I've got high hopes for today. After a big rainstorm last night, the weather is supposed to clear, and this section should have some really nice views. Plus this section is an important piece of the puzzle, connecting my two largest completed sections of the AT.
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I met a hiker doing a flip flop named 'Just Jack'.
This reminded me of when I asked Runtrails if her husband Jim had a trail name and her response was 'Just Jim'. Just Jack is hiking the trail with a friend and one vehicle. Each day they drive to the trailhead. One of them gets dropped off. The other drives the car around to another trailhead and hikes the opposition direction. The one who was dropped off then hikes to the car and goes back to pick the other one up. Just Jack's hiking parnter is 'Fahma' (Farmer with a Maine accent). Somehow I missed crossing paths with him today.
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The sun was still trying to burn off the morning clouds as I reached Jug End Summit
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I headed up to Mount Bushnell, but with the morning fog didn't get a view.
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After last night's rain, these leaves were slick.
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The weather wasn't clearing fast enough, and I was nearing the summit of Mt. Everett. In an effort to give the weather a chance to clear, I took a side trip around Guilder Pond
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Looking up to Mt. Everett from Guilder Pond
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Completing the 1 mile loop around Guilder Pond
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The delay seems to have worked. I got a great view as I neared the summit.
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View just below the summit of Everett.
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Leaves, leaves everywhere
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The summit of Everett is a little over 2600 feet and was today's highest point. The summit was crowded, and there actually isn't too good of a view from there, especially since there is no longer a tower there. I continued on my way, enjoying the fall colors.
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Part way down the other side of Everett, I got a great view looking south into Connecticut.
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Next I reached the summit of Race Mountain. Here's a look back at Everett.
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The view from Race Mountain was beautiful.
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Cairn near the summit of Race Mountain
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As I descended the mountain, the open ledges provided continuous views.
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The day keeps getting better and better.
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I dropped down into Sages Ravine where I left Massachusetts (completing the state) . . .
. . .crossed a small creek . . .
. . . and entered Connecticut.
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Next I made the steep climb up to the 2,316' summit of Bear Mountain. There's a very large cairn which is the remains of a tower that once stood there. Notice the square gray stone that's part of the cairn. It is actually a plaque which erroneously reports that Bear Mountain is the highest ground in Connecticut. Although it is the highest peak, it's not the highest ground. For more on that, see yesterday morning's hike when I climbed Mount Frissell.
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Looking back to Race Mountain and Mount Everett in Massachusetts.
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Here's a couple photos looking east.
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I had been really enjoying myself today and was falling way behind schedule. Fortunately the remaining seven miles today were all down hill with the exception of a couple hundred feet of gain over Lions Head. I ran nearly all of the next 3.5 miles as I tried to get back on schedule. I made the climb up Lions Head and took a couple photos.
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I went back into the woods and the trail went up for another minute.
I guess I wasn't at Lions Head afterall, but now I was.
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I had some awesome views today, but the view from Lions Head was the best of all.
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For this leg of the AT, this was definitely my best day on the trail.
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I then jogged a couple miles down the trail until I met Lynn and Madison coming in to meet me. Madison's leg is healing, and we are starting to give her some exercise. We came out on Route 41 where I put my pack in the car. I have one more mile to go. I took Maddie with me, but kept her on a leash to limit her activity since she still has her stitches.
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One last road walk. Aren't the leaves beautiful?
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That's it! Connecticut is complete! This was an awesome day on the trail. I had great weather, great views, I finished two states on the same day, and connected my two largest completed section of the AT. This completed section runs from the 2000 mile mark in Maine down to Laurel Fork Falls in Tennessee.
I've completed a total of 1704 miles of the Appalachian Trail (78%). So what do I have left? I have 60 miles of Maine which consists of two 30 mile segments and the southern most 410 miles of the trail. I've got a ways to go yet, but it's nice to see it finally coming together. I won't be getting in anymore new AT miles this year, but I'll continue in the spring. This year I completed 636 new miles of the AT, just under 30% of the trail.
Tonight Lynn and I went out to eat with my sister Margie and her family. It's her birthday, and this is first time I've been able to celebrate her birthday with her in over 20 years.
