Tully Mountain 3.29

Tully Mountain, 1163ft, is a prominent, steep-sided monadnock located in north central Massachusetts in the town of Orange. An exposed east facing ledge on the summit provides views of the Millers River valley, Mount Monadnock, Mount Wachusett, and the Wapack Range. The 22mi Tully Trail traverses the mountain.There exists a Tully Mountain (Ireland) that, at 1168 feet above sea level, is almost identical in elevation to the Tully Mountain in Massachusetts.The mountain drains into the Tully River, then into the Millers River, then to the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound.The mountaintop is forested, except for a rocky outcropping (a monadnock) that faces due northeast; the rocky ledge of Tully Mountain is visible from surrounding small towns and is a defining characteristic of this small mountain. The form of the mountain is known as "ramp and pluck", as taught by science teacher Robert Coyle, Athol High School. The rocky vantage point is the "practical" summit of the mountain, as the geological summit is wooded, unmarked, and without views. The vista, looking afar from the steep ledge, features Mount Monadnock (Jaffrey, NH, approx 20 miles NE); to the left/north of Mount Monadnock is Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County, New Hampshire); the tallest mountain in the distant southeast is Mount Wachusett; also visible is the church steeple of Royalston, MA, and three bodies of water: Tully Lake (due east, with views of automobile traffic across the dam), Packard Pond (including its private beach), and the lily-padded Tully Pond (south east). On a clear day, when trees are leafless, looking due south-southwest, some claim to see the Quabbin Reservoir between the distant hills. With spyglass magnification of 15x or more, the distant Quabbin Reservoir Observation Tower (approx. 25 miles south) is visible when peering far right (over the ascent from the cemetery). Visible in the near southern view is the town of Athol, Massachusetts, with its uptown (spires include the Congregational church and the Athol Historical Society; the Main Street coming directly toward the viewer), downtown (Starretts and Union Twist Drill smokestacks), the former Athol High/Junior High, now senior citizen building and various steeples of downtown churches, such as the Athol-Orange Baptist Church with the large brick casket factory behind.