I did a Feb 1 climb of Mt Greylock. I used the Roaring Brook trail from the west to get to Sperry Campground, and then took the Hopper trail to the top. The total distance according to the state park is 7.2 miles RT. It took me about 5.5 hours, would have been quicker if I hadn’t had to break trail part of the way. I wore snowshoes for the entire hike.
The first half mile is a shared trail, and was well beaten down. From the junction to the campground I was following a barely discernable trail that had about a foot of snow since anyone had been on it. This is the steepest part of the hike, and I was snorting like a grizzly in heat when I got to the campground. After a couple hundred yards of following the road-and the snowmobile tracks- the Hopper trail headed up thru the trees again. From here to where it met the road to the summit was not terribly steep, but the snow was very deep and windblown in sections; I was plowing thru 4 and 5 foot drifts and, even in snowshoes, sinking up to my knees. Thankfully, it was a short section and I soon reached the summit road and lots of snowmobile traffic. The next piece of the Hopper trail cuts off a switchback of the road, in that straight-up style of New England trails. I stayed on the road, slightly longer but much easier, until the final trail up to the summit. The wind at the top prevented me from setting up my mini tripod, so my summit photo was taken by holding the camera at arm’s length and hopefully catching the War Memorial tower in the background.
It was about 5 degrees when I started, no wind as long as I was in the trees, which is almost all of it. The climb took 3.5 hours, the descent took two. I’ll probably go back when the road is open so I can better enjoy the fantastic 5-state view.
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