Collinsville
Where: Collinsville, CT
When: 9/9/95-9/10/95
With: Chip, David, Seth
When: 9/9/95-9/10/95
With: Chip, David, Seth
This was an...unusual trip.
It was decided that a Mutually Stupid camping trip was needed. Since Seth had recently moved to Collinsville, Connecticut, and none of us had been down to see his new digs, it seemed like a good idea to go there and find a place to hike in that neck of the woods. Seth was contacted and agreed to be there when we showed up and plans were made to have Chip and David meet at my house for the beginning of the journey.
All was well until the night before the trip. Chip called to say that his neck was acting up and he was in bad shape, and Dave had a bad back and was unlikely to join us. I was also less than 100%, though I can't recall what the problem was. So there we were, a bunch of old guys complaining about our aches and pains!
The next morning, the phone rang and it was Dave, bowing out. I told him I understood but mentioned that none of us seemed up for major effort. In fact, I said, we might just wind up sleeping on Seth's floor! He hemmed and hawed and said he might just come out to my place for breakfast, but not to really expect him. The rest of the morning was spent playing with Andy and waiting for Chip, who wound up arriving in the late morning. I happened to be outside with Andy and Jane and a neighbor when he drove in. We were still outside, chatting, when Dave arrived. Things were looking up.
We went inside, did some house tours and then set off in Chip's car for Collinsville. Dave rode in the back, where he could stretch out to avoid problems with his back. The ride down was uneventful...a straight run to Hartford on route 84 and then an exit onto the roads to Seth's place. Since we were going off Chip's handwritten interpretation of directions Seth had given over the phone, there was some confusion, but for the most part we had no problems. Nothing, that is, until we got into Collinsville. We wound up spending a fair amount of time driving around small roads before finally finding Seth's place.
Seth's place was the top floor of a somewhat rundown old Victorian. Collinsville was an old factory town, manufacturing axes mostly, but now the factory was closed and the town was something of an artist colony. Its location on the Farmington river also made it a hot spot for boating/kayaking/fishing. Most of the houses we saw had seen better days, but it was still a pretty place.
We hung out with Seth a while and discussed the plans for the weekend. Since no one seemed up for anything really strenuous, we decided to find someplace local and easy to get to. Seth didn't have much in the way of maps, so we took a walk to visit a friend of his who had some stuff. Like most others in Collinsville, his friend was an artist and it turned into a visit, a map check, and an art tour all in one.
After quite some discussion, we decided to head for a local woods that supposedly had a shelter. The plan was to walk in, check the place out, and if the shelter existed and looked good, we'd come back for the gear and go back in to spend the night. We went back to Seth's, packed up what we needed for the day, and then headed out. First stop was Seth's office, just to see that it existed, then a sandwich place for some late lunch, then a liquor store, and then to the woods.
We found a parking place at the forest easily enough and walked in. It was a nice place. Old roads winding through the woods, with some small hills and meadows. Not too many other folks - some hikers and mountain bikers were all we met. Using the map we'd borrowed, we headed sort of toward where we thought the shelter might be, but mostly we were looking for out-of-the-way places to explore.
After a bit of walking, we stumbled into an overgrown meadow and decided to stop and eat. We spent a good amount of time there, eating, drinking, talking, painting (I'd brought some water colors), and generally messing around. It was a nice day and it was pleasant to just be outdoors. Eventually, we decided to get going and off we went in search of the shelter. The next few hours were spent wandering around in the woods, following old roads and paths, trying to decide where we were on the map and where we needed to go.
At last, after a number of dead-ends and retracing of steps, we found ourselves on a long path that lead to the river. We crossed a well-travelled dirt road, avoided at least one car, and then walked down to the water. For a bit we all just relaxed on the rocks, and then I brought out a collapsible fly rod and tried a bit of fly fishing. Chip tried a few casts also while Dave and Seth watched.
As it turned out, our map skills had indeed brought us to the shelter site, but the shelter was long gone...just a big clearing above the dirt road now. It was getting late anyway, and the idea of hiking out and then hiking back in with gear didn't seem attractive. We kept the road in mind and thought we might be able to drive back in, but in the meantime we decided to just hike back out the way we'd come in and get back to the car.
The walk out went pretty quickly since we weren't wandering quite so much, and soon we were back at the car. We explored a bit on the drive out and did manage to find the dirt road and drive up it to where we'd been sitting. An idea was proposed to drive out, buy a Frisbee, have dinner, and then drive back in and camp for the night. There wasn't a lot of enthusiasm for the plan, but it was indeed a plan. Unfortunately, the Frisbee part killed it. We drove to several different stores and couldn't find a Frisbee anywhere. Finally admitting defeat, we returned to Seth's and decided to just hang out there for the night.
So, our "camping" trip turned out to be a homemade pasta dinner, an evening of music making, television watching, and general merriment, and sleeping bags on the floor of Seth's "living room". It was actually quite pleasant, all in all.
