Metacomet trail - part 18

This hike occurred on April 18, 2014

Trail Heads:

2401 Mountain Rd, West Suffield, CT - We parked on the side of the road. There was quite a lot of parking available both on the side of Phelps Rd and a bit past the intersection of Phelps/Mountain Rd.

Rising Corner Rd, Southwick, MA - We parked on the side of the road. There was space for 3-4 cars on the grass shoulder. 

Length/Distance: According the Connecticut Walk book, the route between the trail heads on Phelps Rd and Rising Corner was 2.3 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 2.68 miles.

Summary: We hiked from Mountain Road towards the Mass border. There's a sign by the trail head indicating the trail travels through the Hugh Alcorn Wildlife Preserve. 

The day was overcast but fairly warm (60's). After a bit of hiking, we went underneath power lines. 

There was a bit of a view to the west. 

A bit further down the trail, there was a look-out area. 

In a winding section of the trail, there was a nice hand carved sign. 

Nearby, there was a sign informing us that the Metacomet trail was reopened and we could hike through to Massachusetts. 

As we neared the road, we saw a concrete block; it wasn't clear if it was part of an older structure or what. 

The trail crossed a stream right before the road and there was a small pond. 

Someone had planted daffodils along the trail.

 

From here, the road, and the end of the CT Metacomet, was visible.

 

And that was the end of the Connecticut Metacomet! We started on July 16, 2013 and finished on April 18, 2014. 

According to the CT Walk book, we hiked 58.7 miles; according to our GPS tracking program (which includes detours and losing the trail), we hiked 79.2 miles. 

Metacomet trail - part 17

This hike occurred on March 15, 2014

Trail Heads:

7 Holcomb St., East Granby, CT - We parked on the side of the road. There was plenty of space for parking on the shoulder around the intersection.

2809 Phelps Rd, West Suffield, CT - We parked on the side of the road. There was quite a lot of parking available both on the side of Phelps Rd and across the intersection of Mountain Rd.

Length/Distance: According the Connecticut Walk book, the route between the trail heads on Holcomb St/Turkey Hills Rd (Rt20) and Phelps Rd was 5.2 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 6.14 miles. 

Summary: We started our day off with a trip to Mrs. Murphy's Donuts in Southwick. The shop was about 10 minutes north of Phelps Rd. With donuts and iced tea for breakfast, we hiked from Phelps Rd towards Holcomb St. There was still some ice and snow on the trail but it had melted down quite a bit so there was also mud. 

The day was sunny and warm (mid to high 40's). 

After the initial climb, it was mostly a ridge walk. We passed by signage for the "George A Harmon Woodlot" and "Deer Run," both part of the Suffield Land Conservancy.  

There was also a random green post which appeared to have the latitude and longitudinal coordinates. 

Interesting, it seemed that in some of the higher areas, the snow had melted more rapidly. We theorized this was because of the rocky slabs.

At the first lookout, we could see the Heublein Tower in the distance.  

We also could see a small storm closing in from the right. 

With it came strong gusts of wind, a 10 degree drop in temperature, and some light rain. The trail began another climb as we battled the wind. An odd rock formation was near the trail. 

Once we reached the next plateau, a sign let us know we were entering the property of the Bloomfield Fish and Game Club and we might be shot. 

We passed by another look out. The wind made it bitterly cold (low 20's) though it meant the storm moved overhead very quickly. 

After a bit more hiking, we found a lookout where we could see the Newgate Prison. 

By the time we got to the final lookout, the clouds had passed by and the temperatures were back to the 40's. 

From here, it was a fairly short distance to Holcomb St. 

Over all, the hike was pleasant. The warmer weather was nice but the storm mid-hike was less than optimal. We look forward to more warm weather in the near future. 

NY/NJ AT solo section hike, day 3

April 13, 2014

Start: RPH shelter
End: Peekskill, NY

Mileage: 21.6 (19.4 on trail)

My day started early. I was up at 5:45 and on the trail by 6:30. The first hour and a half was spent climbing up Shenandoah Mountain. 

After that first assent, the trail frequently dipped and rose by 800-1000 feet at any given time. This was when I figured out that having the elevation of the road crossings and major mountains doesn't help when minor mountains happened in between every road crossing. It also rained off and on for much of the morning.  The first sun sighting was at 11am. After a lot of hill climbing while trying to ignore the pain in my feet, I arrived at Graymoor at 3:30pm which included the half mile walk to the shelter.

Originally, I'd planned to stay the night at Graymoor spiritual center, under their picnic shelter. But when I got there, I found the water turned off and no bathroom. 

Instead I hiked to US9/NY403 and the Appalachian Mart. From there,  I hitched a ride into Peekskill and booked a room at the Inn by the Hudson. 

View of Hudson River from the Inn by the Hudson

After showering, examining my feet, contemplating how much worse my feet were likely to get, and considering the proximity of the Metro North train station, I decided to head home and cut my hike short by quite a bit.

Grand Central Station on the train trip home

View out the train window

NY/NJ AT solo section hike, day 2

April 12, 2014

Start: Telephone Pioneer Shelter
End: RPH Shelter
Mileage: 16.8

I woke up at 6 am and was out hiking by 7am. I arrived at Morgan Stewart Shelter (7.8mi) at 10:15am and made it to RPH by 2:30pm. 

The morning started off wrapped in fog. The trees were dripping rain for the first few hours. 

Nuclear lake

The first sun sighting was at 9am. 

View from Hosner Mountain

 

I could have hiked further today but the next shelter is not within hiking distance for today. 

There were more hills than the guide had led me to believe but it wasn't really comparable to VT. Over the course of the day, I saw 5 day hikers and two NOBOs (north bounders). While here at the shelter, I met two trail workers and a few day hikers who had previously thru hiked. And it looks like I'll have some company tonight!

NY/NJ AT solo section hike, day 1

April 11, 2014

Start: CT/NY line, Hoyt Rd
End: Telephone Pioneer Shelter
Mileage: 10.0

A friend of mine was kind enough to drop me off at the CT/NY line around 3pm today. Despite the rain, I made good time and arrived at NY-22/Native Landscape/ AT train station (6.9mi) at 5:30pm. 

I ordered pizza and ate there on the covered porch of Native Landscape. 

 I then hiked another 2.1 miles to Telephone Pioneer Shelter, arriving at 7:15pm. Eating an entire pizza by yourself right before vigorously hiking is probably not recommended.

 

I'm currently dry and warm in the shelter in my sleeping bag (thanks for a great birthday present everyone).

Fun fact: I made cows stampede today. I never thought cows could be legit scary. I was wrong. Two dozen cows staring at you with exactly the same expression is creepy. And as I keep walking, they freak out and run around (not away from me but sometimes towards me). The thundering of cow hooves is loud and kinda scary, especially when they're running towards you.

Tomorrow should be nice and sunny. I'm looking forward to that!