October dead water, New Britain Reservoir feeder stream, Wolcott, Connecticut. October 19, 2019, 2:35 PM.

St. Mary of the Oaks Shrine in Cross Plains, Wisconsin

A tiny 1857 chapel sits on top of a secluded, forested hill.

Rainy day autumn walk, Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. October 16, 2019, 6:09PM.

At the moment, the app provides sensible results: actual trails walked by actual people, often with photos and a nice description and properties of the trail and site. Given that it's little more than recorded GPS traces from real people, there's a wide variety of places, including cities, villages, fields, and mountains. On foot, bicycle, and even other forms of transportation.

No affiliation, I just find the app actually useful in its present form. Here is to hoping it won't change.

Pink and purple sunset over Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut on August 21, 2021 at 7:41 PM.

They say a rainy November day in Connecticut can be dreary, but sometimes you just need to look around and look closer. Finch Brook Preserve, Wolcott, Connecticut. November 7, 2019, 4:24 PM.

June 3, 1983: The fourteen miles of trail between Little Rock Knob and Hump Mountain traversed one of the most superb stretches of scenery I have ever encountered. The climb up Hump was a bear, but views from every inch of the trail lightened the load.

More of My 1983 Hike in Photos at

Peaceful easy feeling sunset (h/t Glenn Frey). New Britain Reservoir, Southington, Connecticut. April 15, 2020, 6:54 PM.

I've seen a lot of empty hornets nests on the trail this year. It makes for a lovely late fall decoration.
(11/17/23)

Bark.
(11/17/23)

Autumn ravine. Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut. October 27, 2022, 4:04 PM.

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May 2, 1983: I woke up to the sound of freight trains. One after another, they came clattering up from the distant mountain range to the west, circled the woods around my tent, and churned off toward the eastern horizon. My tent was pitched in a small, grassy clearing on the summit of Frosty Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia.

Annual birthday trip is in the books! Had a great time the at Hillsborough River State Park. Beautiful way to start a new year.

Fire on the Mountain, Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut. November 7, 2023, 4:19 PM.

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August 16, 1983: Today began with the final three-and-a-half miles of the Taconic Range: Mount Bushnell with its excellent views, Jug End with more extensive views, and a series of nice lookouts in between. Jug End in particular was outstanding.

The whole arklow mtb trails had been recently burnt in a fuel reduction burn. Lots of trees down. This was the biggest, and it has already been turned into a new feature!

I feel the need to tread carefully as I caption a pic of rock hard old wood. Fossilized remains of ancient trees, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, March 1984.

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September 1, 1983: The trail descended past a water source called Hairy Root Spring (I know sounds yummy, doesnt it) to the shores of Wachipauka Pond, the mountain tarn I had just seen from above. The AT crossed a marshy area and climbed over a wooded hill before dropping down to state road 25, another small two-lane highway,

Camp V in Naturita, Colorado

Stay in a luxury cabin or refurbished Airstream in this former mining camp-turned-retreat.

Pink swirl sunset. Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. June 15, 2020, 8:45 PM.

A silent landscape almost without color. Few birds around all day, no frogs or insects. Barely a wisp of breeze. On the threshold of spring, Lost Ponds, Mattatuck State Forest, Plymouth, Connecticut. March 25, 2019, 5:17 PM.

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June 19, 1983: A vast open field, Symms Gap Meadow, ran across the crest towards the middle of the ridge walk. Some decent views through the haze into West Virginia gave me the bit of a lift I needed. I made somewhat better time over the last half of the day, although I was still not impressive.

Crescent moon at sunset, reflected in that puddle alongside the inlet stream. New Britain Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. October 4, 2019, 6:42 PM.

The quiet time in the forest between winter and spring. Warm(ish) sunshine and not much to block it, no bugs yet. Not many hikers. Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut. March 6, 2023, 4:07 PM.

hiking railtrails reviews maps

Mt Moosilauke, White Mountains New Hampshire
5 7.4-7.9 miles Medium difficulty

Hiawatha Trail in Mullan, Idaho

Cross the Continental Divide through an old railroad tunnel, and ride back to the top on a shuttle.

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May 17, 1983: I finally made my way back to the shelter no rides, so it was another 3-mile walk in Fontana. You would not think this would bother me, with all the walking I am already doing on this trip, but my legs and the bloody stumps I use for feet have only so many miles in them on any given day, and I hoard these like a miser.

For more information about these trails, visit https://raresites. org/trails/ The seasonal trails will reopen in March, pending safety checks.

Rising sun greets a beautiful spring day at Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. April 6, 2021, 7:29 AM

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July 12, 1983: Not far past the shelter, the Appalachian Trail left the canal path, crossed the B&0 Railroad tracks, passed under US 340, and began the ascent of South Mountain. That is the long ridge I will be following throughout Maryland and into southern Pennsylvania. The climb was not all that bad.

Evening tranquility, New Britain Reservoir, Southington, Connecticut. October 22, 2017, 5:36 PM.

Boundary Line Between Alameda and Contra Costa - Daily Alta California, Volume 29, Number 10060, 24 October 1877

Castro's Party.

The surveying party under Luis Castro are in the field and are encountering some of the roughest work they will have to meet on the entire line between this county and Contra Costa county. They commenced at the bay shore line near San Pablo, and have progressed as far as Redwood Peak, which is distant some ten miles from this city, in northeasterly direction, and near where Prince and Brown had lumber mills when those redwoods were in their prime. The party will see some rough work yet. The boundary line crosses some fearfully wild canyons, and traverses the section of country known as the "Rocky Ridge." They will be some three or four weeks in completing the survey.

Jose Luis del Refugio Castro was the grandson of Luis Maria Peralta...

A lingering flash of autumn. Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut. November 7, 2023, 4:41 PM.

Autumn storm blowing in, Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. October 13, 2020, 5:28 PM.

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June 28, 1983: The hike began with a long ascent along a spur ridge to the main ridge crest at the top of a peak called Little Rocky Row. At first, the AT climbed through lush, green forests in various stages of growth. Stately old trees like those surrounding the shelter hung on for a while, gradually dwindling into forests of intermediate age.

The Ft. Bayard recreation area is a great place to go running. It's got miles of trails through beautiful country. And, unlike a lot of places around here, the trails are mostly non-technical. It makes for a good place to just get out and go.

The sky is crying (h/t Elmore James). Summer is gone and autumn is fleeting. Scoville Reservoir, Wolcott, Connecticut. October 13, 2020, 5:20 PM.

"Stupid is, as stupid does." Forest Gump

Google Maps charts "fake trails" Really Why

I've used Google Maps to chart trails & they've all seemed to be reliable but I also use MapMyHike which I use for elevation/distance too. So, I've got a fallback but it amazes me how people will use Google Maps & follow routes (whether real or not) indiscriminately w/o regard for common sense & their own safety.

Reminds me of the story or the tech guy who was traveling w/his family east to west from Ukiah over the coastal mts on a backroad (that few local's even use), who followed the Google Maps recommended route despite the fact that it began to snow & the road became extremely difficult to negotiate in the family car w/o snow tires that he was traveling in, who then was stopped by the snow & then burned his tires to stay warm and then tried to walk out cross country (not by following the road back) who died in the process but fortunately his wife & child survived.

November sunshine, Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden, Connecticut. November 7, 2023, 2:46 PM.

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May 3, 1983: Temperatures dropped considerably last night when the wind kicked up and stayed down today. Rather late on a cool, damp morning, I set out from Frosty Mountain, having smoked my last two cigarettes with breakfast.

MOMENTS of SEEING