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We did this same hike way back in 2009, except this time we did it in reverse.
After days of severe rain in the tri-state area (Little Falls was declared a disaster zone), there was an abundance of M&Ms in the forest: mushrooms
and mosquitos. Oh my goodness! We sprayed ourselves at least a dozen times during this hike. They were not letting up. But there was also an astounding
array of mushrooms, many of which I have never seen before. Had I taken a photo of each type I'd still be out there being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Like nine years ago, we parked at the trailhead for the Townsend Trail on Hall Drive but this time we walked up Hall Drive, made a left on Routhe 19 and then headed into the forest westward on the green-blazed Long Meadow Extension. This we took all the way to the orange-blazed Townsend trail, which we took past two viewpoints and then north all of the way back to the car. It's a nicely varied hike, with a woods road in a gasline cut, a gravel road that climbs nicely, then a forest path on the ridge with nice views, and finally a small reservoir with a lovely cascade. Oh! And as if that weren't enough, a really nice woman across the street from the trailhead gave us a bunch of cherry tomatoes as a gift! And yes, I used them in the side salad I made for dinner. And they were delicious! Total distance hiked today was 4.1 miles in just under 2.5 hours. (Click on the thumbnail to bring up a bigger image in a pop-up window)
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |