Tyringham Cobble

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Tyringham MA

The Park

A cobble, the term is thought to derive from the German word kobel meaning rocks - is a rounded, rocky hill formed of bedrock, not glacial debris. In the case of Tyringham Cobble, geologist Daniel Clark discovered in 1895 that the rocks on the top of the knoll were older than those strewn around the bottom. He concluded that the cobble had broken off a nearby mountain and flipped over during a great geological cataclysm 500 million years ago. Pioneer farmers cleared most of the Cobble by the 1760s. Members of the Shakers owned an extensive 2,000-acre farm in Tyringham by 1840 where they pastured cattle and sheep. The last of the frustrated Shakers, tired of trying to grind money out of the rocky soil, had sold out and moved to other communities by the end of the century. In the 1930s a conservation group calling themselves “The Cobblers” purchased much of this land to thwart a proposed ski run. In 1961, their leader Olivia Cutting James died and left her part of the Cobble to the Trustees of Reservations with an expressed wish that the surviving tenants do the same. And so they did in 1963.

The Walks

Hiking the two-mile loop trail, with its blend of open-fields and mixed hardwoods, on Tryringham Cobble is one of the best hours you can spend with your dog in the Berkshires. Your exploration begins in an open field where cattle graze as they have for 200 years. Then comes a fairly rigorous climb to summit where you’ll enjoy sweeping views of a quintessential New England valleyscape. Rather than race back down the slopes the trail juts back into the hill to join the Appalachian Trail for a spell and views in the opposite direction. As you drop down the Cobble along a fenced pasture don’t let the distracting views take all your attention off of the slippery cowpies that mine the path.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There is a basic map and information board at the trailhead;

the trail is marked on the Cobble.

Workout For Your Dog - Climbs up and down.

Swimming - None.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to hike at Tyringham Cobble.

Something Extra

Does your dog have any herding instincts? You’ll find out at Tyringham Cobble where you may find yourself hiking with a free-ranging herd of Hereford cattle.

Phone - (413) 298-3239

Website - http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/370_tyringham_cobble.cfm

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Tyringham; From Route 20 turn west onto Route 102 West (towards Stockbridge) and then immediately turn left onto Tyringham Road. Follow into Tyringham and turn right onto Jerusalem Road. Entrance and parking are on the right.

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Roan Highlands

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Burnsville NC

The Park

Roan Mountain, dressed in a dark green spruce-fir forest and including the world’s largest natural rhododendron garden and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range, has long been considered a treasure of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1870 John T. Wilder, a Union Army General famed for his command of the Civil War “Lightning Brigade,” bought up 7,000 acres along the top and sides of Roan Mountain. Wilder made his money firing the first blast furnaces in the South after the war and his ironworks manufactured rails for the railroads, including his own narrow gauge railway he built to bring tourists to the top of Roan Mountain. In 1885, Wilder constructed the luxurious Cloudland Hotel on the mountaintop, promoted as a health resort that was frequented by captains of American industry and European nobility. The hotel was abandoned by 1910, sunk by exorbitant operating costs, and the mountain’s forests were subsequently logged off. When the timber was gone Roan Mountain became part of the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests in 1941.

The Walks

Roan Mountain is not actually a peak but a high ridge that runs five miles from a low point of 5,500 feet at Carver’s Gap to 6,285 feet at Roan High Knob. The knob is accessed from a moderate 1.2-mile canine hike along the Cloudland Trail. In mid-June the hundreds of acres of Catawba rhododendrons erupt into a magenta riot, luring thousands of visitors to the mountain-top to travel through the canyons of blooms on a paved trail. The two-mile road from Carver’s Gap to the gardens is closed from the end of October through March but you can hike - or ski - in with your dog as the case may be.

As remarkable as Roan Mountain is, your dog will likely prefer the canine hiking on the opposite side of Carver’s Gap as the Appalachian Trail crosses over three grassy balds in less than two hours of hiking. The third, Grassy Ridge Bald, rises to an elevation of 6,189 feet, making it the second highest grassy bald in the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, this is the only stretch of the Appalachian Trail that rises above 6,000 feet between Old Black 150 miles to the south and Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 1,500 miles to the north. The views for your dog, of course, are stunning.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Paw-friendly natural trails

Workout For Your Dog - Hours, days, weeks of hiking possible

Swimming - None

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to enjoy the views from the Roan Highlands.

Something Extra

Botanists have been fascinated with Roan Mountain as long as there have been botanists. In 1775, 36-year old William Bartram traveled through here on an epic journey from the foothills of the Appalachian mountains all the way to the Mississippi River, collecting specimens and sketching plants. He became the country’s first nature writer in 1791 with the publication of Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, an account of his adventure. Andre Micheaux followed in 1794, discovering several alpine species rarely found outside of the New England and Canadian latitudes. In 1799, John Fraser explored Roan Mountain, collecting specimens of rhododendron and noting the existence of the fir tree that now carries his name. Asa Gray, considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century found a lily on Roan Mountain that bears his name.

Phone Number - (828) 682-6146

Website - fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc

Admission Fee - Vehicle parking fee at Roan Mountain; none for the Appalachian Trail lot at Carver’s Gap

Directions - Pisgah National Forest; from Burnsville take 197N to Red Hill, turn left towards Johnson City, TN (Route 226N). Go 3 miles to Fork Mountain Road #1338; turn right and go to the end of the road. Turn left onto 261N and follow to Carver’s Gap and Roan Mountain.

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The Pinnacle

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Hamburg PA

The Park

The Appalachian Trail through Pennsylvania is not popular with many thru-hikers, derided as “the place where boots go to die” due to the rocky nature of the mountains. But one spot all agree is worth the purchase is the Pinnacle - a jumble of rock ledges offering a true panoramic view of the wooded Blue Mountain and the contrasting cultivated fields of the Cumberland Valley below.

The Walks

This is not a casual canine hike. Expect to devote a solid five hours to completing the 9-mile loop to the Pinnacle and back. The going is rough and rocky and athletic dogs only need apply. Tackling the loop counter-clockwise offers two routes to the Pinnacle: the rocky Valley Rim Trail (the path is not true to its name - there are no views from the trail) and a shortcut on a switch-backing access road to a mountaintop observatory (it is not a major time-saving shortcut). Your anticipation for the views at the Pinnacle will be whetted with a stop at Pulpit Rock across from the observatory. The mountain climbing ends at Pulpit Rock but not the treacherous footing for your dog as the trail to the Pinnacle is particularly rock-studded here. The return down the mountain is best taken down a fire road along the hemlock-draped Furnace Creek. This trail is a completely different experience from the climb up and gives the loop a feel of two canine hikes for the day.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Much trotting on rocky patches with uneven pawfalls and considerable boulder-hopping in spots

Workout For Your Dog - You may not find a better one

Swimming - Furnace Creek is fast and fun but not for swimming

Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the reservoir

Something Extra

Rocks are certainly a theme of a hike to the Pinnacle. From Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle you get a commanding view of a river of boulders 500 feet wide and a half-mile long known as the Blue Rocks. These erosion-resistant quartzite boulders are souvenirs of the last ice age when powerful glaciers left them behind.

Phone - None

Website - None

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Hamburg, Berks County; northeast of town. Take I-78 east into town or Route 61 north. Take Fourth Street east out of Hamburg for two miles and make a left on Reservoir Road. Cross Mountain Road to the end of the road and parking at the Hamburg Reservoir.

hikewithyourdog.com

The Hiking With Dogs group on Facebook is the place to post photos and info on your favorite canine hikes. Also get questions answered and find advice from members: join now