A Walk Across the Giant

It's been a few weeks since I was in Sleeping Giant Park, but it's a great day - humidity's down, a little breezy... - and I had some time to kill, so... From the main parking lot, I took the Orange trail to the Red Circle trail, then on to the Green trail back to it's start on top of the Giant's Chest.  The White, White/Blue and then Blue trails over to the Tower, and the Tower Path back down to the parking lot.  Just about 5 miles over a 2+ hour hike. Looking South from the Giant's Chest - Quinnipiac U, East Rock and New Haven While trails like the Blue and White take you across the tops of the ridges that make up Sleeping Giant, the Orange and Green run along the valleys between them.  The Orange heads up across the south side of the second ridge with views to East Rock and New Haven.  From the Green, you look up at the cliffs below the Tower, and make your way up to the Giant's Chest - great views west to the Giant's Chin and south past Quin...

I took yesterday (Saturday) off.  And I mean really off.  I was so deep into the couch the cushions are just now starting to recover.  So this morning I woke up stiff and sore.  I either needed a sauna or, since it's nice and warm and humid, a hike in the woods.  Starting from Chestnut Lane, I had a good uneventful hike - Orange to Red Circle to Violet to Lost Vista to Blue then Orange back to the car.  Even starting at 8am the air was still and humid - it took about 10 feet to work up a sweat.  The 90 minute hike was great for loosening up sore muscles. Coming across the Violet trail, a favorite spot is just after the Red Circle trail heading east.  You start to climb a little, moving out from under the forest canapy into the pines.  There's kind of an 'ahhhhhhhh' moment when the woods clear and open to a northwest view. 

Today's " Hike A Giant" hike is cancelled due to forecast inclement weather. What??  The sun is out, there's a nice breeze - it's a little hot and humid, but not bad.  Tornado warning for all of Connecticut, 75% chance of scattered and severe thunderstorms.  It's a perfect day to go for a hike! I think there were a few people still there for the organized hike (the Sleeping Giant t-shirt and hats gave them away), but I was a little late and they were already on the way up the Tower trail.  So off I went, up the Orange trail. I figured a west end hike - up the orange, over the green, white and blue, back on the violet (very colorful)- maybe I can get it done before the rain comes.  Ever the optimist.

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.