The Spirit of Massachusetts…
Hike # 105
Mount Tom State Reservation
Holyoke, MA
Hike Distance: 9.78 Miles
Date Hiked: 6/7/2014
Date Published: 6/10/2014
Hike # 105
Mount Tom State Reservation
Holyoke, MA
Hike Distance: 9.78 Miles
Date Hiked: 6/7/2014
Date Published: 6/10/2014
Ever since I started taking
hiking seriously, I’ve been keeping an eye out for peaks I would like to
climb. Often times I’ll talk about
wanting to climb peaks for which I’m not even certain there are trails. Mount Tom, just off I-91 in Holyoke,
Massachusetts has been on my radar for quite some time. I would see it whenever I was in the area
(mostly while driving with my friend Tim on our way to the recording studio)
and think how fun it would be to climb to the top, looking out over the
Connecticut River Valley below. So, after
thinking about it for a while, I finally set out for Mount Tom.
I arrived in the area, which is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, around 9:30am. I paid the $2 entry fee, drove a short distance on Reservation Road, and parked along the side of the road near Lake Bray. I geared up for my solo trip (Roscoe had to stay home because I was coming straight from a tune-up at the car dealership in Enfield) and hit the trail…
I arrived in the area, which is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, around 9:30am. I paid the $2 entry fee, drove a short distance on Reservation Road, and parked along the side of the road near Lake Bray. I geared up for my solo trip (Roscoe had to stay home because I was coming straight from a tune-up at the car dealership in Enfield) and hit the trail…
From Lake Bray, I followed
Reservation Road due north for roughly 2/10 of a mile until I reached the T.
Bagg Trail…
I made a slight right turn to
follow the red blazes of the T. Bagg Trail.
For the most part, the trail was all climb but it leveled off in a few
sections…
After approximately 8/10 of a
mile on the T. Bagg Trail (1.0 mile since originally leaving the parking area),
I reached a trail junction. Here, the
New England Trail (NET) heads left (southwest) and right (northeast)…
The sign in the picture above only
notes this is the M-M Trail, otherwise known as the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail,
but it more recently (along with the Mattabesett Trail and the Menunkatuck
Trail) became known as the New England National Scenic Trail, or NET for short. The M-M (NET) Trail follows the same ridge as
the Metacomet Trail in Connecticut, and the hiking is very similar to that
trail…possibly even more challenging. In
fact, I was somewhat familiar with the white blazes of this trail because I had
followed them previously, heading northbound while on Hike # 80, when I
followed the Metacomet as it crossed over from CT to Massachusetts in Rising
Corners. If I turned left at this junction,
I could head south towards the Summit of Mount Tom. But, I wanted to save the summit for a little
later in the hike and had planned to check out some of the highlights north of
here. So, I turned right and followed
the trail in that general direction…
Roughly 1.4 miles in, I came to
an overlook with a spectacular view of Oxbow Marina in Northampton…
I’ve seen the marina, named for
the section of the Connecticut River where it is located, countless times while
driving I-91. It was awesome to see it
from this view.
Approximately 1.7 miles in, I reached an unnamed road. Apparently, the road used to be a seasonal auto road but is now closed due to deteriorating conditions. The M-M Trail (NET) turns left at the road and continues, due north, all the way up to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. One day, I hope to cover the remaining miles between here and Mount Monadnock. For today, I made a slight right and followed the road…continuing off trail…in search of what would be one of the biggest highlights of this trip…
Approximately 1.7 miles in, I reached an unnamed road. Apparently, the road used to be a seasonal auto road but is now closed due to deteriorating conditions. The M-M Trail (NET) turns left at the road and continues, due north, all the way up to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. One day, I hope to cover the remaining miles between here and Mount Monadnock. For today, I made a slight right and followed the road…continuing off trail…in search of what would be one of the biggest highlights of this trip…
Roughly 1.8 miles in, after
following an un-marked trail for a bit, I reached the ruins of the Eyrie House
and the summit of Mount Nonotuck (elevation: 827 feet)…
Originally constructed in 1861,
after the success of a hotel on the summit of Mount Holyoke (across the
Connecticut River), Eyrie House burned in 1901, leaving only the cellar holes
and walls of the stone understory. For
more information, and to see what the hotel used to look like, check out this
blog (http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2010/03/eyrie-house-william-streets-home-in.html). I searched around the area of the ruins for a
bit, adding additional distance to my hike.
As I started heading due south again, my MapMyHike app notified me I had
reached the 2 mile point.
I re-traced my steps from earlier, following the M-M Trail (NET) south until I returned to the intersection with the T. Bagg Trail. From there, I continued south until (around the 3.1 miles in) I reached the overlook of Goat Peak (elevation: 822 feet)…
I re-traced my steps from earlier, following the M-M Trail (NET) south until I returned to the intersection with the T. Bagg Trail. From there, I continued south until (around the 3.1 miles in) I reached the overlook of Goat Peak (elevation: 822 feet)…
Before I continued my journey
south on the M-M Trail (NET), I made a quick detour to the Goat Peak Lookout
Tower…
The views from the top of the
tower did not disappoint. To the south
(in the first picture below), I could see the summit of Mount Tom. To the Northeast (second picture), I could see
the Mount Holyoke Range. I even struck
up a conversation with a couple and their young daughter, who braved the trip
up to the top of the tower. I took their
picture and they took mine, while we chatted about the views, the weather, the
hike, and (of course) baseball…
From the tower, I made my way
back over to the M-M Trail (NET) and resumed my trip due south.
