For the second year in a row, my 15 year old and I went on a Veterans Day ramble. Grateful for the opportunity to do so and appreciative of all the Veterans out there allowing us our freedoms. It was another bluebird day. We took a 2 hour drive to the Keene area and I ventured onto the Wantastiquet Mountain area of my AMC South redlining spreadsheet for the first time. We did the Daniels Mountain trails from Plain Road in Hinsdale. This is a narrow dirt back road, but I was amazed at how much traffic there was. There was a small pull off with room for a couple cars a few hundred feet from the trail head. The trail head itself was tricky to spot (of course obvious once found). I had to use a downloaded .gpx track to help me determine exactly where it was. The trail immediately descends very briefly and crosses a small brook with a lovely little cascade and rather deep pool. The trail then starts climbing and alternates between short steep pitches and flatter areas, making it a nice little cardiac workout for about 0.8 miles to the wooded summit. Being Fall, the trail was completely covered in leaves, and I was thankful for the well blazed trail to help us navigate as the footbed was not obvious at all in some places due to the leaves. Once at the Daniels Mountain summit, we did the Daniels Mountain Loop Trail in a counter-clockwise direction. At just over 2 miles, the trail is a lovely meander through the forest. We had some peekaboo views with the trees having lost most of their leaves. There was one lovely view across to Wantastiquet Mountain from an area called ONeil Ledges. Another ledge area called Moon Ledge had clear views across to the nearby Vermont countryside. That was it for anything with views, but the stroll through the forest was just as pretty, especially with the sunlight hitting at just the right angles to make it all seem rather enchanted. After completing the loop and back on Daniels Mountain summit, we returned the way we came slipping and sliding our way down the leafy, steep pitches and back to the car.
Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area
Also in the AMC South Trail Guide and just 15 minutes from where we were on Daniels Mountain is the Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area. Access is on Rt 9 in Chesterfield at a Wayside Parking area with picnic tables and a seasonal visitor center. The Gorge has a 0.7 mile loop trail that heads down into the Gorge with lovely views of a waterfall before crossing over on a bridge and looping back up. We figured since we were in the area and the trail is so short, we'd quickly nab this one as well for my spreadsheet. Being off season, the park was relatively quiet, we saw a few groups. I imagine in Summer it's quite bustling. The recommended route is counter-clockwise as the views coming back up are clearer in that direction. Very pretty area with several benches to sit and enjoy along the way. Thanks to some recent rains, the waterfall was flowing well.
No comments:
Post a Comment