One thing I've been meaning to do is complete the Bear Swamp Trail off Pulpit Rock, down to the bottom, and someday to Monroe Bridge.  Once at Monroe Bridge, I know that Kingsley Hill Road is nearby and part of a snowmobile corridor, which may allow for future extensions of my circled world.

Monroe Bridge would have to wait, but I did get to the bottom off Pulpit Rock.  That is the good news;  the bad news is that I was really exhausted at the bottom and knew I'd have to climb back up the mountain...  and it is very steep.

This trail will really be great, once it's finished.  My fear is that Brookfield Renewable Power may consider the Bear Swamp Hiking Trail complete as it stands.  I honestly don't know the answer, but Wuzzam and I traveled a part of this on May 27th, 2016 and it appears the same as it did last year, except grown in a bit more.  The plus/minus is as follows:

• The Blazes and metal Bear Swamp Trail circular markers are done really well.
• The Trail off the snowmobile trail to the substation is fairly hidden, and you have to either know it's there or get really lucky.
• That trail down to the road crossing is very, very difficult to follow on the ground.
• Once crossing the road, on the way to Pulpit Rock, the trail needs to be traveled.  Honestly, I think I could see that a person had gone through recently, but it may have been only one over the last few months.  The markers and blazes are great and plentiful, but the trail on the ground is in danger of vanishing if it isn't trimmed back this year or next.
• I noticed several balanced rocks along the trail, which is awesome.
• The views at the openings, including Pulpit Rock, are magnificent.
• There is a very large slab of rock along the trail north of Pulpit Rock which allowed me a view of Greylock, which really was a highpoint.
• Once the trail begins the descent, it is very steep and narrow.  Not only are more switchbacks necessary, but bench-cutting is needed as well.  I normally wouldn't mind, but this is a trail that Brookfield Renewable Power had hired New England Environmental, Inc to develop and maintain.
• At the bottom to Monroe Bridge, I didn't venture along the flats but it looked grown in with knee high fern.
• Many signs of Moose along the ridge route.

The day brought me 8.4-miles on my legs, with a very difficult climb in the middle.  The trail tread isn't really set yet, so none of the route is easy going.  It is in an incredible area, so I'll be back to see if any maintenance or improvements are made.

Roadside Memorial along Route 2 in Greenfield

 Balanced Rock

 View down toward Dunbar Brook Picnic Area

Another Balanced Rock

 Off Pulpit Rock

 Do you see our winged friend?

 Moss leading to Pulpit Rock

 Yet Another Balanced Rock

 Signage along the bottom, my turn-a-round point

 Moose Sign

 Moose Sign

 A View of Greylock in the Distance

 

An outstanding summer day for Connecticut, cool in the high '70's with no humidity and plenty of sunshine in a blue sky.  My legs seemed like they were recovering pretty well from the long day on Greylock, so I drove to the Metacomet on Route 20 to run out to the notch and back, for 5.8-miles.

Looking south off Peak Mtn (Copper Mtn), towards Hueblin Tower and Talcott Mountain

Looking west down to Old Newgate Prison

Remnants of an old stonewall crossing over the ridge

I woke fairly early and quickly drove out to the Suffield, Connecticut - Southwick, Massachusetts bike path today (Farmington Canal Heritage Trail & Southwick Rail Trail) to run an easy 3-miles before heading to visit my folks.  Parked near Congamond Road, and went north for a bit, and back.  It was a good enough run at 10-minute pace to keep my legs from going into rigor mortis after yesterday's effort.  It is always good to visit the rail-trails and visualize up close how many people use and enjoy these paths.

Visit with the folks was great, as is normal.  I brought along a box of Mrs. Murphy's donuts for them, and picked fresh, ripe raspberries to take back home.  An outstanding day!

Heading back south on the Southwick Rail Trail

It has been a very long time since I've been on Greylock.  Having grown up in Adams, the mountain is part of me, yet I haven't connected with it recently.  Wuzzam and I decided to change that today.

We would park along Rockwell Road, at the CCC Dynamite Trailhead lot.  This is directly across from Sperry Road, which has been closed to vehicles for a few years now.  Route as follows:

• Sperry to the Hopper Trail, and drop down to Hopper Road, at roughly 1,000' elevation.
• Up Haley Farm Trail to Stony Ledge lookout at 2,560' elevation.
• Down the Stony Ledge Trail to the Roaring Brook Trail at roughly 1,200' elevation.
• Up Roaring Brook to the Deer Hill Trail, 2,250' elevation.
• Down Deer Hill to the Falls, and then climb back up to the Campground Trail, which is a real rollarcoaster down and up!
• Campground Trail out to Rockville Road, down the Road for a quarter mile, and down Greylock Road to the Stage Trail.
• Stage Trail to Jones Nose.
• Up Jones Nose to the CCC Dynamite, and the Dynamite back to the car.

Total of 13.2-miles, beautiful low 70-degree temperatures with no humidity and no bugs.  

We held up really well on the long Haley Farm Climb, remembering most of it from the Greylock Marathon Runs.  Roaring Brook was the toughest for both of us, it has turned steeper and longer than I had remembered.  Deer Hill was as I recalled, difficult heading down and a chore climbing back up.

By the time we hit Jones Nose, even that climb stressed us.  Neither of us have climbed like this in some time.  It was beautiful, and encouraged us to make this trip much more often.

