MA Appalachian Trail - Section 1 - Vermont border to Mass 2

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/23/2017	8.4 miles	3 hours 49 minutes

Map & Guide: Appalachian Trail Guide Massachusetts
Parking: School near Mass 2.
Directions: Hike northbound from Mass 2 to Vermont border. Return southbound to Mass 2.

One of our hiking goals this year was to finish the Massachusetts section of the AT. Today was our final hike. Woohoo! We had planned to do more miles on the AT this year, but work has gotten in the way. We may still try to take a weeklong vacation to try to get some more miles in.

We parked at the school which is just before Mass 2. The AT passes the school. We figured since it was a weekend and we weren't leaving our car overnight that it would be fine. We had warm humid weather again. What happened to fall? From the school, we crossed over Mass 2 and then crossed a bridge over river. We had a short road walk on the other side. The trail then went into someone's driveway before going into the woods. The house there had a hose with water for AT hikers. It's so cool to see people helping out thru hikers! We were lucky and the beginning of this hike followed a stream. It was around 80 degrees and humid, so not ideal hiking weather. Trek ran in and out of the water.

I found the beginning of the hike rather uninteresting. It was a climb, but not too steep luckily. We eventually arrived at a steep section followed by a climb up a boulder field. I enjoyed the boulder field, though of course I had to slow way down, as I don't want to risk spraining an ankle. Glen found it interesting at how well Trek did. After all, he's got 4 feet to think about where he'll place. Trek did slide off some boulders though. We checked his feet after the hike, and they ended up being fine. No torn pads.

Above the boulder field, the hike was pretty. There were pitch pines which reminded me of the gunks. Speaking of the gunks - I need to plan a hike out there soon. That is my favorite fall foliage destination!

We passed by something called the rock garden. I was expecting it to be a bunch of cairns, but it was just a rocky section with the pitch pines. It was pretty. We continued on, the next highlight being Eph's Lookout. But Eph's Lookout is no longer a lookout. The trees have grown in, so there is no view. Only blueberry bushes. We ended at the MA/VT border. There's a large sign welcoming you to the start of the Long Trail in Vermont. The Appalachian Trail follows the Long Trail for a ways. We sat down and took a break, then headed back the way we came to our car.

Back at home we celebrated. This is our 6th state we've completed of the Appalachian Trail - Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and now Massachusetts. It took us 5 years to finish Massachusetts, but we are making progress!