Logistics for slackpacking Mass.

[markc7]

Hey folks,

I'm thinking of hiking the state of Massachusetts slack-pack style, since I may be travelling with someone who won't be able to sleep in a tent or shelters. This is definitely not my usual way to hike, but it might mean the difference between doing that section soon or delaying for a year or more.

Is this doable, and do you have any suggestions on where to start looking into logistics for this sort of thing? Things I am trying to sort out: where would be a good home base? Who provides shuttles? How often does one pass road access for shuttles?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks.

[joshuasdad]

I slackpacked most of Massachusetts SOBO last 4th of July week, basing out a condo in Lee, MA. Most of MA can be hiked from there with a less than 1 hour "commute", the exception being Greylock and the MA/VT border. Northern CT is also easy from there. Because I was working most days from remote, I never exceeded 12 miles a day, except for a VT2 to N. Adams section (which actually has a couple road crossings as well), so the road crossings are quite close. Another "long" section is near the MA/CT border, note that you need to hike up to Guilder Pond to start that section.

Here are the road crossings that I used in CT/MA, pasted from my spreadsheet:

West Cornwall Road	1478.8	River Road	1467.6	11.2	12/24/2011
Hydroelectric Plant	1488	West Cornwall Road	1478.8	9.2	6/29/2012
US 41 (Undermountain Road)	1496.3	Hydroelectric Plant	1488	8.3	11/27/2011
Guilder Pond	1509.3	US 41 (Undermountain Road)	1496.3	13	12/28/2012
South Egremont Road	1515.9	Guilder Pond	1509.3	6.6	12/27/2012
Lake Buel Road	1525.2	South Egremont Road	1515.9	9.3	12/25/2011
Jerusalem Road	1537.2	Lake Buel Road	1525.2	12	6/30/2012
US 20 (Lee)	1546.8	Jerusalem Road	1537.2	9.6	7/2/2012
Pittsfield Road	1556.3	US 20 (Lee)	1546.8	9.5	7/4/2012
Grange Hall Road	1563.1	Pittsfield Road	1556.3	6.8	7/6/2012
Cheshire Post Office	1574.6	Grange Hall Road	1563.1	11.5	7/5/2012
Notch Road	1586.1	Cheshire Post Office	1574.6	11.5	7/1/2012
Phelps Avenue	1588.8	Notch Road	1586.1	2.7	7/8/2012
VT 9 (Bennington)	1607.7	Phelps Avenue	1588.8	18.9	7/7/2012

[tdoczi]

if you can pull 20 mile days over easy terrain you can stay indoors every night easily and cover most of it. bennington to north adams would be hard, but either skip it and start at north adams or once you get there you have north adams/williams, then a few miles later the lodge on top of greylock, then a few miles later the town of cheshire, then a few miles later the town of dalton, then its about 20 miles to the MA pike and a hotel right along side the highway near the crossing of the AT, or a hitch into the town of lee proper. then its another 20 to rt 23 just outside great barring ton and an oddball religious hostel right on trail, or again a hitch into town. another 15-16 miles south of that bings you to the last road crossing in the state, jug end road, getting from there to salisbury without stopping for the night in the woods will be tricky. a pickup/dropoff at guilder pond is probably the best bet.

[BillyGr]

There are a couple side trail options for the Southern end:

- Leaving/entering the AT via the Race Brook Falls trail (which is about 4-5 miles north of the CT/MA line) and is a 2 mile side trail, which is fairly steep as it follows the falls. The advantage to this is that it comes out on MA Rt 41, which is easier to access by car.

- Just south of the MA/Ct line is a side trail which comes out onto East Street (see http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/mwashington.pdf map) - the trail is the small dotted line at the far bottom of the map.
While this trail is easier to hike than the Race Brook one, the road access is harder (the last section is dirt and could be tough if a wet time).
From there to Jug End is just about 10 miles.

http://www.jimapco.com/product/berkshire-county/ - This is a roadmap made by a local company here in NY state - they have them for lots of counties in NY, MA, VT. They don't seem to offer shipping to Canada, but there is a toll free number you could try. Alternatively, if you have to travel through Saratoga County, they have their homebase there, or many stores tend to carry them in the area. I have a bunch for the counties around here and they are quite detailed for easy route finding.

If you are travelling with someone, is there an option to have a second vehicle? That would make it even easier (leave one at each end of a section).

[Migrating Bird]

The Undermountian Trail starts at Rt 41 just south of the MA/CT line and intersects the AT on the south side of Bear Mt. Both the Undermountian trail and Race Brook trail have ample off street parking but tend to fill quickly.

Access to the AT via East Street, Mt. Washington is fine as the dirt section of road is well maintained, however parking is limited. There are 2 parking areas, each have space for 3 cars. There are actually 3 trails leading to the AT from there, 1 level trail intersects the AT south of Bear MT, one climbs straight up to the top of Bear and the most popular intersects the AT on the north side of Bear Mt just south of Sages Ravine.

PM me and I may be able to help with logistics/shuttle depending on timing.