Approximately 3.7 miles in, I crossed Reservation Road…
Approximately 3.7 miles in, I crossed Reservation Road…
I lost the trail here for a
bit. The blazes led me to believe the
trail went straight, across the road.
But, the trail actually follows the road.
Roughly 4.2 miles in, I crossed the Quarry Trail and continued due south…
Roughly 4.2 miles in, I crossed the Quarry Trail and continued due south…
It wasn’t long before I came to
a staircase…
This staircase seemed
unnecessary. But, later, there is an
even steeper climb (followed by a series of switchbacks) and the staircase
there came in handy. I would’ve stopped
to take a picture of the steeper staircase but I was being absolutely tortured
by mosquitoes.
Approximately 4.5 miles in, the hike started to get a lot more technical. But, the reward for the effort here is a series of western views which are very impressive…
Approximately 4.5 miles in, the hike started to get a lot more technical. But, the reward for the effort here is a series of western views which are very impressive…
At one point, I could even see
the Oxbow (first picture below), which now seemed so far away when it had seemed so
close only a few miles earlier…
Roughly 4.9 miles in, I crossed
the D’OC Trail (labeled on the map as D.O.C. Trail)…
I continued to take my time and
enjoy the seemingly endless number of western views…that is, where the mosquitoes
would allow me the opportunity…
Approximately 5.3 miles in, I
spotted Radio/TV Antennae off in the distance.
According to the map, I would later walk right by them…
But, first, I had to traverse a
few obstacles…
Roughly 5.6 miles in, I looked to
the northeast in an effort to find where I was in relation to the Radio/TV
antennae and spotted this windmill…
According to some online
sources, the windmill was used by UMass at one time but is no longer
operational.
Approximately 6.1 miles in, I reached a false summit where several people were gathered…
Approximately 6.1 miles in, I reached a false summit where several people were gathered…
Some of the people appeared to
be hang-gliding, and I would’ve loved to see them take off. But, I was starting to get tired and the bugs
from earlier in the day had gotten the best of me. So, not realizing this overlook was a false
summit, I started heading back to my vehicle, making my way down via this
access road…
After maybe 100 feet, I decided
I better go back and confirm I had reached the summit. I would’ve been devastated, after spending so
much time and effort to get up here, if I had kept walking downhill because…as
it turns out…I hadn’t reached the summit yet.
Finally, after about 6.5 miles of hiking, I reached the summit of Mount Tom (elevation: 1202 feet)…
Finally, after about 6.5 miles of hiking, I reached the summit of Mount Tom (elevation: 1202 feet)…
I explored the area around the
summit for a bit. I was looking for, and
(sadly) not finding, a good view of Springfield. After a while, I gave up and started
following the road downhill again.
This was one of the steeper road walks I’ve ever done. When I reached the bottom, my legs were on fire and I was what you might call “lost”. What I mean by that is I had deviated from my original plan and now I wasn’t sure where I was in relation to the other trails. I had my map and a GPS pinpointing where I left my car, so I would be okay…but it took a little bit of exploring and/or possible trespassing (the access trail for hikers was too overgrown) before I truly find my way.
Along the way, I passed these abandoned ski slopes, which were active from 1962 to 1998…
This was one of the steeper road walks I’ve ever done. When I reached the bottom, my legs were on fire and I was what you might call “lost”. What I mean by that is I had deviated from my original plan and now I wasn’t sure where I was in relation to the other trails. I had my map and a GPS pinpointing where I left my car, so I would be okay…but it took a little bit of exploring and/or possible trespassing (the access trail for hikers was too overgrown) before I truly find my way.
Along the way, I passed these abandoned ski slopes, which were active from 1962 to 1998…
I also passed a (apparently
abandoned) quarry…
Eventually, I made my way to a
large field which led me to the Bray Valley Trail and I was back in business…
Now, approximately 8.3 miles
in, I was able to follow the map again.
And, the red blazes of the Bray Valley Trail eventually led me to the
yellow blazes of the Bray Loop Trail…
Eventually, the Bray Loop Trail
led me to a crushed stone path…
The crushed stone path led me
back to the parking area and I was able to locate my car before the mosquitoes (which
had returned to torture me upon my reentering of the woods) overwhelmed me.
On the drive out, I was able to stop next to Lake Bray and take the picture you saw at the start of this recap.
All in all, this was a near perfect day filled with views, history, and some technical hiking. If I had to vote on this one, I would give it a nine out of ten. The only negatives were the bugs and missing views of Springfield for which I tried so hard to find. Maybe I’ll make another trip up this way in the winter so I can see what else Mount Tom has to offer. Until next time…
On the drive out, I was able to stop next to Lake Bray and take the picture you saw at the start of this recap.
All in all, this was a near perfect day filled with views, history, and some technical hiking. If I had to vote on this one, I would give it a nine out of ten. The only negatives were the bugs and missing views of Springfield for which I tried so hard to find. Maybe I’ll make another trip up this way in the winter so I can see what else Mount Tom has to offer. Until next time…
For a map of this hike, along with elevation data, please click here.
Total 2014 Distance: 268.80