Monument Mountain - Part 4

I'd finally reached Squaw Peak, my destination point on Monument Mountain, and much of the rocky surface was covered with ice. So I kept the dogs on leashes and sat down carefully on a boulder to snap some photos of the beautiful valley below:

The young couple who shared the peak with me was very friendly and seemed a bit concerned that such an old codger and four dogs should be traversing these icy heights. I met several other hikers that day who, though never actually saying so, seemed concerned about such a decrepit oldster. But we were having a wonderful day. I asked the young couple to use my camera to get a photo of me with the dogs atop Squaw Peak and they were happy to do so:

Far below us the valley floor looked peaceful, calm and inviting. Squaw Peak was named for a Native American woman who, according to legend, leaped to her death from here. Perhaps this awesome sight inspired her to think she could fly:

But the time had come to start trekking back down the mountainside. When we'd reached a point which seemed safe, I again let the dogs off their leashes. This was a great relief for both them and for me:

Down we went, traversing the trail which was lined with Mountain Laurels and mossy rocks:

The Berkshire Mountains were visible through the trees in many places as we hiked onward toward the trail head:

I endeavored to keep the dogs closer to me than I usually do, calling them back to me whenever they got farther ahead than I'd like. They'd run back to see what I wanted and get patted and praised:

There were still sharp drop-offs in places, but the truly dangerous cliffs were behind us at that point:

There were still some dangerously icy spots, however, and I saw one woman take a terrible fall. She got right back up and continued on, though. Apparently her dignity was hurt more than her backside:

I lifted Fergus up onto this tree trunk for a photo op and you can see he's not thrilled with the idea. I'd have lifted him back down but he jumped before I got there, landing on the slick ice, his legs splaying out. But he wasn't hurt and wasn't worried about his dignity either. Fergus was having a grand time:

We continued down through beautiful forests on our way back to the trail head:

I put the dogs on their leashes again when we were almost back to our car. I advised a man on his way up the mountain about which trails were dangerously icy and Seamus said a doggy hello to a Border Collie who was just starting up with her owner. But for us, the hike was over and it was time to drive home where both Wally and Winky were waiting patiently and needing a bathroom break:

Monument Mountain - Part 3

I was hiking up Monument Mountain in Great Barrington, Massachusetts with my four youngest dogs. We'd passed our first scenic overlook but a simple glance in either direction made it clear to me that there was more beauty to come:

I passed a bit of an overlook off to the left and snapped a photo, but I could tell that the real payoff was ahead and to the right:

Like up there, perhaps?:

I had already decided that I wanted to see both Devil's Pulpit and Squaw Peak. Devil's Pulpit, however, was a short spur off the Squaw Peak trail, so that's where I headed:

The spur trail to Devil's Pulpit was steep but someone had thoughtfully placed large rocks into a staircase of sorts. The dogs were still on their leashes at this point. The drop-offs were steep and sudden, and my dogs were full of play and oblivious to any danger. The first rock on this ascent was so big and steep that I had to haul Seamus up by pulling on his leash:

And there it was, Devil's Pulpit. That's the free-standing pinnacle of rock in the valley below. I'll bet you never thought that Massachusetts had such extraordinary natural beauty, did you?:

I could see the valley below off through some pine limbs:

I don't know the identity of this hardy little fern but it was ubiquitous, growing bravely out of many rock crevices:

I descended the Devil's Pulpit spur trail and began making my way toward Squaw Peak (where legend has it a squaw threw herself to her death). The dogs were still on their leashes which was awkward, but I didn't want any dogs falling off of cliffs. We all stopped for a photo of the Great Barrington high school in the valley below. You can see its orange track behind the school:

And a lake or river off in another direction. There was a mountain with ski slopes toward the east, but the sun prevented me from getting any usable photos:

I saw a young couple atop Squaw Peak and headed that way. There was much ice on the trail and it was treacherous, so I moved slowly and cautiously, trying to keep all four dogs with me on their leashes:

And the views were magnificent. But I'll post more tomorrow:

Monument Mountain - Part 2

It was a beautiful Sunday and I'd taken the dogs to Monument Mountain in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. The beginning of the trail was very icy and I'd kept the dogs on leashes. But when the trail became less icy and I'd seen no other hikers, I let the dogs run and play. Even Seamus did a bit of romping - kind of like a brontosaurus at play, but romping nonetheless:

The trail was brightened and ornamented with emerald mosses, rufous pine needles, cherry-red Partridgeberries and white quartzite:

And Mountain Laurels were everywhere. This trail would be spectacular when they bloom in the spring:

But the "Silly Sisters" missed all that natural beauty, preferring instead to run and wrestle:

The trail took a sharp turn upward, climbing steeply to what appeared to be an overlook. I considered putting the dogs back on leashes right then but figured I'd need my hands free to get up there:

All four dogs are in this photo. Can you find them?:

Daphne played mountain goat:

I was beginning to see some steep cliffs and getting nervous about the dogs' playing. But I let them continue for the time being:

You can see in this photo that we were getting close to some sharp drop-offs:

I called the dogs to my side and attached their leashes:

And there it was, our first scenic overlook across some Berkshire Mountains:

And down below us was the Great Barrington high school. But this wasn't the top of the mountain. We had more climbing to do. I'll post more tomorrow:

Monument Mountain - Part 1

I'd been home from the farm only one week and our amazingly mild winter weather had continued. When I heard predictions for Sunday of temperatures in the 40s, I knew it was time to take a hike. So I drove to Great Barrington, Massachusetts to hike up Monument Mountain in the Berkshires. The trail began in an unusual forest filled with giant boulders:

The trails were slick with ice and I thought there might be a high concentration of other hikers so I kept the dogs on leashes as we carefully negotiated the icy trails at the beginning of the hike:

But when we'd gained a little elevation, the trails were less icy and I'd seen no other hikers, I relaxed and let the dogs off their leashes. They were all by then very excited and ran like little crazy-dogs. Especially Clover:

Daphne and Clover ran up and down the trail, wrestling as they ran. It was quite a sight. This photo caught them in mid-run/wrestle:

Tubby Seamus was lively for a brief time but quickly settled down. Fergus, Daphne and Clover continued to run crazily and I began getting cranky, thinking they were getting out of control. Or maybe I was just an old crab:

But the forest was lovely and calming. This emerald moss covered log was softly collecting what I've often heard called corn snow. It was beautiful:

When we got to a flat spot with no ice, I took the dogs for an excursion into the forest to explore and, hopefully, to dampen the youngsters' energy. Daphne gave me her look of "C'mon, Dad. Can't you move any faster?":

The trail steepened but the Papillons continued to race, wrestle and play. Fergus was there also but hasn't yet appeared in any photos because he was merrily running in big circles:

Clover has more energy than any ten dogs I've ever known and runs just for joy:

And Daphne almost keeps up with her:

Rocky cliffs covered with snow and ice began to rise up alongside the trail and I could imagine the type of peak to which we were headed. This promised to be a magnificent overlook if it wasn't too icy to access:

There's Fergus! This photo shows him at full speed with his ears flopping. I thought I'd be putting the dogs back on their leashes soon, but for the time being I worked on keeping them reasonably close to me. That had the advantages of increasing my control and giving them more exercise because I kept calling them back to me. But we were just getting started. I'll post more tomorrow: