Pocumtuck Mountain, MA, 02/28/07

[rocket21]

Pocumtuck Mountain, MA

Date Hiked: 02/28/07

Trails(s) Hiked: Stacy Road, unnamed trails

Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult

Conditions: Packed snow, snow drifts, ice glazed packed snow

Special Required Equipment: Snowshoes in some locations

Though I have hiked Pocumtuck many times, today was a series of firsts - first time hiking it from Stacy Road, first time hiking it mid-winter, and first time snowshoeing it.

Initially I had planned to park as far up South Catamount or Stacy Road as possible. Upon arriving, I realized that would actually mean parking at the beginning of one or the other. Since South Catamount Road has no parking signs all over the area near the snowbank, process of elimination chose Stacy Road as my route.

After building my own parking spot in a snowbank (thank you Toyota Off Road Package!), I put on my running snowshoes and headed up Stacy Road (due to the length of the hike, I only used them for running/jogging a few times).

Stacy Road was well packed by snowmobile traffic, making the snowshoes pointless. Upon reacing McLeod Pond and seeing some ice fishers and snowmobilers on it, I decided to go right across the pond. After about five or ten steps, I looked to my left and saw slush poking through the snow. Not wanting to go swimming, I made like the French military and gave up on crossing the pond.

This is where the snowshoes came in handy. Due to wind, the trail around the south side of the pond was essentially unbroken. Though some exposed parts had only a few inches of snow, one section was easily 3 feet deep.

The rest of the hike to Pocumtuck was packed due to recent snowmobile traffic. The obstructed views on the knob southeast of Pocumtuck were surprisingly good - Mt. Greylock and Mt. Monadnock were visible in the distance.

The views from the ledge on Pocumtuck were amazingly strong - better than my last half dozen or so visits. The towers on top of Mt. Greylock and Borden Mountain were visible, as well as the radar bubble thing in Cummington, and the towers of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

 

[rocket21]

Here are some photos:

The trail near the summit of Pocumtuck

Looking west from the ledge at the summit of Pocumtuck


Though obviously local snowmobilers know about it, Pocumtuck is a hidden gem. There's no quick way to get to it, nor is there any trail signage/markings (other than a few scattered snowmobile markers).

The hike from Stacy Road was just shy of about 2000 vertical feet, not too bad for Massachusetts.

 

[RoySwkr]

Though obviously local snowmobilers know about it, Pocumtuck is a hidden gem. There's no quick way to get to it, nor is there any trail signage/markings (other than a few scattered snowmobile markers).

For a nice fall combination, I once climbed Pocumtuck Mtn in the morning and Pocumtuck Rock (near Deerfield) in the afternoon

The hike from Stacy Road was just shy of about 2000 vertical feet, not too bad for Massachusetts.

You must have done a lot of up & down, the net gain is more like 1300'
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=42.64748&lon=-72.75913&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG25&size=l&s=50

 

[rocket21]

That's correct...net is about 1,300', but there is some up and down between the pond and the peak, roundtrip it adds up to about 600 and change.

That's an interesting combination you did...which Pocumtuck Mountain trailhead did you use?

 

[RoySwkr]

That's an interesting combination you did...which Pocumtuck Mountain trailhead did you use?

I can't say as I've ever found anything that most people would consider a
trailhead

My first trip there was in 88 with the PeakMaster and we came in from the NW, this was partly a bushwhack although we found some snowmobile trails
that weren't on the map. We got rain turning to snow so no views so I wanted to guy back. One day in 98 I spent a couple hours driving around
looking for a good access but all the roads on the USGS map seem to have
been blocked off far from the State Forest often with nasty No Parking
signs, and the friend I was with wasn't up for a long roadwalk so we went
elsewhere. Finally went back in 01 and was able to coax my Ford Escort up
Catamount Hill Road from the S as far as the Forest boundary and park it
tipped sideways in a wide spot. Hiked up road to join your recent route
over scenic view bump. Note that the bump just N of the summit is a rock
dome with the same highest contour as the official summit so you might
want to check it out on your next visit.

 

[rocket21]

I can't say as I've ever found anything that most people would consider a
trailhead

My first trip there was in 88 with the PeakMaster and we came in from the NW, this was partly a bushwhack although we found some snowmobile trails
that weren't on the map. We got rain turning to snow so no views so I wanted to guy back. One day in 98 I spent a couple hours driving around
looking for a good access but all the roads on the USGS map seem to have
been blocked off far from the State Forest often with nasty No Parking
signs, and the friend I was with wasn't up for a long roadwalk so we went
elsewhere. Finally went back in 01 and was able to coax my Ford Escort up
Catamount Hill Road from the S as far as the Forest boundary and park it
tipped sideways in a wide spot. Hiked up road to join your recent route
over scenic view bump. Note that the bump just N of the summit is a rock
dome with the same highest contour as the official summit so you might
want to check it out on your next visit.

The easiest access, in terms of parking, east East Catamount Road at this point (comes off Lively Road/Adamsville Road) - they built a new small parking lot for it to complement the one at the end of the road.

The bump north of the summit is a little bit shy of the summit but kind of neat...its been called Hobb's Nob by some locals...when I went up there maybe 15 years ago, there were views...I went up there this fall and there isn't much to see as the trees around it have grown in. Not only that, but there's no trail to the top of it anymore (but there's a pi monument made out of stone marking it).

The neatest trail to Pocumtuck is from Charlemont, but the beginning is private property with no parking. At one point, it was one of the main roads from Charlemont to Heath. It follows a brook and has a distinct trailmarker (rock with a hole in it). Haven't been up that in a good 15 years either. I remember a neat little waterfall on it too.