Mt. Tom

Sunday I took a trip out to Mt. Tom in the western area of Massachusetts. I really love it out there. Its rural, green and beautiful, full of rolling hills and the graceful, sloping Berkshires.

I met up with an aquantence from Highschool I hadn't seen in many years. We had agreed to meet up and hike Mt. Tom as neither of us had had a chance to do so before. It ended up being a fun afternoon. The weather was perfect, and there werent too many people out on the trail yet. The mountain wasnt too bad, 1,200 feet, and you don't stop at the very bottom so it was less than 1000 feet of climbing to be sure. The views were spectacular.

The trail led us right along the ridge, so that at all times we were steps away not only from the craggy ledge, but from stunning vistas of pioneer valley. The top of the mountain is almost overrun by weather equipment and radio towers, but the thrill is there none-the-less.

On the way down, I began planning my next trip. However I wasnt able to do what I wanted - which would have been hiking Mt. Monadnock today - due to soar thighs and a dismal sense of will power. The air is a bit cool today, and I really couldn't pull myself out of bed at 6:30 this morning to make the two hour drive up to Jaffrey, NH

It's hard living in eastern Massachusetts. You are hours from teh nearest ranges. And once you get there, there are so many ridges you want to cry because you know that in order to come back you are looking at more hours worth of driving. I'm looking forward to living closer to the mountains, so that I can walk out my back door and strike a trail. Thats not to say I am totally turned off by where I dwell now. Thanks to my parents having plenty of their own land, I have a tiny forest right out my back door. Funny though, how the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I never want to go out there and tromp around. Probably because its not very wild. But it is 40 acres, a parcel I don't think I'll ever be able to afford. My goal is to live somewhere close to protected wild lands, so that even if i can't afford to own the land myself, I can at least know that the land around me won't turn into a parking lot any time soon.