You Are Here: Crotched Mountain Town Forest

I was surprised to find myself first car this morning in the Farrington Road parking area. The day was crisp without being cold. I initially started in spikes, but took them off after about 100ft of hiking as the thin layer of snow was so sticky it was balling up underneath. I was fine the remainder of the day in just my boots. I headed down Link Trail, which was glorious in the morning light. At the intersection with Bullard Hill Road, where most head straight across to Summit Trail, I turned right and headed down Bullard Hill Road, with the intent of doing a loop on the East side of the forest, as opposed to the west side loop I did a couple months ago. I was unsure what the trails were going to be like as these trails are not widely written about. I saw my only other person on this section, a pooch with his human doing a run. Bullard Hill Road is mostly level and was easy going. There was a large blowdown at the intersection with Scot's Trail, but I was able to step over it. I took a left onto Scot's Trail and finished the last couple tenths I needed between here and Summit East Trail. This section was a little wet and muddy. The worst part was as the day warmed, the snow that had fallen in the previous 24 hours all came melting down on me, it was basically like hiking in the pouring rain! I was soaked, but had layers so I never felt cold thankfully. After crossing an open area, I re-entered the woods and arrived at the Summit East Trail intersection. I took a right here and started what I knew would be the most elevation gain of the day up to the Old Mountain Road intersection. It started off very wet and muddy, and I had to do some careful rock hopping to keep my feet as dry as possible. Once the climb started, it firmed up. While definitely a climb, I was surprised at how moderate it felt overall. No views along this part. I reached Old Mountain Road and took a right, saving the steepest section of Summit East Trail for one more planned loop in this area. Old Mountain Road was just that, an old road. I don't know what these trails are like in other seasons (old roads can sometimes be a mess in Spring/Summer) but with the inch or so of crunchy snow I had, I enjoyed my hike way more than I had anticipated. As the road continued it came out on an open field and a wonderful view across to the Wapack Range, I was even surprised to find a bench to enjoy the view! Back at the other end of Bullard Hill Road, I took a right and completed my loop. Some dark clouds were rolling in, but it was all bark and no bite thankfully. This section was also wet and muddy in several places, but being an old road, it was wide enough I could skooch around for the most part. There was a decent descent on this section, the worst part was snow covering slippery leaves! Back at the Link Trail/Summit Trail intersection, I stayed on Bullard Hill Road which continued back to Farrington Road. This section was alongside a brook for much of the way, which was very pretty. Quick road walk and I was back at my car, this time not surprised to see several cars in the lot.

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