Bear Hill

With the exception of Higby Mountain, all of the highest elevations in Middletown are in the Maromas area.  However, very few hills are named, because the area is a relatively uniform plateau. Bear Hill is the only one I have found on a map, so far.  Bear Hill lies about halfway between the Aircraft Road and Bear Hill Road trailheads on the Mattabessett Trail.  After running an errand in southeast Middletown, I left my bicycle at the Aircraft Road end, drove north to Bear Hill Road, and hiked south on the Mattabessett Trail.  The hike was spectacular, unlike Round Hill, Lamentation Mountain, and Higby Mountain, the Maromas terrain and trees have not been suited for exploitation and associated road building.  The land is not just rocky, but largely just rock.  Large expanses of exposed granite were never out of sight on the four mile hike. The trail twists and turns around and over some 40 foot exposed cliff faces.  These 40 foot cliffs don't provide many views of the distance, however, because the areas at the base of them seem to be particularly well suited for growing 50 foot oak trees. The terrain has a micro-grandeur, vertical cliffs of solid granite shaping the land-- an Amato's train set toy version of Yosemite Valley.  At some point on my hike, I walked over Bear Hill, but I must confess that it was not at all obvious which of the exposed granite slopes was the summit. 

I bicycled back north from Aircraft Road on Maromas and Bear Hill Road.  Bear Hill Road follows a stream in a fairly narrow gulch for most of the way, but near the top the terrain opens up to a beautiful farm with hundreds of goats grazing on a gently sloping pasture.  The little valley nestling this farm has only 2 or 3 houses, and is surrounded by hills. Coming onto this scene unexpectedly, I thought of the children's stories about discovering a "lost valley" that retains the peace and calm of another world.