Over my years of peakbagging I've scaled the high points of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. A few years ago I realized that I drive right by the trailhead to the Rhode Island high point whenever I go to Cape Cod, so I stopped once and hiked that tenth of a mile. This past weekend, looking for something new but not too far away to hike, I decided to go to the Connecticut high point.
Connecticut is one of two states whose high point is not a summit. It's on the slope of Mt. Frissell, whose summit is in Massachusetts. It's also very near the New York - Massachusetts - Connecticut triple point, so I went there as well.
I didn't go the quickest way, because I wanted a longer hike. I started at Undermountain Trail on the other side of the Appalachian Trail. It was raining at first, but that soon stopped, and by the afternoon the clouds had cleared to give good views at the various outlooks.
I took UT up to Riga Junction, and headed north on the AT, but instead of going up Bear I took Bear Mountain Road (really a trail) northwest. The map I was using (AMC SW Mass.) has BMR branching before it gets to the road, but I didn't see it; it brought me to the road (a dirt road named Mt. Washington Road) without any side trails that I noticed.
It was just a short road walk north on the road to Mt. Frissell Trail. I had seen a few people on UT and the AT, but there were a lot more here. This trail goes back and forth between Mass. and Conn. It includes a steep ascent of Round Mountain, where I (and some others) got offtrail for a while. Eventually it went over Frissell, and partway down came to a pin in the ground marking the highest point in Connecticut. Not much farther down the trail is a concrete marker for the N.Y. - Mass. - Conn. triple point.
I turned around there and went back over the high point, Frissell, and Round, but after crossing the road took a trail whose name I'm not sure of which goes around Bear Mountain to the north, hooking up with the AT.
From there I climbed the very steep and rocky northern slope of Bear. I took a long break on Bear and then continued south on the AT and went back down Undermountain Trail.
I had been on Undermountain Trail and that section of the Appalachian Trail many times before, but this was my first time on any of the other trails.
Here are the pictures.
--
Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 76/115 (53/67, 21/46, 2/2)
NEFF: 50/50; Cat35: 39/39; WNH4K: 41/48; NEHH 89/100
LT NB 2009; CT NB 2017
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
Connecticut is one of two states whose high point is not a summit. It's on the slope of Mt. Frissell, whose summit is in Massachusetts. It's also very near the New York - Massachusetts - Connecticut triple point, so I went there as well.
I didn't go the quickest way, because I wanted a longer hike. I started at Undermountain Trail on the other side of the Appalachian Trail. It was raining at first, but that soon stopped, and by the afternoon the clouds had cleared to give good views at the various outlooks.
I took UT up to Riga Junction, and headed north on the AT, but instead of going up Bear I took Bear Mountain Road (really a trail) northwest. The map I was using (AMC SW Mass.) has BMR branching before it gets to the road, but I didn't see it; it brought me to the road (a dirt road named Mt. Washington Road) without any side trails that I noticed.
It was just a short road walk north on the road to Mt. Frissell Trail. I had seen a few people on UT and the AT, but there were a lot more here. This trail goes back and forth between Mass. and Conn. It includes a steep ascent of Round Mountain, where I (and some others) got offtrail for a while. Eventually it went over Frissell, and partway down came to a pin in the ground marking the highest point in Connecticut. Not much farther down the trail is a concrete marker for the N.Y. - Mass. - Conn. triple point.
I turned around there and went back over the high point, Frissell, and Round, but after crossing the road took a trail whose name I'm not sure of which goes around Bear Mountain to the north, hooking up with the AT.
From there I climbed the very steep and rocky northern slope of Bear. I took a long break on Bear and then continued south on the AT and went back down Undermountain Trail.
I had been on Undermountain Trail and that section of the Appalachian Trail many times before, but this was my first time on any of the other trails.
Here are the pictures.
--
Cumulus
NE111 in my 50s: 115/115 (67/67, 46/46, 2/2)
NE111 in my 60s: 76/115 (53/67, 21/46, 2/2)
NEFF: 50/50; Cat35: 39/39; WNH4K: 41/48; NEHH 89/100
LT NB 2009; CT NB 2017
"I don't much care where [I get to] --" said Alice, "-- so long as I get somewhere," ...
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
- Lewis Carroll
