Although parking is available at Marion Wilcox Park, we began our hike at the northern boundary of Penwood State Park so we could start our hike with a climb. We ascended the trail, and in less than 15 minutes we reached the first glorious lookout.
We continued on, planning to take the yellow trail, but missed it entirely because we were gazing at this view:
The blue trail meets yellow again farther down the path, so this was just a little route change. However, when we reached that point we were again distracted by another view :)
We decided to explore further and were rewarded with vistas both to the west and to the east:
We turned around, backtracked a little, and spied a blaze through the trees. We left the beaten path and improvised a short tramp through the woods to reach the trail.
It's hard to describe the tranquility experienced in the middle of the woods on a crisp fall day. With the occasional gust of wind, the leaves would slowly float down. It's an atmosphere that calms the soul.
We reached a beautiful meadow and found a good place to have our devotions at a picnic table in the sun. This was near the Marion Wilcox Park parking lot (and a convenient port-a-potty).
Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Hikers often choose to sleep in the outdoors, forgoing the warmth, protection and comforts of home and sleeping on the cold hard ground. God longs for us to dwell in His house, but sometimes we choose to run to the forest instead. Living without faith and ignoring the promises of God, we disobey His word, usually because we've confused instant gratification with true joy. Leaving His protection invites eternal consequences. If you're out in the cold, ominous forest of spiritual rebellion, return to Jesus. (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman)
We moved on, ready to pick up the yellow trail which leads back to the blue and thus to our starting point. We almost missed this. We did miss the first barely visible blaze (seen below on the left - it was spied by the last in our group after we turned) and because the path wasn't clear, we weren't sure it was really a path. But it turned out to be a fun path with a mild ascent.
As we headed back to our cars, we remarked that we enjoyed this hike very much. With the combination of my companions, the views, the gently falling leaves, and the vibrant colors, this is a hike that made my heart sing!
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Our route as logged by GPS via Runkeeper |
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Online Map |
Address for GPS: 22 Wintonbury Road, Simsbury, CT - There is room for several cars to park where the road dead ends. Take the blue-blazed trail to the north.
Trail Map: https://skizilla.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/wilcox-park-trail-map1.pdf and also wintonburylandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/HikeInfo.doc
Length: 3.10 miles
Duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Calories burned: 600
Difficulty level: moderate
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