Mount Frissell, Connecticut 2,380 feet

Climbed 6/30/2002

The highest point in Connecticut is not actually the top of a mountain. Rather, it is the point on the south slope of Mount Frissell where the Connecticut state line passes through. The summit is is Massachusetts.

After visiting High Point, New Jersey in the morning, we cut across southern New York to reach Salisbury, Connecticut. It was a pleasant drive through the countryside, across the Hudson River and along the Taconic Parkway. We stopped for lunch at a diner in the quaint little town of Millerton. We arrived in Salisbury and checked into a motel by mid-afternoon. It was too early for dinner, and the town was too sleepy to provide much diversion, so we decided to tackle Mount Frissell that afternoon.

Mike's GPS device came in handy for finding the trailhead. We drove north out of town on a dirt road that led into Massachusetts. We knew that the trail began just on the Connecticut side of the state line, but unfortunately the state line was not marked on the road. We drove until the GPS said we'd crossed into Massachusetts, turned back to the last turnout we had passed, then looked for and found the trail.

The start of the trail was filled with blooming laurels

The trail lead us up and down hills, showing us a view then dropping back down into the trees. A few spots required scrambling over rocks. It was a hot and humid afternoon, a preview of the sauna we would experience in New York City later in the week.

Our clothes were soaked with sweat by the time we paused at the bald summit of Round Top after a half mile. As we replenished our fluids we admired the view of Mount Frissell to the west northwest and Mount Riga Lake to the south.

Scrambling down from Round Top alongside more laurel

It wasn't as far to the summit of Mount Frissell as it had looked from Round Mountain. We didn't stop, since the summit was not our final destination. Instead, we continued along the trail that approached the summit from the other direction. A few hundred yards down the trail is a rock cairn next to "the green stake," which is the two-inch high marker labeling the state line and the highpoint. Right where the GPS said it would be. A small US flag flew from the top of the cairn.

South shoulder of Mount Frissell. Hiking time to the high point: 1.5 hours.

We sat next to the cairn for a few minutes watching the afternoon sun gleam off of Mount Riga Lake. On our way back over Mount Frissell, we stopped and signed the summit register, which hung from a tree.

Signing the summit register in Massachussetts