A Walk Across the Giant

   It's been a tough winter - more snow that I can remember.  And while hiking through nearly three feet of fresh powder was fun, the crusty stuff has put a damper on my hikes the last weeks/months.  But I have just a few trail sections to finish at Sleeping Giant, and just a few weekends to do it before winter is over.    I had a six mile hike planned (Greg - that's about two leagues or 480 chains) over the Blue trail, doubling back on one section of the White - starting off at Hartford Turnpike.  This section of the Quinnipiac Trail doesn't see much traffic - compared to the rest of the trail though Sleeping Giant State Park anyway.  I tried to hike it a month ago, but first step in I was thigh deep in snow.  Better to put this one off until some of the ground is visible through the snow, right?    Well, the day finally came.  It hasn't snowed in weeks, and the temperature was supposed to soar into the 50's (or into the ...

Wiki Shot I was in Singapore  a while back, and spent a Saturday morning on a day hike at MacRitchie Reservoir Park .  The city / state / country of Singapore has a population of about 5 million in 270 square miles.  To compare size and population, New York City has about 50% more people packed into about 15% more land, but Singapore is still a pretty busy place.  Nearly one quarter of the country is nature preserve, and MacRitchie is in the central catchment area – a series of reservoirs roughly in the center of the country surrounded by primary and secondary rain forest. This photo from anther blog on Canoe Racing at MacRitchie reminded me of the day I was there. MacRitchie Park , in the middle of the city, acts as an entrance to the 1100 acre central nature preserve area.  A beautiful park, it’s built for strolling by the water, exercising on the fitness trails, fishing and just taking a break from the big city. It hosts cross county running ...

It's New England.  If you don't like the weather, wait a minute. The warm weather from the last few days gave way to howling winds and plummeting temperatures - back down anyway to the 20's and 30's where it belongs for January.  It's clear and sunny, and the last day of holiday before I go back to work tomorrow, so time for a little hike. You may have noticed photos from the last few days are trails at Sleeping Giant State Park.  I wrote an article for the Giant News - the association's newsletter.  The article was about being a Four Season Giant Master , hiking all the marked trails in the park in each season - spring, summer, fall and now finally winter.  On the off-chance the article is published in February's edition, I figure it's a good idea if I actually become  a Four Season Master by then.  Otherwise, my limited credibility as a writer suffers.  So I'm back on the Giant for the next few weekends pumping out the miles. ...

As happens all too often here, a good snowstorm is followed quickly by warmer temperatures and at least a little rain.  That mucks up the trails as the surface thaws; mud and ice make a really slick track. With the thaw yesterday, and rain this morning, the planned walk along the river was cancelled - it would have been really wet and sloppy.  But there was still time for a little wander. After a hearty New Year's Eve celebration, I spent New Year's Day in a fog - and today the weather played the same trick.  Nothing changes the mood of a hike quicker than fog.  Even familiar trails get a little mysterious - scenery in the distance revealed a little at a time. With fog swirling around the valleys, the view off the cliffs make it look like I've been hiking above the clouds. And just as it started to rain again, back down at the foot of the hills.

Violet and Yellow Trails - 5.4 miles After all the snow a few days ago, it was time to get out into the woods for a couple of hours.  Head to toe on the Giant and back again.  I picked the Violet and Yellow trails since they stay off the rocks (for the most part anyway) and were likely to have the best footing.  Packed snow most of the way, with just a bit of blazing my own trail.

Sunday - Boxing Day - low 30's, driving wind, snow threatening - perfect day for hike (but just a short one).  Hiking with some of the Sleeping Giant crew on a small section of the Mattabesett Trail: Giuffrida Park and Chauncey Peak in Meriden. Giuffrida Park is just off Westfield Road in Meriden, with a parking lot at the south end of Crescent Lake.  The hike takes us on the white trail around the west side of the lake, then up Chauncey on the blue blazed Mattabesett Trail, back down the mountain and around to the parking lot - a 3 mile loop around the lake with views all around from the mountain peak.                                                                 Trail Map No skating yet, good thing we're just here for a hike Once around the lake, we crossed a bridge over the stream to start the climb...

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 ope...