Date: 2005-06-18
From: Cornwall Bridge

To: Belter's campsite
Miles today: 11.1

I had arranged the ride back to the trail for 6AM, but he came knocking on my door at 5:30 AM, so an early start was assured.   The morning was dull and cool and misty, as I started out ¢ and immediately got lost along the banks of Guinea Brook! The trail makes a steep and sudden muddy descent to a raging stream! The recent thunderstorms, combined with the moss-covered rocks ensured that I got a boot full of water during the crossing.   Then it was a slow and steady ascent up Bread Loaf Mountain. There is an overlook just beyond the junction with Pine Knob Loop Trail, and I thought that I was doomed to a view of a mist filled valley, when suddenly the mist parted and Mine Mountain on the opposite side of the valley suddenly loomed out of the mist, dramatically backlit by the early morning sun. Then it was gone. It was over so fast that for a moment I wasn¢t even sure that it had realy happened ¢ but the image remains burnt into my memory ¢ and one that I will often revisit ¢ when oft upon my couch I lie, in vacant or in pensive mood¢   The trail profile did not lie today. It was up and down all the way. Some rocky parts are ¢ a warning foretaste of what is to come¢ to quote the Companion. Before Pine Swamp Brook Lean-To there is a rock fall where the trail goes through a split rock that Otis described. Although narrow it did not realy present much of a problem.      I saw a very large number of orange salamanders today. I counted up to 15 ¢ properly due to the recent rains ¢ and the expanded housing market in the area for salamanders! They just stand there motionless on the trail ¢ in sharp contrast to the black packed earth of the thread way ¢ and look for all the world like a broach from an ancient Egyptian tomb.   As I approached Hang Glider View I could hear the roar of racing car engines from nearby Lime Rock Park, where ¢Paul Newman and other celebrities have sped their cars around the classic 1.53 mile racecourse¢ I had never thought much about the problem of noise pollution in the outdoors before, but listening to the roar and the whine of those powerful engines convinced me that it can certainly be a problem. Generally the only artificial night sounds that I hear are the plaintive whistles of a distant train ¢ which somehow fits in just fine ¢ but I found the these racecars sounded dominant and defiant, as if determined to overcome all other sounds by pure power alone. Not nice at all. Still we have to be respectful of the rights of others ¢ we live in a democracy with ¢the divine right of the 51%¢   I need not have worried about missing the campsite. Like all of the others, it was well signposted and is to the left ¢ not the right, as per Wingfoot ¢ and just barely off the trail with a nice spring on the trail ¢ not in Wingfoot either! Just as I approached the trail junction, a troop of boy scouts SOBO arrived. They are also staying here tonight. So currently I am set up with water, a nice tent spot in the pines, and the voices of the scouts for company.   Good cell signal, spoke with KT, all is well.Thought for today ¢¢Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner¢