Highpoint #21: Massachusetts

Vanity Shot at Summit Sign

After Rhode Island, I headed onward to Vermont and then Massachusetts.  Sadly, there was just too much snow from the Nemo storm for me to count Vermont as my 21^st highpoint.  I had to turn around no less than 0.2 miles from the summit, but I did learn a new term:  “spruce traps”.  Sinking my entire height into snowdrift made it impossible to proceed any farther, even with an ice axe!  Yikes!  I wasn’t sure if I should try again the next day by a different route or just push on south to Massachusetts for an easier go at things.  I ended up doing the latter since there was no guarantee of fewer snowdrifts on the other side of the mountain, and, fortunately, everything was much easier by comparison.

I began driving south and arrived in Adams, MA in the middle of the afternoon.  The day was pretty long at this point having hit the trail at Mt. Mansfield by sunrise, knocking out several miles of snowshoeing, and driving from northern Vermont all the way down to Massachusetts.  Honestly, I was starving too.  Before I could go any farther, I stopped and picked up an awful “meatloaf sub” at Angelina’s (a local chain) on the way in, and kept going to the Cheshire Harbor Trailhead. 

7-Mile Hike and It's Almost Dark

I managed to eat half of the sandwich by the time I made it to the trailhead, but I gave up on eating the other half.  Starving doesn’t mean you are willing to eat just any old thing, apparently.  Man, that sandwich was terrible!  By this point, it was around 4:30pm.  I knew I had about 60-90 minutes of daylight left.  The trail is 3.5 miles each way, making for a 7-mile hike.  Obviously, I would not have enough time to hike the whole length and back in the daylight, so I grabbed my headlamp.  I figured that I would just assess the trail conditions for a couple of miles and go from there.  I fully resigned myself to knocking out the highpoint the next morning at dawn and just regarded this as a reconnaissance mission of sorts.

Cheshire Harbor Trailhead

The signs at the start of the trail though gave me some hope.  Apparently, the majority of the Cheshire Harbor Trail is a path used by snowmobiles.  Better yet, the route was temporarily closed to snowmobilers on my visit to prevent damage to the trail surface.  That told me that the snow was not very deep, definitely not “spruce trap” deep, and what snow I would encounter would likely be packed down and smoothed over from prior snowmobiling activity.  And it was!  This was going to be an easy hike!

Easy Snow Hike!

I left the poles and snowshoes in the car, and started off at a very quick pace with nothing to hinder my forward progress.  I made my way up some modest switchbacks, and finally I got my first glimpse of Mt. Greylock.  It was still a bit off in the distance, but the approach seemed clear enough.  I was clearly working my way up to the Appalachian Trail, and then hanging right along a ridgeline to the summit.  The tower at the top was clearly evident at this distance, and, indeed, beyond. 

First View of Mt. Greylock

After a mile, I came across a bit of signage marking the formal turnoff for the Cheshire Harbor Trail.  The path narrowed some, but the character of the trail was still easy.  

One Mile Down, 2.5 to Go!

I thought for sure that I would encounter a few folks on their way down at this point, given the other vehicles I saw in the parking lot, but I never saw anyone. 

Still Relatively Easy Snow Hike

Eventually, the trail met up with the Appalachian Trail.  

A Wintry View of the A.T.

I had the choice to continue along the A.T. farther south or I could just follow the road that passed through this juncture since it presumably would also lead to the top.  (In warmer months, one can actually drive to the summit, but the road is closed during the winter; indeed, the road wasn’t rescheduled to open until May).  

Option 1:  Follow the A.T.  (Yay!)

Option 2:  Follow the Road  (Boo!)

I kept true to the hike and followed the signs for the A.T.  This route saw a bit less traffic, as there was now moderately deep snow and only a set or two of boot prints to follow.  Daylight was holding out, so I pressed onward. 

A Lonely Meadow Along the Way
 

The hiking was still gentle enough, and I quickly found myself in a meadow.  I passed through it, hiked some more and came to the road once again.  So it goes.  

The Road Again with the Sun Setting in the Background

I, again, chose to follow the A.T. signs to continue to the summit rather than follow the road.  Technically, this time the A.T. was more direct than the road, making a beeline for the summit rather than looping around. 

