The morning started out with a lot of snow and sleet. As it was to be our 50th hike together, and our one year anniversary of hiking together, we decided to brave whatever was out there. The skies cleared, the sun came out, it rained, it cleared again…. perfectly suitable weather for the first day of Spring! Flagg Mountain is a 280 acre attempt at housing development with about 14 building lots, a million dollar constructed road up the mountain, underground electrical wiring (that’s been laboriously removed). It was to be an exclusive community of very expensive homes. After the housing downturn, it declared bankruptcy, and Franklin Land Trust was able to buy it, then sell it to Massachusetts Department of Fish and WIldlife Management. Hiker friend Tony is on the Board of Directors of the Land Trust and led us on the informative, steady, steep, uphill climb. The cleared views from the now abandoned building lots are simply wonderful.
We drove back to the new Land Trust building in Shelburne Falls, shared memories, ordered pizzas, and watched a video of the life of Aldo Leopold – highly respected writer on conservation and “land ethics”. Leopold is regarded with John Muir and Thoreau.
It was a wonderful day. I hope ours was too. Hike Report is coming a bit late as my email sending capabilities are woefully impaired. Penny Here goes! I hope you get this. 
We drove back to the new Land Trust building in Shelburne Falls, shared memories, ordered pizzas, and watched a video of the life of Aldo Leopold – highly respected writer on conservation and “land ethics”. Leopold is regarded with John Muir and Thoreau.
It was a wonderful day. I hope ours was too. Hike Report is coming a bit late as my email sending capabilities are woefully impaired. Penny Here goes! I hope you get this. 

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