Massachusetts Pictures (1 pictures)
Mt. Greylock - Thunder Bolt Trail Directions: Located in northeast Massachusetts, take the Mass Pike to Exit 2 (Lee) and take Route 7 north and go past Pittsfield. To get to the Visitor Center, bear right on North Main Street in north Lanesborough (there is a sign saying Mt. Greylock this way) and turn right onto Rockwell Road (where you turn onto Rockwell, there is a building with a flag pole on the left - this is not the Visitor Center) and the Visitor Center is up the hill (not visible from North Main) and on the right. To get to Thunder Bolt Trail from the Visitor Center, get a trail map from the Visitor Center and take the various side roads. To go directly to Thunder Bolt Trail, take Route 9 east in Pittsfield to Route 8 (Coltsville). Just south of Adams, take a left onto Fred Mason Road (I think there was a light at the intersection). This turns into West Road. After a mile or two of nothing, houses appear and you need to keep an eye out for West Mountain Road on the left. The next street is Gould Road/Theil Road (Gould is on the street sign). Take a left onto the road. After a short distance, Gould turns to the left and Theil continues straight. Go straight. The road turns to dirt and eventually (somewhat ends). I parked next to a turnoff road and walked to the "start" of the trail, but you could probably park along side the little road loop around a couple of trees. This is where the trail starts. Mt. Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. Free. Trails: There are a lot of trails in the Mt. Greylock area and you can drive to the top of the mountain. In the Visitor Center, there is a _very_ nice model of the mountain with the trails drawn on it in and trail descriptions along the base. Due to time constraints (dinner plans with friends) and my desire to climb the mountain, I selected the Thunder Bolt Trail. The trail is about 2 miles one-way and quite a climb, about 2,200 feet elevation change. The start of the trail was hard to find - in fact, I probably wouldn't had found it if I hadn't asked someone if I was on the Thunder Bolt Trail and he kindly showed me where the trail started. The trail starts as an overgrown dirt road. From the road loop, the trail is located between a clear trail to the right and Theil Road to the left. Mt. Greylock will be slightly to your right. The trail is not well marked, though there is an occasional blue marker on the trees. Once you get past the overgrown road part of the trail, it turns into an obvious one to two person width trail and you start climbing. It is a rocky, dirt trail. It is very pretty and includes a climb through two long meadows. There are a couple of spots along the trail where you wonder which branch you should take to remain on the Thunder Bolt Trail - I managed to guess correctly. The trail ends at the Appalachian Trail. Take a left onto the Appalachian Trail for a short hike up to the top of Mt. Greylock. There is a lodge at the top where you can rest. Area: I went in late July on a Thursday and it was very green and pretty. There were lots of trees and, of course, mountains. Unfortunately, the mosquitos where out like crazy and drove me nuts for the first 20 minutes. Then it started to drizzle and the bugs went away. Then it rained for the rest of the hike - I guess it was better than the bugs. I hardly saw any wildlife - only a couple of orange lizards. There were a handful of people in the area at the start of the trail and on the Appalachian Trail and at the lodge, but I had the Thunder Bolt Trail to myself. Picture When I did the hike: July 1998 Recommendation: It was a very strenuous hike and I enjoyed it. My legs did loudly complain for a few days after the hike (but surprisingly they weren't bothered much by the 7 hour hike I did 4 days later - I think it was due to the Thunder Bolt Trail being a lot of elevation in a short distance). If the bugs aren't too bad, It is definitely an area to hike. (Note: I had conditioned myself for this trip by doing the stairmaster. I've since conditioned using the treadmill at a 15% grade and haven't had a problem with my legs being sore since.)