Sean Henri

The Housatonic

October 25, 2010 // 4 Comments  // Add yours »

This was taken from the overlook at Little-Laurel Lime Ridge in Seymour while hiking this past weekend. It's one of my favorite views in the valley and another reason why I love Connecticut.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Connecticut, New England, Seymour, CT, The Outdoors, USA | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (4)

A Tri-State Hike: Brace Mountain to Mount Frissell

March 24, 2010 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

This past weekend my friends and I drove to Taconic State Park in New York for our first major hike of the year. We took the South Taconic Trail, which brought us along the top of Brace Mountain and then over to Mount Frissel, Connecticut's highest point.

It was a steep climb when we first started off but the views were rewarding.  From the top of Brace Mountain we could see clear across the Hudson Valley and even as far as the Catskill Mountains.  At the top we came across three paragliders who were having a bit of trouble due to the strong winds.  We stuck around about 20 minutes or so to watch a launch only to see the guy spin upside down and then crash into the bushes - a firm reminder why I avoid doing that sort of thing.

From the top of Brace Mountain we continued on for about another 2.5 miles along the ridgeline towards Mt. Frissell, the highest point in Connecticut. The peak of Mt. Frissell is actually in Massachusetts, but the south slop lies across the Connecticut line and is slightly higher than Bear Mountain, the highest peak in the state. 

It wasn't the most enjoyable part of the hike.  Along the way the trail dipped down a bit and suddenly we were walking through a foot of melting snow. We made a quick stop at the tri-state marker and at the CT high point before eating a late lunch and heading back towards Brace Mountain for a few more great views of the Hudson Valley.

Continue reading "A Tri-State Hike: Brace Mountain to Mount Frissell"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Adventure, BlogSherpa, Catskills, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New England, New York, New York State, Taconic Mountains, The Outdoors, Travel, USA | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (2)

Driving from Yellowstone to Connecticut in a rental truck

November 23, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Yellowstone National Park for a work. The company I work for had been selected to restore nearly 200 lighting fixtures from the historic Old Faithful Lodge , so my co-worker and I were sent there to photograph the fixtures and then drive them roughly 2,800 miles across America back to Connecticut. (Project details here.)

The trip started in Salt Lake City, where we picked up our 16' rental truck, a bunch of packing supplies and a ton of snacks for the road.  That afternoon we drove nearly non-stop for 600+ miles through Utah and Idaho to West Yellowstone in Montana where we crashed for the night.

Since Yellowstone closes to the public for the month of November, we were one of the very few people within the 3468 square miles of the park when we drove in the next morning.  That meant if something were to go wrong, we' would pretty-much on our own. Fortunately we made it in and out without incident. No flat tires, no angry bison attacks, and no geyser burns. 

Since I was there for work I didn't explore the park as much as I would have liked to, but I did manage to see some cool stuff, including several geysers and a ton of wildlife including some bison and wolves.  The lodge where we were working was literally right along-side the Old Faithful Geyser, so every 90 minutes or so we'd take a short break to watch it go. We actually had to hike up to a scenic overlook of the geyser basin to sign the paperwork so we could leave - not exactly the worst way to spend a work-day.

The drive back took us several days, with brief stops at Belgrade in Montana, Mount Rushmore, Sioux Falls in South Dakota, and Chicago.  After a good night's rest in Indiana and a quick meal in Ohio, we pushed straight through back to Connecticut and got home early Saturday.  It wasn't exactly the classic all-American road trip, but it was still a great experience.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Cross-Country Road Trip 2009, Photos, Road Trips, The Outdoors, Travel, Work Life | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Bulls Bridge

October 28, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

My friend Mindy and I have been going on little adventures the past few weekends. Recently we drove up towards Litchfield County on a quest for some food and hot apple cider. We were successful, but only after wandering around for a bit near Bulls Bridge in Kent  - one of the few remaining covered bridges in the state.    

There's a bunch of cool stuff in the area.  There's the bridge, rapids, a scenic overlook, and a huge waterfall coming from a power station just a short distance up river.  The hiking trails bring right down along the water and eventually will connect you to the Appalachian Trail.

We did eventually find our cider at a small cafe tucked away in the corner of a shopping area in the center of Kent. In line next to us was Seth MacFarlane and Mila Kunis. We didn't recognize them at first but after hearing them talk for a bit we realized who it was.

If you want directions to Bulls Bridge I've got a short write-up of the area on the Connecticut Weekender here.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Connecticut, The Outdoors, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Roxbury's Mine Hill

July 31, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Driving around and looking for things to write about for the Connecticut Weekender has led me to find a ton of cool places that I never knew exisited, including a park called the Mine Hill Preserve in Roxbury, CT. The park's trails wind through a 19th century mining area, passing over 2 miles of an abandoned mine shaft and massive blasting furnaces.   I was hiking there this past weekend with my friend Amber when I snapped these photos.  You can find more about the park here.