The next morning, we started our day with breakfast at a diner on the outskirts of town. We were a bit grubby and Chip was concerned that we'd stand out too much in the crowd, but the only incident worth noting was the fact that the waitress kept forgetting to bring us our coffee! After breakfast, we went back to town and Seth led us on a walking tour of the area. We started at the old factory, now turned into artist areas. A rather neat place, with old waterways and gears and such.
We walked through the main area, chatted a bit with an artist acquaintance of Seth's, and then headed downstream along the riverbank. The area was a town or state forest area, which Seth said was a popular walking place for the locals. We could see why. Nice woods, a beautiful section of the river, and some more remnants of the factory. At a low dam in the river, we found the beginning of a power diversion...a building there was connected via a stone/cement channel to another building further downstream. The dam diverted the river through the first building, which controlled the flow and sent it down the channel to the second building, which housed electrical turbines. We explored the first building and then crossed a narrow wall top to the river side of the diversion channel, which we followed down to the generator building.
It was all rather fascinating, the old structures and all, and we had a nice lazy time chatting and checking things out before heading back. Back in town, we stopped for coffee and then went to check out the canoe/kayak rental place. It was a cool day, and a bit windy, but Chip thought a bit of boating seemed like a good idea. It took some convincing, but eventually we all agreed. After a quick trip back to Seth's for a clothing change, we returned to the rental place and soon were out on the water. Chip, Seth, and I all had small kayaks, but Dave had gotten a larger sea kayak, like the one he had at home.
Since the put-in spot was right at a large dam, the only way we could go was upstream. The wind was really quite strong, and we headed for the shore and sought some relief in the trees along the banks. The river was wide and deep at first, but soon got narrow and shallow. A couple of ripples seemed interesting, until we tried to paddle up them. Much harder than we'd expected. There was also a problem of hitting bottom, which grew worse the further upstream we went. Finally, at a sharp curve in the river, we came to a very fast moving rapid that we knew we'd never get past, so we rested a bit and then turned for home.
The trip downstream was quiet and lazy, with some fun at the occasional small set of rapids. Back down in the wide section, Chip and Dave made a landing assault on a waterski jumping ramp, making a number of mad paddling rushes at it until Chip finally managed to drive his boat up the ramp far enough so he could climb out. He walked up the ramp and proclaimed victory from the top. Meanwhile, Seth and I went exploring up a small side stream. It was a pretty little stream, but had a bit of a smell. Eventually we realized that it was the outflow from the sewage treatment plant and we turned back.
Back at the river, we met up with Chip and Dave and paddled back to the landing to return the boats. Figuring we'd finally done all we could do in Collinsville, we returned to Seth's place, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed for home. All agreed that though different, it had been a fun time, and we talked of plans for a return visit, perhaps with our own boats.
More pictures
It was decided that a Mutually Stupid camping trip was needed. Since Seth had recently moved to Collinsville, Connecticut, and none of us had been down to see his new digs, it seemed like a good idea to go there and find a place to hike in that neck of the woods. Seth was contacted and agreed to be there when we showed up and plans were made to have Chip and David meet at my house for the beginning of the journey.
All was well until the night before the trip. Chip called to say that his neck was acting up and he was in bad shape, and Dave had a bad back and was unlikely to join us. I was also less than 100%, though I can't recall what the problem was. So there we were, a bunch of old guys complaining about our aches and pains!
The next morning, the phone rang and it was Dave, bowing out. I told him I understood but mentioned that none of us seemed up for major effort. In fact, I said, we might just wind up sleeping on Seth's floor! He hemmed and hawed and said he might just come out to my place for breakfast, but not to really expect him. The rest of the morning was spent playing with Andy and waiting for Chip, who wound up arriving in the late morning. I happened to be outside with Andy and Jane and a neighbor when he drove in. We were still outside, chatting, when Dave arrived. Things were looking up.
We went inside, did some house tours and then set off in Chip's car for Collinsville. Dave rode in the back, where he could stretch out to avoid problems with his back. The ride down was uneventful...a straight run to Hartford on route 84 and then an exit onto the roads to Seth's place. Since we were going off Chip's handwritten interpretation of directions Seth had given over the phone, there was some confusion, but for the most part we had no problems. Nothing, that is, until we got into Collinsville. We wound up spending a fair amount of time driving around small roads before finally finding Seth's place.
Seth's place was the top floor of a somewhat rundown old Victorian. Collinsville was an old factory town, manufacturing axes mostly, but now the factory was closed and the town was something of an artist colony. Its location on the Farmington river also made it a hot spot for boating/kayaking/fishing. Most of the houses we saw had seen better days, but it was still a pretty place.
We hung out with Seth a while and discussed the plans for the weekend. Since no one seemed up for anything really strenuous, we decided to find someplace local and easy to get to. Seth didn't have much in the way of maps, so we took a walk to visit a friend of his who had some stuff. Like most others in Collinsville, his friend was an artist and it turned into a visit, a map check, and an art tour all in one.
After quite some discussion, we decided to head for a local woods that supposedly had a shelter. The plan was to walk in, check the place out, and if the shelter existed and looked good, we'd come back for the gear and go back in to spend the night. We went back to Seth's, packed up what we needed for the day, and then headed out. First stop was Seth's office, just to see that it existed, then a sandwich place for some late lunch, then a liquor store, and then to the woods.
