Prospect Mt

The Prospect Mt section was my last stretch of the Mattatuck Trail. I parked on Cathole road near the clearly marked trailhead.

 The trail is co-continuous with a yellow blazed trail initially as you go by a bunch of old mine pits. Eventually the blue blazed Mattatuck trail heads left and slabs along side the side of the ridge. It goes through a bunch of interesting rocky areas and ravines.

Eventually it pops out on the south summit which is nice and open but not much in the way of views.

The trail continues along the long summit ridge eventually reaching the north summit which does have some nice views. This is also where the yellow trail comes back in. Evidence of recent logging in the area.

 From the summit the trail drops sharply to a col and then climbs another bump and passes by a grove of old trees labelled the Gagarin Grove. No idea where the name comes from. The trail drops down to another parking area on a dirt road. What appears to be another water filled mine is right by the road.

 I retraced my steps to the north summit and then followed the yellow trail back just for a change. It appears to be a much shorter route. It drops quickly off the ridge through some interesting rocks and then is mostly a woods walk back to the trail junction.

Total hike distance around 3.5 miles and it took a bit under 2 hours. Interesting area to hike and well worth a visit.