[at-l] Re:

[Cosmo.A.Catalano@xxxxxxxxxxxx (cosmo catalano, jr.)]

I'll risk adding to the clarification:

We have three trails here:

The AT--which as you know runs N-S, generally--is parallel to, about
2 miles west and 1500-2000ft higher than Undermountain Rd, also known
as Route 41.

The Undermountain Trail is a blue blaze access trail between Rt 41
and the AT.  It runs E-W.  There is a parking lot where this trail
meets Rt 41.

The Paradise Lane Trail branches north off the Undermountain Trail
and runs more or less parallel to the AT, traversing the eastern
skirts of Bear Mtn.  It rejoins the AT after it descends the northern
slope of Bear Mtn, and just before the AT reaches the Sages Ravine
area.  It is an attractive trail, passing through dense stands of
Mountain Laurel.  Try it in early June!

The combination of the Undermountain Trail and the Paradise Lane
Trail create a bypass of the summit of Bear Mtn.

The possible route (not a trail) that David was asking about in his
initial  post is a direct (on paper anyway)  E-W route between the AT
at Sages and Rt 41.   It looks like it would be a fairly easy
scramble up Sawmill Brook (which runs through Sages), but as I
described in my earlier post it is most definitely not.

Interestingly, the Sages area is the heart of nearly 17 miles of AT
between CT Rt 41 (south of the afore mentioned Undermountain Trail
parking lot) and Jug End Road in Mass.  This is one of the longest
stretches of AT uninterrupted by road crossings in southern New
England.  Not until you are crossing Glastonbury Mtn in Vermont are
you as far from a road (22 mile "roadless" section between Rt 9 and
Arlington-West Wardsboro Rd.).

Normally, I'm not a person who believes in controlling access to
public lands and supplanting a person's own sense of personal
responsibility with official big-brotherism.  However, when people
get hurt in this area we don't just leave them there to get
themselves out on their own--or not.  We ask hard working mothers,
fathers, sisters, and brothers to put their own lives on hold and go
out into known hazards to help those with a less developed sense of
personal accountability.

Trolling lightly,

Cosmo

At 12:21 PM -0500 2/26/03, Mark Hudson wrote:
>Just in case I might have confused anybody other than myself, the
>Undermountain Trail runs from Undermountain Rd just north of Salisbury Ct
>up to Bear Mt, NOT Sages Ravine. The descent of Sages Ravine heading east
>is every bit as bad as Cosmo says. I do not know the status of the
>Undermountain Trail....
>
>skeeter