Date: 2019-03-19
From: CT RTE 341

To: Dawn Hill Road 
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We had a planned late start this morning. We began by going up over a fence and through a small field to a water crossing. It was a fairly large creek with a nice footbridge.  I have no idea why, but Seylor has become leery of bridges. Instead of coming up and over she went right into the water. It got so deep that she had to swim with her pack on. She made it across, but the bank was too steep to get up. I made her come back. More swimming for her in ice cold water. I stood on the bridge and very firmly said ¢come¢. She¢s such a good listener! I could tell she was nervous, but she came. When she got to the other side she did some celebratory tail wagging and hopping around. Baby Girl and I stood on the bridge a bit longer singing our newest song we made up. It¢s another cute one. We have so much fun out here! The real hike began right after the footbridge...going UP! We played one of our alphabet games again. Time and distance goes by so much faster when you¢re having fun! Baby Girl was ready for lunch a little on the early side. We were just coming to a steep ascent so some fuel at that time would be a good thing. We pulled up a log in the sunshine and enjoyed a turkey sandwich. Seylor was just returning from chasing a squirrel all the way up a mountainside. She literally flopped down on her belly from exhaustion. AND no squirrel to show for all of her efforts. She was happy to get fresh water and food too. Caleb¢s Peak was staring us straight in the eye. We began to climb the 1118ft to the summit. It was long and has us winded, but a nice climb.  We spent some time up there soaking up a bit of God¢s handiwork! Baby Girl sat on a rock in the sunshine and just gazed out with such a peaceful look on her face. This makes me so happy. We had to force ourselves to move on. And so the very rocky descent began. At first it was simple but very quickly turned into steep bouldering.  About halfway down was St.John¢s Ledges. Another great view! Today¢s photo is of Baby Girl & Seylor enjoying that view. We saw another Hawk up there. Once again we didn¢t want to leave. From the ledges it took a while. Baby Girl maneuvered slowly and cautiously. Seylor Jo had to be lifted and eased down several times. It was not an easy descent, but we all three made it safely to the base of Caleb¢s Peak. I would never have chosen that area for Baby Girl if I had a choice, but she sure has turned into a hiker! There was a significant change in terrain down there. We hiked on relatively flat land for about 5 miles. It was right beside the Housatonic River. I love the sound of rushing water. The river was swift today. There were lots of white caps. We watched two geese get twisted sideways from the rush. It was rough, and they both took to flight. Finally the trail turned away from the river and took us past a couple of fields. There big round hay bales sitting out. They had been covered in white plastic. I¢ve never seen this before, but it makes sense to protect it from the elements. We had one more UP and there we were at our pickup location. We waited about 10 minutes. Papa Big Swig arrived with two bananas and two bottles of pop! Yummy!  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018/2019) Where¢s your faith?