Swiss with that and on what kind of bread

Now that's fresh Turkey. We had chickens until recently , now they are in the freezer ! The chickens would certainly huddle together at night and when its cold. I wonder if turkeys do the same. They all looked to be girlie turkeys ..

Yum

Well maybe but probably not. I have no clue about fungi and only eat the ones on the supermarket shelf. But this one was pretty strange. Kind of looks like a heart.

Lighting

We see this every so often . Its the result of a lighting strike. The interesting thing is the fact that most lighting is actually traveling from cloud to the cloud. But Cloud to ground also happens. The lighting we see is actually the return stroke from the ground to the cloud heating the air to 54,000 degrees F. The clap of thunder is the shock wave created by this super hetaing. Here is some more interesting lighting FAQ's : Lighting

Table for two

This is our favorite lunch spot at Pisgah. We see very few people on the Kilburn loop. Its all downhill at the start and then all uphill at the end , about 6 miles in length. The uphill at the end is not a lot of fun.

Rut Row !

What happened to the snow ? Well when it gets in the thirty somethings you need to navigate your way around stuff like this.

Its like Watergate

Ha! I said no bugs but here is a bug that apparently lives on leaf litter all year long. They are called snow fleas
They are around all year but we notice them basking in the sun on top of the snow when it gets in the 30 degree range. Here is a shot of them the area was covered as far as I could see with the little buggers. This was up at Pisgah State forest in N.H.

Outta here

Well thats all folks. It was just a little over 5 hours round trip . So long for now Greylock we will be back this winter for sure. You can just make out the War Memorial in this shot.

Get down with your bad self !

Going up is work but hey so is going down. Now I enjoy going down but its tough on the knees. But its is a much quicker trip with good old gravity helping out. Here is shot of a very nice spot to hide out if you wanted to hunt deer that we passed on the way down.

Knuckleheads

Thunderbolt shelter is quite deluxe. It has three fireplaces that tie into a central chimney with benches and lots of window all around. The shelter is dedicated to the memory of Rudolph "Rudy" Konieczny who was killed in action in Italy while fighting with the 10th mountain division in World War two. He was a local skier.

Some evolutionary misfits decided that after riding their Fat A**es up the hill on snow mobiles that they would drink beer and piss on the walls inside. Obviously they were afraid to expose their micro penises to cold air outside for fear that they would shrink even more.

So it now smells like a monkey house which I am sure made them feel right at home.

Lunch with a view

This is the outside of the Thunderbolt ski shelter. Thunderbolt is a famous ski trail located on the east side of the mountain. Back when people actually went outside , skiers would climb up and ski the trail. Its quite steep and of course un-groomed. A few skiers still use the trail and there is also a ski club that operates a slope on the south side called Greylock ski club. We always stop here for lunch.

For Lease Cheap ????

The state is unsure what to do with Bascom lodge so they are offering it for lease along with other options. You can lease it for a buck but you have to restore it to historical standards and open it twice a year to the public. They have a number of historic properties that they operate in this manner. So you get a nice house, with a killer view, no neighbors but one heck of a bill from the guy plowing the driveway and lots of hikers knocking on the door looking for water..

Adams

Here is a shot down into the valley towards Adams.

The Top

Its always impressive on the top of Greylock. The War Memorial was actually slated to be placed in Boston harbor , I don't know how it ended up here ! Its was really a cool sight to see with the fog blowing by and snow falling in the valley. Everything is covered with ice and most of the snow gets blown off. We met another hiker and she was bare booting it. We call them post hole people. Its not good for the trials and is generally frowned upon. The problem is they tend to sink every once and while leave big holes in the trail. It is usually people who don't want to carry snowshoes. The do add weight . Here's a picture of the top. The light on the beacon can be seen from Jerusalem hill in Wendell at night !

Gettin Nekid on the trail

Its always a battle between to much and to little. In order to win and manage moisture you constantly are removing or adding layers. You can bet that once you get down to the base layer the wind will pick up and you will be chilled. The hike up was warm ,but as we approached the top the wind began to blow and we would have to add layers. The weather service said the highest gust was 30 mph for the day. All in all a balmy day on Greylock.

Greylock

Well we finally made it up to Greylock. We started form the east side and went up Gould trail. It is fairly straight shot up 3 miles to the top. Here is a picture of the eastern side from the parking lot off of Western Mountian Rd. It was fog was blowing across the top and the sun was out in the valley. Temps were in the low 30 range which may sound nice but it is actually kind of warm .

Barred Owl say WHO are you!

Go figure we get back from the snow shoe and stop by to feed my sister in-laws cats. As I pull out of the driveway I notice an owl on the roof. We didn't see any wildlife in the woods !

We tried to get his picture upstairs through the window but he flew away. He is looking sleepy.

Lunch is served

Well the nice thing about hiking in the winter is the fact that you can eat good lunches while on the trial. Today's menu is Pasta , Asiago Cheese, Salmon, Sun dried tomatoes, butter , yogurt and spices.
Boil up the pasta and mix it all together and chow down!

Things change

Schedules certainly do! Well we ended up at Savoy State forest and climbed Spruce Hill. Its 2566 ft and has a great look out up top. Nice hike we needed crampons for the last scramble up the rocks.

Schedule is set!

Looks like Stratton on the 26th and Greylock on the 27th and 28th. We are debating on where to stay on Greylock. If its not tracked it will be 3 hours or so up the Hopper to Sperry. We may do that and camp there and go to the top in the AM. Depends on the weather etc. hope the shelters are not drifted in !

Santa will have snow.

Rough sledding on the roof but we had snow in Wendell for a quick morning shoe.

Got a snorkel ???

Well birdie was wrong. We did Tolby and it was great but now its raining.
Forgot the camera but will go to Wendell for a quick shoe in the AM. and
will click some pictures of the snow while its here.

Greylock this week ?

We are shooting for a warm up on Mt Tolby tomorrow AM.  I hope the this weekends  warm rain  doesn't turn everything into ice.  Oh well time will tell.  A birdie told me maybe it will stay cold.

Winter is Back

Well its winter here in Western Mass and for us that means time to head out into the woods.  This Blog will record our various wanderings and camping trips.  Think snow folks ! Hey no bugs!