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Rhode Island's County
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I made plans to visit the highpoints of Rhode Island, Connecticut and perhaps some other states this July 4th weekend, 2000. My visit was to coincide with one of the few open dates allowed for visitors to the actual rock that signifies Rhode Island's apex. The landowners were legendarily surly and unfriendly ... yet agreed to a few open dates so as to not get unsolicited visitors other times of the year. Anyway, one guy passed away a few years ago (circa 2003) and the new landowners seem to be much more friendly and accommodating.
I flew into Manchester, New Hampshire ... and got my rental, but had not bothered to prebook a hotel room. I had no luck finding anything available anywhere, so I finally took refuge in my car in the parking lot of a Days Inn in Fall River, Massachusetts. I got a couple hours of sleep, then awoke early the next morining to start picking off the counties of Rhode Island. I started in nearby Bristol County.
Rhode Island is the smallest of the 50 states in area. It's so small that three or four can fit into a Hummer. It's so small that its cities have names like 'dot', 'speck' and 'DNA'. You count as a resident of Rhode Island as long as you have one foot inside the state at all times. Hey, I kid because I care. But coming from Maricopa County in Arizona to a state that's 1/9 as big in area, it was kind of amusing. It shouldn't be surprising that the five counties are even tinier. Actually, the counties exist in name only; the state took over the various functions and as a result the counties exist only as lines on a map, nothing more. Anyway, Bristol County...
Yes, that's 221 whole feet above sea level! Mount Hope is a small hill extending into the bay, near the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University. I arrived at the highpoint area at 5:45 a.m. It does not appear that this little hill is open to the public for hiking judging by the fences and "no parking" signs, but I went in anyway. From the north, I found an opening in the fence and walked up an old road to another fence, which had a huge breach in it. Once past that fence, I followed a faint path through the grass and brush to the unexciting summit. I thought there might be views overlooking the bay but I was mistaken. So I hiked back to my car. 15 minutes round trip, still barely 6 a.m.
This hill is just a few miles from Mount Hope across a bridge spanning the bay. It's located in a residential area along a spine of a hill. From RI-138, I took Pocasset Road to the end, near some homes, and parked. It's a very short walk to the rocky "summit". There is a man-made dike/reservoir just south of the highpoint. Pretty heavy tree cover - no views, except of trees and homes. Two down, still early.
This was a very easy highpoint accessible from the highway (RI-3) near Interstate-84. However, despite the fact that it's a hill, the top is very flat and there are numerous homes and businesses in the area, so finding the exact highpoint (if its still exists) is difficult, so this was one I had to "grid" for a bit. I drove around the perimeter, scouted a bit, and walked into the heart of the hill for a few minutes. Very hard to be sure, I hate to say. The trees don't help either. After a few minutes of stepping here and there, I was on my way, 5 miles north to...
From Plain Meeting House Road (sound very Puritan, doesn't it?), I found a dirt road/driveway to the flattish summit of Bald Hill. Again, houses, trees and other development has rendered the true highpoint difficult to locate, but I found some good candidate areas which I visited - mainly entering the trees, going up and deciding it wasn't going up much more. And finally...
Ah, The famous Jerimoth Hill. A trivially easy bump that under normal circumstance would take all of 5 minutes to complete as it's just a stone's throw from the road (an underhanded throw, even). But historically, the landowner was quite unhappy with people visiting this site, usually without permission, so some open dates have been established during the last few years to allow for people to gain this highpoint legally and without threat of legal or physical harm (seriously). July 2nd was one such date, so I made sure to plan my trip so that I could be here on this day. I showed up around 9:30 am, and chatted with Peter Anderson, who was acting as liaison on this day. There were a few others there, and I eventually sauntered up the driveway and to the rock that marks Rhode Island's apex. It seemed too easy! After a photo and more standing around visiting with like-minded highpointers, I finally started on my way into Connecticut.
So there it is: all five Rhode Island county summits, in ascending order of height, all in three hours. Rhode Island is not very big, that's for sure. It is a pretty state, however, and I enjoyed it. But now, on to Connecticut and its octet of counties.
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(c) 2000, 2001 Scott Surgent. For entertainment purposes only. This report is not meant to replace maps, compass, gps and other common sense hiking/navigation items. Neither I nor the webhost can be held responsible for unfortunate situations that may arise based on these trip reports. Conditions (physical and legal) change over time! Some of these hikes are major mountaineering or backpacking endeavors that require skill, proper gear, proper fitness and general experience. |