Earlier this week I completed my second state (Connecticut), in an effort to ultimately complete the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) in sections. (Click here to read about my ~100-mile Massachusetts section hike from 2017). While Connecticut was a little less rugged than Massachusetts (with the exception of Bear Mountain at an elevation of 2,326 feet, the rest of the Connecticut AT is under 1,500 feet), it had beautiful open forests, very few “road walks”, and numerous wide sweeping views of the Housatonic River. 

I had originally planned on taking 5 days to cover ~53 miles through Connecticut, but ultimately completed the trip in only 4. As with my account of the Massachusetts trip, I could write a great deal about my experience, the landscapes I crossed, and the people I met along the way, but for now I’ll focus on a couple nature-related highlights.

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

My first couple miles up the Undermountain Trail to rejoin the Appalachian Trail on the southern side of Bear Mountain was bursting with flowering mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). In fact, the large showy flower clusters that these shrubs produce were so numerous that it almost looked as if it had just snowed and small clumps had accumulated on all the branches. At the time I thought this blooming “mountain” laurel was a fitting welcome for me returning to the Appalachian Mountains. Upon further research once I returned, I also learned that mountain laurel is also the state flower of Connecticut – the perfect array of blooms for me to pass as I started my Connecticut section hike. Click here to read more about this species from an earlier Seashore to Forest Floor blog post. 

Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum):

Of all the ferns I encountered along the side of the trail, the maidenhair ferns were definitely my favorites. I love their unique fan-shaped whorls of leaflets. Each individual stalk is divided into two oppositely recurved fronds. This species of fern is adapted to upland areas and thrives in the rich shaded soils that are common along the Appalachian Trail. The sub-leaflets are somewhat variable in shape with one edge entire and the other incised. 

Other highlights:

• It was too early for the many blueberries and huckleberries that I passed, but I did find (and sample the fruits from) a handful of ripe red mulberry (Morus rubra) trees.
• Occasional glimpses of young five-lined skinks (Euneces fasciatus); juvenile five-lined skinks have 5 light yellow stripes down the main part of their body and a blue tail.
• Partridgeberries (Mitchella repens) were flowering. This plant is also known as twinflower due to the fact that each pair of white flowers are connected at the base, and together will produce only a single fruit.
• With only two miles left on my hike, I encountered a black bear (Ursus americanus) on the way up Ten Mile Hill. It was traveling down the hill, perpendicular to the trail, and popped out on the path approximately 30 or 40 feet in front of my dog and me. My dog and I took a couple steps back, the black bear paused for a second or two to look at us, and then continued on its original trajectory down the hill. I had a brief moment of disappointment when I realized that I wasn’t able to get a photo of the bear, but ultimately I simply felt blessed to have had the opportunity to see it at all (in all the time I’ve spent hiking in New England, this is only the second black bear I’ve every seen).
• Lots of cool fungi and slime molds, like this dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica) – yes, that’s really what it’s called.