“The woods are lovely, dark and deep -----” Robert Frost
After talking and talking (well, whining really) about wanting to hike with the local hiking club for a while now – even mentioning it here in my blog more than once, I finally made it happen on 2 different occasions in 2010. Once was on a very hot day in August and again just this past November. Subsequent to that, I have solo hiked on a “rail trail” 3 times. (Well, this can’t be considered hiking really, it is “walking,” but still I’m in my element outside in the woods!) There’s no stopping me now.
The Connecticut chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club sponsors hikes on Tuesdays and Thursdays of varying distances, pace and terrain on trails located both “east of the river” and “west of the river.” Connecticut, it seems, is divided down her mid-section by the Connecticut River, which runs north to south. I live east of the river in Coventry – which is Connecticut’s “gateway to the quiet corner” – the quiet corner being lovely northeastern Connecticut. Both of the hikes I went on were very local to me and I am looking forward to more challenging hikes which, I believe, are west of the river. The Appalachian Trail itself runs for 52 miles in northwestern CT, entering the state from New York in Kent – running north and leaving Connecticut through Salisbury going into Massachusetts. (Every time I type the word “Massachusetts” I have to sing that song in order to spell it properly – like “Mississippi” in the sing-song rap type of cadence. Oh – and “Oklahoma” too! Although, actually I sing Oklahoma because of the musical not in order to spell it out!) I enjoyed the hikes (yes, there is a “but” to this, later on here) and met a lot of nice people. Here, just briefly, are my “trip reports.”
I was the last to arrive, just prior to 10:00 AM, at the church parking lot in Vernon – our meeting place for the hike. I had called the group leader ahead of time to inquire as to where the actual trail head was as I had a prior commitment and I knew I might be running a bit late. I figured I could catch up to the group because I knew the pace would be slow. There was no need to do so as I made it after all. I had a bit of déjà vu of sorts when I arrived. When my 2 boys were small, I can’t count how many times we had to drive them to a specified meeting place to gather for a trip somewhere. It was usually with the cub scouts and later on, the boy scouts. When we’d arrive, there’d be a group of boys standing around with their backpacks on ready and waiting for the scout leaders to stop gabbing about the logistics of it all so they could just leave, all of them anxious to be under way. Now, in the Vernon church parking lot, as I pulled in I saw all these adults with their backpacks on ready and waiting for the group leader to organize this trip! Wow, kinda funny! I found the group leader and told her I was the one who called and I was here. Well, it seems they were all waiting for me because nearly 13 people said, “oh, you’re here.” I didn’t know anyone and it seemed some people knew each other but most people – like me – did not. There were people from an hour away – west of the river. 13 of us signed in, introduced ourselves after forming a circle, figured out car pools and off we went 3 miles down the road to the trail head.
This hike was an out and back, only 4 miles total on very flat terrain through the woods parallel to the Shenipsit Reservoir at a very slow pace. It was hot that day in August but in the woods we were fully shaded and were bothered neither by the heat nor, surprisingly, the bugs. There was a very short section of “road walking” before we reached our spot to stop for lunch on the northernmost shore of the reservoir. When we arrived there was a woman sitting in her car reading a book and it seemed we interrupted her solitude. I’m guessing she was on a lunch break from a local job where she was a slave, no doubt, to a cubicle and that she had probably been looking forward to this little bit of quiet and peace at this beautiful serene spot all morning. I think that this was probably her special secret place and most likely the only time she’d have to herself all day. Just 30 minutes to herself everyday and probably no time at all on the weekends! I used to be in her shoes and I knew what this precious bit of time must have meant to her. When we all found a place to sit – on a log, on a rock, on the grass, etc. – and started pulling our lunches out of our packs it became clear to her that we were not leaving. She started her car, obviously annoyed by our presence, and abruptly left. I felt very badly about that. Dear Woman in the car; if you are reading this, even though it was last August and you’ve probably forgotten about, please know that I am very sorry for the intrusion that day.
This blue blaze trail wasn’t very wide but you could walk two people across for most of it. I mostly walked on and off with 2 gals, Sheila and Joy, who were very interesting and likable. I hoped to meet them again sometime on another hike. Both these gals are from west of the river and Joy is mostly a cyclist. Sheila and I have been in touch and plan on hiking a section of the AT in CT this summer. I am very excited about that – I can’t even say how much!
