Connecticut Section Hike - number of days?

[dv8edd]

Hi,

Has anyone here ever done the 53 or so miles of CT? If so, how long did it take and are there reccomendations on camp sites to use or avoid?

It's the elevation changes that give me pause when calculating the number of days needed (unfortunately the timing is an important factor since there are wife/kids waiting at home!).

I was thinking 4 nights would provide enough time for the hike factoring in some stops for scenic views and such since I've not hyiked this portion of the trail before.

Thanks for any guidance!

[coach lou]

The elevation changes are really not. The north side of Bear is the worst of it. You run along ridges most of the rest of the way, except for the 7 miles of river run in Kent that can be jogged in hours. 4 nites seems like plenty of time, if your in decent shape.

[RWheeler]

Yeah, 4 is plenty.

[Slo-go'en]

Even though they are small bumps, they do like to make you go up and over every one they can find!

[Blissful]

There is one particularly short nasty rock part right before a completely flat section. I think north after St Johns Ledges. The descent is pretty bad. I nearly fell off.

[Wizard 2009]

Schadacoke (sp?) mountain is a pretty bad climb, st. johns ledges are a steep decent, but 4 days is plenty of time. Be sure to hit Falls Village when the Toymakers cafe is open, they'll let you tent out back and are open early for one of my favorite trail breakfasts.

[lemon b]

Might as well make it a week and go thru to Great Barrington.

[coach lou]

Might as well make it a week and go thru to Great Barrington.

In a week you could take a bus to Great Barrington and then take the train out of Pawling!

[Driver8]

I recommend that you start or finish with the Race Brook Falls Trail in Mass a few miles north of the CT line. Follow the brook closely (there is a network of trails) all the way up/down to see 5 or 6 of the falls, which are very nice. The ridgewalk on Race and the view from its summit are famously beautiful. Also nets you a tour of Sages Ravine, another highlight. Bear Mountain is also beautiful, and, as noted, its north side is pretty fierce. While atop Bear, poke around - the summit is about 100 miles northwest of the big rock pile on the AT, and there are great views north and west from near the true summit.

If you're nobo, descending St. John's Ledges to the riverwalk section is, as Blissful said, notoriously tricky and makes for nice views, descending the north side of Barack Massif going into Salisbury is also treacherous.

As for camping areas and shelters, the common wisdom is to avoid the Plateau campsite just north of Rt. 41. The campsites between Lion's Head and Bear are superb, with Riga Shelter affording a beautiful sunrise view. Limestone Spring Shelter is on a steep spur trail (former AT route) about half a mile south of the AT, near Rand's View. It's a very pretty hike, at times treacherous, down to it, but very nice and quiet in the hollow, and the brook down below has a lot of neat exposed limestone.

As to time allotted, if you do Race Brook to NY State Line it's about 60 miles, moderate, on the whole, by AT standards. Depending on your pace and time of year, four or five days is probably enough.

PS: If you care to stop in a town or two, Salisbury and Kent are very nice, but on the pricey side. There's a nice outfitter just south of the Rts. 41/44 intersection, a good grocer across the street, a very nice shop for tea and pies, etc., at the main intersection, etc. Kent has a reputedly good outfitter, too, right near the main corner, and a good IGA market not far off.

[dv8edd]

awesome responses everyone - thanks! Some great ideas on spots to stop, though I think we may just stay on the trail this time. Also, great info on the shelters. It will be nice to hopefully stay at some of the nicer ones with potential views and such.

I'd love to take a week and do a little more but my buddy can only afford the 4 nights of vacation time since he has a wife and kids. He'll need to save as many vaca days as he can since they have other family trips planned this year.

The timing had me a bit worried but it sounds like we should be ok on that. With 4 nights that will be 4 full hike days with the last day giving us a morning hike to our pickup. Luckily i have family in the area so the pickup and drop offs are pretty convenient and easily set up.

Thanks again everyone, I'm really looking forward to the hike and completing my first full state on the AT (however short that portion might be)!

[adamkrz]

Plateau Campsite is closed I believe but Riga and is just north and very nice, The outfitter Driver is talking about is in Cornwall Bridge across from the General store.


