Cloverleaf Hike

I did a kind of cloverleaf hike today: first leaf is the loop up Washburn over Bull Hill, second leaf is a loop along the upper half of Undercliff over Breakneck Ridge, then the final "leaf" is the lower half of Undercliff, down around to Cold Spring.

large bird overlooking the path on the road not taken

I was really excited to see this bright yellow fungus with neon orange interior; I'd only seen its like once, years ago, further north on the yellow trail. 

size 6 foot

Plus, I had the satisfaction of having it apparently all to myself; it was growing on just one side of a tree stump, facing me... and everyone else on the trail was coming the other direction.

side view

Detailed route notes: Started on Washburn (white), up and over Bull Hill.  At the trail end, I took the left trail Notch (blue) until its intersection with the Brook trailhead (red).  I followed Brook toward 9D, but at the intersection with Undercliff (yellow), I turned right and crossed the bridge.  On Undercliff, steep ascents, zig-zags and hairpin turns up to a T-intersection with Breakneck Ridge (white).  Right on Breakneck Ridge, up and down along the ridge, until it parts ways in a forest crossing with Notch (blue).  At that point, right on Notch down through the hillside forest, past the ruins, across the water until you reach the intersection with Brook.  At that point, there's about a .2 mile overlap on Brook, until the intersection with Undercliff... But this time I turned left, and followed it all the way across and down to the end and walked down Main street.

Went to the bistro for a steak sandwich and a glass of vino verde, then just had time to catch the train.