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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Todd Mountain

A group of us went to the Todd Mountain area for an adventure today. This was the place we were headed to when we detoured to the Hoosac Tunnel last week. This time we ended up at our original destination.

View of the Deerfield River near Zoar, Mass

We crossed the Deerfield River and followed an old trail that ran alongside it. It didn’t take long for Rob to find something interesting for us to eat. I think it was some kind of wild cucumber which was quite flavorful.

Rob Leverett of Cherocraft foraging for wild cucumbers

The trail petered out quickly and we headed uphill. Rob stopped many times along the way to share his vast knowledge about some tree or plant. I had decided that today was going to be a relaxing day so I wasn’t usually near enough to hear what he was saying.

Our group headed up the mountain

I did manage to catch up for lunch though.

Our group stopped for lunch

We were off trail so everything we were seeing was relatively “untouched” by humans. This tree trunk, or what is left of it, would not still be standing if it were next to a trail.

Remnants of a tree on the side of Todd Mountain

After bushwhacking for awhile we were rewarded with some nice views of the mountains on the north side of the Deerfield River. One of our crew had to get back home to do his homework so we headed back down before reaching the top of the saddle.

Scenic view from Todd Mountain in Northern Mass

I didn’t take as many pictures going down as I spent most of it slipping, sliding and leaf skiing. However I did stop to take pictures of some wildflowers.

This one is Wood Sorrel but is often referred to as Shamrock. It is an edible plant that has a strong lemony flavor. Eating it in large quantities is not recommended because of the oxalic acid in the plant.

Wood Sorrel or Shamrock

I am not sure what this plant is and I haven’t been able to identify it through the internet or any of my books. Still the picture came out nice.

Unknown purple 5 petaled wildflower

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