I started at the AT crossing at MA Route 8, the parking area is on the left right after you drive through Cheshire.  The hike ascended a sloping 250 foot incline for a mile to the Outlook Avenue crossing.  You then enter the Mount Greylock State Reservation forest and will make a steady, 500 foot, 2 3/4 mile climb until you cross Old Adams Road, which is a backwoods, dirt road.  A mile and a 250 foot incline later, you will reach the Mark Noepel Shelter, which has a source for water if you need it.  About a quarter mile later, you will cross the Jones Nose Trail which also brings you to the peak of Saddle Ball Mountain (elevation 3,247). From here, the trail will cover about 2 miles of gentle ups and downs until you reach the Notch Road/Rockwell Road, which is the cheaters way to the top!  From there it is a short, half-mile hike to the top of the mountain.  But what a peak it is!  At 3,491 feet, it is Massachusetts highest peak and also features its only subalpine environment.  Because of the high elevation and westerly winds, there is a wide temperature range from winter to summer, day to night.  

Just before you reach the summit, you will see a broadcast tower for the regional public radio station, WAMC and local TV station, WCDC.  You will then come one of the most stunning monuments on the AT, the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower.  Built in 1931, the tower beacon light was meant to shine ‘each night perpetually to honor the memory of fallen heroes (of the World Wars) and to guide aviators in their lone night-time journeys over the treacherous mountain range’.  And this does, indeed, happen except for a few weeks in the spring and fall where the light is dimmed to avoid confusing migrating birds.  

At the top, you will also find beautiful Bascom Lodge, which offers lodging to up to 34 people in both group bunk bed rooms and private rooms.  They also have a dining room that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and features locally sourced ingredients.  The lodge also has workshops and events throughout it’s season, which runs from May thru October