Getting Closer!

Note the A.T. Blaze

I proceeded farther, passed by a radio tower and encountered yet another sign for the summit, hiked a wee bit farther, and finally came into full view of the summit tower.  Yes!  I made it to the top without having to wait until the next day!

First View of the Summit Tower

The tower is huge!  Rising 93 feet into the air, the tower is actually a memorial to honor those from Massachusetts who died in WWI and subsequent conflicts.  This is very similar to the highpoint in New Jersey, which also has a commanding tower in honor of its veterans.  It’s an interesting idea.  Beyond the great views, it makes the place special for an all-together different reason and gives visitors an important place to see.  Well, visitors during the summer anyway; during my visit, the tower was boarded shut.     

Boarded Shut for the Winter!

I posed for a couple of vanity shots, in the foreground of the tower and also by a summit plaque along the tower wall.   

Vanity Shot in Front of the Tower

I was lucky in a way with my very late start, because as I arrived the sun was setting.  This made for some beautiful views!  I was drinking in the beauty.

Sunset View from the Top

After finishing these highpoint duties, I saw my last bit of daylight was about to vanish.  I decided to change modes, turn on the headlamp, and quickly head down.  It was amazing how black it got!  I would not have been able to see much of anything without the headlamp.  

 My Hike Down the Mountain in the DARK! 

Fortunately, I was able to descend in little time at all and drive off into the night all the way back to Washington, D.C.  I managed to arrive home in the middle of the night, making my VT/MA adventure just shy of a complete 24 hours.  Yikes!  Getting this highpoint the hard way was totally worth it though, and Mansfield was a genuine adventure in its own right.  Good times.  

Highpoint #20: Rhode Island

Roadside Summit Sign

I have to confess that it didn’t take too long after my cross-country road trips, to want to head out on the highway again in search of a few more highpoints.   It’s strange.  The more highpoints that I visit, the more I want to visit new ones.  This time around, instead of focusing on southern states, I wanted to head up into New England to visit a couple of highpoints in a quick turn-around weekend.  I was all set to go, too, when news reports were overtaken with warnings about Nemo and it being the storm of the century.  A quick inspection of the swath of land that contains Rhode Island’s highpoint showed an estimated 3 feet of snow -- yikes!  I dutifully sat out the storm and decided to try for it the following weekend.

Jerimoth Hill Trail

Note the Hours!

My first stop was Rhode Island!  The highpoint is Jerimoth Hill, and it is located just across the border from Connecticut, in the northern portion of the state.  Being named a “hill” and rising only to 812 feet, one could quickly dismiss this highpoint all together.  Surprisingly though, this highpoint used to be the hardest one to visit out of all 50 states!  For a long time the highpoint was contained on private property and the owner became quickly tired of people visiting his property nearly every day of the year.  He forbade access, put up “no trespassing” signs, installed motion detectors, chased people off his property, and really did everything in his power to prevent people from visiting the highpoint!  Over the years though, he passed away, the land changed ownership, and was ultimately donated to Brown University.  Now access can be had on any day of the year, provided the visit occurs between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 

The Trail is Well Signed!

When I arrived post-Nemo, there was snow everywhere, but the roads were all perfectly clear.  I saw the summit sign from the road, and found the pull-off area at the crest of the hill.  Across the street from the pull-off area, there is a hand-posted sign on a tree marking the “Jerimoth Hill Trail”.  The snow was deep, coming up past my ankles, so I had to switch into my hiking boots and break trail.  Cool!

Unbroken Trail Leading to the Summit (about 10" deep)

Routefinding seemed obvious enough, even with all the snow, due to the wide berth between the trees.  To make it even easier though, there were several signs along the way marking the trail even though the trail could not have been more than half mile long. 

Deviation for Reference Mark #1

Reference Mark #1

Walking along the way, there was a deviation for a reference marker.  The posted sign made it pretty obvious where to dig, and I soon discovered a USGS survey marker that points in the direction of the true highpoint.  Yay!

USGS Survey Marker

Continuing on some more, there was a second deviation, presumably for another reference marker.  The sign simply said “station mark”.  I dug up snow all around, but I could not find anything.  I am sure in the summer it is perfectly obvious what is being pointed out, but in the winter it was anything but.  I eventually gave up and pressed onward. 

