8/1/99 Bear Rock Falls Campsite   Miles Today : 16.9 Miles to Katahdin : 673.8

Just another example today of how a bad start can turn into a great day. First, the forecast today was for thunderstorms and cloudy skies all day. Secondly, my girlfriend was leaving to go home this morning, so that put me in a sad mood to start the day. Oh yeah, I am carrying 4+ days of food so my pack is heavier than it has been in a while.

Well, nothing puts me in a better mood than to start hiking. My pack was heavy and my stomach full after several days of town food, but I pushed on.

After about 1 mile, we bump into Evil Eric and Diabolical Holly...at the Housatonic River...at a beautiful waterfall/swimming hole. I can't believe that we looked all over for a place like this YESTERDAY and here is such a place, right off the road no less. Sorry Michelle! Well, we swam and stood under the waterfall for a while before we donned our packs and moved on.

Next stop, Bear Mountain, the highest point in Connecticut at 2354 feet. It was not that spectacular as they had to build a stone platform to get any kind of view. The view was nice, however and we caught up with Mudtubby, Papa Squat and No Mass here.

We relaxed here for a while and looked at Mount Everett a 2000+ footer just over the Mass/Conn line.

We climbed down off of the structure and descended Bear Mountain into Sage's Ravine, an extremely beautiful area almost not believable. The ravine is lined with thick pine growth, the trail and most of the ground a thick carpet of orange needles. Through the center of this cuts a small brook, winding its way through trees and rocks, forming the occasional swimming hole where the rocks were cut deeply. Along the banks of the river grew ferns and other bright green flora, contrasting brilliantly with the orange pine needles.

This is truly a wonderful place and we swam here as well. Standing at the bottom of the brook, the ravine cut sharply up on both sides, so much that someone walking by would have trouble noticing the screams due to the rather cold temperature. This also marked the Mass state line.

After swim #2 we had only one more stop, the camping area. There are flat spots on the side of the ridge just below 2000 ft. A brook cuts through the middle of the camping area, passes by the ledge where I am currently sitting and drops quickly off the rock ledge to an unseen pool below. The ledge faces eastward and provides an excellent view of several lakes and several smaller mountain ranges. It is getting dark now but just minutes ago the horizon , which is now cloudless, was colored pink and red as the sun set behind us. The image inspired DB to write poetry tonight but I think he put it best when he said simply, "It's good to be up high again."

It's now late, and I am quickly getting tired. I also want to wake up early for the sunrise from this spot tomorrow. Less than 700 miles to go...is that all?

-Chomp

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