Estimated distance: 3.34 miles
Weather: 57°F, cloudy
Resources: Shenipsit State Forest, Trail Map
Highlights of the trip: not much
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals: 47/52 hikes; 175.70/250 miles; 31.37/25 miles on Tunxis Trail
I have to say this is one of the few hikes that I just wasn't that thrilled with. We parked up near the Soapstone Mountain tower in Somers. The tower is closed, which we knew before we went. I had hoped there might still be views, but there weren't. You really need the height of the tower to get you above the tree canopy. There is a pretty view with picnic tables part way up the road, but we didn't stop there.
The hike was okay, but nothing special and we used up a lot of mental energy trying to figure out where we were. Sometimes the trails were marked, sometimes not. To me, you should be able to see the next blaze before you leave the other one behind. This was not the case here. The Orange trail was particularly confusing because the blazes were not painted on the trees, but were instead, little metal markers that actually appear to be brown. There weren't any brown trails on the map, so we decided we were on the orange trail, but it took us a few minutes of wandering around on a bunch of intersecting unmarked trails to decide that.
It is funny how using your mental energy this way seems to sap your physical energy. That, plus the fact that we started at the top, hiked down when we were fresh, and then had to hike up after we had hiked for awhile made things seem more difficult.
The one interesting thing we did see was the mushroom pictured below. It seems to be covered in spores. There are puffballs right next to it, but it didn't seem like one of the puffballs had exploded.
I would consider going back once the tower is reopened, but otherwise, I wouldn't be in any rush. My friend's husband did get a bunch of geocaches, so that worked out well.
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