Date: 2013-08-29
From: Under Mountain Trail Parking - Rte 41

To: Campsite on Race Brook Falls Trail
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: light rain

The hike started at the parking lot for Under Mountain Trail, on Rte 41 north of Salisbury, CT. Actual mileage for the day was 8.1: it's 1.1 miles up Under Mountain Trail to Paradise Lane Trail, then another 2.1 miles before joining the AT south of Sage's Ravine. Sage's Ravine is beautiful: a walk under the pines with many pools and waterfalls. I met Junco (Junko?), a SoBo, from the Ashville, North Carolina area. He has hiked most of the trail in that area, so we talked a while about what the trail is like down there. He worked as a temporary seasonal for the Forest Service, treating hemlocks in an effort to help them survive. It's too bad the budget difficulties prevent more permanent workers for something like that. The climb up Race Mountain is somewhat difficult, because the rocks are tilted at about a 30 degree angle and you are walking from one outcropping to the next along the ridge as it climbs. When you get there the views are spectacular, looking east while doing a ridgwalk beside a 500 foot drop off. The trail doesn't go close enough to the edge to create any danger. There was a young hiker killed by falling off the Race Brook Falls Trail in the vicinity, about a week ago. There's always a certain amount of risk to this activity, which we all accept by going out there. I met a section hiker from Ansonia, CT, who is very familiar with the trail in this area. He's an eagle scout, and his first hiking experience took place on Race Mountain, Mount Everett, etc. He mentioned that the ascent of Mount Everett is difficult, not that the elevation is that great, but because the tread is very uneven, as mentioned above. My original plan was to hike on to either Hemlock or Glen Brook Shelter, but after our conversation I settled for the campsite on Race Brook Falls Trail, rather than continue another 1.8 miles. At the campsite there was a group of college freshmen, many local colleges send them out for a three day hike to start the school year. It's a way to help them get to know each other, under conditions that create a bond. Also, the trail is a nice metaphor for life, sometimes the road gets rough and rocky. They had a huge amount of food, and large tarps which they set up over the tent platforms. They were polite and turned in relatively early. The privy was filthy, and the bear box was next to it. I used the bear box, but not the privy. There hasn't been much rain lately, and the water source was slow-moving and not all that attractive. I always treat my water, and used the source, for the simple fact there were no alternatives and in the heat and humidity it's important to drink adequate amounts of water.My new gear, consisting of an Exped SynMat UL 7 sleeping pad, worked well. The Schnozzle makes it easy to inflate, and it's about a pound lighter than what I was using. Supper was summer sausage in a Knorr's Beef Stroganoff side, the summer sausage doesn't work as well as jerky when adding protein to the mix. I added two tablespoons of olive oil to the concoction, for the calories. Dried or freeze dried food is always short of oil, I've heard you should add two tablespoons to every meal. It works OK, you could use canola oil if the olive oil flavor is too strong. It blends in better with some things than others.