My second hike was in mid November in the Storrs/Uconn area. It was definitely chilly and, while standing around waiting for everyone to arrive, I quickly dropped my pack, rummaged around in it and pulled out my gloves and jacket. Midway through the hike I would return these to my pack. I gotta say here, I am a huge fan of walking through the woods when the leaves are off the trees. These woods were magnificent. Now, I am surrounded by woods where my house site is. But you can’t walk through them and you can’t even see the ground or forest floor around them. They are covered with a thick under growth of prickers and jumbled vines and stuff. Walking through these woods in Storrs now, you could see through the trees as far as the rolling terrain allowed. It was beautiful. The bare trees against the sky, the brown crisp leaves covering the ground, large boulders and ledge out croppings here and there – all of these things just really speak to me. I can’t say why; they just do.
As mentioned earlier – there would be a “but” to my saying that I enjoyed these hikes. Well, I met a lot of really nice interesting people and I finally found my tribe. There are many things we have in common with the big underlying thing, of course, being a love for the outdoors and being outside in nature, whether we’re hiking, walking, cycling, kayaking, snow shoeing, etc. And I’m really glad I have a tentative plan to hike on an overnight on the AT this summer. And I do plan on joining the group now and then. But, I prefer to set out early and I prefer the solitude of the solo hikes. Although I enjoy the company of others, I enjoy my own company too and I like to set my own pace and to stop and be still now and then and just listen and breathe. While I consider myself outgoing and sociable, I’m finding that I crave the quiet and stillness of the woods. On the second hike I went on, for the first 20 minutes or so there was a gal who had my ear and I missed a lot of the woods that were all around me. It was a “Mom to Mom” sort of conversation and I knew that she really needed to talk about issues regarding her teenagers, etc. (nuff said). At another time and different place, and perhaps over a cup of coffee, I would have been totally engaged in this conversation. But during the hike, I felt I could neither give this woman my full attention nor could I fully enjoy my surroundings – the woods that I love so much.
But these hikes gave me the boost I needed to just go out and hike. I realized that I could just, well – I could just go out and hike! And so, that’s what I did. Trip reports for these subsequent hikes are to follow in another post. There’s no stopping me now.
After talking and talking (well, whining really) about wanting to hike with the local hiking club for a while now – even mentioning it here in my blog more than once, I finally made it happen on 2 different occasions in 2010. Once was on a very hot day in August and again just this past November. Subsequent to that, I have solo hiked on a “rail trail” 3 times. (Well, this can’t be considered hiking really, it is “walking,” but still I’m in my element outside in the woods!) There’s no stopping me now.
The Connecticut chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club sponsors hikes on Tuesdays and Thursdays of varying distances, pace and terrain on trails located both “east of the river” and “west of the river.” Connecticut, it seems, is divided down her mid-section by the Connecticut River, which runs north to south. I live east of the river in Coventry – which is Connecticut’s “gateway to the quiet corner” – the quiet corner being lovely northeastern Connecticut. Both of the hikes I went on were very local to me and I am looking forward to more challenging hikes which, I believe, are west of the river. The Appalachian Trail itself runs for 52 miles in northwestern CT, entering the state from New York in Kent – running north and leaving Connecticut through Salisbury going into Massachusetts. (Every time I type the word “Massachusetts” I have to sing that song in order to spell it properly – like “Mississippi” in the sing-song rap type of cadence. Oh – and “Oklahoma” too! Although, actually I sing Oklahoma because of the musical not in order to spell it out!) I enjoyed the hikes (yes, there is a “but” to this, later on here) and met a lot of nice people. Here, just briefly, are my “trip reports.”
I was the last to arrive, just prior to 10:00 AM, at the church parking lot in Vernon – our meeting place for the hike. I had called the group leader ahead of time to inquire as to where the actual trail head was as I had a prior commitment and I knew I might be running a bit late. I figured I could catch up to the group because I knew the pace would be slow. There was no need to do so as I made it after all. I had a bit of déjà vu of sorts when I arrived. When my 2 boys were small, I can’t count how many times we had to drive them to a specified meeting place to gather for a trip somewhere. It was usually with the cub scouts and later on, the boy scouts. When we’d arrive, there’d be a group of boys standing around with their backpacks on ready and waiting for the scout leaders to stop gabbing about the logistics of it all so they could just leave, all of them anxious to be under way. Now, in the Vernon church parking lot, as I pulled in I saw all these adults with their backpacks on ready and waiting for the group leader to organize this trip! Wow, kinda funny! I found the group leader and told her I was the one who called and I was here. Well, it seems they were all waiting for me because nearly 13 people said, “oh, you’re here.” I didn’t know anyone and it seemed some people knew each other but most people – like me – did not. There were people from an hour away – west of the river. 13 of us signed in, introduced ourselves after forming a circle, figured out car pools and off we went 3 miles down the road to the trail head.
