Section Hike Massachusetts

[strubled]

I'm planning an AT section hike of Massachusetts the third week of August and I have a few questions that Google and the ATC maps / book haven't been able to answer:

1. How many days do you think it will take to hike this section? I hiked the MD AT section in 3 days comforably. I'm guessing about 8, does that sound about right?
2. Are the bugs out of control during this time of the year? I've hiked in some pretty awful conditions so I don't really mind, but some people go on and on about the black flies, etc in MA in other threads and it's bugging me out a little
3. I'm thinking of staying at a hotel / bnb near s egremont or great barrington. What are my options for getting to either of those places from the AT?

Not sure if this helps to answer the questions, but I'm planning on hiking N to S because my wife is driving to VT during this time. I'm going to drop my car off somewhere at the S end and ride with her to the seth warner shelter (vt / ma state line).

My apologies if there is a similar thread, I tried searching before I posted...thank you for any help you can provide!

[mark schofield]

the Day's Inn in Great Barrington is right in town, not a mile or so out. Walk to restaurant, main street, coffee, ect. VERRY convenient and a really good price.

[Bags4266]

eight days for ma is a long time, (depending on how you hike) but then again 3 days for md is long too. some hikers do md in one day. What I do remember of ma was the lack of water esp. in the summer when springs are running low. It all depends on the rainfall of course. You will be fine with a 8 day window.

[burger]

1) How many miles per day can you do? What kind of shape are you in? How do you do on big climbs? No one can tell you how long it will take you to do MA unless you tell us what you're capable of.

2) Bugs can be awful or fine in August depending on how wet the summer is. You won't have any blackflies--just mosquitoes and maybe some deerflies.

3) Can't help you.

My advice: don't do this section in August. Even if it's not buggy, it's going to be hot, humid, and gross. You probably won't be able to see anything from any of the mountains because of the haze. I live not so far from the AT in MA, and I wouldn't even think about doing this section until mid-September or (even better) October.

[Cookerhiker]

....I wouldn't even think about doing this section until mid-September or (even better) October.

I hiked half of Massachusetts in October and enjoyed it. The other half I hiked in late April, another great time, at least for my hike. Warm Spring days, no bugs, longer daylight hours than the Fall.

[lemon b]

Even if your out of shape and old assuming your going to set of from Ct. 6 maybe 7 days. After the middle of June the bugs clear out. Never had trouble finding water except between Crystal Mt Campground and Cheshire Center. Only real uphill in my mind is Southbound over Greylock. Have fun and see you on the trail.

[mateozzz]

Probably 6-7 days is more realistic, it isn't a very hard section. I would second the recommendation to not go in August, or at least go as late in August as possible. Mass is mostly swamps so it doesn't take much rain to make the bugs come out.

[Blissful]

Nothing at Egermont. Hitch to Great Barrington, plenty of options for stays.

No mosquitoes at all in early Sept., it was grand

[Papa D]

MA goes quick - it's a good state but I enjoyed VT and CT more. The MA / CT state line is Sages Ravine - the MA / VT line is about 3 miles south of the Seth Warner Shelter and about 11 miles South of VT 9, so to do "All of MA", you could take the Pine Cobble Trail from Williams Ma to the AT then hike the trail North to the Line and turn around or just start at VT 9 (big uphill for you going south right there). There is nowhere to get off at Sages Ravine either - Race Brook Falls Tr. is in MA so you need to go all the way to CT 41 (someone from somewhere other than GA correct me if I'm wrong about this - I've hiked all of this twice but don't know all the blue blaze trails and little roads) so, assuming, I'm more or less right, you need to do 111 miles to section the whole state. This would be a one-week hike for me - it could take some folks less than 5 days - for others (the hiking isn't that hard), I'd say about 11 days on the outside.

[Driver8]

There is nowhere to get off at Sages Ravine either - Race Brook Falls Tr. is in MA so you need to go all the way to CT 41 (someone from somewhere other than GA correct me if I'm wrong about this - I've hiked all of this twice but don't know all the blue blaze trails and little roads) so, assuming, I'm more or less right, you need to do 111 miles to section the whole state. This would be a one-week hike for me - it could take some folks less than 5 days - for others (the hiking isn't that hard), I'd say about 11 days on the outside.

