Todays blog takes place 3.5 hours south from our normal spot at the Bousquet Ski Area located on the north slope of Osceola Mountain- a mini peak along Yukon Ridge- in Pittsfield, MA. The top elevation of this mini peak sits around 1,818 ft asl and has a base elevation of 1,068ft. Much like our spot in Centennial Woods, this area has been used by humans for hundreds of years. The hill started off as mink farm then in 1932 became a ski hill and has been ever since. Instead of power-line trails, there’s ski trails with snow guns, chairlifts, and snow fans. However, this spot is largely surrounded by forested hardwoods and it’s not uncommon to see a deer or hear a coyote. Though a developed recreation area, the ridge-line is in proximity with Massachusetts’ largest state forest- October Mountain- and so the hill is largely wild land. So it’s a little different from Centennial but you can find many similarities if you look for them (think the abandoned ski hill and the urban interactions). On my journey I took only pictures and left only footprints, if you can count that as gift back to the mountain.
