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 afternoon, things started to turn around. The clouds departed and took my malaise along with them. By 6pm I was here…
…marveling at the color and clarity of the early evening sky, the patchwork of intense greens in the valley below, and the handsome, weathered pine tree with a commanding view of it all.
The figure-eight
The route I took was new to me, made up on the fly, and I’ll definitely be doing it again. It is about 4.7 miles round trip.
From the Bray Lake parking area, head out on the crushed gravel trail, pass the entrance to the Kay-Bee Trail (this is where you’ll end the hike) and head up the Keystone Trail. Continue on the Keystone Trail Extension (which is the only repeated part of the hike) and then swing right on the Quarry Trail. At the next junction, take the white-blazed M-M trail, where you’ll find a set of stairs, and some pretty steep climbing up Whiting Peak (good cardio!).
The reward at the top is an incredible view ranging from the Oxbow to the north, Easthampton straight out to the east, and forest and farmland to the south. There are several terrific vistas along this stretch, with lovely rocks from which to admire them. Even some challengers for the title of Best Rock in Mt Tom.
The M-M trail goes along a sort of ridge line of Whiting Peak, and soon you come to an intersection with the DOC trail, which you can take to head back into the woods and down the mountain. Either I had not been on this bit before, or it just looks totally different from when I last hiked it. It was immediately cooler than the sunny M-M trail, with lush grass on either side and dollops of blooming mountain laurel.
“Trail running”: fun or idiotic? Bit of both?
Besides the new route, I tried something else new on this hike: running. Now, I generally hate running and its slower, fatter cousin, jogging. Even though I feel fantastic after, I dislike it enough that I rarely do it. I find it boring and uncomfortable and icky. I’ve seen people trail running around here occasionally, and thought:
- Good way to break an ankle.
- Why run when you can walk?
- How do you appreciate nature when you’re running through it?
- These people are crazy.
But something yesterday (my new shoes? the shafts of energizing sunlight filtering through the trees?) made me give it a try.
Wow. Maybe it was a one-time thing, but I really got a kick out of it. I didn’t run the whole way, far from it. But a ran in spurts on the uphills heading out, and much of the way back. I was trying to figure out how I could possibly be enjoying running, and here’s what I came up with:
- It takes good foot-eye coordination. This is not a skill often called upon in everyday life.
- You can cover a lot of ground. Duh, but hiking for exercise can be somewhat time-intensive. If you add running to the mix, you can go farther in less time.
- It’s not boring. Not only is the scenery interesting, but going around curves, up and down hills, and over and around things, keeps it engaging.
So if you think you hate running (and are blessed with fairly sturdy ankles and knees) give trail running a try. You’re not crazy.
A Year in Northampton, MA 