Early this year, when my hiking partners and I were planning our Appalachian Trail section hikes, we discovered that there was a hiking lodge, named Bascom Lodge, on the top of Mount Greylock. We felt it would be a good idea to hike up the mountain on the AT, have dinner at the lodge, and stay overnight as guests. We would descend the mountain the next day on the AT again.

We had originally thought that, by the end of June, we would have hiked our way northbound, from the end of Connecticut to Mount Greylock. So, we booked two rooms at the Bascom Lodge for the weekend of the 25th and 26th. Injuries and scheduling delays prevented our planned schedule from happening, but, since we had already made reservations, we decided to hop over some Massachusetts sections of the AT until later in the year and climb Mount Greylock instead.

Both days were in the high 80s but, since we were in the woods, the temperature was cooler and not bothersome for hiking. Both the 8-mile ascent and 6-mile descent were not difficult.

Completely by coincidence, it turned out that this year’s Massachusetts Walking Tour (https://masswalkingtour.org) was also hiking along the AT. The Massachusetts Walking Tour is a troupe that, annually. over a seven- to ten-day period, holds a series of hikes along a chosen trail, each followed by a free evening folk music concert. Several years ago. we hiked up Mount Wachusett with them. 

While we didn’t climb Mount Greylock with the Massachusetts Walking Tour, because they started very early, we enjoyed their concert in the evening at the end of our hike. The next morning, we caught them about halfway down their descent of Greylock and travelled the rest of the way with them. Very nice folks to hike with.

After our hike and their concert, it was dinnertime. The main course for dinner was a tajine. A tajine is a North African dish, named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. Because the domed or cone-shaped lid of the tajine pot traps steam and returns the condensed liquid to the pot, a minimal amount of water is needed to cook meats and vegetables. This method of slow cooking is important in areas where water supplies are limited.

Algerian and Moroccan tajine dishes are stews, typically made with sliced meat, poultry, or fish together with vegetables or fruit. I had the Scallop and Shrimp Tajine and it was delicious!