In hindsight, I now appreciate the patience of my companions, who had hiked this trail before. They allowed me time to drink in this view and take too many pictures, knowing that even more astounding views were ahead. As we continued to walk, I was thrilled over and over again at the beauty.
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| We were surrounded by vibrant color! |
After an hour and a half, we reached the most spectacular panorama.
We could have reached this much sooner, but I was constantly stopping to appreciate the majesty of God's creation. Just as I turned to leave the summit, one of my companions, Linda, was calling my name with much excitement. I turned to see a mountain climber coming up over the edge of the cliff! We waited with much anticipation to take a video of his friend who was coming behind him, but fear (and wisdom) kept me from getting a shot over the side of the cliff.
Up to this point we were on a trail rated as moderate, but beyond the summit the blue/red path meets with the blue-blazed Metacomet at a section that is rated difficult. We met some much younger people coming from that direction, and they were exclaiming that it was quite a trek. Fortunately, we had a seasoned hiker with us. There are only three people that I would trust to lead me off the trail and into the unmapped wild, and Joyce is one of them. She pointed to a shallow ravine, and was certain that it would lead us to the red-blazed trail, which would allow a quicker return.
We traipsed through the woods for a little while, and sure enough, she led us to the red trail and back to our cars. While my lollygagging and gaping caused us to take an hour and a half to reach the summit, our return took only 45 minutes.
This was definitely one of my favorite hikes thus far. I remained on a natural high for the rest of the weekend!
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| Our Route |
Trail Map:
http://www.town.berlin.ct.us/egov/documents/270bfb06_dca1_4918_3a1b_ada3b9d356fb.pdf
Length: 3.26 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Calories: 750
Difficulty level: moderate
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