Second Deviation:  A Station Mark (couldn't find it)

I soon came to an open field.  This field serves as an observation area for Brown University to observe the stars.  It makes sense.  Being the highpoint of the state, there is a guaranteed unobstructed view of the skies within the vicinity of the summit. 

Observatory Area for Brown University

Just off of the corner of this field, there was signage for the boulder that is taken to represent the true highpoint.  It was completely covered in snow and topped off with not one but two rock cairns!  I spent some time cleaning up the summit area, and dug out a green metal box that contained the trail register.  Signing the book, I was surprised that I was the first visitor to the site in nearly 2 weeks time! 

Official Summit Register for Jerimoth Hill

I scanned the rocks a bit to see if there was a USGS marker on the rock, but I could not find one away from the rock cairns.  I assume that there is a benchmark marker on the rock or nearby since they had a directional marker on the way.  I am further assuming that said benchmark marker is probably directly underneath one of the two rock cairns, but I did not want to disrupt the structures to verify.  I am not entirely certain on what the rock cairn etiquette is, but that just did not seem like the right thing to do at the time. 

View of the Summit Draped in Snow (note the rock cairns)

I took a vanity shot of me sitting on the boulder by the summit register and decided to call it a day.  My twentieth highpoint!! 

Vanity Shot at the Summit with Summit Register in View

Beyond the open field, there was really no view to be had.  I simply retraced my steps back to the car, and decided to press onward, deeper into New England.     

Highpoint #19: Mississippi

Return Cross-Country Highpointing Trip, Stop #3

Vanity Shot at the Summit of Woodall Mountain

Steadily heading home from California, we dipped south from Tennessee to visit the highpoint of Mississippi.  Near the small town of Iuka, the highpoint is located very close to point where the borders of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi all intersect.  Fortunately, for this weary traveler, the highpoint is located pretty close to major roads, so this was not the biggest of deviations. 

The highpoint itself is called Woodall Mountain.  Now, mountain is probably a generous term for a summit whose elevation is a mere 807 feet!  With that said, what Woodall Mountain has going for it is that its summit actually does have prominence.  Indeed, one can actually make out the hill and its peak from a distance, which can not be said for the highpoint in neighboring Louisiana, for example. 

Thankfully, the Highpoint is Very Easy to Find!

The directions to the mountain were pretty easy to follow, all the more so with fairly good signage along the way.  The final approach to the summit is an unpaved road about a mile in length that winds its way up the hill.  The entrance to the road is prominently marked with a sign from the Highpointers Foundation which gives some background on the highpoint.  For example, by reading the sign, I learned that the mountain is really a “monadnock”.  Yay, my first monadnock!  

200' of Elevation Gain!!

After a quick photo stop, we continued on blithely with our winter ascent.  While the road was unpaved, there was nothing really remarkable about it.  The mile passed by rather quickly, and we soon found ourselves at the top.  Really this was a relief after all of the ice and snow at the Missouri highpoint. 

Fancy Summit Register!

At the top, there was some concerted effort to make the place special.  There was a shiny, new black mailbox that contained the summit register.  Beyond the mailbox, there was a large boulder that at one time contained a plaque that commemorated the place.  Said plaque was sadly missing from the boulder on my visit.  Seriously?  Yes, seriously. 

Um, Where is the Plaque???

Only in Mississippi...

In front of the boulder though, there was raised cylindrical mound of cement that housed the USGS marker that officially marked the highpoint.    

Official USGS Benchmark Marker

To the side of the boulder, there was a bench where one could have a rest.  There was also a posted sign displaying a phone number that one can call for a “self-guided audio tour”.  I guess Woodall Mountain is one of the --many-- highlights of Tishomingo county, Mississippi.  Who knew?  We opted not to call for additional information, but it’s good that the local community is pretty enthusiastic about what their area has to offer. 

Wait There's More!  Explore Tishomingo County!!

I wish I could report that we spent some time taking in the view before departing, but there really was not much to see from the summit.  Worse, we were kind of itching to just head home after all of these travels.  So we bade Woodall Mountain adieu, and called it a wrap.