AT and Finnerty Pond in October Mtn. State Forest, Becket

Tuesday was a glorious fall day with lots of sun lighting up the leaves that are turning many different colors. Seven of us Tuesday Berkshire Hikers walked the Appalachian Trail from County Road, Becket, past Finnerty Pond and down to Rte. 20 in Lee (about 5.5 miles). On days like this I sometimes feel like I should walk as slowly as possible to prolong the wonderful euphoria that I get from the feel and smell of the cool air; the warmth of the sun (but not too warm!); the brightness of the leaves; the songs of the birds, squirrels and chipmunks; and little natural surprises along the way. Oh, and no bugs!

The trail was covered with crunchy leaves.

The hobble bushes were a mosaic of color.

A beaver pond along the way.

Finnerty Pond (actually to me it's a lake) is totally undeveloped. A gem!

Dazzlingly bright maple tree!

Equally bright colored leaves at our feet.

I think this is a Dagger Moth caterpillar.

We came upon several of these 2-inch-long caterpillars along the way. In trying to identify it, I came across this website. Just scroll down for an amazing variety of beautiful caterpillars. Awesome!