alpinista
Active member
Now, I know that most folks probably thought us nuts to venture out Saturday, a day that forecasters predicted would be a veritable monsoon. They weren't completely off in their weather predicting _ but quite a bit of kismet made this an awesome hike.
I stopped by the Hartford bus station on my way to Connecticut's northwest hills, picking up FunkyFreddy _ who managed to dodge a panhandling drunk. Ain't Hartford just grand?!
Yet another reminder as to why I left that godforesaken city!
We made our way up Route 44 through some picturesque towns and, despite overshooting our turnoff, managed to get to the Undermountain Trailhead off Route 41 in Salisbury shortly after noon.
LattinHill was there waiting for us, rarin' to go (as was his beautiful pooch, Maya (sp?). Given the weather forecast, and the persistant fog, we decided to switch gears and save Bear Mountain or any summits for another day. Instead, we piled into LattinHill's car and drove a bit farther north to head in from Mass. to Sages Ravine. The approach was a tad muddy with ruts in the road but without any mishaps, we made it in decent time.
FunkyFreddy donned his snowshoes at the trailhead while LattinHill and I decided to hold off. Watching Fred slosh through mud in his snowshoes provided some entertainment to kick off our hike. Before long though, we realized they were overkill and he took them off.
There was some ice on the trail, and eventually more snow, but all of it was barebootable. We got to Sages Ravine within about 25 minutes or so, and ambled down along the riverside. It was mighty high and running at a decent clip. We reached a point along the AT that was about halfway between Bond Shelter and Bear Rock Falls, and looked for a spot that might be shallow enough to cross over the river, but none was to be found. So rather than go back from the other side of the river, we merely doubled back.
These are beautiful woods, and LattinHill (Dave) knows them like the back of his hand. The trails here go through what was once "iron country," through forests that were once used to produce charcoal. Dave quickly pointed out a few of the charcoal pits, round mounds that in other seasons with no snow cover could produce remnants of the black stuff.
It was great to be back in these woods, one of the first places I ventured when I got into hiking. It's peaceful here and beautiful in a way that is completely different from northern New England.
On the way back, we stopped off at a shelter -- the name of which escapes me -- and chatted with a couple of gents who were staying the night there. It had recently been renovated so that rather than a ladder leading to the top floor, a nice staircase leads up top. Great accommodations!
The most amazing thing about the hike was that as soon as we'd arrived at the trailhead, it stopped raining _ and it didn't start again until within minutes of arriving back at the car! All in all, a great hike with great companions and fun conversation!
Here are some shots: Alpinista's Webshots
I stopped by the Hartford bus station on my way to Connecticut's northwest hills, picking up FunkyFreddy _ who managed to dodge a panhandling drunk. Ain't Hartford just grand?!
Yet another reminder as to why I left that godforesaken city! We made our way up Route 44 through some picturesque towns and, despite overshooting our turnoff, managed to get to the Undermountain Trailhead off Route 41 in Salisbury shortly after noon.
LattinHill was there waiting for us, rarin' to go (as was his beautiful pooch, Maya (sp?). Given the weather forecast, and the persistant fog, we decided to switch gears and save Bear Mountain or any summits for another day. Instead, we piled into LattinHill's car and drove a bit farther north to head in from Mass. to Sages Ravine. The approach was a tad muddy with ruts in the road but without any mishaps, we made it in decent time.
FunkyFreddy donned his snowshoes at the trailhead while LattinHill and I decided to hold off. Watching Fred slosh through mud in his snowshoes provided some entertainment to kick off our hike. Before long though, we realized they were overkill and he took them off.
There was some ice on the trail, and eventually more snow, but all of it was barebootable. We got to Sages Ravine within about 25 minutes or so, and ambled down along the riverside. It was mighty high and running at a decent clip. We reached a point along the AT that was about halfway between Bond Shelter and Bear Rock Falls, and looked for a spot that might be shallow enough to cross over the river, but none was to be found. So rather than go back from the other side of the river, we merely doubled back.
These are beautiful woods, and LattinHill (Dave) knows them like the back of his hand. The trails here go through what was once "iron country," through forests that were once used to produce charcoal. Dave quickly pointed out a few of the charcoal pits, round mounds that in other seasons with no snow cover could produce remnants of the black stuff.
It was great to be back in these woods, one of the first places I ventured when I got into hiking. It's peaceful here and beautiful in a way that is completely different from northern New England.
On the way back, we stopped off at a shelter -- the name of which escapes me -- and chatted with a couple of gents who were staying the night there. It had recently been renovated so that rather than a ladder leading to the top floor, a nice staircase leads up top. Great accommodations!
The most amazing thing about the hike was that as soon as we'd arrived at the trailhead, it stopped raining _ and it didn't start again until within minutes of arriving back at the car! All in all, a great hike with great companions and fun conversation!
Here are some shots: Alpinista's Webshots
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