This hike was an out and back, only 4 miles total on very flat terrain through the woods parallel to the Shenipsit Reservoir at a very slow pace. It was hot that day in August but in the woods we were fully shaded and were bothered neither by the heat nor, surprisingly, the bugs. There was a very short section of “road walking” before we reached our spot to stop for lunch on the northernmost shore of the reservoir. When we arrived there was a woman sitting in her car reading a book and it seemed we interrupted her solitude. I’m guessing she was on a lunch break from a local job where she was a slave, no doubt, to a cubicle and that she had probably been looking forward to this little bit of quiet and peace at this beautiful serene spot all morning. I think that this was probably her special secret place and most likely the only time she’d have to herself all day. Just 30 minutes to herself everyday and probably no time at all on the weekends! I used to be in her shoes and I knew what this precious bit of time must have meant to her. When we all found a place to sit – on a log, on a rock, on the grass, etc. – and started pulling our lunches out of our packs it became clear to her that we were not leaving. She started her car, obviously annoyed by our presence, and abruptly left. I felt very badly about that. Dear Woman in the car; if you are reading this, even though it was last August and you’ve probably forgotten about, please know that I am very sorry for the intrusion that day.
This blue blaze trail wasn’t very wide but you could walk two people across for most of it. I mostly walked on and off with 2 gals, Sheila and Joy, who were very interesting and likable. I hoped to meet them again sometime on another hike. Both these gals are from west of the river and Joy is mostly a cyclist. Sheila and I have been in touch and plan on hiking a section of the AT in CT this summer. I am very excited about that – I can’t even say how much!
My second hike was in mid November in the Storrs/Uconn area. It was definitely chilly and, while standing around waiting for everyone to arrive, I quickly dropped my pack, rummaged around in it and pulled out my gloves and jacket. Midway through the hike I would return these to my pack. I gotta say here, I am a huge fan of walking through the woods when the leaves are off the trees. These woods were magnificent. Now, I am surrounded by woods where my house site is. But you can’t walk through them and you can’t even see the ground or forest floor around them. They are covered with a thick under growth of prickers and jumbled vines and stuff. Walking through these woods in Storrs now, you could see through the trees as far as the rolling terrain allowed. It was beautiful. The bare trees against the sky, the brown crisp leaves covering the ground, large boulders and ledge out croppings here and there – all of these things just really speak to me. I can’t say why; they just do.
As mentioned earlier – there would be a “but” to my saying that I enjoyed these hikes. Well, I met a lot of really nice interesting people and I finally found my tribe. There are many things we have in common with the big underlying thing, of course, being a love for the outdoors and being outside in nature, whether we’re hiking, walking, cycling, kayaking, snow shoeing, etc. And I’m really glad I have a tentative plan to hike on an overnight on the AT this summer. And I do plan on joining the group now and then. But, I prefer to set out early and I prefer the solitude of the solo hikes. Although I enjoy the company of others, I enjoy my own company too and I like to set my own pace and to stop and be still now and then and just listen and breathe. While I consider myself outgoing and sociable, I’m finding that I crave the quiet and stillness of the woods. On the second hike I went on, for the first 20 minutes or so there was a gal who had my ear and I missed a lot of the woods that were all around me. It was a “Mom to Mom” sort of conversation and I knew that she really needed to talk about issues regarding her teenagers, etc. (nuff said). At another time and different place, and perhaps over a cup of coffee, I would have been totally engaged in this conversation. But during the hike, I felt I could neither give this woman my full attention nor could I fully enjoy my surroundings – the woods that I love so much.
But these hikes gave me the boost I needed to just go out and hike. I realized that I could just, well – I could just go out and hike! And so, that’s what I did. Trip reports for these subsequent hikes are to follow in another post. There’s no stopping me now.
