On our second trip to the October Mountain State Forest we hiked up the Finerty Trail to Finerty Pond (actually we left the main trail for a while and wondered through the woods on the edge of the pond), then we got a little lost and crossed through a picturesque wetland.

Finding the trail again we continued around to the Cordonier Trail, which loops back to Becket Road. We expected to crest Walling Mountain, but it wasn't there; looking back now at the digital image of our map, it is clear from the contours that the AT was the closest trail to this peak - *a good reason to use a map with clear contour lines.* When we realized we had missed the peak we alterted our trip to take the Appalachian Trail up from Becket Rd. to Becket Mountain, but by the time we got to the Trail we weren't really feeling up to it. For future reference, the AT runs quite close to each peak, and that will be the best way to go to cover them both.

We did cross some nice forest, especially hemlock forest. It would be nice to walk through again, knowing more where we were - and with long pants. I especially hope to see Becket and Walling Mts. some day. And next time we will need bathing suits to swim in the pond.