Mount Tom and Red Pines, MA Robert Leverett
August 27, 2009

ENTS,

Yesterday, Monica and I took a friend for a walk on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail along the basalt cliffs of Mount Tom in the Connecticut River Valley. Mount Tom is volcanic and is known for its diversity. I will forego the usual deluge of statistics and go right to the hike. The climb up onto the ledges is fairly steep, but worth every ounce of sweat. The great majority of hikers go to the cliff region of Mount Tom for the views. So do I, but also for the vegetation and one species in particular, red pine.

Image#1-RdPinesLineUp.jpg: This image shows red pines along the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail. These are the first pines you see when intercepting the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail from the Quarry Trail, which is north of Whiting Peak.

Image#2-RedPinesAreBeautiful.jpg: This image looks looks down through a cluster of red pines into the valley below.

Image#3-RedPinesAndSnag.jpg: The red pine strip goes for half a mile or more with intermittent pines hugging the basalt ledges. There is a little regeneration.

Image#4-Guardians2.jpg: This is another view of the cluster. Very photogenic.

In addition to the old red pines, the basalt formation is photogenic. Take red and white pines, basalt ledges, and the valley beyond and Mount Tom becomes a photographer's bonanza.

Image#5-BasaltAndValley.jpg: The basalt formations stand in bold relief to the valley and Berkshire Hills beyond.

Image#6-BasaltAndValley2.jpg: This image shows the surface structure of the basalt.

Bob

  RdPinesLineUp.jpg
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  RedPinesArerBeautiful.jpg
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  RedPineAndSnag.jpg
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  Guardians2.jpg
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  BasaltAndValley.jpg
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  BasaltAndValley2.jpg
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There is a little regeneration in the area. When the weather cools, I plan to count the seedlings. Attached is an image of a red pine seedling on Mt Tom. I have found them only on the escarpment and in areas exposed to sun, past fire, etc.

  BabyRedPine.jpg
666K View Download

Continued at:

http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/a432a02aa4f5ae0e?hl=en