Two dozen very early risers joined the Granby Land Trust for its 2023 Connecticut Trails Day Here Comes the Sun Hike on the GLT’s Old Messenger Road Corridor properties. The hike started at 4:30 a.m., and we had visitors from as far away as Rocky Hill and Brooklyn. It was a peaceful time to be in the woods and a beautiful way to start the day. We started in the dark, but soon there was a hint of daybreak in the sky, accompanied by the wake-up calls of a wood thrush, veery and ovenbird.
We hiked to Scarlet Tanager Lookout on the Schlicht Preserve, and watched the eastern horizon brighten as dawn broke over Connecticut. The walk finished with a visit to the old Messenger homestead and the pristine Mountain Brook. By 6:15 a.m. we were back at the trailhead parking lot, having already made some new friends on a Saturday morning, and feeling grateful to have experienced the morning together in this incredibly beautiful place.
