The best spots are the ones stumbled upon. I’ve done some of the trail before, winding thru north central and western MA, but when you put “Mohawk Trail, MA” in Google Maps, you’re directed deep into the woods in Buckland. A rare gem when you find it.

You will eventually end up in Khandroling – a Tibetan Buddhist retreat, about a mile and a half into the Buckland Woods – a mostly secretive reservation with small houses, no running water, a hugely colorful pavilion, and practitioners taking in the quiet and natural aura of this off the beaten path area. It’s…something else.

If you enjoy the country – I mean real country – you gotta make that drive out there. See the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, then continue your route up 2, to 2A, and eventually onto 112. No gas stations, no stores, no internet. Western MA is a true snapshot of simpler life, but for modern people, it’s a drive back in time.

You’re in for a ton of visuals, a ton of greenery and you’ll see immediately that a 3 hour drive can take you back 100 years in time.