After a weekend off from hiking due to some other plans, we almost missed out on hiking again the following weekend. Chloe had been fighting a cold and the weather didn't look promising. However, after the steady rain didn't materialize and Chloe started perk up, we decided to hit the trails once again.
As we were trying to keep things a little less strenuous, we decided to do two shorter sections of trail that did not have much elevation gain: CT Section 21 and MA Section 1.
It's really a different vibe, hiking on a gray and gloomy day. In one sense it made the colors emerging really pop; in another, it made areas of thick woods feel even darker. "I'm scared!" Chloe even said at one point, in an especially dark area.
Both sections that we hiked are about 2 1/2 miles in length. Section 21, the last section in CT, meanders through Suffield to the Massachusetts border without too many points of interest. There were the usual ridge views and we kept searching and searching for the sign announcing that we had reached the Massachusetts border.
Finally, at long last we reached the boundary, which produced more excitement in everyone than was probably warranted. It's not as if we'd been thru hiking for a week or something like that. Still, we're kind of geography nerds in our house, and the kids had fun standing there and saying, "Hey, I have one foot in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut!" I can only imagine how they'll be if we ever visit the Four Corners area in the southwest.
With our spirits boosted we hiked on through a very dark part of the woods. After weeks of being out on beautiful Saturdays on busy trails it felt a little eerie to have the woods completely to ourselves, especially in this area that most likely receives less foot traffic, as it doesn't really lead anywhere notable, except to Massachusetts.
After a while we came out at what marked the beginning of the New England Trail in Massachusetts, Section 1. This was one of the few formal parking areas I've seen that seemed to be made especially for the trail and included a nice new-looking trail sign and map.
This road starts out near a nice home with (in that season) a field of happy sunflowers, and heads down at what at starts out as a paved path. It then turns back into the woods. We finally saw a few people, and even better, the sky was brightening a little.
I love surprises on the trail. I find I become a kid again and get so happy when I see something I wasn't expecting. So when we turned a corner and saw that not only was there a cute box attached to a tree containing a trail log we could sign, but also a walkway leading out across a cool swampy area, I was thrilled.
We signed the book and headed across the swamp, happy for the lightening skies after a day of gray.
As we continued through the woods and then out into a clearing to accommodate our ever-present New England Trail friends, the high-tension wires, we stopped to admire the view and realized someone else was with us. A woman who sat parked on an ATV was also taking in the view into Massachusetts.
"Would you like me to take a picture of all of you?" she asked, and my family, who so often runs in the other direction when it comes to family photos, felt they had to acquiesce when it came to a stranger. And I'm glad everyone did. She ended up getting one of the better pictures we've ever had taken.
From that point on we had another mile or so to get out of the woods. Apparently this land borders that owned by an archery club and through the whole end section of the trail there are targets and other archery-related items mounted to trees. We had fun searching for the next one and then the next as we made our way out of the woods.
By that time, night was coming quickly due to more clouds moving in, and the inevitability of fall. By early October, we've lost 90 minutes of light in the evenings. And the woods always grow dark first. We were ready to head home, warm up a little, and enjoy some homemade chili.
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