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The view from Castle Craig

April 08, 2009 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

Following a morning walk through Central Park on Sunday, I took a train back to Connecticut and drove up to Meriden's Hubbard Park. 

The trail up was a bit disappointing at first.  It was very flat and ran along a highway, but then you hit this footbridge that brings you over the highway and closer towards the ridge and it gets much more interesting.  You cross a wooden bridge, pass a natural spring, and then the trial gets very steep, very fast. 

The view from the top is one of the best I've seen in Connecticut. There's a plaque there that claims the tower has the distinction of being the highest point within 25 miles of the coast between Florida and Maine, but I've read that this isn't true.  Still, it's an amazing view.  You can see Sleeping Giant State Park, New Haven, and the outline of Long Island far off in the distance.   If you're not a hiker but still want to check it out, there's a road that will take you straight to the tower.

I've posted more info about Castle Craig and Hubbel Park including additional photos and a trail map here.

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Kayaking in the Sound

August 20, 2008 // 5 Comments  // Add yours »

I did some kayaking out in Long Island sound this afternoon. Amazing weather and nice, calm waters.  A perfect way to wind down after a stressful commute. 

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Connecticut, Kayaking, Long Island Sound, The Outdoors | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (5)

Sunday Driving

July 20, 2008 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

My original plans were to check out the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT with my friend Mindy.  But somehow or another we missed the exit, and ended up taking a 200 mile road trip through New York and the Litchfield County instead.   It was a fun, relaxing, destination-less drive. We passed a few abandoned insane asylums, discussed the feasibility of the vegetarian lifestyle, blasted a few Beatles albums, and passed a few apple-eating deer.

As we were heading back we stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Yankee Pedlar Inn in downtown Torrington.  It's worth a visit if you've never been to a 19th century style tavern, but I'd recommend checking it out on a Friday or a Saturday night when there might be more people around.  While we both enjoyed the food, the lack of other patrons and the dead silence that resulted made it feel a bit creepy. 

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Food and Drink, Road Trips, The Outdoors | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (3)

Kayaking/Canoeing with Crew 33

September 30, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

There's a program within the BSA called Venturing.  It's co-ed, and is focused more on the high-adventure type activities and is supposed to be a way to keep the older kids interested and active in the scouting program.  I've signed on to be one of the "Crew Advisors", and while it's taken me a while to ease back into the flow of things, so far I've enjoyed it.

This weekend we took the crew on an overnight kayaking/canoing trip up the Housatonic River.  There were 3 adults including myself, and 7 crew members.  We started off at Indian Well State Park and went about 4 miles up the river to this little cottage right along the water that's only accessible by boat or by foot.

The adults were in kayaks, the boys were in canoes, and the two girls were riding a motorboat with some food and equipment in it.  Some of them in the canoes were doing really well, but then some of the others wimped out and ended up getting towed by the girls.

We had some good food at night.  We all cooked calzones and ate some s'mores by our campfire.  I was insanely tired by the end of the day so I had absolutely no problem falling asleep at night.  The weather was perfect for a good night's rest as well.

In the morning we enjoyed some french toast and about 4 pounds of bacon, shot off a few rounds with the potato gun, and then packed up and headed home.  It was a good time.  Our next trip might be an overnighter on one of the Norwalk islands sometime in the late spring, but we'll see what happens.

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Ten miles along the Appalachian Trail

September 01, 2007 // 6 Comments  // Add yours »

If you're living in CT and you're not sure what to do during a free day, I suggest taking a hike along the Appalachian Trail.  The trail is over 2,000 miles long, running all the way from Maine to northern Georgia.  In Connecticut, it runs through the northwest corner of Litchfield County over some of the state's highest peaks.

I went for a hike yesterday with my friends Amber and Bret, with the goal of reaching the top of Bear Mountain.  With an elevation of 2,316 feet, it's Connecticut's highest peak.  We started off on a trail about five miles south of the mountain.  There's a parking area that's only a short drive from the town center in Salisbury which brings you right to the beginning of the trail.  After passing through a few fields we started a quick climb up the hill where we met up with the Appalachian Trail.  From there we continued to the top of "Lion's Head" (1,738 feet) which gave us a seemingly endless view of Connecticut.  If you're ever looking for a quick hike that offers great views, I strongly suggest giving this one a try.

We didn't stop there.  Our destination was still another 4 miles away.  From the top of Lion's Head we made a quick descent down a very steep and rocky path and then the trail gradually flattened out.  The trail gave us a pretty smooth hike for several more miles.  We passed by 3 different campsites along the way to Bear Mountain, two of which had natural sources of water.

