Table of Contents
On this page: On other pages:- Friday: Alander Mountain
- Saturday: Mount Greylock
- Sunday morning: Berlin Mountain
- Sunday afternoon: Crum Hill
- Monday: Mount Frissell and Brace Mountain
- Resources for Highpointing in the Berkshires
Planning the Trip
Boston area hikers do not often go west for their hiking. When they want to hike in the mountains they are far more likely to go north, to New Hampshire, which is as close to Boston as the Berkshires and offers more hiking opportunities. But during the infamous "Mud Season", when the lower part of New Hampshire trails are muddy while the upper parts are covered with rotting snow, the Berkshires and western Connecticut become much more attractive.Some 15 years ago, on a vacation to the Berkshires, I drove to the top of Mount Greylock. I never returned to hike up it, and as I became interested in highpointing I started thinking of returning to claim it properly. Obviously Mount Frissell, the highpoint of Connecticut, would be part of the same trip. Reading about the county highpoints I noted that three New York counties had highpoints close to the Massachusetts border, and that the highpoint of Franklin County (Mass.) was close to North Adams.
Early in the spring of 2003 I read that the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was running a weekend trip (May 17-18) to do a traverse of Mount Greylock, following the Appalachian Trail (AT) over it, as well as a hike along the Taconic Crest. The two trip leaders were friends of mine, so I immediately signed up.
I am retired, so I decided to lengthen the weekend. My original plan was to leave early on Friday and hike alone that day, hike with the group on Saturday and Sunday and drive back on Sunday. I ended up leaving later than planned on Friday, and was only able to do part of the hike I had planned for that day, so I stayed over on Sunday night and once again hiked alone on Monday before driving home.
Overview
The week before the trip was cold and rainy, and initially the forecast was for rain to continue on Saturday, with clearing starting on Sunday. As the week progressed the forecast improved, we ended up with clouds but no rain on Friday, and gorgeous spring weather thereafter.On Friday morning I left Boston after the morning rush hour, and arrived at the trailhead around 1 PM. I hiked up Mount Alander to the highpoint of Columbia County, NY, by the Mount Alander Trail, and enjoyed some views on a cloudy day. I then drove up to Williamstown, where we were staying at the Maple Terrace Motel, which we enjoyed very much. The group met there late in the afternoon, and we all went out together for dinner.
On Saturday we spotted cars and traversed Mount Greylock, the highpoint of Massachusetts and of Berkshire County, from north to south. There was a nice breeze, and on the summit we found a large gathering of hang gliders. We again had dinner together that evening.
On Sunday the group did a long hike along the Taconic Crest Trail, after which they returned to Boston. I joined them for the first part of their trip, over Berlin Mountain, the highpoint of Rensselaer County, NY. They then continued along the ridge, while I returned to my car and drove to Crum Hill, the highpoint of Franklin County, Mass. On my return I went to The Mountain Goat, Williamstown's main outdoors store, to buy some maps and books on hiking in the area.
Monday was a heavy duty driving day. I started by driving to the southern end of Massachusetts, then over into New York State, to hike Mount Frissell (highpoint of Connecticut and of Fairfield County) and Brace Mountain (highpoint of Dutchess County, NY) from the west. Then the long drive back to Boston to end a very agreeable four day trip.