Blue Blaze!

Today, one of my hiking buddies, Smalls, and I decided to “blue blaze” for a bit. That means we cut through on a shorter trail called Windsor Furnace to avoid a few miles of rock beds and higher elevation on Blue Mountain. This was actually part of the original trail.

Purists might say we cheated — but I am perfectly ok with it. We had a lovely walk along a creek and heard tons of birds. Once back on the official trail, we still had plenty of miles of rocks and hills.

We also had time for a leisurely lunch at the Eckville Shelter, which is a shed behind a beautiful old farm house owned by the National Park Service.Read more