hike today

I went for a hike today. I started out on the Mattabesett (blue trail) and wound up in Rockland Preserve (orange, yellow, red trails). This was nice for a change.

The only problem was, I started out a tad late, around 4 pm. And I was completely lackadaisical in my perambulations. I feel pretty comfortable on these trails because I've been all up and through them before. Plus, getting lost on a Connecticut trail is practically an impossibity. Still, I almost managed to do it. I became a bit disoriented because work is being done in Rockland Preserve, and things are a bit different from last year - trails are being built out, new signage, and so on. Things just looked different. I looked at my watch at 6 pm and realized I was in danger of making it back to the car after sunset (if I could find my way back at all).

Fortunately, I had my compass, and that, together with my gut instinct, led me out of Rockland Preserve and back to the Mattabesett Trail. From there it was a quick 30 minutes back to the car via a shortcut. Whew! I was kind of stupid about things today and hadn't brought food, and I certainly didn't have enough water for the night, let alone the three hours I wound up being out.

It was a sultry day, way too warm for April. Fortunately, by around 6:30 the sun was setting and the air began to cool. That was probably the nicest part of the hike. Beautiful day. I wish I'd started out sooner.