You cant go wrong with any campsite in Ct. just no fires allowed, I agree with going over race mtn and down race brook falls trail for your last day. Enjoy

[OldFeet]

Four full days of hiking plus part of the final day to finish up should be more than enough time. I'll second the idea of finishing up in MA at Racebrook since this will give you some great views from the trail before heading down past a great waterfall. The descent after St. John's ledge's is rocky and steep as is the descent from Bear Mt. headed north but they're both just a matter of being careful and watching your step, especially with a full pack.

[Tinker]

In a week you could take a bus to Great Barrington and then take the train out of Pawling!

That's where our own Whiteblaze bigfoot 2014 lives.

I was watching the series "Finding Bigfoot" on tv the other night, and the Bigfoot crew was filming right outside Pawling, where they called a town meeting looking for folks who might have a Bigfoot near encounter - too funny!

My own sighting: [/URL]

I did not find Conn. difficult at all, though I did it in a few trips, totalling 6 days, I believe. The exception is St. John's Ledges, which is one of the few sections of trail I would categorize as potentially dangerous. Take your time if you're NOBO and going down the face of the cliff (not quite vertical, but pretty close).

[Ender]

Even though they are small bumps, they do like to make you go up and over every one they can find!

I agree completely. On my thru, I found CT to be one of the harder sections, which surprised the heck out of me. It's not that it ever goes up high, it's just that except for a few sections like the river walk, it never ever really flattens out. Just goes up and down and up and down like you're walking along a zipper.

That said, if you're in decent shape, 4 nights/5 days should be plenty of time to do the section.

[Ender]

Also, I should add, one of the things that made the section hard for me was I kept getting stung by bees there. I think that made me especially tired, which made the hiking that much harder.

[Driver8]

Plateau Campsite is closed I believe but Riga and is just north and very nice, The outfitter Driver is talking about is in Cornwall Bridge across from the General store.

Thanks, Adam - that makes for three outfitters on the route - the one in Kent is on Rt. 341 a couple hundred feet west of Rt. 7 in the village center, about 2/3 mile east of the AT's 341 crossing.

dv8dd: If you run short on time and finish CT but don't make it to Race Brook Falls Trail, and if you have time, it's a short drive north of Undermountain Trailhead on Rt. 41 in Mass. You can take the trail up - staying straight at a quarter mile instead of going left gets you to the spectacular lower falls (highest of the bunch at near 100 feet total). Crossing the brook below that waterfall takes you to height of land on the south bank, along the brook from there. RBF, if you can do it, is a treat not to miss.

If you've done it and all of CT and have time to spare at trip's end, a drive across to Bash Bish Falls on the Mass/NY border is rewarded with great views of another nice waterfall. Hope you enjoy your trip!

[jakedatc]

I'm planning to do this once the sun stays up a bit longer. when were you going to go? i was thinking 4 days would be fine. I did the bear mountain loop this summer and going down the north side was slow going but not horribly so. some bits were wet which made it more tricky.

[Joker4ink]

4 or 5 days, based your hiking ability, is fine. As Ender said, it is constantly going up or down. I met a section hiker who was doing CT and said this state threw off his time. It is no White Mountains by any means, as the elevation is not terribly high but it can be challenging. There are a lot of really nice spots along the trail though, and as Driver8 said, Riga is really nice place to stay...I have actually stayed at Brassie Brook lean-to, one mile further, as it was empty, minus a ridge runner. When are you planning to do CT?

[Wandering Deer]

In a week you could take a bus to Great Barrington and then take the train out of Pawling!

I'm probably going to do this quite soon with some folks! It's such an ingenious idea! Take a bus to the AT, and then walk 80+ miles to a train the goes straight into New York City? Sign me up! I feel like it might take around 9, or 10 days keeping leisure in mind.

[Another Kevin]

I'm probably going to do this quite soon with some folks! It's such an ingenious idea! Take a bus to the AT, and then walk 80+ miles to a train the goes straight into New York City? Sign me up! I feel like it might take around 9, or 10 days keeping leisure in mind.

If you do that, you'll get the view from the ledges on Mount Everett where the firetower used to be, and your first night out of Great Barrington might be at the new Hemlocks lean-to, which is quite nice, or the Race Brook Falls campsite, which Driver8 mentioned earlier.