We picked up where we left off in 2021 at Bulls Bridge near Kent CT. We began hiking north on the Appalachian Trial (AT) on October 4th, 2022. Within the first mile we met a trail caretaker named Julia. She comes up from Florida each year for three months and helps maintain the trail by blazing the white marks on trees and rocks as well as keeping the trail clear. We would not have a trail without these volunteers, thank you very much Julia.
Not Starting Out So Good
In the next mile or so, I saw my first snake ever on the trail, a big rattlesnake, sunning himself on the hillside. He was rattling loud, right beside the trail. He did not seem to want to move for us, so we stepped off the trail and walked around him giving plently of room. I cautioned another hiker about the snake they were heading towards.
In the afternoon I heard my wife scream from behind me. I turned around to see her falling down hard on the ground. It turned out she had tripped on a small root. She broke her sun glasses and buised her arm and shoulder. If it had been on a downhill section with rocks, it would have been a bad outcome. After that we both became more cautious of our footing.
The third day out, my wife bit into a Cliff bar and out came her temporary crown. We bought some Fixadent in a town but it didn't stay on. Since it wasn't painful, she waited until we returned to have it fixed.
The Rocks Were Back
I was hoping we were done with the New York rocks after we got into Connecticut, but I was wrong. The AT prides its' self for taking you up and down the highest rock heap in the state. None are more infamous than St. John's Ledges. It was the steepest 1/2 mile of trail I have ever done on the AT so far. In sections we, had to take off our packs and lower them down, then climb down the rocks.
The Housatonic River
The Housatonic River is a river, approximately 150 miles long, in western Connecticut/Massachusetts that AT parallels and crosses numerous times. On our trip the leaves were turning and it was beautiful while walking beside the river.
The AT also goes right beside the Great Falls of the Housatonic located in Falls Village CT. It's the second highest waterfall in CT.
The Peaks
The last part of our trip, we climbed some of the hightest peaks in Connecticut with views:
- Lions Head
- Bear Mt.
- Mt Race Ledges
- Mt. Bushnell
Getting Closer to Katahdin
Little by little, step by step we are making progress to getting to the end. We finished another state and now only have 4 states and 700 miles left.
View Trip Photos