Race Brook Falls

I hiked the Race Brook Falls trail this morning in Sheffield, MA.  It was a cold morning with temperatures starting out in the teens and climbing into the high 20’s.  The trail is a steady climb for about 1 mile with some steeper spots along the way. 

At just under a mile, I arrived at the upper falls. There were some icy spots along the way and I put my microspikes on just before reaching the upper falls.  I continued to wear them the rest of the hike. The upper falls are an impressive sight, with a lot of ice this time of year. 

I picked my way over the brook and continued on, once at the top of the falls the trail continues on toward Race Brook Campsite and eventually terminating at the Appalachian Trail.  It is fairly level from here and I was able to make good time to the camp site and on to the junction with the AT.

 The camp site is nice with a few tent platforms, a privy, and a few fire rings.  I would like to camp there one night, maybe this spring.  The blue blazes got a little sketchy here and I had to double back to find the trail, but it didn’t take long.  The AT is just a short distance from the camp site and I quickly made it to the junction and turned around.

White Blaze

 I did not hike out to see the lower Race Brook falls on this hike, but I plan to go back at some point to do so.  I enjoyed this trail, and am glad I chose today to hike it.  I hiked at total of 4 miles out and back.  

New Year's Day Tradition Continues

My friend, Mark and our sons, have a tradition of hiking on New Year’s Day for the past number for years and this year was no exception.  Normally we would have hiked Mt. Greylock in Mass. but the temps have been extremely cold this last week of December, with expected wind chills in the -25 to -30 degree ranges on Mt. Greylock, so this year we decided to hike another mountain and trail, one that Mark had not hiked before but an old friend of mine.  We hiked the Alander Mountain Trail in Mount Washington State Forest out to the summit of Alander Mountain.  It was a bright sunny day with the temp in the parking lot at -3*.  We began hiking at around 10am and made the summit just before noon.  The trail was broken but hadn’t been hiked in a few days.  We were able to bare boot the entire trip but were prepared with microspikes just in case. 

The way out was a steady climb through hardwood forest and we made pretty good time.  The cold wasn’t an issue as we had all dressed in layers and prepared.  We stopped briefly at the cabin just before the summit and had a snack and some water, but sitting still soon brought the cold on and before we got really cold we moved on to the summit.  The views were nice as usual, and the Catskills stood out to the west. 

I think the snow on the mountains made a nice contrast and they really stood out.  After enjoying the view and the bright sun we made our way back.  The return going quickly, and we were back at the car and warming up by 2:30pm. 

It was a nice hike of about 5.4 miles over a dry powdery snow.  The temperature at the car was 7* when we got back.  Our tradition continues with more good memories and miles to start the year.