View northwest from Haley Farm Trailhead

Climbing Haley Farm, Wuzzam is in a green shirt in the middle of photo

Looking towards Williamstown from Haley Farm Trail, two-thirds up

Looking off Stony Ledge, with Prospect on the left, Fitch and Williams on right

Wuzzam on Stony Ledge, Greylock behind him

Another view off Stony Ledge, with a nicer focus on The Hopper

The bottom of Deer Hill Falls

Stream after the falls from the bridge

Wuzzam on the bridge

Jones Nose

Also, on this day in 2005...

Tippi and I ran the Savoy General Store Marathon.  It was lengthy, over 29-miles I believe.  From Haskins Road to the General Store, which brought us all the way over to Windsor Jambs, we had the company of "Max", a friendly dog we picked up at Loop & Haskins intersection. 

Tippi along the trails of Savoy, 2005.

 Oddly, each time we came to an intersection on the trail, "Max" knew which way we were planning on turning (even though he lead).  He managed this for 9 - 10 miles.

Total for the day was roughly 29.30-miles in 6:17:52.  It was my 27th completed marathon, and Tippi's 3rd.  After finishing, I met Jane Phinney in the Savoy Town Offices;  she was the Savoy Town Clerk and is the author of  "Taking the High Road". 

After Saturday's run to the Pine Cone, I decided the time was ripe to bushwhack from Enders State Forest up to the Cone.  It looked to be somewhere around a mile, and I had the waypoint on the gps so it would be fairly easy finding my way (as long as I could avoid heavy mountain laurel stands).

Heading up, I encountered an amazing ceremonial stone pile in the middle of nowhere, which I would commit to memory for the return trip.  It rained slightly, but the leaf coverage was pretty heavy so I managed to stay somewhat dry.  Made it to the end of Pine Cone easily enough, at around 1.2-miles.

Going down, I decided to keep a slightly straighter bearing on the stone-mound.  Worked fantastically, so I'll get out here in the early winter and place some flagging up for the connection of the circled world.

Once down to the stream, I followed the trail(s) to the south-side, crossed after the last falls, wobbled a bit further east before turning around and coming back on the north side of the stream.  Water over the falls was plentiful and loud!  Managed a total of 3.1-miles while having this fun.

Just enough time between leaving my normal work-day and re-arriving for the scheduled monthly meeting to get in a 3.4-mile run on the Metacomet from Phelps Road.

This is an out and back that I've done way, way over a thousand times.  That I continue to visit it speaks to its appeal.

Chimney remains about a half-mile out from Phelps Road

Music 2017...

Effort #22, Tale of a Broken Man...

The Road Warriors for Christ, from the fall of 1988. Another original song of mine, lyrics and music.  The song is about a close friend, in need of redemption/salvation.  He found it.

The Rev. King supplied the lead guitar parts;  it was the first time I played the song with him.  His melody fits really nicely and engaged the mood of the song.

 

Old news department...

On this day in 2009, Tippi and I explored the Robert Frost Trail through Sunderland and Amherst (I think).  It was a day after a really hard rain, so the brooks and streams were really roaring.  We ended up losing a bunch of time "off trail" around Eastman Brook.

We parked at Amethyst Brook and did a bit south, then north to the foot of Bull Hill.  Outstanding area that I would like to return to.

This was my 41st completed marathon and Tippi's 14th.  The run took us 6:03:58 to finish.

Had a 9:00 a.m. run planned with Wuzzam, with plans to tackle Penwood and Talcott Mountain in a loop, more or less.  

We rolled through 12.5-miles of rocky ups and downs, and we did so pretty successfully.  By that, I mean I felt as though I had another hour of running in me (at least).  Wuzzam thought he finished well, and had a bit more in the tank also.

We ended up at around the 3 hour mark for moving time.   Much of the route is rocky, and constant up and down especially the first 3.3-miles from Wintonberry Road to the Penwood parking lot.  This will be the final leg of a planned marathon, beginning in the north...  hopefully this fall.

Wuzzam at the Prayer Garden in Penwood

Hueblin Tower

Wuzzam at his first visit to Hueblin Tower / Talcott Mountain

 Just south of the Tower on the open ledge

Broad Hill Road in Granby, Connecticut, off Route 20.  There are trails throughout the Granby Land Trust, Holcomb Farm, and McLean Game Refuge.  Wanted to get in a mid-distance run, and I hadn't been out in this area in a while.

The thing that pops into my mind every 5 or so years is a connection to Enders State Forest from the Broad Hill, Weed Hill and Pine Cone area.  I keep looking every half-decade, but so far no one has connected things for me.

Along this run, there are many "highlites"...

• Cellar Holes & Stone Walls
• At least One Old Well
• Carpenter Falls
• Pine Cone
• Diamond Ledge

I managed 7.8-miles, in a remaining high humidity.  I did find some "private" trails off Broad Hill that lead into backyards, and one that loops about and catches a nice pond.  I did not see anything promising off the Pine Cone, so I'll keep those points on my gps and hike up from Enders sometime soon.

I cut off toward Pine Cone, but Broad Hill continues west.  It used to come out on Case Street, I'll check on that at some point.  There was also a single-track trail leaving Broad Hill to the south, which also came back around to Case Street at a Horse Rescue Farm.  Its been ages since I tried either of those options.

Carpenter Falls

 Carpenter Falls again

 Pond off Broad Hill

Remains of an Old Well

 View off the northeast side of Pine Cone

 The Summit of Pine Cone

 Diamond Ledge