The highest point in all of Connecticut! Today a friend and I hiked to the tippy top of this small New England state that stands at 2,380 feet. The actual spot is located right on the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts within short walking distance of the point where the states of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut all meet. (More about this in the photos below.)

Special thanks to the one and only Dave Spinelli (right photo) in New London, Connecticut for driving from the opposite corner of his state to meet with me. Dave is an "old friend" from my days living and working in New Hampshire in 1995-1997. With me being back in New Jersey for awhile, I have been catching up with quite a number of people I have not seen in 10-20 years. It has been a very meaningful time!

I include directions (as best as I can give them) and photos of the trail to Mt. Frissell, the Mt. Frissell summit, Connecticut's highest point and the CT/MA/NY marker all below. Enjoy my friends!

All the best,
-Steve

	Pictures On The Way Up To Mt. Frissell The best directions and information about the hike are found on the BerkshireHiking.com page. My only extra input is, at first, we could not find Mt. Washington Road on Highway 41. My hunch is other non-locals may make a similar mistake we made. Here is what to be aware of: Dave and I met in Salisbury, CT and drove north on Highway 41. We reached the Massachusetts state line and expected Mt. Washington Road to be somewhere soon after on the left. (After all, Connecticut's highest point is right on the MA/CT border.) Well, you need to drive eight miles north on Highway 41 before reaching Mt. Washington Road. That is a key fact. Dave and I drove for approximately 6-7 miles and figured we passed the road already. I suspect others from outside the area might also think it is strange to drive eight miles well into Massachusetts, but Mt. Washington (followed by East Road) loops around a vertical range of small mountains and returns to the CT/MA border. Photo Above: Dave Spinelli looks at a map at a trailhead somewhere along Highway 41 in Massachusetts. I was a tad ticked off and frustrated, but c'mon, there has to be some kind of challenge to really experience a mountain. ;)
	The trailhead begins across the dirt road from the state line for Massachusetts and Connecticut. Um, not to be too political here, but I intentionally stood on the Connecticut side because I admire Senator Joe Lieberman so much. He and others were part of the "Gang of 14" who stopped all the partisan fighting about filibustering two years ago. This man has my respect! Anyone who is known to stand against partisan nonsense and do what's best for the country has my praise. :) Okay, no more politics. Let's go to the hike! :p)
	Two photos as we continued up the trail. I do not know the exact mileage from the trailhead to Mt. Frissell, but it took us one hour hiking at a reasonable pace. As you can see in the bottom photo, this is likely a magical place during the autumn color season. Yes, Colorado has very beautiful fall foliage alright, but one of these years I might have to come back to New England during that season.
	This is partly embarrassing and maddening to admit, but we initially miscalculated the highest point in Connecticut. In these two adjacent photos, Dave and I thought we were standing on the state's high point but were actually on the highest cairn of Round Mountain. This is a modest sloped point along the trail enroute to Mt. Frissell. In the bottom photo with Dave, the summit of Mt. Frissell is behind him on the right. Connecticut's high point is located after one reaches Mt. Frissell by walking down its south slope.

At The Summit Of Mt. Frissell, MA - Altitide 2,453 Feet We arrived at the tree covered summit of Mt. Frissell located in Massachusetts. There are no views here, as the trees are very thick up top. Dave sat at the tallest rock to sign the guest book (left). I posed on that same rock and pulled out my hair a bit. Dave pointed out that "Frissell" sounds phoenitically like "frizz," "frizzy" and "frizzled." He said my hair had become increasingly frizzy ...
... Then, I don't know what the heck happened, but it kind of became a photo shoot with me showing off in front of the camera. I should note my home stands at 8,127 feet in altitude and the climate is very dry and mountainous. It was a fairly warm (87 degrees) and humid day and honestly, I loved it. You can see how drenched I was becoming in the right photo! What can I say? I am not a complainer like (ahem!) many of my friends in places like Texas, Georgia and Florida. :p)
Before leaving the summit, Dave decided to wear his shirt backwards and inside out. It had something to do with his uncomfortability with a little sweat. Sheeesh!

	Connecticut's Highest Point - South Slope of Mt. Frissell (Altitude 2,380 Feet) When you reach Mt. Frissel, there is a fork in the trail. If you go right, it is a very short walk to the summit of Mt. Frissell which includes a guestbook. Turn left and the trail continues down the mountain on Mt. Frissell's south slope. The Connecticut high point is probably no more than 0.3 miles from the summit. Adjacent Photos: The trail heading down Mt. Frissell's south slope (top) and some grand views (right). The views here are ironically much better than on the summit of Mt. Frissell.
	There it is! The marker for the Connecticut and Massachusetts border ... which is the spot for Connecticut's highest point! Yay!
	Next to the marker was a rocky area with a pile of rocks above. I think in my photo (top), my feet were probably right on the highest point and my butt was in Massachusetts. ;) Also, you might notice this about Dave. In many of our photos, Dave stands on top of the monument. There is Dave propping himself up on the marker itself. This was my fourth state high point. Below are my pages to the others: Colorado Highest Point Florida Highest Point New Jersey Highest Point

New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut Border Marker Not far from Connecticut's high point is another interesting spot. Continue downhill and you will reach the marker where the states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all meet. According to our map, we walked along the vicinity of the Connecticut and Massachusetts border. It was difficult to enjoy myself at this point because I endured such intense cognitive dissonace about which state I was in at any given moment. Dave held out his arms to torture me. Were we in Connectictut (left) or Massachusetts (right)? I couldn't handle it!
There it is! It reminded me of my visits to the Four Corners Monument (AZ/NM/UT/CO) and the tri-state marker for MO/AR/OK. :)
It would have been nice if the marker had an exact demarcation with lines, and so I made my best guess here. On the sides, only New York and Massachusetts were marked. Connecticut did not receive any acknowledgement. Oh well!
We are pretty sure Dave's hands were reaching out to his home state of Connecticut. And as for me, I was just so stinkin' happy to know which state I was in. I threw my body over the marker so that I was in all three states at once. See me holding up three fingers? :)