If you’re living in CT and you’re not sure what to do during a free day, I suggest taking a hike along the Appalachian Trail.  The trail is over 2,000 miles long, running all the way from Maine to northern Georgia.  In Connecticut, it runs through the northwest corner of Litchfield County over some of the state’s highest peaks.

I went for a hike yesterday with my friends Amber and Bret, with the goal of reaching the top of Bear Mountain.  With an elevation of 2,316 feet, it’s Connecticut’s highest peak.  We started off on a trail about five miles south of the mountain.  There’s a parking area that’s only a short drive from the town center in Salisbury which brings you right to the beginning of the trail.  After passing through a few fields we started a quick climb up the hill where we met up with the Appalachian Trail.  From there we continued to the top of "Lion’s Head" (1,738 feet) which gave us a seemingly endless view of Connecticut.  If you’re ever looking for a quick hike that offers great views, I strongly suggest giving this one a try.

We didn’t stop there.  Our destination was still another 4 miles away.  From the top of Lion’s Head we made a quick descent down a very steep and rocky path and then the trail gradually flattened out.  The trail gave us a pretty smooth hike for several more miles.  We passed by 3 different campsites along the way to Bear Mountain, two of which had natural sources of water.

We kept seeing postings that warned us of recent black bear sightings, so Amber was getting a little bit scared.  It was every man (and woman) for themselves if we were ever to get attacked.  Amber had the shortest legs, so she’d probably be the first to go.

By the time we reached the bottom of Bear Mountain we had successfully completed 4.5 miles without any bear sightings.  We were in good shape.  The hike hadn’t been as bad as we thought it would be.  The climb up the top finally gave us some strenuous hiking, although it wasn’t half as bad as I had expected.  As you climb upwards the trees gradually disappear and there’s only small bushes and other plants covering the landscape.  We had some incredible views as we climbed up towards the top.  We were able to look back behind us and see where we had began, and off to our left we could see the Taconic Mountains in New York and the hills of Connecticut to our right. 

At the top there is an eight foot tall pyramid made of large stones that was built in 1885.  I tried reading the stone plaque at the base of it to find out who had put it there, but it was very difficult to read.  We hung out on the top for about a half hour to catch our breath and to take in the views, and made a few phone calls to brag to our friends that we were the highest three people in the state at the moment.

Shortly after we began our hike back, we ran into some thru-hikers.  These guys had started hiking the Appalachian Trail back in Georgia sometime around mid-April and had just made it to Connecticut.  I asked them if they thought it was worth it and one of them enthusiastically told me "absolutely".  He said he had quit his job and spent all his savings to pull it off.  They expected to make it to the end of the trail in Maine in about six more weeks.  Their body oder was overwhelming so we kept a good distance.

The hike back was much easier.  We went much faster and took a few less breaks because we wanted to make it back before sunset.  By the time we reached the top of Lion’s Head the sun had already gone down, so our last mile was unfortunately in the dark.  By the time we finished we had been hiking for over 4 1/2 hours, but other than some minor pain from a few small blisters we were feeling pretty good.

We’re gonna try to do a full days hike along the trail soon, and then stay overnight at one of the campsites.  I’m hoping to go the first weekend in October when the foliage is at its peak. 

This week has been unbelievable.  Yesterday, after my stroll around Limerick, I checked out this restaurant across from my hotel on O’Connel St. called Luigi Malones a quick dinner.  The food was great.  They even gave me a glass of complimentary red wine which wasn’t all that bad.

Following dinner I met up with my friend Rachel and from there we joined with a bunch of people for another night out at Molly’s.  Had a blast, although I came back home with a few scratches and a bruise on my back.

Today started off much like yesterday did.  I walked around by myself for a bit…. ended up in People’s Park and then made my way all the way down to the Hunt Museum to check out the 50’s Chic/60’s Cheek exhibit, which was somewhat of a disappointment due to the lack of photography they had on display.

That evening I met up with my friend Rachel and her friend Claire, who rode the bus with me up to the Ryan’s where I saw Hazel and Mike once again.  We all had some pizza (which wasn’t all the bad) and then we made some plans for the night.

My last night there was incredible.  Hazel, Rachel, Claire, and myself all went out to a a few pubs and a few clubs, including Nancy Blakes, Molly’s, and Icon.  I can’t tell you enough how good it felt to be there… especially with Hazel and Rachel who I hadn’t seen prior to this week in about 8 years.

At some point in the night a photographer took our picture.  I guess it’ll be in a Limerick newspaper sometime next week.  I’m looking forward to seeing it.

I had to end the night by packing for my trip back home.  My flight leaves in just a few hours and I need to stay awake to catch the bus to the aiport.

Today’s been a good day to just take it slow.  I have no plans and the weather isn’t all that great, so I’ve just been going out for few short walks around Limerick city every few hours.  I guess I’m really tired out from all the moving around I’ve been doing the past couple of days.  But I’m still really enjoying myself because there’s so much to see around here.

A bit earlier while I was out walking around, a stranger came up to me and asked if I could take a picture of him.  He was pretty excited that I was willing to do it.  I’m glad I took it because I kinda like how it ended up coming out.  He was with a bunch of people who were drinking beer near the Treaty Stone along the River Shannon.  I think they may have been homeless.

As the bus left the Cliffs of Moher we headed down towards the city of Limerick where Troop 3 unloaded their luggage into the Jury’s Inn Hotel and I made my way to the George Boutique Hotel just a few blocks  over on O’Connell Street.

Around 7:30 PM we all loaded onto another bus and took a trip to a meetinghouse north of Limerick in Meelick where the Troop 3 Scouts had a cookout with the scouts from Meelick.  It was great watching everyone slowly begin to interact with each other.  The kids were shy at first, but we all expected that.  It reminded me of an 8th grade dance where the boys are on one side of the hall and the girls are on another.  But Mike Ryan, the leader or the Meelick scouts, started up a few games and a campfire and once everyone was singing songs the kids all seemed to feel comfortable together.

As we left I heard one of the girls from the Meelick group tell one of the Troop 3 scouts to send her back a box of Lucky Charms – a sure sign that the American scouts had interacted with the Irish ones.

This night was special for me because I got to see a lot of people that I met during my first trip over to Ireland back in 1999 that i haven’t seen since, such as Mike Ryan, his wife, his daughters Hazel and Rachel, and quite a few others.  Mike pointed out to the scouts that I was the first exchange scout to say that I’d come back and then actually do it. 

At night a bunch of the leaders from both troops met at the bar in the Jury’s Inn.  I went for a bit, then headed out to a bar called Molly’s with Rachael and a few of her friends.

The bus driver for Troop 3 was nice enough to let me hitch a ride with them despite insurance concerns, so I was able to take an incredible tour of The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.  It was great getting a bit of history  from the tour guide while seeing all the sights.  It was also kind of cool driving past the area I have pictured on the top of this website.  My brother and Randy seemed to recognize it. 

We spent a good hour at the Cliffs of Moher.  They’ve finally completed all the construction so it was much more pleasing to see than it was the last time I came.  It was great to have my brother Kevin see all the places that I love so much.  I swear this part of the country is heaven on earth.  You couldn’t believe how incredible it looks until you’ve seen it with your own eyes.