I was so happy to be back hiking with Laura after a few weeks of schedule conflicts with each of us. Initially we had grand plans but at the last minute decided that something a little more low key was in order. After having researched this place last week, I knew it was the ideal spot. The Slim Baker Foundation is in Bristol and is tucked away down New Chester Mountain Road. I was excited when we arrived that we were the only car. Today I wanted solitude. We did end up seeing just a couple people, but it was perfect. I had read a few weeks ago that one of the trails had been closed for logging, the signs were still up but said thru Mid May so we were going to chance it when a state forester arrived and we checked with him. He said the project was complete and the trail was open again. Good news! We geared up and doused in bug spray, it was already very mosquitoey at the parking area and headed off. The Slim Baker Foundation is most known for Inspiration Point, which I wanted to visit last. To redline the area, I had planned essentially 3 loops which would equal just over 3 miles of hiking. We started on New Chester Mountain Road (blue) which descended down to meet up with Cabin Trail (orange), which climbed back up. The trails were in good shape for a not super well traveled area. Well marked with color coded blazes for each trail and signs at all intersections. From Cabin Trail we took Stephens Trail (red) that led us to a nice shelter. The only bummer of the day was it really was quite buggy in the woods, so any stops were brief to try and keep them at bay. From the cabin we jumped on the Greenan Trail (yellow) very briefly before picking up the newest trail in the area Bubbas Loop (purple). This trail, while easy to navigate was definitely the most rustic. Understandably as I believe it's less than a year old. There aren't any views along these trails for the most part, just a lovely meander through the woods. We arrived back at the parking area having completed the outer most loop. We then headed up to the Slim Baker Lodge to start the middle loop, however inadvertently headed onto the inner most loop, which I had wanted to leave for last. I had seen pictures of Inspiration Point online, but Laura had no idea what was up there. Realizing there were no other people there, we decided to just head that way and then figure out how to cover the remainder of the trails. It was beautiful. There is an outdoor church set up with benches and a cross. The logging has created unobstructed views over the village of Bristol and beyond. We had a flawless day as far as views. It was gorgeous. We stopped for quite a while to enjoy the peacefulness and have a snack. I'm so glad we were able to visit this area alone. Just made it that much more special! We headed down the Worthen Trail which is the "easiest" access trail to Inspiration Point. Definitely the best footing, but would be a moderate incline heading up! Back at the parking area again we headed back down Greenan Trail which was where they had done the recent logging to open up the views for Inspiration Point. Thankfully it's a reasonably short section, so while not the most aesthetic, it's not for long. Another highlight we encountered once we had rejoined Stephens Trail was an owl. I'm not sure what kind, but there it was in the tree just looking down at us and singing away. Just completed the hike in a perfect way.

recently logged area along Greenan Trail

Slim Baker Lodge

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Bald Knob, Mt Crosby & Cockermouth Forest

This weekend was a complete 180 from last weekend as far as temperatures are concerned. Hot and humid. I knew the more popular trails would be packed after last weekend's weather, so I tried to pick somewhere that would be quieter. I felt confident that the Cockermouth Forest trails would be.. and they were! In fact, I saw no one the entire hike. Cockermouth Forest is in Groton and Hebron and there is a very small parking area a short distance down a rough road off N Groton Road. I had seen a few people's trip reports, but most of those recently seemed to be in Winter or shortly after, so I was surprised to see the trail initially quite overgrown.. meaning the trail itself was well established and clear, but it was an old woods road and the grass was ankle to knee deep at times. We had some rain during the week earlier, but I hadn't expected the trail to be so wet! Thankfully with it being such a hot day, the cold, wet feet I pretty much instantly had was OK.. I just wasn't mentally ready for it! Along with that moisture were mosquitoes. It felt like all the mosquitoes. I ended up dousing in bug spray 3 times and thankfully didn't end up with too many bites, but they were sure annoying. I started up Romley-Remick Road and decided to turn right on Old N Groton Rd and do the 2 peaks first, which turned out to be the right decision today as I was able to bail on the last 2.5 miles I had planned due to the wet/buggy yuck! Once on Old N Groton Rd, the trail dried a little, but unfortunately the bugs did linger. I also encountered lots of cobwebs, I must have been the first out in a little while! The trail climbed moderately following an old stone wall for much of the way. I reached an intersection with a sign pointing left towards Bald Knob, so left I went. I encountered another intersection with another left towards Bald Knob and the climb began to get a little steeper. A breeze crept up about this time, which was definitely welcomed. After about a half mile of rather steep climbing, I reached Bald Knob. Restricted views over Newfound Lake and unrestricted views straight across to Tenney Mountain and the wind farms of the area. Beyond that were all the lovely peaks, though mostly hidden in haze today. A herd path led over to another viewpoint towards Cardigan Mountain. I could just see the firetower on the summit. The trail between Bald Knob and Mt Crosby was a diverse variety of woods, ups and downs and alpine type open rock ledge. While short, at roughly 0.3 miles, it packed a lot of punch and was my favourite part of the hike. In the col between the 2 an old trail comes up that was once maintained by Camp Mowgli in the area and the old trail signs are still hung. Different and super cute! The summit of Mt Crosby offered more of the same as Bald Knob though a little further north views. Despite the relentless bugs, I really enjoyed the area and could have stopped for quite a while enjoying it all. I was on a somewhat time crunch though with a road trip to CT this afternoon for my son's lacrosse, so I didn't linger. I went down Beeline Trail which I had read was a steep, short section. It was, but nowhere near as bad as I had thought, I actually enjoyed it! Good footing and plenty of hand holds in the steeper parts. The only confusing part of the day was at the bottom of Beeline, High Pasture Trail passes by and I initially started in the wrong direction, before turning around and going the right way. There is a sign in the direction heading back to Bald Knob, but not in the opposite direction, so I thought that was a rogue trail. Turns out it wasn't, they could use another sign there too. High Pasture Loop from here was an easy walk back to Eliza Remick Road and the wet, overgrown grass again. I had initially planned on heading out to Little Pond and the Ledges Loop trail, but a few hundred feet down the trail I realized I just wasn't in the mood for that long grass, so I turned around and headed back to the car. Overall, it's a nice area. Not my favourite, though I did really like the summits, just not the to and from. I'll have to come back if I plan on completing redlining, but I'll probably plan to do that late Winter or Fall when the grass isn't quite so long!

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