Today was a hot day to being doing any kind of activity outdoors, which is why I was at the trail head at 9. Was hoping to get a little earlier start but it didn't happen. Parked at the Comstock Covered Bridge, only covered bridge in Eastern Connecticut.
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| View from the Salmon River |
I followed the Blue-Blazed Salmon River Trail, a loop trail which is about 6 miles from this starting point. My plan was to do the loop trail plus add on about another mile and a half on a side trail. The trail follows the river and begins a short climb to a nice overview of the river.
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| View of Salmon River |
From this point the trail snakes it way up into Day Pond State Forest, where the loop section actually takes place. I would recommend wearing or at least bring bug replant because this section was infested with mosquitoes. Whenever I stopped for a few seconds I was swatting them off of me, it was almost to the point were it became unbearable. Once I intersected the loop section the bugs seemed to disappear. I decide to go the northern loop first, because I was interested in the falls that were listed on the map.
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| Upper |
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| Lower |
As you can see, it is quite a large waterfall, height wise, and is a nice place to sit and relax. I had my snack at this area and it was very calming. Here I decided that I wasn't going to continue following the trail back around but instead was going to wonder downstream and meet up with the Salmon River and follow it back to the bridge. The hike down to the river wasn't bad, rather enjoyable following the stream. Once I arrived at the river I began my way back to the bridge.
I was able to hike along the river for the most part and when it became do difficult I cut inland and followed what looked to be a deer trail. To my my surprise I came upon what looked like someone's living quarters. There were 2 hammocks, a table and a make shift shelter with some logs. No one was there but, it was still a little weird. After making my way past the encampment I came to a section in the river where an old dam might have been. There were remnants of a stone wall on both sides of the river. From this spot you can actually hike back up to that first overview point, there was an unmarked trail leading back up. But I followed the river back to where it picked up the trail. I recommend going back up, because you have to cross a field that isn't really maintained.
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| Map of Park, Orange is what I did. |
Overall the hike ended up being a little shorter, 4.5 miles, but with the heat and bugs, it was fine. I would like to go back and finish the loop some time, there are old cellar holes along the route that I missed.
