Traffic sounds coaxed me from sleep. It took a few blinks and scrubbing the sleep from my face to remember I was in the back of my Jeep in a rest area along eastbound I-84 in Pennsylvania. It was 6:30 am, and I was about an hour from my first destination: High Point, New Jersey. The gate supposedly opened at 8:00 am.
I did my morning car camping routine, ran in to use the rest area’s main attraction, and got moving toward the sunrise right on schedule. I had a packed itinerary for the coming week and wanted to stay on schedule as much as I could early on to ensure maximum success.
My goal? Eight New England state high points in the week between leaving my job as Zoning Administrator for my hometown and starting my new position as a Senior Planner for the LFUCG Division of Planning. That’s the city of Lexington. It’s a big step up. And it’s another life adventure I’m getting ready to set out on.
I have to admit it’s a tad overwhelming as well. So I wanted a send off/consolation prize for this huge life change. Originally I had planned to hike the Pine Mountain Trail, but Helene convinced me to consider other options. After twenty minutes of plotting out a route through New England with Google Maps and calculating some hiking distances and times I was positively buzzing with excitement.
Most of the New England high points had always been relegated to the “maybe someday” shelf of my life. Particularly Katadhin and Marcy seemed far enough and remote enough from home to be low priorities.
Once I mapped it out I realized I could possibly visit all eight remaining high points I needed in the northeast well within the week I had. It only took a little while to craft an acceptable itinerary which I refined over the next couple of days, but with about three days to plan I had come up with a stellar trip.
Thursday evening I began packing in earnest, and despite some shuffling of vehicles and the uncertainty of which car I would drive and of either of mine would handle the roughly 2,800 miles of driving I had planned I set out Friday about two hours behind schedule.
I reached said rest area and crawled into the back of the Jeep. I’d streamlined my gear for this trip after the Cloud Peak endeavor and had more room and less junk to deal with. That made for a much more efficient and comfortable trip.
I started my first full day with an early morning visit to the generically named High Point, New Jersey. I wasn’t expecting much; despite having been conceived in New Jersey myself, I’ve never felt a strong attraction to the state. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of High Point State Park. I had the place to myself, as the entry gate was open, but no one was manning the gate. I wound up the narrow road catching a good view of the summit obelisk from a little ways away. I pulled into an empty parking lot. It was cool as I walked quickly up the paved drive to the flat area around the monument. Apparently some rich, white guy with a teenie peenie is buried nearby.
The views were amazing, and I lingered only a few minutes. I had three more high points to visit before dark. As I walked back to the car I passed a young hipster guy in a sarape and smoking a cigarillo seemingly on his way to the summit. But as I pulled away he turned to return to his own vehicle seeming perturbed the restrooms were closed.
I drove on toward my next destination quickly exiting New Jersey not to return. I crossed back into New York and then eventually Massachusetts and south toward the parking area for Mount Frissell. The road in reminded me of Kentucky if the houses were better kept and the Breathitt County Road Department had built the road. It’s funny how all throughout Appalachia there are common geologic and ecological threads. It’s the human flavors that change.
Somewhere deep in Massachusetts I passed a fruit stand with a sign:
FrUit
I wasn’t sure if they meant: “F-U, we have fruit!” Or “Do you want fruit? F-U!” Not sure who their target market is. Must be a New England thing.
I continued on the war-torn road for a few miles and could see a long ridge off to my right. I was pretty sure that was Free Cell.
I parked next to an ancient concrete boundary marker delineating between Connecticut and Massachusetts. There were lots of cars lined along the road, and I was fortunate to slide into a spot before even more people showed up. I quickly topped off a water bottle and slipped into my old trail running vest. It was cool but I went in only shorts and a t-shirt knowing the ascent would warm me up under brightening blue skies.
Frissell is an excellent hike, and I enjoyed a much more colorful fall landscape than it was at home. The approach involves summiting and crossing Round Mountain and then passing close to the actual summit of Mount Frissell. The high point is a little ways away to the south where the state line crosses the shoulder of the mountain. I went there first, signing the summit register, and then backtracked to the true summit. From there it was a quick and enjoyable hike down. Mount Frissell was my 25th state high point. Halfway there!
 |
| Frissell from Round Mountain to the east |
 |
| Summit marker |
I’d realized the night before that my route from Frissell to the Massachusetts high point passed close to Stockbridge, Mass. Well, you know what that means! That’s right, I had to stop by and see the town and the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. It was a righteous detour and I’m really glad I thought of it. There’s no restaurant anymore, but I passed through the town where Officer Obie arrested Arlo and friend for throwing their garbage down with the other pile.
It was a great non-high point experience along the way, but then I was moving on to Mount Greylock.
What I hadn’t considered is that as I drove north I would be passing deeper into fall and crossing over into peak foliage. The park Greylock is within was overrun with leaf gawkers. I couldn’t get to the summit parking lot, so I had to wing it and find a roadside pull off near a trail crossing. I ended up with a three-quarter of a mile hike to the busy summit area where I found a giant chess piece tower which you can actually go up in!
I squeezed my way up and instantly began to panic with all the people in the small room. I got my photos and made my way back down and then down the trail to the car where I ate a quick, late lunch and then headed on toward my fourth and final high point for the day: Jerimoth Hill.
Rhode Island was also a new state visited for me, so it was a double tick. Traffic was heavier crossing Massachusetts into Rhode Island and it definitely seemed more urban. I got to the roadside parking spot right at dusk and almost ran to the spot in the woods marked by an ammo can chained to a tree next to a water buffalo sized hump of rock. I signed my second register for the day (Mt Frissell had one too) and made a note of my fourth high point for the day and my 27th total. Four in a day is a record for me.
As I pushed north on toward Maine I was pleasantly satisfied with part one of my New England high point blitz. The big stuff was yet to come. I had executed a pretty neat little one day tour of some great high points. Even Jerimoth Hill had some character. I was surprised and pleased by each new place visited.
I was excited for bigger mountains, but I didn’t realize just how big and how exciting they would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment