There were two trails on tap for the day. Both were just under three miles each. The first was rocky with great views. The second trail was nice and level through a swamp.
Schooley’s Mountain Park, named after the Schooley family who owned the land in the 1790's, offers a small lake, a series of waterfalls, some nice scenery and a series of short and long hiking trails. I chose a double loop that would hit the park’s highlights.
If I had known what was in store later in the day, I would have gone further.
From the parking lot, it’s a short walk down a gravel path to George Lake. I passed a group who were just starting to set up for a wedding. Perfect day for it.
This is where it starts too get interesting. The blue trail heads down a rocky slope to run alongside the Electric Brook. There are plenty of loose stones on the slope, some partially obscured by the fallen leaves.
Of course, I learned this out the hard way. But, I did protect the camera. The view...
At the base of the last waterfall, the trail starts going up, past a series of boulders. On the far side of the boulders is the best scenic overlook on the trail, and the one alongside every trail description from the park.
Eventually, you can simply take a nice wide path back to the parking lot, or add a couple of loops. I did add another short loop and was glad I did.
Less than a half hour from this park is the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. There’s an easy two and a half mile loop trail through the swamp. With all the rain lately, it might make for interesting photography. With no street address to punch into the GPS, I tried the phone and google.
At the entrance of the Great Swamp, I was greeted by a red sign saying “All trails closed.” Bummed, I did ask in the visitors center. The neighboring land is owned by the local towns. Today was a “Deer Population Management” day in the form of a youth hunt. The preserve closes for our own safety.
Eric, my god friend from fourth grade was working the previous night, so we met at the town diner, just as the sun was starting to set.
After a great dinner, we drove across town to Untied Brewery. When we grew up here, no restaurant had a liquor license and we had no bars. So, the idea of a brewery seemed a little strange. We stayed until last call at 11P telling storied and catching up. A great way to end the day.
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