Last night, a light dusting of snow, and a beautiful cold day today. Students have mostly left campus, either heading home for the weekend or to Boston or New York to visit friends before the semester begins. Students have a habit of calling this time "Dead Week", though, in reality, it has rarely been a week. As we shall see, "Dead Week" more accurately describes a period of exodus before graduation, perhaps peculiar to Williams, but we'll come to that soon enough.
Thompson Physics looks particularly elegant in this weather in amongst the Berkshire Hills. Dusted in snow and to the left, is Mount Williams (2951 feet), a spur off of Mount Greylock. Just hidden by Physics is Mount Prospect (2690).
Heading abruptly up this north slope of Prospect and then turning left to top Williams is the Prospect Trail, a segment of the Appalachian Trail that is steep enough in some parts that you can nearly touch the trail ahead of you while standing upright. Later this year, we will see the campus from the tops of both of these hills.
Mary and I are headed out of town, when we pass Sheep Hill, a Rural Lands tract that is mowed, it appears, up-and-down. A little snow and wind expose interesting features.
The tracks that cross the mowed areas are probably paths left by adventurous sledders. Williamstown children learn to sled early, and at great speeds. In the college's research areas in Hopkins Forest, land last tilled many decades ago is overgrown in trees, but still obviously furrowed this time of year.
As we head down Cold Spring Road, we pass by this iconic view of Mount Greylock's "Hopper" made popular in a print by
Bill Tague, a wonderful photographer for the college and local papers. Aside from shots of campus, this view is probably recognized by more Williams College alumni than any other. When they're in town in fall and early summer, this is a popular place to take a shot of the land relatively undisturbed. To the left, is the south slope of Mount Prospect. Behind Prospect, just out of view, is Mount Fitch (3110) that stakes out the far end of the north flank of Greylock (right center, 3491), which is topped by the Massachusetts Veteran's War Memorial. Stony Ledge (2580) lifts up, to the right. We will see the town from Stony Ledge, no doubt, some Friday in October, when students climb this hill on Mountain Day.
The term "mountain", of course, is relative. This point is the highest in Massachusetts, some respect is due, though one might compare it with
Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas at well over 4000 feet.
