Hop River/Rail Trail

"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir

The memory of my last 3 hikes (well, ok - walks) has sustained me these past 2 months as I have been itching to get back out on the trail. It’s not the cold that is keeping me away; I am well prepared for that. Rather, it is the fact that there is a deep covering of snow on the trails and, alas, I own no snow shoes. How that fact is even possible is beyond me but, nonetheless, that is my reality. I do, however, own a sweet pair of gators – a secret gift to myself which I recently purchased – and I think I will buy a pair of stabilizers or micro spikes with the gift card I received from my son at Christmas. And now that we will be having warmer weather the next few days (it is 2/16 as I write this) I’m hoping the snow covered trails will be manageable. But until then, in my mind I am hiking. Here follows a brief accounting of my hikes.

Well, here these trails have been – right in my own backyard – and I had never ventured out on them until this past November. I think the hiking/just-get-outside bug has been lying dormant within me for quite some time. But it was always there just below the surface and now that it has been awakened it’s as if, well, I have this urgency to make up for lost time.

Hop River Trail/Rail Trail: Sometime in November, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I arrived at the trailhead at Steeles Crossing Road in Bolton at around 7:00 AM. I had passed this trailhead a million times 2 years back when we were building a house in Bolton (to sell – not to live there) and had always wanted to stop there and start walking. I never did – until now. Over the summer I had purchased a day pack (Osprey), Jetboil stove and French press coffee mug, among other things. My sons had bought me a 32 oz. nalgeen water bottle a few years back for my birthday and a few Christmases ago my older son presented me with some really sweet trekking poles. I had bought a pair for him that very same Christmas! We are 2 peas in a pod - we are! Mike bought me a compass and whistle. I was so ready and well prepared.

I was just giddy as I set out that morning. I could not believe my good fortune that I was finally here walking this lovely trail. It was a cold 20 something degrees and the sky was clear. I had a scarf and extra fleece in my pack. I never needed them. This trail was well groomed, very wide, staright and flat. There used to be train tracks here. The trail was about 10 – 12 feet wide and there was a severe slope on either side leading down to the true elevation of the forest floor. It is not the roots and rocks and inclines that may come to mind when you hear the word hiking, but this trail and the surroundings are beautiful. I am in heaven to be walking here all by myself and I cannot wipe the stupid smile off my face. On this crisp late Fall day I can see way into the woods that surround me. I do not know why this is so appealing to me, but it is. It is quiet and still all around me. So peaceful. I don’t know how far it is to the Bolton Notch, but I decided I would walk an hour and a half and then turn back. I remembered that my boys went camping with the Boy Scouts a few times near here and that they had hiked to Bolton Notch on this very trail from their campsite. I approached an area where I believe they must have entered the trail from their site. I smiled as I pictured the 10 or more boys hiking on this trail with their hiking sticks and the scout leaders bringing up the rear. I thought about them talking with each other and being loud and rambunctious and probably not even noticing or appreciating their surroundings. But subliminally, they got it. I’m sure the seed was planted and I’ve no doubt that they will have a love of the outdoors which will last a lifetime. I thought about the scout leaders and I was thankful for their service and dedication to the boys in my community. I had been a Cub Scout den leader myself for 10 years, relinquishing my service when the boys crossed over to Boy Scouts. Today these boys are all fine young men!

After 30 minutes or so of walking I can see up ahead that a man is approaching – eastbound – as I am heading west. I am excited because I know this fellow human and I are of the same tribe, which I know I am fond of saying but can’t describe it any other way. And wow, not only is it a person walking and enjoying the outdoors, but this is a true hiker. He has a backpack and trekking poles. It is a back country backpack – not a day pack like mine. This is great. He is hiking in a hiking kilt, a beautiful green and black plaid one! He seems to be focused and in a zone but I stop him to chat a bit. He pulls the earbuds from his ears when he realizes that I wish to engage in conversation and seems to welcome the opportunity. I learn that he is an actual AT thru hiker. I am thrilled to know this. To me he is a rock star and I am in awe of this man in the kilt. I tell him that he truly rocks! He left the trail last Spring with an injury and was preparing to start again in March 2011 from where he left off last year. His trail name is Off Kilter. I never did learn his real name. In the subsequent months when I have had conversations with him in my head, I have referred to him as “Kilter Man.” I like that trail name better. We bid each other a good day and I wished him well on his thru hike. (This is what they call it and how it is spelled – “thru” not “through.” Hikers who hike the entire Appalachian Trail nonstop are thru hikers. The trail runs 2175 miles from Georgia to Maine and it takes between 4 – 7 months to complete. Sweet!)

“Thank you, Ma’am” was his reply. And there it was. I had been Ma’am’d! You know you’re getting old when -----

I continued on. The many birch trees that lined the trail were striking and as they leaned in toward the center of the trail almost meeting above me, they created a spectacular trellis with the criss crossing of their bare branches there. Looking through the woods on either side of the trail now, I notice that there is an abundance of birch trees that very easily standout among the other trees. Bolton is notorious for her birches and somewhere in this area - a few miles away - is Birch Mountain Road. I could tell I was getting closer to the Notch because suddenly massive natural granite walls rose on either side of me where the mountain had been blasted through years ago (a hundred years?), creating this notch. Soon I was walking through a tunnel which was thrilling for me and then, there I was at Bolton Notch (and alas, civilization!) This is the place where Routes 6 and 44 merge. If you are from this area you know where I mean. If you are heading east in your car on Route 384 and are nearing the end where it splits – to either Rte 6 into Bolton or Rte 44 into Coventry, you can see the cliffs at the Notch up high where some young folks have painted a flag. As I emerge from the tunnel and walk another 10th of a mile there is a parking lot on my left and I noticed a side trail on my right. I take the side trail which is steep with roots and rocks (perfect) and before I know it I am standing on this very same painted cliff. This is the destination point to where the Boy Scouts had hiked. I can see the highway below. I have never been to this spot and I cannot believe my good fortune that I am standing here now. I did not get too close to the edge. I didn’t know this before, but it seems I have a fear of heights. That’s ok. Everybody has a fear of something even if they deny it. This is neither good nor bad. It just is what it is. I also have an almost paralyzing fear of spiders. You know – the big ones like the wolf spiders that are so prevalent here in New England (and apparently in my newly built gazebo which is located near the woods in my backyard.)

It did not take quite an hour to walk to this spot. I lingered up on the cliffs for nearly 30 minutes, drinking water, eating a granola bar and just taking it all in. I love to be alone in the woods! But then it was time to leave.

The walk back was equally as peaceful and pleasant for me. There were a few groups of people out walking the trail now. Some were out walking with their dogs and there was a running club too. I was very happy to see again, heading west now, Mr. Kilter Man and we talked a brief bit more.

The next time I hike, I thought, I will drive to Bolton Notch and start from the trail head there by the cliffs where this rail trail turns northward and continues into Vernon. I hoped to do that the following weekend. And I did. Trip report to follow in another post!