A Walk Across the Giant

My favorite time of year hiking in southern Connecticut.  Well maybe second favorite, but it's a close second to fall. Not too hot, not too buggy, and the forests are filled with blooming Mountain Laurel. Even the power line corridors are all gussied up - this one along the road between the Reservoir section of the Mattabesett Trail and the Scovill Rock Loop Trail.  How's that for foreshadowing...

Are you in Connecticut?  Yes? - good.  Then get outside now!!  The weather is great (when it's not raining), good hiking temps, and the forests are exploding with Mountain Laurel - little pink or white flowers sparkling all over the place.  Get your friends, pack up the kids and get out there! No time to get out, you think?  Connecticut has more than 70 state parks and 30 state forests. Add the trails in municipal parks, preserves and utilities, and you're minutes from a hike almost anywhere in the state.   Come on out. Got an hour?  Take this little hike along the White Trail at Sleeping Giant State Park. Cross the bridge from the parking lot, onto the White Splash around in the stream a little Summer is almost here - Mountain Laurel in bloom Beautiful open woods After a night of heavy rain, even the trail is a stream. Look for little froggies hopping around the puddles.

Mattabesett Trail – Middletown to the Berlin Turnpike trailhead in Berlin The trail has been rerouted since the 19 th edition of the WalkBook.  This link shows the new route. I've spent a lot of time on recent hikes down in the lowlands.  Granted, that’s about all you get in southern Connecticut (from the Indian word for flat land with many rivers *) but there is still the occasional walk along a hill or cliff.  This description in the Connecticut Walk Book sounded pretty good – “This almost level ridge is one of the most scenic traprock ridge walks in the state, offering spectacular views to the west, including Silver Lake and the Metacomet Ridge.”  I feel the need for a little altitude – even if it’s just a little. Red barn marks the turn on to Bell Street This 10 mile section of the Mattabesett Trail picks up where I left off at the Country Club Road trailhead north of Higby Mountain .  The hike starts with a 1.8 mile road walk, along Coun...

There are about 825 miles of Blue-Blazed trails here in Connecticut, maintained by volunteers and overseen by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. 825, until now. My copy of the CPFA News and Notes just came in the mail, and there's a new loop trail along the Connecticut River in Middletown - just inaugurated for Connecticut Trail Days.  The Scovill Rock Trail . So make that  826 ¾  miles.   And then there's the Paugussett Trail extension - once it's official it will add about three miles from Indian Well State Park down along the Shelton Lakes Trails... I've got some (more) walking to do...

I've read a lot of "why I hike" blogs and contests recently.  I wrote this article for the February edition of Giant News - the Sleeping Giant Park Association newsletter.  You can read that beautifully edited version by becoming a member and picking up a copy.  In the meantime, scroll through this one - I've put links to some of my favorite Sleeping Giant photo pages at the end... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I want Candice’s autograph.  If you remember the last issue of the Giant News, Candice hiked all the trails on Sleeping Giant in one day to earn the distinction of Giant Master Marathoner. I started hiking again last year just to get off the couch and do something.  And since Sleeping Giant was nearby, it was a great place to start.  I checked the web site looking for hike dates, and read about the Giant Masters program, recognition for hiking all the nearly 30 miles of blazed trails.  Great, I thought – a goal (and a neat look...

Every trail guide I’ve read calls out the length of the trail.  Did you ever wonder how those measurements are taken?  GPS – right?  But trail guides have been in publication far longer than hand held GPS units.  OK, so we just pace it off and do the math? For this Paugussett Trail trip, I was lucky to meet up with a group on a joint AMC / CT Forest and Park Association hike.  And along the way, the CFPA was rechecking the trail for the next edition of their guide.  So out comes the wheelie road measurer, and the GPS .  Somebody wheels the trail, and then at the end they’ll check the GPS and see how close the two measurements are.  For today, the Paugussett Trail is 9.1 miles.  Tomorrow – who knows? We dropped cars at Indian Well State Park  in Shelton and then drove to the other end of the trail on East Village Road in Monroe .  The CFPA guide (from the Walk Book West ) has the trail starting across from this pa...

The Naugatuck Trail runs through the East Block of the Naugatuck State Forest in Bethany – from Route 42 near Simpson Pond to Route 8 in Beacon Falls. The 5 ½ mile trail is a shadow of its former self, when it covered a much longer route between the Quinnipiac and Paugussett Trails. Since I was hiking out and back - and adding the three side trails - this hike covered about 10 ½ miles. Trail Map from CT State DEP    Note - you can get a better topographic map with route and full trail description from the Connecticut Forest and Park Association - the Walk Book West .  After all, this is who maintains the trail! There is only space for a couple of cars along the road at the Route 42 trailhead (see map). I parked instead at the Whittemore trailhead just a quarter mile west, and then hiked back to start the Naugie. Old stone walls and foundation from the previous owner. Along the road, there are remnants of stone foundations and walls from homesteads prior to the ...