According to a flyer I received recently, the 102nd Annual Metawampe Hike was scheduled for today, but my friend Steve and I decided to make our own way to the summit of Mount Toby, rather than joining the UMass group.  We met in the parking lot at the intersection of Routes 9 and 202 in Belchertown, then he drove us back to Amherst where we picked up Route 63 heading north toward Leverett and Sunderland.  We parked in an obscure parking area maintained by a private party on the west side of 63.

First we stopped to admire Roaring Brook Falls:

Then we scrambled up over rocks and roots to get back on the trail to the summit.  The contours are not particularly steep and we hardly paused for breath until we reached the base of the Sunderland Fire Tower.  Although I’m afraid of heights, I had to climb to the top.  The day was clear and windless, and what a view we had in all directions!  To the south was the Holyoke Range and to the west, Mount Greylock; to the north we could see the southernmost peaks of Vermont’s Green Mountains and to the east, Mount Wachusett in Worcester County and Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire.

It was a fine day for hiking, sunny but autumn brisk.  There were quite a few groups of people and pets on the trails, and on our way down, we met the Metawampe folks on their way up.  It was still early when we made it back to the car, so we decided to visit another waterfall in the area.  We continued driving north on 63, then turned on to Reservation Road, which intersects with Route 47.  Gunn Falls is easily accessible from Falls Road.

By this time, we were both hungry, so we headed back to 47, then north on Main Street to Montague and the Montague Bookmill.  For those who aren’t familiar with this entity, the Bookmill is a used bookstore housed in an 1842 gristmill, set on the banks of the Sawmill River, and it’s rather a cool place.  Steve and I shared a salad seated outdoors at the Lady Killigrew Cafe and then browsed among the books.  I saw at least a dozen I wanted to buy, but not having a lot of bookshelf space left in my house, I passed on this opportunity.

We changed the clocks back this morning, and when I returned to my car, I could tell that the sun was much lower in the sky than it had been at this time yesterday.  Still, the  golden afternoon felt timeless.  Here are two more random photos to help me remember this  day: an example of Mount Toby conglomerate and mushrooms proliferating on a fallen log.

Mount Toby conglomerate

Fungi growing on a log