Finally made it back to the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts today, covering 7.9-miles from Grange Hall Road to Dalton.

On this day in 2014...

Mahican Mohawk Marathon
August 15th, 2014
Florida, Savoy & Charlemont, Massachusetts

Mohawk, Savoy, Florida Marathon for Wuzzam and I.

Wuzzam and I ran the Mahican Mohawk Marathon in 6:43:30.  We began and ended at Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont, along the bank of the Cold River.  Our turn-around or midpoint was roughly at North Pond at Savoy Mountain State Forest in Savoy / Florida.

This was my 53rd completed marathon.

Running through Stafford Meadow

 

Red Pine Plantation, set in 1930's..

Up through the Red Pine.

Wuzzam at the first crossing of the Cold River.

Bog Pond, a long-time favorite area of ours..

Burnett Homestead Cemetery in Florida..

Second crossing of the Cold River.

7.4-miles exploring more forest in Granville.

Passed my Dermatologists Exam in the morning, and then drove to visit my parents with DL.  We picked up fish and chips & clam strips along the way for a late lunch with the folks.

Main and North Main Street in the early morning prior to work for 3.2-miles. 

On this day in 2005...

Hallockville Pond Marathon

August 11th, 2005 - Hawley, Massachusetts

Today I completed my 30th marathon.  Locale was Dubuque State Forest and we named the event the "Hallockville Pond" Marathon.  

For company, I had Wuzzam being his norm good sport, and Tippi with her normal determination.  Old Farmer Tom met us along the Notch Trail on bicycle, and enjoyed a few miles with us.

This was Tippi's 4th completed marathon.  Our time ended up at 5:21:16.

Mid-Morning run in Mclean for a bit of plus and minus...

Plus-side:

• Toe was pretty good
• Covered 5-miles
• Got it done early enough to relax for the rest of the day 

Minus-side:

• I just didn't have it after Mile-2
• Warm, Humid and Buggy
• New GPS isn't functioning as well as it should

For the minus grouping, I will be better once I regain consistency with running regularly.  The month of none running has hurt.  The weather will also improve as fall approaches.  And finally, I am considering sending this gps back and just purchasing the upgrade to my old faithful (and falling apart) Astro.

Granville, Massachusetts to further explore Sullivan Hollow, Hollister Brook and East Sweetman Mountain.  The damaged left toe did well today, over the 3.7-miles of constant up and down.

Small Falls on Hollister Brook after Mill Site

Small Falls on Hollister Brook after Mill Site

Hollister Brook at Mill Site

Hollister Brook at Mill Site

Hollister Brook at Mill Site Path

Hollister Brook Mill Site Path

Road running along  Main, Kent, Wisteria, Dylan and Bridge for 3.4-miles.

Back out to Granville and Bad Luck Mountain area.  Some pretty good news from the adventure was the toe was "ok" for the first 5-miles.  I am not saying it isn't "sore", but it was managable.

I found the old path from the topo maps, as well as some "single-track" that got me off the gas-line.

A couple of decent views, one should be pretty good once the leaves fall, the other was fine as it was.

Finished with 7.5-miles, with especially the last one being a bit "rough" due to the toe.

Looking southeast

New Stone Structure

New Stone Structure

Porcupine

Old Pond

Perched/Balanced Rock

I meant to do some running today, but an emergency at work caused a very long day.  It wasn't the worst thing, as the toe is still decently sore. 

Great news today...  I received the following notice:

The Connecticut Master Woodland Manager team is excited to welcome you to our first cohort!

I hope to participate!

"High Points" along the trails I've visited during July, 2021... (wrecked left toe, not much going on)

• Liar Mountain, Tolland State Forest, Tolland, Massachusetts
• Tow Hill, Tolland-Granville, Massachusetts
• Phelon Memorial Forest Lookout, Granville, Massachusetts
• Beech Hill, Granville, Massachusetts (Parsons and Black Pond Area)

On this day in 1996...

Appalachian Trail Marathon

August 3rd, 1996 - Salisbury, CT to Mount Washington, MA

I completed my 13th marathon today.  My route took me along the Appalachian Trail, from Salisbury, Connecticut into Massachusetts.  My turnaround point was at the summit of Mt. Everett.  My time on the trail was roughly 6:27:53, which included a break for a lunch at Everett.

What Played in Ed's Head -- Music listened to for the time-period  July 1st through 31st, 2021:

Exploring in Granville, off Old Westfield Road on a obscure path.  Looking over the topo map of the area, I was hoping this would lead to Bad Luck Mountain.

Decent route up to Bad Luck Mountain with a few intersections yet to explore.  I began the turn south a little too early though, and didn't find the woods road on the topo map of the area, but an alternative.

Very good route, lost all my elevation and emptied into an un-mowed field.  Wandered a bit, decided to bee-line it right to Route 57 through a backyard.  Ran the road roughly 1.2-miles back to the car, finishing with 4-miles.