Where Are My Trekking Poles???

The goal for the day was to finish up the trail system at Bluff Head, and a quick hike was planned. I parked in Durham, got out of the car, and WHERE ARE MY TREKKING POLES???  Thinking, thinking...the last time I saw them was at the Bluff Head cemetery, on the opposite end of the park. Hmmm.

 

Oh well. I pick up a stick and use that. The trail on this end is mostly a muddy ATV track, and a few spots are slick with clay. The trail rises and just before the top it levels off a bit and there's a big gorge down below. Seems like a great place to leave the North Branford letterbox. 

What's neat about the gorge is that you can see where the hard trap rock above meets the red shales and sandstones below. Looking down the gorge, the eroded parts are all red. You don't see any bedrock because the shale and sandstone is very soft and disintegrates the moment it's exposed to the weather. 

At the top of the gorge, you can see the soils and rock outcrop are shades of brown, gray, and orange, but not red. You might have to click on the photos to really see it.

I'm making great time, and before long I'm back up to the cliffs of Bluff Head.  And you know, that cemetery where I last saw my poles is right down at the bottom of the hill.  Hmmm. 

Hey, I can see Long Island Sound today! 

I've got to see if those poles are there.  Instead of back tracking, I rearrange my schedule (thank you, Droid) and decide to press forward.  It's all downhill, of course, and I find a nice detour around the spot I had to slide down on my butt last time.  Pretty soon I'm at the cemetery...

 

And there's the poles!! Exactly where I left them a few days ago, visible from the trail if you're paying attention.  What are the odds? Elated, I decide to climb back up the steeper mainline NET rather than the easier route.  Although steep, it's not like you need to use your hands. There are a few steps and it just goes up pretty fast.

And I'm back up to the top. And tired. And at this point my camera battery mostly dies and I have to shut it down. But it is simply gorgeous up there. I hang out above the pond for a bit and watch a raven bringing in some sticks for a nest in the cliffs. I can hear the ravens clicking to each other. In the pond, there are silver flashes from fish.  

And on we go. Down the North Slope Trail (blue/white) all the way to the bottom to pick up where I left off a few days ago on the Lone Pine Trail (blue/red), which heads into James Valley Preserve. 

The preserve has the look of a young woods that were a pasture not too long ago. ATVs have really made a mess of parts of the trail, which were slippery from exposed clays.  

I managed one more picture from the dead camera battery, some really happy moss. 

Climbed Totoket 3 1/2 times this day. The first time was fun. The second time was tiring. The third time was grueling.  The Lone Pine Trail actually climbs half way up the mountain, changes its mind and goes all the way back down, and then reverses and climbs all the way to the top.  Are we there yet???  

At the top, I planned on turning right onto the NET, but the junction is terribly confusing due to an ATV track and scant trail markings coming from that direction. I floundered about for half an hour before I finally figured it out.  That's a good reason to turn the gps on at the start of the hike (I had not). The bread crumb feature of the gps is great when you're trying to retrace your steps. 

Braemore to Bluff Head, Guilford

Bluff Head, as seen from Reid's View at Braemore Preserve.

Hiking is always better after working a 12-hour shift the day before. Today I go for a loop at Bluff Head, but not before taking a spur hike up to Reid's View at Braemore Preserve for a last look at all that gray schist and gneiss.

Here's the route for the day.  I thought of doing a larger loop, but a lot of time is spent looking for letterboxes and "stamping in," and it is still getting dark pretty early. Today's agenda starts with another road walk along Rt 77, which isn't terrible, but I wouldn't recommend it in rush hour traffic or at dusk.

Coming down from Reid's View is another healing splinter tree.  I never noticed such trees before and now I've seen two in the space of a couple weeks. Look at how the new bark tissue has been growing around the split wood. That's quite the survivor.

Back out to Rt 77 for a short walk, then into the woods we go, following the edge of a big field, and coming to an old dirt road where the trail goes right, but there is a glimpse of water to the left . Can't let than go without further exploration.

It's Meyerhuber Pond, with the cliffs of Bluff Head rising above. This is a place to linger. I hear Ravens calling from the cliffs. I heard them at Braemore, too.  There are stumps gnawed by beaver.

I'm prepared to not like the next section, which follows a dirt road past a farm and some houses, but I actually enjoy it.  The dog is tied to my back pack, which I set down and from it pull out a breakfast bar.  The horses immediately take interest and come on over to check out what I have.  This horse is commenting on the unusual flavor. 

After passing the new houses and following the blue/red blazes of the Lone Pine Trail a bit further, I take a left on the North Slope Trail (blue/white) up the ridge. It's an old road and not too steep, but the angular loose cobbles can twist an ankle real quick. Typical trap rock hiking. Bluff Head is 400 feet above the surrounding terrain. 

 Bluff Head is the highest part of Totoket Mountain.  After some asking around it seems this is pronounced "Teh TUCK et" by the locals. Correct me if I'm wrong.  Totoket is a long trap rock ridge that rises above Lake Gaillard and continues on to Bluff Head. The top was very open and grassy. It's hard for things to grow on that hard rock, and there may be too many deer.

Before long, a series of  views start to open up, and it's beautiful.  There's Meyerhuber Pond, with the bare rock of Reid's View just above the field.  The ravens are calling, two of them, and now they're below me in the cliff. 

The trail is a bit closer to the cliff than I'm comfortable with, and there's a section where I've got to slide down some rock on my butt. Soon enough, the last amazing overlook is reached at the junction with the blue/orange side trail that offers a more gentle (but longer) way down to the parking lot. I start down this trail, turn around, and here's the sign I see: 

This reminds me of the poor kid who just fell to his death at Sleeping Giant.  Got to be careful! If you're too close to the edge, just one little trip or loss of balance and that's the end of it. This is definitely not a trail for small children, and dogs that are as stupid as mine definitely need to be on a leash (mine would probably take a flying leap off the cliff if she thought she could catch that raven). 

Speaking of the end...here's a small cemetery near the parking lot, just barely visible from the trail.  Do you see my trekking poles in that photo?  I remember thinking, "I better not forget them on my way out." Ha ha ha.  

Old tombstones are neat.  There are some in this cemetery you can't even read. 

This old rotting stump nursing a white pine seedling seems somehow appropriate in a cemetery. Generations. How many generations of people have climbed up to the cliffs of Bluff Head and enjoyed the view? Hopefully without falling.