rocksnrolls
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We had originally planned to start section hiking the Taconic Crest Trail this weekend but the wet weather made a couple of our hiking partners balk at the idea, so we've rescheduled for next weekend. So Dugan and I decided it was a good time to finally hike nearby Mt Toby. The recent threads on good hikes in central Mass had both included recommendations for it, so off we went.
We made our ascent via the Robert Frost Tr from the parking area. Unfortunately this trail does not go by the waterfalls we had heard about, but it does go by some awesome cliffs of very coarse conglomerate rock. We spent some time checking out the cliffs and would've tried climbing up on top of them if it had been drier. Looks like we'll have to come back to do that at a later date. I've read that geologists say this area was part of the breaking up of Pangea ages ago (as are, I believe, the Moats in NH)
Mostly the trail was needle-covered dirt, hard-packed so it was not at all muddy despite the constant rain. After the intersection with the Upper Link Tr, it got a bit steep with exposed rocks that required more attention to avoid slipping. We passed through lots of ferns, and I later read that there are 42 species of ferns in the Mt Toby area!
We didn't bother to climb the fire tower, figuring there'd be no views anyways. There's a picnic table up there and Dugan scavenged an interesting leash someone had left tied to a tree.
From the summit we followed the Robert Frost as it descends a dirt road along the ridge, eventually turning a sharp left onto the Upper Link Tr which we followed back to where we had first seen it hit the RF.
All in all, the trails are very well-maintained and easy to follow. We look forward to exploring some more of this area in the future. I can't wait to check out the views from the tower
By the way, we read that the Robert Frost, at about 40 miles, is one of the 5 longest trails in Mass. We know three of the others would be the AT, the Metacomet-Monadnock and the Mid-State. But we're not sure what the other one would be - my guess is the Bay Circuit Tr. Anyone else know?
We made our ascent via the Robert Frost Tr from the parking area. Unfortunately this trail does not go by the waterfalls we had heard about, but it does go by some awesome cliffs of very coarse conglomerate rock. We spent some time checking out the cliffs and would've tried climbing up on top of them if it had been drier. Looks like we'll have to come back to do that at a later date. I've read that geologists say this area was part of the breaking up of Pangea ages ago (as are, I believe, the Moats in NH)
Mostly the trail was needle-covered dirt, hard-packed so it was not at all muddy despite the constant rain. After the intersection with the Upper Link Tr, it got a bit steep with exposed rocks that required more attention to avoid slipping. We passed through lots of ferns, and I later read that there are 42 species of ferns in the Mt Toby area!
We didn't bother to climb the fire tower, figuring there'd be no views anyways. There's a picnic table up there and Dugan scavenged an interesting leash someone had left tied to a tree.
From the summit we followed the Robert Frost as it descends a dirt road along the ridge, eventually turning a sharp left onto the Upper Link Tr which we followed back to where we had first seen it hit the RF.
All in all, the trails are very well-maintained and easy to follow. We look forward to exploring some more of this area in the future. I can't wait to check out the views from the tower
By the way, we read that the Robert Frost, at about 40 miles, is one of the 5 longest trails in Mass. We know three of the others would be the AT, the Metacomet-Monadnock and the Mid-State. But we're not sure what the other one would be - my guess is the Bay Circuit Tr. Anyone else know?
