We met up with our friend Andy in the exciting town of Torrington, CT for the purpose of hiking. The drive was suppose to take a little over five hours but ended up being over eight due to traffic. Yuck. We had hiked up the tallest mountain in Massachusetts (Mt. Greylock) last year and we were taking on number two this year. (This is Massachusetts so that is not too impressive.) Mount Everett is in the southeast corner of the state in a small state reservation. The Appalachian Trail crosses over the top of the mountain as it is wont to do with mountains. The day was not too warm — good for hiking. It was raining lightly, and it was foggy. It would remain that way for the entire hike.

The trail was a typical Appalachian type of trial. It was not wide like the access roads we have been hiking on lately. It had plenty of roots and rocks to trip you and it was also easy to miss a trail blaze in several sections. We were fortunate that even though it was raining the forest canopy was thick enough so that we did not get wet until we got up above the tree line. Shannon had blister problems and did the last mile to the summit in bare feet. Crazy.

The view from the summit was nothing to write home about as can be seen in the photo on the right. The waterfall that was suppose to be a big attraction was also a disappointment because the summer had reduced it to nothing more than a trickle. That's fine because we got to feast on beef jerky and trail mix at the top on what was left of an old fire tower. Hiking up a few thousand feet makes a person appreciate things like granola.

The highlight on the way down was the discovery of a large blueberry patch overflowing with berries. The whole hike was enough that we felt it in our legs on the way down — not enough to be sore the next day, but enough to be glad that we did not have to walk any further.

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We are always looking for good hikes within a day's drive. The hike up Maryland Heights qualifies. It is on the Maryland side of the Potomac River across from Harpers Ferry. This area was important during the Civil Way because of its location. One particular bridge was destroyed nine times during the war.

We had stayed the night in Harpers Ferry so we could get an early start on the hike. We started from the train station and joined the Appalachian Trail in the historic part of the town. After crossing the Potomac on an old railroad bridge, the trail to the heights turns left along the C&O Canal. The trail up the heights follows old military roads used to transport supplies and guns to the forts at the top. It is said that Abraham Lincoln tried to walk up one of the roads in order to inspect the troops but gave up due to some strenuous sections.

Due to our early start, we only shared the trail with several deer. We did not see any people until we were most of the way down. Along the trail to the stone fort commanding the top of the heights are interpretative signs pointing out the artifacts and giving some history. It is hard to believe that men dragged 10,000 pound guns up those heights. They also cleared off all the trees to give them a view of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers below. At several spots, remains of the stone walls can be seen. The views that were available to the soldiers of that time are there no longer since the trees have grown up.

We did have some nice views of Harpers Ferry from the cliffs on the way down. From there you can see the arsenal that John Brown raided and the only church to survive intact through the war in Harpers Ferry — St Peter's Catholic Church. Father Costello raised the British flag over the church to indicate neutrality. Some think the two armies were afraid of shelling the church because of that. This extension did add a mile to the hike, but it was worth it. By this point, it was almost ten o'clock and there was a steady stream of tourists headed to this overlook. We were glad to be going back down to escape the onslaught of the heat of the day.

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The main motivation behind the hike (besides getting outdoors and all the other usual reasons) was the chance to explore the ruins of an old hotel near the summit. Back in the late 19th century the in thing to do if you were a developer was build a hotel on the top of a mountain in the Catskills. It took a long time to travel anywhere then and the richer residents of New York City needed to go somewhere to beat the heat. A hotel on the top of a mountain was the perfect solution. There are a few left, but most have been allowed to decay or have burned down. This hotel was the third try on this spot. All that is left is the concrete shell. The forest is slowly taking over. Trees are growing inside the structure. It takes a lot of imagination to picture what this six story structure could have looked like.

It is just a half a mile after the ruins to the top of the mountain. Given the name of the mountain, you might guess there are some views from the summit and you would be right. The best views are found by climbing up the fire tower. It was clear enough to see the Hudson River, but too hazy to take any good photos so you will have to be satisfied with a photo of my fellow hikers taken from the fire tower. One advantage of hiking up access roads is that they can be used to transport picnic tables to the summit.

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