You've got three main options I'd recommend:

1. Parking lot at Race Brook Falls Trail (which joins AT between Mts Everett and Race and goes 2.1 miles east to Rt. 41 in Sheffield, passing several pretty waterfalls, depending on which way you descend) - you'd be stopping about 5 miles short of the CT/MA border and missing Sages Ravine, which is beautiful old growth forest and a distinctive geological formation;

2. Parking lot at Undermountain Trail, Rt. 41 in Salisbury, CT. Two ways to get there - Paradise Lane Trail just south of CT/MA border, but you miss Bear Mtn, CT's highest peak, which has very nice views. To get there, though, you have a steep ascent via the AT from the north. If you go over Bear, then you take a left on the Undermountain at Riga Junction and go about 1.8 miles east to Rt. 41; or

3. Continuing south from Riga Junction, you proceed over Lion's Head, which has two very nice viewpoints, one southward and one northward, then you have two options southward from there, south of LH -
a. About 1/4 mile south of the LH south overlook, stay straight on the blue-blazed Lion's Head Trail for a couple miles and find your car at that parking lot, on Bunker Hill Road in Salisbury, or
b. Stay on the AT and go about 2.5 miles to Rt. 41 AT parking lot.

If you can do MD in three days, 7 to cover Mass, extended (Rt. 9 VT to Rt. 41 CT) is doable, 8 would be leisurely unless it's really hot. If you get to Mt. Everett/Race area with time to kill, I highly recommend a stroll down Race Brook Falls trail, which crosses brook twice, the second time at foot of second-highest falls. From there, follow the scraggly trail down along the brook (right side - south - has a marked trail which is usually busy) to see 5 waterfalls of 20-100 feet in about 1/3 mile of trail. The lowest falls are the highest and, in high water, the most spectacular.

[burger]

There's an even easier way off the trail at the south end of MA that involves a short hike and no extra climbing. If you start hiking south out of Sage's Ravine on the AT, you'll first pass the Paradise Lane trail on your left. About 1/4 mile later, another trail enters from the right. Take this easy and flat trail (I forget the name) about 1 mile west to a trailhead on Mt. Washington Road (a pretty good dirt road). IIRC, there was plenty of parking there.

You can see it on the map here: http://www.pdcarto.com/common/STR.jpg where the label is for the "AMC North West camp."

[Migrating Bird]

Skeeters will be out. Ticks will be out so take precautions and do a daily tick check. Water may be difficult to find if it is dry, but not a problem with a little planning. The best sections are Mt. Grelock, Upper Goose Pond, Tryingham Cobble (nice B&B http://www.cobbleviewbandb.com/ ) and from Jug End Rd to the CT Line, Sages Ravine continuing up over Bear Mt. just south of the MA/CT line is worth it then you could descend the Undermountian Trail to Rt 41 as described above. Swimming is good at Upper Goose Pond, Benidict Pond in Beartown S.F. and cool off at Sages Ravine. Keep in mind, August is the height of tourist season so rates and availability will be at a premium. Good places to re-supply are: Rt. 2 Williamston - Whole Foods, Dalton/Pittsfield - Super Stop&Shop (L.P.Adams lumber right on the AT has some hiker supplies) Lee - has a new Big Y closer to the trail than Price Chopper. Gt. Barrington has a COOP left opposite the town hall as well as a Big Y & Price Chopper. The GT.B. Brewery is not to be missed for some good brew although it is on the north side of town.

Cheaper accommodations are: Travel Lodge in Pittsfield, Super 8 in Lee and Days Inn in Gt. Barrington.

PM me if you need additional info or furthur assistance.

M.Bird

[strubled]

Thank you all for so many great responses! I have heard from several sources that late August isn't the best time to do MA, but the fact that my wife is heading up that way already makes it really easy. I did the MD section in August before too. It was hot and humid, but I don't mind. Sounds like I'm going to shoot for 7 days...thank you again for your help!

[Driver8]

A few small things, strubled:

In option 2, in my post above, I was not clear. If you take Paradise Lane Trail off the AT north of Bear, you go about 1.8 miles on in to Undermountain Trail, where you take a left and descend to Rt. 41, 1.1 miles later. If you go past Riga Junction, it helps to know there's a big, helpful sign there. It's the most-hiked AT intersection in CT, being the main route to Bear Mountain, so the sign helps a lot of people. Finally, it's about 3 miles from Riga Jxn to Lion's Head south overlook, and the north overlook, 0.2 or so before, has a nice view of Bear, Race, Everett and Greylock on a clear day.

PS: The trail to Mt. Washington Road burger mentions also can lead to another optional side-hike to Mt. Frissell and Brace and South Brace Mtns. The former has CT's highest point and some nice easterly views, so I hear, and the latter give great views westward into New York. The trail also passes the CT/MA/NY tri-state boundary just west of Frissell.

Hope you enjoy your hike!