M&M Trail 2

August 30, 2012:  onto section 2 of the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail - a very interestingly diverse section that sees a lot in 3.4 miles.  I would describe it as "things you might see on a mountain:"  quarry, gun range, woods roads, mountain biking and ATV trails, fire lookout tower, television studio, reservoir, farm, some nice vistas.  Also some significant climbing today too, as we went up Provin Mountain to about 650ft (from 110ft at today's low point).  The former quarry was our first stop, and the view south into Connecticut shows the narrow Metacomet ridge:

You can also sense in this photo how the underlying basalt is tilted, with a gentle slope on the east side (left in this photo) and sharper drops, often with cliffs, to the west (right side here).  As a result, most of the views from the Metacomet ridge are to the west toward the Berkshires.

One of these looks out over a small gun range.  Thought this was a fun sign, especially when coupled by the many handgun pops:

The M&M Trail is extraordinarily well-blazed and the caretakers should be commended.  However, it is still easy to lose the trail, as we did on more than one occasion - mountain bikers, dirtbikers, and ATVers have carved a vast network of wide paths all over Provin Mtn.  To try and maintain a safe and more remote footpath, the M&M caretakers move pieces of the M&M away from these paths, and you have to keep a lookout for quick lefts and rights.  Sadly, and somewhat inevitably, the motor people and bikers then start using the new footpaths and the erosion continues to spread. 

Once atop Provin, the trail winds around the former WWLP television station - the local NBC affiliate - now used just as a relay station.  A climb up a nearby firetower gave us a rare view eastward and southward, with the towers of Hartford clear on the horizon about 30 miles to the south.  Here is the view east, to downtown Springfield's mighty skyline, which at about 5.5 miles away is the closest the M&M will get to downtown:

The highlands in the background frame the Pioneer Valley on the east and host the vast Quabbin Reservoir.

We stopped for a break at a nearby vista - my fellow traveler was happy to get out of the pack and move about.















From this height, the ridge sweeps downward and the trail emerges from the woods at a capped reservoir owned by Springfield, with unexpectedly wide views north and west.  The Berkshire plateau which forms the western edge of the Pioneer Valley in the background, the church spires of little Westfield in the middle ground, and a lovely pastoral scene in the foreground - the kind of landscape that people love about this area of Massachusetts, (just try to ignore the grey/white gash of sprawling big box stores along Route 20):

  The sun felt lovely on our skin as we crossed the pastureland and re-entered the woods.  A PUD (pointless up-and-down) over a rocky outcrop aside , we moved downhill, ending the section at the Westfield River, as it flows through Robinson State Park.  The trail to the riverbank is much less used and hard to follow since most hikers end at the park road before it, but we pressed on, bushwacking and navigating downed trees to reach the river.  Our reward took the form of a huge beaver, who passed within 20 feet of us as he wandered from the woods to the water:

 
The river looked very peaceful in the late-afternoon suunlight, and despite the roar of traffic from Route 20 on the other side, the scene had a very remote feel to it.  Were I without the Peanut, I would've loved to attempt a ford of the Westfield River, since it doesn't look too deep where the guidebook suggests crossing, but not today.  Instead, we'll have to pick up the trail from the other side.  (After we hike all the way back to the car.)

Today: 3.4 trail miles, 6.8 hiked miles.  M&M miles: 5.7 out of 114 mi.