Simsbury - Cathles Trail

Date Hiked:  Thursday, May 24, 2012
Number in Group:  11
Estimated distance round-trip:  1.2 miles
Weather:  Overcast, humid, 78°F
Highlights of the trip:  Waterfall, expansive views

This hike is in what the Simsbury Land Trust Walkbook calls the Western Highlands.   The Cathles Trail can be done as either an extension of a hike on the Hedgehog Trail or as a separate hike starting at the end of North Saddle Ridge Drive.  We decided to do it as a hike separate from Hedgehog. 

Before we even got into the woods, one of the kids spotted a millipede.  We took a few moments to observe and take pictures.  We needn't have worried about missing the opportunity.  We saw millipedes all along the trail.

One of many millipedes found along the trail.

A short walk along the white-blazed trail led us to this pretty little waterfall.

We started climbing the trail through the talus until we reached the bridge over the stream.  Immediately on the other side of the bridge is a jumble of rocks that forms a small cave.  The kids climbed around on this while they waited for us to decide in which direction to go.  According to a map located at the bridge, the white trail continues to the west where it connects with the blue-blazed trail.  The red-blazed trail follows the ridge line to the south along the Hedgehog Trail or to the north along the Cathles Trail.  We decided to stick with the Cathles today, so we crossed the bridge and continued north.  We will come back at some point in the future and do Hedgehog.

The cave.

The red trail wound it's way up the slope and along the ridge.  Some of the area here reminded me of Maine, with bare rocks and lots of blueberry bushes.

Cathles Trail.

Along this red-blazed trail, we had a little discussion about blazes.  In general, the trail is marked with a single vertical blaze.  When there is a turn, there will be two blazes offset from each other, with the top blaze indicating the direction to take.  For example, if the top blaze is set to the right of the bottom blaze, the trail will turn to the right.  Then we came to a double blaze where the blazes were not offset, they were aligned vertically.  I thought that this might mean the end of the trail, even though it seemed to continue and we did find blazes further on.  When we got back, I did a little research on the meaning of the blazes.  Some websites indicated that the vertically aligned blazes could mean caution and others indicated that you needed to look for a turn.  Here is a little chart I found that summarizes what the various blaze markings mean:

From the Finger Lakes Trail Conference website.

Along the ridge, we saw quite a few different wildflowers.  If you can identify them, leave a comment and I will add the appropriate caption.

Pink Corydalis

Lady slipper.

The views from the lookouts were quite impressive.  We could see well to the north, past the Barndoor Hills in Granby, and east to the Metacomet Ridge and beyond.

Barndoor Hills in Granby.  What is in the distance on the far left?

Looking east across the Farmington Valley to the Metacomet Ridge.

When we got to what we assumed was the final lookout, we turned around.  While the Walkbook indicates that the red trail linked up with the blue trail on the west side of the ridge, some of the other maps indicate that the trail just ends.  There did seem to be a narrow trail heading into the woods, but we decided to turn back.  An adventure for another day, perhaps.  

This was a great hike and much less strenuous than I feared.  The Western Highlands offer tremendous views of the valley and a hike along the Hedgehog Trail is in our plans for the future.