The White Trail, Yellow Trail and center Yellow/Green connector

-
6 miles, 3 hours.

Describe the view of the Giant from the south.  After the head, you see the chest, the hip and leg, the knee, the foot...   the hills, peaks and ridges that make up the Giant's profile.  You know what else they have in common> they are the White Trail.  Up and then down the chest, up and then down the hip, along the leg, up and then down the knee... you get the idea.  This trail is a workout - sometimes hiking, sometimes hands, knees and feet climbing up the rock face.  But along the way are great views of the cliffs, and then Hamden, New Haven and the Sound to the south.











The way I was clomping up and down the trails (200 pounds of tired and clumsy) I wasn't surprised the only hint of wildlife was the sound of chipmunks, squirrels dashing away.  Birders - a rufous-sided towhee hopping through the brush didn't seem too concerned with me.

After an hour and a half exercise along the White Trail, the Yellow Trail is a nice comfortable hike through the woods.  Most of it is a wide, soft path - except for a tough section below the Giant's hip that is steep, eroded and full of loose rock and sand.  Fortunately, the trail teams built steps up (in my case down) one of the more treacherous sections. 

Halfway along the trail, there is a connector between the Yellow and Green trails.  Part glacial path, part cut trail, this lets you make a loop instead of hiking the full length of the park and back like I did.


And on the Yellow Trail, I made a discovery I can only compare to Ponce De Leon finding the Fountain of Youth.  I found the mythical beer bush - growing a fresh bottle of Magic Hat!  Alas, it wasn't yet ripe.

Now I pack a trash bag with me to clean up these little gifts...

Comments

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

Chatfield Trail, Killingworth

-
Image
4.7 mile trail, with a ¾ mile alternate trail to make loop hikes possible. The Chatfield Trail runs between Route 80 and River Road in Killingworth, just south of Chatfield Hollow State Park .  The north section of the trail travels through Foster Pond State Park , an undeveloped section of the Cockaponset State Forest .  The southern section skirts state land and wanders through some privately owned property. I couldn't find good maps on line, so here's one more good reason to go out and buy the Connecticut Walk Books .  Chatfield Trail is in the East book. The north trailhead, with parking for about eight cars, is ¼ mile west of the state park on Route 80.  And old forest road starts you off from the parking area.  There’s also a new trailhead right across the street from the Chatfield Hollow entrance – it joins up with the main trail about a ¼ mile in.
Read more