Sunday, August 18, 2008
Savoy Mountain State Forest
Savoy Mountain State Forest official site
I hadn't originally planned to visit Tannery Falls again this year, particularly after the road there proved such a challenge to drive last year... but running through the western part of the state forest and seeing how much water was flowing in the streams convinced me otherwise... at least if the road was passable.
It turned out that the main road through the forest was more of a challenge than the "unmaintained" road to the falls parking area, just because it's very difficult to see the potholes on a dry dirt road until you're right on top of them. The road that was such a hassle last year had been regraded and in most places was fairly easy to drive, albeit slowly.
There were actually more cars than I expected at the falls, though much of the time I was alone on the trail and I had the waterfall to myself for a bit before more people arrived. There was a decent amount of water going over all the falls (in addition to the 75 foot Tannery Falls, there are also numerous other waterfalls along the two streams that converge just beyond the base of the main falls.)
After years of what seemed like little improvement to the MA state parks (admittedly, due to lack of funding, not negligence on the part of any of the rangers) it was nice to see some major work had been done on the trail down to the base of Tannery Falls, even though the new fence meant I couldn't get as close to the top of the falls to shoot pictures. I'd heard that the new governor was committing more funding to state parks, and this may be evidence that it's working.
Florida - Eastern Summit
Headed out the eastern end of Savoy State Forest and made my way back to Route 2 (designated the "Mohawk Trail") and headed back toward North Adams. Along the way I stopped in the town of Florida at a viewpoint for the Eastern Summit - advertised as a "65 mile view." I don't know about that, but I do know that the view of the mountains stretching off to the north was awesome.
click for a larger image
Hoosac Tunnel Eastern Portal
I've been mildly interested in the Hoosac Tunnel ever since I first learned about it back in February while researching an odd-looking structure along the road to Savoy State Forest; it turned out that structure is the central ventilation shaft for the tunnel, which at 4.74 miles is one of the longest railroad tunnels in the world. It took 25 years to build and was completed in 1874, at a cost of approximately 20 million dollars and 195 lives. (I strongly recommend Marc Howes' excellent Hoosac Tunnel site for anyone interested in more info.)
Without realizing it I passed the Eastern Portal of the tunnel both times that I went to Monroe State Forest to run the Monroe Dunbar Brook trail race in October. I had planned to stop and see the tunnel this year, but since I was right nearby today, I decided to detour down to the road along the Deerfield River and check things out.
There's plenty of open space around the active railroad tracks, so I was able to approach the tunnel safely (though I did decide going even a little ways into the tunnel would be pushing my luck!) No great surprise, the tunnel is large and carries a strong odor of diesel fumes. What I wasn't expecting was how cold it would be as I approached the opening... though that makes sense, given that the tunnel runs deep under the mountains.
Overall, this is an even more impressive engineering feat when you can see the scale of the thing. Unfortunately I hadn't planned on visiting here today, so I didn't bring directions to the Western Portal - maybe I can visit there in October after I finish the trail race.
Florida - Whitcomb Summit
The next quick stop on my trek toward North Adams was the Whitcomb Summit, which also apparently boasts an impressive view (unfortunately, that would have required walking over to a viewing tower on the property of the Whitcomb Summit Resort & Motel, and I didn't want to walk there only to find the tower restricted to guests or something... ie, I wussed out.) But I did stop to take a picture of the Whitcomb Summit Elk, a statue which was erected as a memorial to members of the Massachusetts Elks Association who gave their lives during World War I. (A complete history of the memorial can be found here.)
Natural Bridge State Park
National Bridge State Park official site
Wahconah Falls State Park
Wahconah Falls State Park official site
JMH
