We
met our friends Jeff and Varda at the trailhead to Broadman Mt. at the
intersection of routes 4 and 7. Our friend Roleigh and his terrier Thor
rode with us on the 1.5 hour trip. Cell phone calls alerted us to the
fact that we were parked at the wrong trailhead, but a quick three
minute drive united us with our friends. While waiting, I took a photo
of fiddlehead ferns rearing their delicate heads. 
The trail from the parking area was soft
underfoot with dappled sunlight. We passed a beautiful stone fence and a series of small waterfalls. 
The hike up to the Broadman Mt. summit was steep but short. We ate lunch at the viewpoint,
enjoying a gentle breeze and blossoming shad bushes, and then moved on to a second mountain for another break before descending to the Housatonic River. 
We spent some time trying to rock-hop across a fast-moving stream. We
all managed to get to the other bank with more or less dry feet. We
walked along the shore and, from time to time, left the river for short
forays into the woods. Once we walked along a beautiful open meadow.
In the distance we saw a man on horseback and several people and their
canine companions. Thor seemed disinterested and kept up Roleigh's
pace and attention to the trail in front of him. Back to the river once more, we spent some time sitting on the shore. Thor immediately went into sleep mode
while Jeff and I took off our boots
and waded into the cold water. We used our hiking poles to keep from
being sucked into the sandy river bottom. At some point we decided to
turn around and head back along the path and then onto a road which took
us back to route 4. We were UNDER the route 4 bridge so we scrambled
up a steep hill to access the road and our cars. I couldn't resist one
last photo of a perfect purple trillium along the roadside.