Foggy day over Hogsback

Today was my first day of vacation for the Christmas holiday and what better way to start then to go hike in the woods.  It was also a perfect opportunity to try out the GoPro camera that just arrived in the mail.  I decided to hike a trail with no name that ends at a nice lookout overlooking Hogsback Reservoir.  The hike is nice and level, with only a few small ups and downs.  I passed many stone walls and old home sites on the way to the look out.

As I approached the end I could see that there was a good amount of fog in the valley and a low cloud cover but I hoped I would still get some views.  The view was mostly of clouds and fog today, but the tops of the hills all around me poked through.  The fog in the valley sat over the water without moving much but it did open up for a few glimpses.  I played around with different settings on the camera for awhile and then started back.

I decided to do a little bushwhacking on the way back and climbed up and over the hill the trail goes around on the way in.  This way was interesting with rock outcroppings and some views out through the trees.  I made a short loop then hooked back up with the trail and made my way out.  

I didn't see any wildlife other then a few squirrels and chipmunks today, but I know this area is home to moose and had hoped to see one. I hiked about 3.25 miles on this out and back trail.  

AT section hike with the scouts - Ice Gulch to Jug End

The weather was almost perfect for this trip along the Appalachian Trail.  This was a short backpacking trip with some of the scouts from my troop.  We hiked south to Tom Leonard shelter at night and set up camp.  After a quick dinner of Subway in the hiker parking lot we flew up the trail and made it to camp in record time.  It was fun to do a night hike as it is different and gives a new perspective of the trail. We arrived at the shelter a little after 8pm and set up and did our camp chores. The scouts slept in the shelter, which was empty, while my fellow leader and I hung our hammocks just outside the shelter.  After a brief campfire, we turned in early.  The weather was still a little cloudy with a breeze.  Temps would drop to about 32* for the night.  Beautiful.

Everyone was up and moving by 7am and we packed up and cooked breakfast.  Our plan was to begin hiking by 8am.  The morning was crisp and cool with bright sunshine.

Love this view over Ice Gulch

Breakfast time

Another great night sleep in my hammock

Our timing was right on the spot as we started hiking at 8am, heading south toward Jug End.  From Tom Leonard shelter the trail winds through hardwood forest and climbs slightly to the ridge over looking the Housatonic River valley and the town of Sheffield. There is a smattering of views along the way now that the leaves are all down, which was nice.  The leaves do pose a slipping hazard on the trail but we all were careful and no one fell.  Once on the top of the ridge there are nice views to the west.  Mount Everett is plain to see along with many other peaks of the Taconics.  

After enjoying the views and having some snacks it was time to go down.  We would descend about 1100ft to the Housatonic River.  Some parts would be steep others were more gradual.  The beauty of the trail was awesome, I really enjoy looking at all the different rock formations and the variety of trees.  Once we reached the river we were hiking through farm fields, empty corn fields ready for winter.  The terrain leveled out and we made good time.  We reached the site of Shay's Rebellion and stopped for lunch.  

Housatonic River

Lunch break

We were close to the end after lunch and we hiked through the swampy section and up through more farm fields, passing some sheep who looked at us like we were crazy.  As we crossed over route 41 and looked back at the ridge where we had been that morning the boys commented on how far away it looked.  We pushed on through a short section of forest and were soon at the car.  We hiked just over 10 miles and had a beautiful late fall day to do it.  The last 10 mile hike to complete Hiking Merit Badge for one of the scouts and a great hike/trip for the rest of us.  

Watching the sheep as we pass by

Looking back at where we had been

For this trip I packed as if for a longer trip.  I used the Gossamer Gear Mariposa pack that is my go to pack for just about any overnight trip.  Here is a list of the other gear I brought for this trip:

Warbonnet Blackbird hammock
Warbonnet Superfly

UGQ Flight Jacket topquilt 0*

Hammock Gear Incubator underquilt 0*

2QZQ underquilt protector

GSI Pinnacle soloist cookset

Primus classic trail stove

Katadyn Hiker water filter

All of this gear I have used many times before and it has all proven to work very well for me as it did for this trip as well.