Mohawk Mountain

Update: I have learned many things in the three short years I've been hiking. Little did I know that I could have used my Runkeeper app to follow the route in the same manner as the GPS in my car. It would have come in handy!

Since this was not a loop, we took two cars and drove to the top of the mountain via Toumey Road (also spelled Toomey - when you come to the stop sign, turn right). Leaving one car there, we piled into the other car and drove back to the junction of Toumey Road and Route 4 to park the second car.

We took the gravel road just south of the parking area (parallel to Rt. 4) and turned right to enter the blue-blazed trail, starting what should have been a 2.91 mile hike.

This is the kind of trail we really enjoy, rocky with an incline.

It wasn't long until we came to the first beautiful lookout

We continued on and reached another great view at the ski area

Soon after we took a wrong turn. We were still following blue blazes, so we thought we were on the right path. But the path became more and more narrow and we found ourselves wading through some thorny weeds. Then we met, Dayna, who had taken the same wrong turn. She had walked all the way to Great Hollow Road and turned around. Meeting her saved us more wayward steps.

Dayna joined us and we retraced our steps. She added to our enjoyment, sharing interesting adventures about the amazing women in her family. At the same time, I was wondering how we were going to find the trail to the top. Enter our Good Samaritan, a gentleman named Avi, whom we discovered is a doctor in the area. 

If you need a guide in the woods, who better than a handsome young doctor?

Even though Dr. Avi was headed home, he turned around and led us all the way up to where we had taken the wrong turn. He even offered to lend us his hiking book, which we could have mailed back to him. What a gentleman! 

The place of confusion

The trail map showed Cunningham Tower and Mohawk Tower. I didn't see Mattatuck Tower on the map, so we had turned right. Dr Avi got us straightened out. The sign shouldn't be read as "Mattatuck Trail Tower" but rather "Mattatuck Trail. Tower 1.4 m."

We finally reached the top (where we had parked a car) and the gorgeous view

A "small world" note: I was surprised to learn that Dr. Avi is from Ohio (my home state) and went to medical school at Ohio State University, the alma mater of my husband and our oldest son, and soon to be the alma mater of our youngest son. And lo and behold, Dayna is from Ohio also!

Our wandering route

Coordinates for GPS: 41.821686, -73.296789

Trail Map: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/stateparks/maps/mohawk_n_summer.pdf

Length: 4.31 miles (should be 2.91 if you stay on the right path)
Duration: 2 hours, 53 minutes
Calories burned: 1,172!
Difficulty level: moderate

Huckleberry Hill

I love living in Connecticut. You can drive down a busy road, park and take a few steps, and you are in the forest. Such is the case with Huckleberry Hill Recreation Area in Avon.

The sunlight dappled through the trees as we began our walk on the yellow-blazed trail in the northwest corner.

 

An appropriate setting when the devotional theme is "Jesus is the light of the world."

When the trail split, we turned right and followed the yellow blazes until we reached the blue trail to the left. We were hoping for a rise in terrain and this was it - it wasn't very steep, but it was enough to get our hearts pumping a bit harder. After this little jaunt (just 0.4 miles) we turned right and were back on the yellow trail, which circled around to the blue trail to repeat the hill climb. (Although the GPS makes it appear that we were on a different trail, we were pretty certain it was the same blue trail we were on earlier.??)

We paused here for our devotional: When camping in the forest, the darkness of night can test a person's nerves. But then dawn arrives and the darkness is transformed. A painting emerges from the dark canvas, just as the light of Christ reveals the full beauty of life. Walking with Him gives life purpose - our hearts will never travel in darkness alone.*

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

We continued up the small blue trail and this time when we reached the yellow trail again, we turned left and headed back. 

This is a nice hike when you're pressed for time and need to get away and de-stress for a little while. As the saying goes, it's impossible to be in the woods and be in a bad mood!

Address: Park behind the building at 114 Huckleberry Hill Road. Walk across the field and look for the yellow-blazed trail.

Trail Map: http://www.avonct.gov/sites/avonct/files/file/file/huckleberry_hill_trail_map.pdf

Length: 2.36 miles

Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Calories burned: 225

Difficulty level: easy

Climb:

*Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman

Mile of Ledges and Tory Den Trail

What an exciting hike! Definitely our most strenuous to date. We parked two cars on Greer Road in Burglinton, CT. The trailhead was easy to find on the left about 0.2 mile after turning onto Greer from W. Chippens Hill Road. We left the second car at the end of the trail just before the end of Greer Road.

The trail was well marked - blue blazes with a yellow dot. There were only a few instances where we were uncertain, but we were able to figure it out. After we turned north, some of the blazes were blue only, but we kept following them and then occasionally the yellow dot would reappear. Some blazes were painted on the rocks.

We had some pauses waiting on each other to climb or get through a narrow passage. We really enjoyed the challenges.

We were surprised by a porcupine, but after a few moments he moseyed off.

Standing on this cliff was exhilarating. We were awed by the beauty around us. 

Our devotional was based on James 2:9, reminding us not to show favoritism. When we trek with Jesus, we all find a place at His table regardless of our social position, financial status, or physical abilities, and we should strive to see others through Jesus' eyes.*

The historical significance took us back in time as we enjoyed the unique rock formations. This is a great hike. We all agreed that we would like to return.

Approximate address for GPS: 23 Greer Road

Map and the history: http://www.burlingtonlandtrust.org/files/Ramble.pdf

Length: 2.55 miles

Duration: 2 hours, 55 minutes

Calories burned: 876

Difficulty level: strenuous

Climbs:

*Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman