Falls Village to Salisbury,CT

It was pretty cold this morning with temps hovering in the mid 20's as I drove to the  Route 41 parking area in Salisbury.  My wife had agreed to shuttle me down to Falls Village to hike this section.  I started hiking across the steel bridge at 9:45am with bright sunshine and still chilly temps. I warmed up quickly as I followed the river up toward Great Falls.

Once past the falls the trail climbs through hardwood forest and farm fields to the summit of Prospect Mountain.  There was still some snow on the ground in spots from earlier in the week and as I went up in elevation it covered most of the ground and trail as well.  The crunching of my steps from the snow, ice and leaves sounded quite loud as I hiked along.  There is a lookout on Prospect Mountain with views to the North looking out over the Housatonic River.

It was an easy descent to the Limestone Spring Shelter trail, which I had anticipated stopping at to cook lunch, but it was only 10am and I was feeling great and cruising along so I decided to continue on.  Rands View comes up quickly after that.  I had heard that this is one of the best views along the A.T. and have to agree.  It was thrilling to look at the ridgeline that I had hiked three weeks ago.  The view was memorable.

Bear Mt with Mt Everett and Race beyond

Mt Everett and Race

Bear Mt

The trail meanders around more farm fields and through forest to the Giants Thumb, a strange rock outcrop by the side of the trail.  Then its on to Billy's View and more meandering through hardwood forest.  The trail has a steep descent down from Wetauwanchu Mountain to Route 44.  Then it is a short road walk.  Once you turn back off the road the trail crosses a field and reenters forest, winding its way around private property to Route 41 and the parking lot.  I was at my car at 11:49am, hiking just over 8 miles in three hours.  It was a cold morning, but it felt great to be outside and on the trail.

Giants Thumb

Giants Thumb

Billy's View

shadows and light