A Walk Across the Giant

         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

Cairns .  Cairns are simply man-made piles of stone.  Out on a hike, we’ve all seen them used for trail or summit markers.  This one on Brace Mountain not only marks the summit, but acts as a base for the parasailer’s wind sock. Connecticut High Point on Mt Frissell Around here, most trails are marked by painted spots on trees.  But on rocky passes, or in places like utility corridors where there are no trees, those piles of stone mark the trail - especially where the path isn’t obvious.  Ducks ( cairns with a pointed rock – a beak – on top) may point you in the trail’s direction.  Blue Trail cairn on the Mattabesett Trail The rock piles are often about a foot or two high, and whenever I pass I may add a couple of stones to keep the pile neat and pointing the right way.  But things have gotten out of hand!   Some of the trails are just littered with little piles of rock – 5, 8, 10 stones high.  Hopefully off to the side of the trail, but sometimes sm

Fall in New England, it's a really nice time to hike - cool days, colorful leaves...   and the Quinnipiac Trail through Hamden is a great trail - woods, hills, views, rivers etc etc.  But for the last couple of years, there have been trail interruptions for road and bridge construction and a little logging.  The projects are near done, and pretty soon I think the trail will be remapped and remarked.  Until then, it's a little tricky through this section, and the CFPA recommends an alternate route around the mess. The original and detour routes make a loop hike I've done a lot - this time I took pictures. The trail leaves Sleeping Giant State Park along the Mill River, and runs right smack into bridge construction on Mt Carmel Ave, and the road realignment project at the corner of Whitney Ave, Mt Carmel Ave and West Woods Rd.  Once the construction is completed, the blue trail will go over the new bridge and back into the woods along old walls and foundations of