We found a parking place at the forest easily enough and walked in. It was a nice place. Old roads winding through the woods, with some small hills and meadows. Not too many other folks - some hikers and mountain bikers were all we met. Using the map we'd borrowed, we headed sort of toward where we thought the shelter might be, but mostly we were looking for out-of-the-way places to explore.
After a bit of walking, we stumbled into an overgrown meadow and decided to stop and eat. We spent a good amount of time there, eating, drinking, talking, painting (I'd brought some water colors), and generally messing around. It was a nice day and it was pleasant to just be outdoors. Eventually, we decided to get going and off we went in search of the shelter. The next few hours were spent wandering around in the woods, following old roads and paths, trying to decide where we were on the map and where we needed to go.
At last, after a number of dead-ends and retracing of steps, we found ourselves on a long path that lead to the river. We crossed a well-travelled dirt road, avoided at least one car, and then walked down to the water. For a bit we all just relaxed on the rocks, and then I brought out a collapsible fly rod and tried a bit of fly fishing. Chip tried a few casts also while Dave and Seth watched.
As it turned out, our map skills had indeed brought us to the shelter site, but the shelter was long gone...just a big clearing above the dirt road now. It was getting late anyway, and the idea of hiking out and then hiking back in with gear didn't seem attractive. We kept the road in mind and thought we might be able to drive back in, but in the meantime we decided to just hike back out the way we'd come in and get back to the car.
The walk out went pretty quickly since we weren't wandering quite so much, and soon we were back at the car. We explored a bit on the drive out and did manage to find the dirt road and drive up it to where we'd been sitting. An idea was proposed to drive out, buy a Frisbee, have dinner, and then drive back in and camp for the night. There wasn't a lot of enthusiasm for the plan, but it was indeed a plan. Unfortunately, the Frisbee part killed it. We drove to several different stores and couldn't find a Frisbee anywhere. Finally admitting defeat, we returned to Seth's and decided to just hang out there for the night.
So, our "camping" trip turned out to be a homemade pasta dinner, an evening of music making, television watching, and general merriment, and sleeping bags on the floor of Seth's "living room". It was actually quite pleasant, all in all.
The next morning, we started our day with breakfast at a diner on the outskirts of town. We were a bit grubby and Chip was concerned that we'd stand out too much in the crowd, but the only incident worth noting was the fact that the waitress kept forgetting to bring us our coffee! After breakfast, we went back to town and Seth led us on a walking tour of the area. We started at the old factory, now turned into artist areas. A rather neat place, with old waterways and gears and such.
We walked through the main area, chatted a bit with an artist acquaintance of Seth's, and then headed downstream along the riverbank. The area was a town or state forest area, which Seth said was a popular walking place for the locals. We could see why. Nice woods, a beautiful section of the river, and some more remnants of the factory. At a low dam in the river, we found the beginning of a power diversion...a building there was connected via a stone/cement channel to another building further downstream. The dam diverted the river through the first building, which controlled the flow and sent it down the channel to the second building, which housed electrical turbines. We explored the first building and then crossed a narrow wall top to the river side of the diversion channel, which we followed down to the generator building.
It was all rather fascinating, the old structures and all, and we had a nice lazy time chatting and checking things out before heading back. Back in town, we stopped for coffee and then went to check out the canoe/kayak rental place. It was a cool day, and a bit windy, but Chip thought a bit of boating seemed like a good idea. It took some convincing, but eventually we all agreed. After a quick trip back to Seth's for a clothing change, we returned to the rental place and soon were out on the water. Chip, Seth, and I all had small kayaks, but Dave had gotten a larger sea kayak, like the one he had at home.
Since the put-in spot was right at a large dam, the only way we could go was upstream. The wind was really quite strong, and we headed for the shore and sought some relief in the trees along the banks. The river was wide and deep at first, but soon got narrow and shallow. A couple of ripples seemed interesting, until we tried to paddle up them. Much harder than we'd expected. There was also a problem of hitting bottom, which grew worse the further upstream we went. Finally, at a sharp curve in the river, we came to a very fast moving rapid that we knew we'd never get past, so we rested a bit and then turned for home.
The trip downstream was quiet and lazy, with some fun at the occasional small set of rapids. Back down in the wide section, Chip and Dave made a landing assault on a waterski jumping ramp, making a number of mad paddling rushes at it until Chip finally managed to drive his boat up the ramp far enough so he could climb out. He walked up the ramp and proclaimed victory from the top. Meanwhile, Seth and I went exploring up a small side stream. It was a pretty little stream, but had a bit of a smell. Eventually we realized that it was the outflow from the sewage treatment plant and we turned back.
Back at the river, we met up with Chip and Dave and paddled back to the landing to return the boats. Figuring we'd finally done all we could do in Collinsville, we returned to Seth's place, packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed for home. All agreed that though different, it had been a fun time, and we talked of plans for a return visit, perhaps with our own boats.
More pictures
