McDonald's.  That always seems to motivate the scouts pretty good. Although we did not make it to the summit this hike we did enjoy spending the night just below the summit and on New Year's Eve as well. We will be back to Mount Greylock next year, we have a year to plan our next New Year's hike and campout.