Day 8/April 8 -- Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts

Miles hiked: 12.95

Starting location: Route 8, Cheshire, MA

Ending location: Pattison Road near Mt. Williams Reservoir, Williamstown, MA

Elevation gain: 3,665'

Peter Crisci, a long-time running buddy and a more recent hiking buddy, joined me today. Originally, we were going to do Sages Ravine to Jug End Road, but another friend from New York couldn't make it, so Peter opted for something closer to home.

We've hiked on Mt. Greylock before, so there was nothing new to be seen, just some knarly trails to be traversed. It was another cloudy, rainy, snowy day on the mountain, so the views weren't the greatest and the footing was wet and slippery for the most part.

The War Memorial Tower on Mt. Greylock as we approached the summit. Yeah, a rather grey day.

We tarried a bit at the emergency stone shelter at the summit, before heading over to Mt. Williams. 

Hard to believe, but this sign is more weathered than me. 

And another great view, from Mt. Williams:

Peter brought along some Gore-Tex socks and some vapor barrier socks, primarily so that I could try one of those pairs and see if they were any better at keeping my feet dry compared to the plastic baggies that I used yesterday. Since the Gore-Tex socks were large enough, I chose those, and Peter wore the vapor barrier socks.

About four miles into the hike, Peter started noticing that the vapor barrier socks were leaking and his feet were getting cold from the water. My feet were feeling a little wet, but if Gore-Tex does have an advantage, it would be that it is warm, so my feet were only chilly. Peter, as a runner, used to be known for his hill-climbing prowess, having placed in the top five in the Mt. Washington Road Race and also having won at the Escarpment Trail Run in the Catskills. So, as you might guess, he's no slouch at hiking uphill quickly when he wants to. And today, with ice-cold feet, he wanted to do so. LOL  That was the excitement of the day for me--keeping Peter within shouting distance. 

We both survived and it was a bit longer than I had expected, so that makes the effort worth even more. 

Route