The Mt Tom figure eight hike on which I discover that trail running is not as crazy as it seems

Yesterday was a strange day. I woke up feeling lousy—sorta achey and stuffed up—and it was unseasonably cool and deeply overcast. I was pretty grumpy for some indefinable reason through the whole morning, made worse by the fact that a certain someone discouraged me from making a pie, because Calories. But then, in the mid …

Long Mountain in Holyoke State Park

To take advantage of the killer June weather we've been having, I went out today for parts unknown (to me, anyway). I picked my trail from Hiking the Pioneer Valley: Long Mountain in Holyoke State Park. Unfortunately, I could not follow the exact hike in the book, which is a circuit. On the current map …

Norwottuck Rail Trail: a beautiful bike ride

The Norwottuck Rail Trail is an 11-mile, well-maintained paved trail along what used to be the Boston & Maine Railroad. It's the longest dedicated bike trail in the Northampton area, and as such is a great trail for cruising fast and getting in a nice long workout. Being a rail trail, it's generally flat, with …

Chapel Falls and Two Bridges Trail

This waterfall was listed in the handy book New England Waterfalls. I'd planned to check it out and then head over to the DAR forest for a longer hike, but it turned out there was a perfectly serviceable 1.8-mile long trail through the hilly woods right from the bottom of the falls, called Two Bridges …

Bridal Veil Falls in White Mountain Nat’l Forest

This isn't in the Pioneer Valley, and I hiked it a couple of years ago, but my family and I enjoyed it so much (and I have some lovely pics too) I thought I would write it up. I was reminded of it recently, chatting with a fellow hiker about good day or weekend trips …

Tiny Trails in Northampton and Environs

My first "listicle"! There are a number of wonderful places in the Pioneer Valley for long walks, hikes, or bikes, to magnificent vistas or along rushing rivers. But what if you just need a little hit of nature closer to home? Well, the area has plenty of those as well. I will keep adding to …

Emily Dickinson Trail in Amherst

This is one of many "tiny trails" I've stumbled upon this year. It's about .9 miles, stretching from the Norwottuck Rail Trail to Groff Park in Amherst, MA. Just after the bridge on the rail trail that crosses the Fort River, and just before a second bridge over South East Street, is a small trail …

Smitten with the East Branch Trail, Westfield River in Chesterfield

I paid a second visit to the Chesterfield Gorge and Westfield River on an unseasonably warm spring day recently. It was just as nice as my first visit, and the 3 miles up, 3 miles back, clicked by in a minute. Right around that 3 mile mark there is a great spot to sit and …

Enchanting Westfield River and the Chesterfield Gorge

Unable to join a meetup hike at this place the day before, I was inspired to make the trip on my own by the stunner of a day we had to start the week. It could not have been more clear, the sky could not have been more blue, the temperature could not have been …

Mill River path behind Smith College

This path follows the Mill River from Smith College, for a little over a mile to the west. Even in this in-between season when there is little greenery, it's a lovely walk amongst big trees and hugging the water.