We kept seeing postings that warned us of recent black bear sightings, so Amber was getting a little bit scared.  It was every man (and woman) for themselves if we were ever to get attacked.  Amber had the shortest legs, so she'd probably be the first to go.

By the time we reached the bottom of Bear Mountain we had successfully completed 4.5 miles without any bear sightings.  We were in good shape.  The hike hadn't been as bad as we thought it would be.  The climb up the top finally gave us some strenuous hiking, although it wasn't half as bad as I had expected.  As you climb upwards the trees gradually disappear and there's only small bushes and other plants covering the landscape.  We had some incredible views as we climbed up towards the top.  We were able to look back behind us and see where we had began, and off to our left we could see the Taconic Mountains in New York and the hills of Connecticut to our right. 

At the top there is an eight foot tall pyramid made of large stones that was built in 1885.  I tried reading the stone plaque at the base of it to find out who had put it there, but it was very difficult to read.  We hung out on the top for about a half hour to catch our breath and to take in the views, and made a few phone calls to brag to our friends that we were the highest three people in the state at the moment.

Shortly after we began our hike back, we ran into some thru-hikers.  These guys had started hiking the Appalachian Trail back in Georgia sometime around mid-April and had just made it to Connecticut.  I asked them if they thought it was worth it and one of them enthusiastically told me "absolutely".  He said he had quit his job and spent all his savings to pull it off.  They expected to make it to the end of the trail in Maine in about six more weeks.  Their body oder was overwhelming so we kept a good distance.

The hike back was much easier.  We went much faster and took a few less breaks because we wanted to make it back before sunset.  By the time we reached the top of Lion's Head the sun had already gone down, so our last mile was unfortunately in the dark.  By the time we finished we had been hiking for over 4 1/2 hours, but other than some minor pain from a few small blisters we were feeling pretty good.

We're gonna try to do a full days hike along the trail soon, and then stay overnight at one of the campsites.  I'm hoping to go the first weekend in October when the foliage is at its peak. 

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Another good day for hiking

August 29, 2007 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

My friend Amber and I and a few others went hiking at Sleeping Giant State Park again today.  We had much better weather this time around but not as much time, so we didn't make it all the way to the observation tower but still got some great views.  We hiked the blue trail again, which is the hardest trail in the park.  We actually ran a part of it.  Tomorrow we're gonna try a new place, and I'm sure I'll bring my camera along again.

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Hiking in Hamden

August 26, 2007 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

My friend Amber and I went out for some intense hiking today at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden.  It was insanely hot and I was an idiot who wore jeans so I felt like I was near death the whole time.  Before I had left I took a look out the window and it looked like it was cloudy and cool so I thought I would be fine, but I was quite wrong.  But hey, I survived.

If you aren't familiar with the park, the reason it's called Sleeping Giant is because from a distance the hill actually looks like a tree covered sleeping giant.  We took the blue trail which goes up along the "head" to the "chin" and then over to the observation tower.  It was a good 2 hour hike I think.  Good times.  More pictures in the "Newest Pics" album.

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Look at me, I'm Kevin Henri! Wooo!

August 17, 2007 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

So I was at Osbournedale with my girlfriend Kate the other day and took some pictures and I felt like uploading them on Sean's website. Glorious. More behind the cut.

Continue reading "Look at me, I'm Kevin Henri! Wooo!"

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Clones in Milford

July 22, 2007 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

A few experimental photos of mine taken during a great day of biking along the Milford coastline:

More new pics in the pictures section.  Go check 'em out.

This weekend was perfect.  My friends were shockingly active.  My friend Nick Moore even invited me to a bar... which was monumental.  Nick Moore NEVER goes to bars.  Everybody was full of ideas and people felt like being outside for once.  It was great.  Bryan and I jumped into my car early Saturday and took spontaneous road trip down US-1 into Fairfield county.  After a $4 red bull and an $8 roast beef sandwich in Westport we kept on going and found ourselves in downtown Greenwich.  This was my first time down there so I really enjoyed it.  Lot's of places to shop (even though 99% of the stores are targeted towards women), nice people, shockingly clean streets, and a bunch of restaurants and bars to chose from.  It felt like a fake Europe (Feurope).  We stopped in a small pub to take a quick break and to grab a drink.  Two beers costs us twenty bucks before the tip.  So we jumped in the car and I was running a little low on gas.  Pull into a gas station - $3.55 a gallon.  That's 50 cents more per gallon then it was that same day just a few miles over in New Haven county.

That night I was off to Stonebridge and Archie Moore's with Patti and company.

Today - several hours of biking along the beach in Milford, a quick jog, some intense Ireland trip planning, and some incredible homemade sheppard's pie, courtesy of my brother and my friend Brooke.  We even made some deep fried Oreos for dessert.

Great weekend.  It's been a while since I could say that.

In conclusion I'd like to point out that my friend Brooke has the fattest cat I've ever seen.

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