highlander

Seeking sweet trail runs in western Massachusetts, I recently became aware of Alander Mountain in the far southwestern corner of the state. I did a quick Google image search on it, and came across a photo of a surprisingly above-treeline scene with subalpine-like vegetation on a windswept ridge. The notion instantly hooked me, and I had to go see.

We parked at the Mt. Washington State Forest headquarters and hiked/ran about 3 miles west to the summit, where sure enough there really is about a quarter-mile long section of mostly open ridgeline. It's very low and far south for that kind of thing, and I'm not sure what maintains it, but it is definitely one of the most beautiful mountain views in the state. And prior to about a month ago, it was completely off my radar! Very worth checking out.

After the summit, we made a long loop out of it by descending the ridge to the south (into NY, briefly) and then following the South Taconic Trail south for a few miles before swinging back northeast on the Ashley Hill Trail (which was a bit rough at first) and Charcoal Pit Trail.