Beneath St John’s Ledges
My Thanksgiving holiday hiking day used to be, usually, the Friday. For a time I even had a regular route for this “turkey burner”. But at least once our family feast was put back to Friday and I hiked on the Day itself (and recall meeting backpackers on the New York Appalachian Trail trading, I assumed, snug homes for cold nights). Thanksgiving dinner this year was, for me, scheduled for Saturday, so my turkey burner preceded the turkey. I had thought that the trails would be quieter than usual. As it turned out, they were all but deserted and it seemed at times as if the birds were filling that space with chatter.
DATE: Thursday, November 23rd, Thanksgiving Day.
START & FINISH: River Road, Kent CT, at the Appalachian Trail trailhead (GPS 41.757859, -73.450469).
ROUTE: AT south to Skiff Mountain Road; Skiff Mountain Road north a short way to Pond Mountain Natural Area’s Red Gate Trail; Red Gate, Saturday Afternoon, and Pond trails around Fuller Pond; Mountain Trail to Pond Mountain summit; Mountain and Escarpment trails back down to Red Gate Trail and back to Start retracing out leg route; a short walk along River Road to see the Housatonic.
DISTANCE: 8.7 miles.
TIME: About 5½ hours (8:30am to 2:00pm).
TERRAIN: Varied. The hike starts with a scramble up St John’s ledges, some 550 feet in 0.5 miles. Grades and trail quality are then good for the next 3.5 miles, even allowing for a couple of summits (Caleb’s Peak and an unnamed hill east of Fuller Pond). The trail up Pond Mountain is steep but short. Gaia GPS calculates the total ascent/descent of the hike as 2,450 feet, a decent workout.
MAPS: Gaia GPS.
WEATHER: Sunny, breezy in places, low-to-mid 40s.
WILDLIFE: Birds about which, sadly, I can say no more than it was nice to have them around.
LUNCH: Swiss, salami, and arugula ciabatta sandwich on a wind-chilled Pond Mountain.
UPS: Until this hike, I had always rounded Fuller Pond’s east side on the bank-hugging Pond Trail. On this outing, I took the Saturday Afternoon Trail, which gives the pond a wider berth. The new route yielded a fine view of the pond from the unnamed hill and, better still, traversed a couple of big, open fields, something of a novelty and greatly enjoyed.
DOWNS: None at all.
KIT: It was one of those days for frequent taking off and putting on of layers. The top of Pine Mountain was a four-layer place.
COMPANY: Next to none; a dog-walker on the AT “doing penance” (his words) before feasting, and later a hiker scaling Pond Mountain as I descended.
THE HIKE IN PICTURES:
MAP:
McWilliams Takes A Hike 