A very early start allowed me to get ahead of the sun, but it came with a price...  The deer flies were ferocious this morning.  

Grabbed the trail right at the Route 20, Newgate and Holcomb intersection and headed south toward Tarriffville.  Ended up with 10.2-miles in roughly 2:24:00.  

Biggest bummer today was the camera I had didn't want to work, so I missed out on some great pictures - which I hope to remedy soon.  There is a fantastic large Oak tree about 3/4-mile in from Route 20 that I've been passing by for over twenty years, and I don't think I have photographed it.  

Also, almost at the end of the Holcomb to Hatchet Hill Road section, there are two links to the past worth mentioning.  First, Charles Julian Kaiser's favorite outlook on the trail contains a footstone (which may mark Kaiser's ashes) with his name and dates of birth and death.  The stone reads "Charles Julian Kaiser, January 30, 1902 - October 9, 1952".  Secondly, I've noticed renovations to a 1770s era smallpox victim's graveyard just a half-mile or so from the road crossing.  Currently, it looks like three stones have been refurbished.  Very rewarding to see this effort being made.

Once across the street on the Tariffville section, I wandered off the Metacomet and explored Smaug's Lair and Egg Beater trails.  There is a network of routes to explore here, including Taj Mahal which I didn't get to.  

The map I am adding contains yesterday's section with today's.  Red is the Metacomet Trail, and the Yellow portions are Mountain Bike trails that veer off the main route (very nicely done, I have to add).

Hatchet Hill Peak.

 

Stone Chimney along Metacomet Trail.