The Orange Trail

-
April 10, 2010
2.8 miles, 1 hour

Back in the woods.

Take a look at an aerial photo of Sleeping Giant Park.  You can see the peaks that make up the Giant's profile - the head and chin, the chest, the knees.  See the two ridges than run the length of the mountain?  The Green and Orange trails run between them.  Last week I was on the Green, today it's the Orange. 

We began at the Chestnut Lane parking lot, and hiked west along the trail ending in at the park's main entrance picnic area.  The trail starts off a level, easy walk.  Then climbs between the two east red trails, levels out again, and then runs back down along the south face of the hills (it wouldn't be Sleeping Giant if there weren't a rocky climb to two).  The forest hasn't started to fill in yet, so there are views through the trees all around - the cliffs below the Tower, the south skyline and Quinnipiac campus, and the chin cliffs to the north as you cross the Tower trail.




They talk about microclimates on the mountain, and I need to bring someone who knows trees and plants with me to understand that better.  As you hike from the lower flats up the ridges, the tree and plant types change - from broadleafed plants along the streams and marshy areas, to different kinds of forest trees and undergrowth, to evergreen cedar as you change elevation and exposure. 



It's easy to tell you're getting close to the end.  The Orange trail crosses the Nature Trail and then the Tower path, and follows a spillway down to the main picnic area.  If anyone looking for a troop or Eagle Scout project stumbles on this blog, there is a small bridge that really needs some work...  and a fallen pine tree crosses the trail, festooned with blazes and arrows.  That might be blocking a trail shortcut, but it's going to fall apart soon!

And a word about timing.  Don't end the hike at lunchtime in the picnic area unless you have plans for a nearby lunch.  It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and the smells of cookouts are really making me hungry.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 15, 2013 at 3:48 PM

    Hiked the entire orange today, but the opposite way, starting in the picnic area. Gorgeous for November. Leafs on top of trail made it tough, especially going back on the violet trail. I would be interested in the microclimate info as well, I ended up in a pine forest at the end of the orange trail, but the entire beginning was deciduous. Great trail, thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Things, Small Packages - Southford Falls State Park

-
Image
         Southford Falls State Park , Oxford , CT           State Park site                         Trail Map There are over a hundred state parks in little Connecticut , and beyond Sleeping Giant, I’ve only been to a few – those with miles of trails on their own or where one of the blue-blazed trails passes through.  At 120 acres, Southford Falls is one of the smaller parks. But I am a sucker for waterfalls, and when a photo group planned a shoot at Southford Falls , I had to check it out.  The falls are a beautiful photo spot, but don’t stop there.  The state park is a great place to spend some time and wander around.  The falls run on Eight Mile Brook as it flows from Lake Quassapaug to the Housatonic River .  If you're mapping it out, be careful to avoid wrong turns from the naming convention used out here - this waterway is not to be confused with Seven Mile Brook or Six Mile Brook that both flow into the Eight Mile, or with Five Mile Brook
Read more

Mattabesett Trail – Mount Higby.

-
Image
Route 66 to Country Club Road :  4 ½ miles                 Trail Map How do you turn a 4 mile hike with friends into an 11 mile solitary excursion?  Some would answer “by being stupid!”.  But that might be a little harsh, it seemed like a good idea at the time... This hike started at Route 66 in Middlefield, then north to Country Club Road in Middletown . The Mount Higby section of the Mattabesett runs along another of the string of trap rock cliffs of the Metacomet Ridge.  Like the Beseck Ridge section to the south, Mount Higby has a long line of scenic outlooks to the north, west and south. Starting from the parking lot, follow the blazed and rocky connector trail a short distance north to meet the blue trail.  Head west, parallel to Route 66, and pass junctions for two local trails.  And then it’s time to climb the mountain.  The trail heads up the hill, switchbacks in the steeper sections, and opens to a view south toward Black Pond and Beseck Ridge.  A little farther,
Read more

The Legend of Mad Mare's Hill

-
Image
Gather round, my fainthearted friends.  It's a Halloween tale of ghosts and ghouls and the Mad Mare of Hamden's Hills.  She was a monster, black as night, standing 16 hands high.  Bred of Mustang and Shire Horse, she was wild and ill-tempered. But when the moon rises on All Hallow's Eve, something evil awakens in her very soul.  Nostrils flared, searching the air; the red tint of her crazed eyes glowing like fire in the moonlight. With a chilling whinny, an ear splitting neigh, she goes mad on Halloween night, terrorizing any who are fool enough to cross her hill... hmmhmmwah ha ha...
Read more