Day 2, 17 May 2008

Start: Sand Hill Rd

End: Johnson Rd(just off Rte 49)

This was another loop, going west on the Narragansett Trail to rte 49 and then returning on Rte 49 and Sand Hill Rd.

A Saturday, it was raining when I got up, but stopped early and an at some point in the walk cleared up so nicely that by the time I got to Tom Wheeler Rd there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The first part of this goes over several vernal brook crossing that were flowing, the section from Tom Wheeler to rte 49 crosses though a sportsman club that is posted "no hikers" from Oct to March. There was some sort of child's fishing derby just starting other than that-like the last leg-I saw no other people on this hike

I had my reservations about walking the dog on Rte 49,which I know from bicycling but did it anyway, as I knew that the short section goes by some nice old farmhouses. A nice ridge view was offered over the fields. At one pinch point we were almost wiped out by an SUV, who seemed to speed up way past the posted 45 to make a point. An interesting thing seen was a stone milestone, age undetermined, "11 miles P.B." which I took to mean Pawcutuck Bridge way south, about 11 miles?

The return on Sand Hill Rd was nice and quiet, developed a little at first but with old farm sites at the end and then state forest.

We stopped to rest by a field that was full of singing warblers, some dancing close to us in the air and a few perched a few feet away on the branches. Once back in the state forest we came across a tiny waterfall, that came from a horizontal crack in a giant rock ledge

day's distance: 5.4 miles. Total distance: 9.9 miles. linear east/west in CT now 2.5 miles.

Next leg: Narragansett Trail from Johnson Rd to Wyapsup Lake.