{"id":15544,"date":"2020-04-08T00:26:18","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T04:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=15544"},"modified":"2020-04-08T00:26:18","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T04:26:18","slug":"mount-misery-connecticut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2020\/04\/08\/mount-misery-connecticut\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unhappy History Of Mount Misery, Connecticut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note:<\/strong> Nonrequired travel between New England states is not recommended during the coronavirus pandemic. As of April 5, the state of Connecticut was warning: “Travelers: Any person coming into Connecticut by any mode of transportation for any reason is strongly urged to <\/i>self-quarantine<\/a> for 14 days.” This is on top of the the <\/i>Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection<\/a>‘s\u00a0announcement by March 23, 2020, that\u00a0\u201cthe trails and grounds of Connecticut State Parks and Forests are open for solitary outdoor enjoyment. If you plan to visit a park, it should be for solitary recreation, not group activities.”<\/i><\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View from Mount Misery overlook in Pachaug State Forest, Connecticut, Aug. 25, 2018. (Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An article from Wonderland’s series about Miserable Places<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

They say the name Mount Misery comes from the lousy farming conditions English colonists found when they settled Voluntown, Connecticut, in the early 1700s. Now the 441-foot-tall rise in Pachaug State Forest\u2014at the eastern end of the state, just over the border from Rhode Island\u2014is recommended as a pleasant place for viewing fall foliage or to stop on your way to the nearby Rhododendron Sanctuary Trail, which blooms spectacularly in June and July.<\/p>\n

“It’s the most popular trail in the Pachaug,\u201d David Lees of Norwich, a retired computer programmer who maintains the blue-blazed Pachaug Trail that leads to Mount Misery, told New London\u2019s The Day newspaper<\/a> in 2010.<\/p>\n

The mild climb from the trailhead at Cutoff Road through pitch pines, white pines and highbush blueberries to the top of Misery takes about a half-hour. The rocky rise offers an okay view of oak, maple, white pine, red and white cedar, and eastern hemlock forest\u2014all the way to Rhode Island.<\/p>\n