Quinnipiac Trail - part 3

This hike occurred on August 9th, 2014

Trail Heads: 
370 Brooks Rd, Bethany, CT - This road is a narrow, wooded residential road. There's space for maybe 2 cars on the side of the road near the trail head.

76 Mountain Rd, Prospect, CT - This is an official trail head for the Naugatuck State Forest and provides a small parking lot with parking for 3-4 cars. 

Length/Distance: According the Connecticut Walk book, the route between the trail heads on Brooks Rd and the entrance of the Quinnipiac Trail into Sleeping Giant State Park was 5.4 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 4.98 miles.

Summary: We started at Mountain Rd and hiked towards Brooks Rd. It was a sunny but relatively cool (high 70's) day. We followed the trail over a creek. 

The blue trail soon turned right up a hill and we left behind a number of hikers that were exploring the state forest. From the top of the first hill, we had some nice views. 

We then descended the hill and wound around a YMCA outdoor center (Camp Tepee).

 There was a lean-to near the trail, a bit away from the camp. 

The trail exited the woods near the camp and we had a substantial road walk; the blazes were a bit sparse. 

We saw the cutest roadkill ever (image of dirty stuffed bunny on its back).

We entered the woods again and did a bit of climbing up Mad Mare Hill. We had some good views. 

And also discovered an old stone house.

From here, it was a fairly short hike back to the car. We were pleasantly surprised to find the hike was shorter than anticipated.