Agile Trekker: MA Appalachian Trail - Section 10 - Race Brook Falls Trail to CT State Line

August 2, 2015

Distance: 10.7 miles
Time: 5 hours 55 minutes
Elevation Gain: 2,311 feet

Year to date miles: 483.6

Parking: East Street, at Northwest Road trailhead. We always find East Street (called Mount Washington Road to the south) difficult to navigate to with a GPS. We end up approaching it from the north, even though we are driving south. I'm not sure if the street is thru. In the winter at least, there is a barricade across it. It is a gravel road, but in good shape today at least! The trail starts behind a gate.

Map: Appalachian Trail Guide to Massachusetts Connecticut

Restrooms: Privy at shelters

Directions:
From parking area, go past gate onto the "Northwest Road" - a woods road.
Pass side trail to AMC Northwest Camp on the right.
At the end of Northwest Road, turn left onto the AT.
Pass blue blazed Paradise Lane Trail on the right.
Join stream at Sages Ravine.
Pass Sages Ravine campsite on left.
Cross stream in ravine on rock bridge.
Pass Laurel Ridge campsite on left.
Ascend up onto a ridge.
Views get better and better.
Summit Mount Race.
Descend and arrive at Race Brook Falls trail on right.
Turn around and retrace steps back to parking area.

Hike description:
Awesome hike! Trek loved swimming at Sage's Ravine. We loved the views on the ridge approaching Mount Race. The krumholz approaching Mount Race was wonderful too. We just love the southern Taconic area! This hike has no road crossings, so lucky Trek was off leash most of the time (sometimes we leash him when others approach). We saw many, many thru hikers today. We saw a cluster of them, so Glen asked one of them about it. She said that 9 of them had been hiking together since Virginia. Wow - that is a big group. And they hiked fast! I was not feeling fast. Still warm & humid, but much nicer than yesterday. On occasion in the woods we would get a chilly breeze - nice! On our return trip the bugs were coming out around the ravine. It wasn't bad, we just didn't want to stand still very long.