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.)