Welcome to Aging Adventurist. I am attempting to do one adventure every day for the month of August, 31 days, 31 adventures, some big, some small, some physical, some mental. I hope you’ll come along, or join me!
Day 3: Tuesday, August 3
Mt. Tom hike, home to summit RT
Mount Tom, in Easthampton and Holyoke, MA, may be overcrowded, not that tall, and sullied with its peak covered in cell and radio towers. Nonetheless, I feel lucky to have it in my back yard. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve climbed this hill and hiked along its spectacular ridge to the tower-crowded summit. For Day 3 of my Adventure-a-Day August, I did a walk out my driveway and up Mt. Tom again, this time for a sunset hike. Nature delivered with a breathtaking multi-staged sunset that underscored my appreciation once more for this landscape overlooking the City of Easthampton.
Adventure: Mt. Tom round trip summit hike
Distance traveled: 11+ miles (6 miles road/trail walking, 5+ miles hiking); 3 hours, 20 mins.
Challenges: A minor climb up 1,200 feet; fast hiking with no stops; and I forgot my headlamp so returned in low light.
Risks: Slipping and falling off the side of the ridge, with 200-300-foot sheer drops.
Difficulty scale 1-10: 4.5
Highlights: Mt. Tom always delivers for me. I’ve used this hike as an early training run many times, it starts the blood flowing with a fast walk to the mountain and a varied walk with a couple of scrambles along the ridge to the summit. Once up on the ridge, the bugs disappear, the wind picks up, and the trail wends between spectacular viewing outcrops. And after 3 hours and 20 minutes of walking and hiking without a break, I felt like I got a decent little workout.