kjoyce4For at least half of the time Chloe and I have been adventuring, I’ve had weird work hours and worked weekends, making it harder to find friends who can drop everything and hike a mountain on a Monday. So now that my life is a little closer to normal, I often forget I have friends who want to go hiking with me. This weekend, I finally went hiking with a friend from high school, and (shockingly) it was a lot of fun to have a friend on the trail.
We headed to the Berkshires for some water fall spotting, and despite the fact that we got a little turned around trying to find the top of the falls, it was worth it for the photos and the memories.
My friend happens to be a really good photographer and I think slowing down to wait for her to find the perfect shot made my photos a little better. I don’t have anywhere near as much patience as she does, and instead of stopping to get a shot, I’ll just keep hiking along.
It also helped to have someone to distract Chloe from the camera, and get her to smile. Does anyone else’s dog seem aware of the camera and stop smiling as soon as you’re about to take a picture of them?
The Hike
As far as the actual hike, Race Brook Falls is beautiful and worth the mile uphill to get there. The All Trails description said it was for experienced hikers and I shrugged it off as I typically do with hikes that are heavily trafficked but considered hard. (Not the best judgement, but I can’t be alone.)
After turning onto the trail that goes right along the falls, we soon realized why it was given that classification. There’s a perfectly reasonable trail that loops around through the woods, on a much more gradual incline. Of course, that’s not the one we took. The trail that goes right along the falls is not well marked and it pretty steep and icy in the winter. Luckily, I have a pair of spikes and a pair a YakTrax I’ve been lending out to friends I drag on winter adventures.
Long story short, if you’re confident in your navigation skills and are looking for an adventure, head up along the Middle Falls Trail. Otherwise, the Race Brook Trail is the perfect option if you don’t like hiking along rocks a couple dozen feet above a waterfall.
What adventures did you go on this weekend? Let me know in the comments.
As I work on this blog more, I want to know what kind of posts you want to see. Do you like training tips? Weekend adventures? Stories from the road? Let me know! Thanks for reading!
