It reminded me of any stream we might see in the Whites around Evan’s Notch, or in the Mahoosics. We also crossed Sage Brook, which was the first drop and pool stream that I have seen on our hike. We crossed over Bear Mtn, the highest mountaintop in CT, and had wonderful views to the north, east and south. We are in the Taconics, soon to reach the Bershire plateau. We left Maria yesterday and hiked through a beautiful stretch of northwest CT and into southwest MA. One of their sons is an architect for BRFC in their Portland office, living in Westbrook. there was another couple there, retired from southern Indiana, here to section hike the trail. It was a nice break after a long hot day hiking.
WEST POINT BRIDGE DESIGNER 2016 MAC MAC
I got some pics of the house, including one of our Canadian friend Mac with Maria, but forgot to get one of us with Maria. She laughed and said “I mean I’ll pick you up.” She keeps a clean and homey place, and tools around town in her little Toyota, taking hikers wherever they need to go, pulling U-turns on Main Street if it suits her. She did indeed and told me to call her when we reached a certain road crossing and that then “you’ll pick me up.” I told that she seemed quite nice over the phone but that I’d like to have a look at her before I decided whether to pick her up. I knew we would hit it off when I called from the trail to see if she had space for two that night. Turns out she liked the company and it soon morphed into Maria taking thru hikers in directly, giving them a bed, towels, access to bathroom, living room, kitchen, yard – essentially her whole house except her bedroom and bathroom – for $35 pp. She protested that she was a widow living alone and didn’t want strangers in her house, but he persisted and she agreed. About 10-12 years ago, the gentleman in town who ran the inn, originally from Switzerland, called her up and told her he was overbooked with guests and asked her if she would put up two of his guests for the night. She is now 87 and has buried two husbands. She spoke only Italian and German, and had no family in the area. She was born and raised in Brixen, Italy, up in the Dolomites and a stone’s throw from the Brenner Pass into Austria. We stayed at a campsite after Kent, then humped it 19 mikes to Salisbury CT, where we stayed with Maria MaCabe. For such a beautiful river, it is hard to imagine how contaminated it is. Below the confluence with this watercourse, add mercury to the PCB load in the Housatonic. In addition, Danbury CT was home to a major hat making industry, with resulting discharge of mercury into the local watercourse, which drains into the Housatonic. There are signs all along the river that no fish or waterfowl are safe to eat, and don’t drink the water. The sediment behind the remaining dams below Pittsfield is loaded with PCBs, and each high water event leaches more pollution downstream. The practice stopped in the 70’s but the area is now a Superfund site. For over 40 years, from the 30’s to the 70’s, a GE plant in Pittsfield MA dumped PCBs manufactured by Monsanto directly into the river as part of its operations. There is a hydro dam at the top of the falls so the majority of the flow is diverted to a canal, but even with limited flow it’s impressive.Īs beautiful as the river appears, there is an ugly underside. The following day, we walked through Falls Village and took pictures of the Great Falls of the Housatonic- about a 30 foot drop, very impressive. It’s a high mountain river, mostly cobble bottom in the quick water sections, and class 1-2 rapids at regular intervals. I on the other hand was fascinated and took untold amounts of pictures of the river. It’s interesting how people react differently to different stimuli – many of the thru hikers complained bitterly about how flat and boring it was. I got my wish – the trail followed along the river for 5 miles, the longest stretch of riverside hiking on the AT. We left Kent and hiked north in the Housatonic valley.
0 kommentar(er)
