We found a map for the trail to Pocumtuck Mtn. online at the franklinsites website.  Since it was a trail we had never climbed, it was nearby, and it looked interesting, we decided to try it, even
though there would be no water for most of the route.  Because of this, Bruce carried two bottles of water for me (Dickens) and my thirsty brother Fenster.
     When we arrived at the trailhead on South Catamount Hill Road at 11:43 AM it was sunny and about 68 degrees.  We were the only ones there.  The dirt road to the trailhead is pretty steep and probably not feasible without four wheel drive and a high ground clearance.  Some people park at the bottom and walk up, which does not seem like much fun.
     We started down the trail, which is the same one we had taken before to get to McLeod Pond.  We were looking for a left, but when we saw it, we weren’t sure if it was the right one.  All of the trails in this area of the world are old jeep and ATV trails.  These vehicles were banished some years ago because of all the erosion they caused.  Although the area is now very friendly to hikers, there
still are no signs or blazes to serve as a guide.  
     The trail to our left had a small yellowish diamond-shaped sign saying “State Lands Boundary”.  It looked somewhat overgrown but we took it anyway.  We saw a fallen birch tree which had been chainsawed out of the trail, and this gave us some reason to be optimistic about our choice. Proceeding up this new trail, we soon crossed power lines at 12:05 PM.  At 12:16 we came up to a sunny knoll.  Although it had rocks and grass on its summit, the views all around it were blocked by trees.  If one chopped only a few trees in one area, there would be some nice views off to the north.  
     A man and a woman about 45 years old came down the trail from the north.  He was wearing an Australian outback type hat and she had dark brown hair.  He took a picture of us doggies and Bruce (which is in the photo section).  He said there used to be a boy scout camp nearby and there was an old chimney just beyond this clearing.  
     When Bruce asked him how to get to Pocumtuck, he said that you need to always bear left at every fork between different jeep/ATV/snowmobile trails ahead.  He thought it was about two miles beyond this knoll.
     Since the knoll appears to be unnamed on the maps we have, we decided to name it Chimney Knoll after the interesting ruins of the chimney nearby.
     The advice to keep to the left was very timely and a bit of trail magic from two trail angels.  If we had not known this, we likely would have taken one or two wrong turns.  At 12:40 PM we hit a big zigzag to the left and then back to the right.
     Not far from the summit we rested and Bruce gave Fenster and I a dish of water.  He didn’t realize we were almost there.  Near the summit is an area full of shagbark hickories and we saw a lot of wild
hickory nuts.  We also saw one hawthorn tree.  I think there may be some hophornbeams along the trail.  Near the summit is a large standof red oak.
     We arrived at the south ledges(which are immediately below the summit of Pocumtuck) at 1:10 PM and we had lunch.  Pocumtuck is 1872 feet high.  The ledges are spacious and full of rock areas to rest
on.  There is a fine view of Mt Greylock in the distance.  We could also see the Shelburne Falls area, the Deerfield valley, and out to the southeast towards Amherst.
     Besides our usual sandwiches we had another dish of water and Bruce took a few photos.  At 1:35 PM we left the top and arrived back at Chimney Knoll at 2:14.  Just beyond the powerlines on the way down we met the man and woman again, who were heading back from a trip tothe north shore of McLeod Pond.  They had started on a trail north of Pocumtuck and it was good for us that our paths overlapped.  
     Despite the absence of water this was a very enjoyable trail and the views made it well worthwhile.  We were back out at 2:58 PM.

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