Section 5: This Hike Was All Business

Metacomet Trail: Section 5
Edgewood Road Roadwalk, 1.4 miles

June 14, 2007

mt5a.jpgThis little bit of connecting road between the quite nice Hanging Hills section and just-as-nice Ragged Mountain section of the Metacomet is like a bad half-time show at an excellent football game. A necessary interlude between the real reason you’re there. One and a half miles along a straight and flat road isn’t exactly a “hike” per se, nor is it something Hoang or I looked forward to doing. But we simply had to do it… so why not make it an event rather than a chore?

Since we work relatively close to Edgewood Road in Berlin, why not pick a day to take our lunch together and work off a few calories? I often walk around the building while reading the latest Newsweek or a book, so this was nothing odd for me. I would guess, however, that it was a bit odd for the cars and residents we passed who saw a random attractive girl walking down their street in a skirt and heels with a guy taking pictures of her every now and then.

mt5c.jpgAt least now, when those people log on and Google “Random attractive girl in a skirt and heels walking down Edgewood Road in Berlin” they will now hit CTMQ and get an explanation! Yay Internet!

The weather wasn’t too hot for our trek and I specifically sprung the idea to Hoang and a day that she wore 4 inch heels. Hey, if you want to call 1.4 miles a “hike,” you’ve got to at least make it challenging, right? I had to navigate the difficult path, so my Kenneth Coles suited me just fine. And also, hiking in a skirt is far more comfortable than pants, so Hoang made out.

We parked and walked. Nearly due north up Edgewood Road. “Ooh, look! A nice house!” We walked some more. Cars passed us rather infrequently, though we did get strange looks. Time for a break with some trail mix.

mt5d.jpg
Hey, I was on a trail. And I was hungry.

We kept walking. “Hey Hoang, how are your feet holding up?” “Fine!” I don’t know how women do it, but I know I like it!

We kept walking. There were no hills at all or really any defining geologic feature at all. Heck, I don’t even remember any rocks. Well, there was a nice little pond (to Hoang’s right).

mt5e.jpg
“What say?”

While at the pond and taking the picture, an entire family poured out of their house to yell, “Is that your beagle?! Is that your lost dog?!” What was weird was that we literally had a mom, a dad, a few kids, grandma (doing the yelling), grandpa, and an aunt and uncle or two thrown in asking us about the mystery dog, all walking towards us in lockstep. It was actually pretty freaky, like they were zombies about to kill us for our brains (they were at least 70 yards away, thankfully). Look closely and note the confusion on Hoang’s face, above.

mt5f.jpgHoang noted, “That was really weird.” I reminded her that two well dressed 30-somethings were walking down their road taking a picture in front of their pond. My guess is that they returned to their moonshine still and one mentioned, “That was really weird.” And they’d have had a point, just as we did.

We kept walking.

Finally, after about 35 minutes, we reached the end of the section, snapped a shot of me and my sweaty brow, hopped in the car and hit the road. There are several more road walks left, but none quite so long until the end and I’m fairly confident none quite so boring. At any rate, I know the next section will be one of the best on the whole trail as it contains Ragged Mountain. Stay tuned.

mt5g.jpg
Finish!

…………………………………………………….

mt5_map.jpg

Section 5 Approximate Breakdown:
0.0 Miles: Utility line/Edgewood Road intersection
0.4 Miles: Roadkill
0.7 Miles: Orchard Road enters on right
1.0 Miles: Dead bird
1.4 miles: Edgewood/Southington Rd intersection
End (go left, cross road, and trail enters woods in about 150 feet)

Continue on to Section Six

Related Link

Buy your own Hiking Heels

2 responses to “Section 5: This Hike Was All Business”

  1. Catherine says:

    LOL! Moonshining in Connecticut!!!

  2. honeybunny says:

    Did they look like the Darlings from Mayberry?

    hb

Leave a Comment

The Out Campaign: Scarlet Letter of Atheism