the Way of the Turtle

14.5 Mile Hike/Run on the Taconic Crest & Taconic Skyline Trails
Thursday, August 13, 2009

Pittsfield State Forest trail map (3.75 MB PDF)

Today's trek was supposed to be a run... and I did run most of the relatively level sections for the first few miles (in between hiking up and down hills.) But as I went further the trail became more overgrown and I found myself walking even the level parts, until by the time I reached Berry Pond Rd in Pittsfield State Forest my ability to run was almost nonexistent... so I'm going to count this primarily as a hike. A very pleasant hike out along the beautiful Taconic Crest Trail, and a not nearly as pleasant hike back along the badly damaged Taconic Skyline Trail.

I've wanted to run the TCT for several years now, since I picked up a trail guide and maps put out by the Taconic Hiking Club. The stretches we ran during the 2008 Curly's Trail Races only whet my appetite to visit more of the trail. I've also been curious about the TST, which is listed as a mountain bike ride in Anna Milkowski's Mountain Biking the Berkshires, though I have to admit I didn't expect it to be nearly as nice a trail, knowing the damage that the idiotic ATV riders have done to many of the trails they have access to in western MA. So today I headed just across the border to Pittsfield, left the car at the parking area along route 20, and headed north with my Go Lite Rush hydration pack filled with more supplies than I expected to need. I'd been hoping for a sunny day (better pictures!) but cool and cloudy definitely has its advantages to.

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect beyond a singletrack hiking trail... the elevation profile that came with my maps shows a lot of climbing and descending, which would be tough to run (uphill for obvious reasons, downhill because that's what bothers my injured left knee the most.) As it turned out, the trail was beautiful. With one exception, none of the climbs were too long or steep, and there were reasonably level stretches in between most of them. A few miles in the hiking trail briefly intersected the eroded multi-abuse Skyline Trail, at the shore of a nice man-made pond, then headed back into the woods again. I heard lots of birds (including an owl as I was drawing near to Berry Pond Rd) and saw dozens of red efts (the land-dwelling, juvenile stage of the aquatic red-spotted newt.) I also passed a large beaver pond, though I didn't see any beavers out and about. Huge beds of ferns bordered the trail in many places, and there was lots of evidence of recent trail work to either remove branches brought down by the ice storms last winter or re-route around fallen trees.

Portions of the trail between the pond and Tower mountain were somewhat overgrown, mainly by brambles, which slowed me down quite a bit - I didn't feel like getting too torn up (though I did collect more than a few scratches) plus I needed to be able to see where I was placing my feet. I found myself walking more and more along those parts, which slowed things down a lot. The trail was fairly clear from Tower Mountain to Berry Pond Rd (in part due to work done last fall for the trail races) but that section is almsot entirely downhill, so I had to take it easy for the sake of my knee. Very slow going all around, which is why I decided to try taking the Skyline Trail back to the car, in hopes that I'd be able to run more on the way back.

Before heading back, I paid a brief visit to Berry Pond (the highest body of water in MA at an elevation of 2150 ft) and walked up the hill to take in the view to the west. Then it was time for the run back...

Except running turned out to be not really part of the picture. The trail was as bad asI expected - eroded and covered in fist-sized rocks in some spots, muddy with huge mudpuddles in others, and tough to run under the best of conditions. My legs were tired and sore and for whatever reason I found it pretty easy to convince myself after a couple of short running stretches to just hike the rest of the way out. I can't really say it was much fun... the surroundings were nice, but the trail was a huge eyesore and the damage done by the ATV riders always both breaks my heart and makes my blood boil. The worst sections were closer to route 20 - places where the trail had been widened to 15 or 20 feet by riders trying to avoid mud, numerous side trails cut to avoid sections they'd already ruined... any time I hear arguments for how we should open up more trails for the responsible ATV riders I think of the mess they've made of so many multiuse trails in western MA and all I can think is "Hell, no!"

Passed a beaver pond at one point and caught a glimpse of a beaver scrambling away, with a loud "smack" of his tail against the water as he submerged. Heard lots of birds, just as on the trip out, but didn't see many. I have to admit I was pleased when I finally started hearing traffic from route 20, though the long downhill of switchbacks to the trailhead seemed to take forever... it didn't help that it was getting dark (and my headlamp was back in Albany) or that I ran into the one ATV rider of the day along that stretch (and unlike many who slow when they're passing a hiker, this jerk seemed only interested in blasting up the hill on his noisy, smelly 4 wheeler as fast as he could... but to be fair, maybe he didn't even see me off to the side of the trail.) And I can say without a doubt that I was might pleased to finally walk out into the parking area and down the hill to my car to call it a day...

I definitely want to explore the TCT some more... maybe even someday do the 1 day end-to-end competition that the Taconic Hiking Club holds every year. But I think I'll steer clear of the Skyline Trail... it wasn't much fun to hike along today, and I doubt it would be much more fun to ride a bike along it. Too bad, really, but unfortunately I don't see the ATVs going anywhere anytime soon.

JMH