Date Hiked: Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Number in Group: 10
Estimated distance round trip: 4.1 miles
Weather: 62°F, a few drops from some clouds, but that was it
Although the Metacomet Trail cuts through the
Penwood, we decided to stay on the old paved road for the majority of our hike. We went north from the parking lot, along Gale Pond, past the picnic area and Shadow Pond, to Lake Louise. From there, we took a trail - very steep, with stone steps - to the Pinnacle Overlook where we could see down the ridge to the Heublein Tower in
Talcott Mountain State Park. We also had a nice view of the center of Simsbury. We returned to the parking area using the road that runs along the west side of the park.
We saw quite a few wildflowers along the way including Wild Columbine, Dutchman's Breeches, Early Saxifrage, and Leatherleaf. Unfortunately, my pictures of them leave much to be desired.
 |
| Hawk seen near Gale Pond. |
 |
| Leatherleaf at Lake Louise. |
 |
| Lake Louise. |
 |
| Steps up to the Pinnacle. |
 |
| Heublein Tower to the south. |
 |
| Simsbury center. |
It was a great hike. The rain held off for us even though it was threatening and quite overcast. I love hiking at this time of year because the spring flowers are in bloom and there are no leaves on the trees so you have better views from the lookouts and also the forest floor is open and light.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more hikes...
Kris
Beautiful pictures! Too bad we couldn't make it this time!
ReplyDeleteBecca