A Great, Great, Great Day   dbhg-@comcast.net   Nov 20, 2004 16:27 PST  ENTS:     Today John Eichholz, John Knuerr, Susan Scott, and yours truly spent a day in Trout Brook Cove of our forest Mecca, MTSF. We climbed to the top of Hawks Mtn and then dropped off the western side down to the dividing ridge between Trout Brook and the unnamed western branch.    Going up the NW side, we encountered a young forest dominated by N. red oak, white ash, sugar maple, red maple, black cherry, beech, yellow birch, and black birch. Tree heights for the ash were on the verge of being impressive, but little to get excited about. Many trees are 100 to 115 feet tall. Girths are typically 6 to 8.5 feet. The lower part of the ridge was severely high-graded.    The top of the mountain had areas of mature beech that are close to old growth, but nothing really eye-popping. We saw a couple of interesting spots - glades of unknown origin. The elevation gain going up the NW side is right at 1,200 feet. There are a few red spruce on the top.    After walking the ridge crest for a short distance, we started dropping down the ridge facing WNW, crossed Trout Brook, and headed across the dividing ridge (NE exposure) between the two streams. We immediately hit a handsome forest that in only a few yards became surprising beyond expectations. The dividing ridge has boulders and a few areas of ledge. Pits and mounds are everywhere, but the forest is not that old. I think most of the ash trees are 75 to 125 years old. But I'll let the numbers below do the talking. They include the few white ash trees we measured going up the ridge. Most of the serious work was on the dividing ridge. Species                Height    Location white ash              125.5      NW ridge white ash              128.3      NW ridge white ash              129.9      NW ridge white ash              130.0      NW ridge ============================ basswood             119.7   Dividing ridge white ash              130.2      Dividing ridge white ash              132.3      Dividing ridge white ash              136.0      Dividing ridge white ash              141.7      Dividing ridge white ash              145.9      Dividing ridge white ash              151.5      Dividing ridge YEEEEEHAAAAA!!! ============================ white pine             142.4      Trout Brook (going back) Norway spruce     119.0      Trout Brook (going back)     Yes, a 151.5-foot white ash!! Three different measurers with three different sets of equipment confirmed the 150-footer. John Knuerr checked John Eichholz's numbers. The official 151.5 is John Eichholz's measurement. I measured a different twig at 150.7. The splendid new white ash champ grows at 1,350 feet altitude and 42.625 degrees north latitude. Who could have imagined such a tree? And there are many ash trees left to measure on the dividing ridge. There is a reasonably high probability of another 150-footer and a virtual guarantee of several more 140-footers.Needless to say, we celebrated at the Charlemont Inn afterwards.     The Rucker index for Mohawk goes back up to 134.87. For us folks up here in New England, it just doesn't get much better than today. So, Massachusetts now has its second species that breaks the 150-foot threshold and Trout Brook now has 5 confirmed ash trees over 140 and 1 confirmed over 150. How sweet it is!     We discussed a name of the tree and none of us were particularly enthusiastic about the choices I proposed. Since I've been home, one name keeps running through my head - Sweet Thing! For now, at least informally for me, that fine ash lady is Sweet Thing. Bob RE: A Great, Great, Great Day   John Eichholz   Nov 21, 2004 07:11 PST  ENTS: Yes it was a great day. Our long walk was rewarded with a wonderful find, which adds again to the list of superlatives to be found in MTSF. The upper Trout Brook basin where we were is more gradual and bowl shaped than the usual stream ravines we find here. While the subsoil was clearly composed of a high fraction of stones and boulders, they did not project much above the surface of the vegetation. The trees, which were predominantly white ash with some maple and basswood component, were evenly spaced with long columnar trunks. The overall impression was park-like, a smooth surface of ferns and leaves, mottled brown and green, with long views and a majestic canopy. As for the history of the site, there are a few clues. A stone wall on the peak was evidence of grazing on the top of Hawks Mountain. There are no stone walls below the peak, and the soil is much too rocky to support grass. Beyond and above the peak, the flatter highlands of Hawley and Plainfield extend for miles. These lands have a history of agriculture in addition to forestry. Good land for potatoes but cold and buffeted by continual high winds, they support only a shorter version of the typical upland forest of maples, beech, birches, oak, hemlock, and black cherry. The age of the ash grove is similar to many of the MTSF groves. It is easy to picture a mostly denuded landscape there in the early part of the 20th century. The timing of the chestnut blight and the documented clearcut on neighboring Mount Peak lend further evidence. The logging on Mt Peak was in part to provide railroad ties and cribbing for local use. The Mohawk Trail was being built in that time frame. The lower Trout Brook basin has the Norway Spruce plantation from the 1930's. We are left to imagine the forests that were present before all this activity. By chance or by plan we are left with a prime example of forest regeneration within a high growth watershed at the late stem exclusion phase, with some remnants of primary forest present. What a great opportunity to study the effects of elevation, aspect, hydrology and soil structure on forest development all in one area.      John   Home