Summer/Fall 2015 CT AT hikes

August 9th and 10th, 2015
Start: Under Mountain Trail
End: Rt 7/112
Mileage: 15.0 (+ 2.0)

On August 9th, I hiked with friends from Under Mountain Road, up Under Mountain Trail to Riga Junction, and then south on the AT to Riga Shelter and campsite.

View from Riga Shelter

We camped out overnight there. The next day on August 10th, we hiked from Riga Shelter to Rt 7/112, passing by Lions Head, Giants Thumb, Rands View, and Mt Prospect.

1500 miles from Springer Mtn

Rands View

Due to bridge construction, there was a detour

We followed the road walk detour around the Iron Mountain Bridge and arrived at Rt 7/112.

November 11th, 2015
Start: Rt 7/112
End: West Cornwall Rd
Mileage: 6.7 (+4.0 wrong direction, +2.7 road walk)

I had the day off from work so I drove out to Rt 7/112's AT parking area. Originally, I'd planned to hike 6.7 miles of the AT through to West Cornwall Rd and then retrace my steps back to my car. I started out from the parking lot at 8:45am. Unfortunately, due to the detour, I accidentally followed the AT north, along the original AT (the other side of the bridge's AT portion). I realized my mistake when I arrived at the bridge construction site 3 miles later. I hiked back to Warren Turnpike and caught a hitch back to my car, rather than walk the rest of the way. I set out from the parking lot yet again at 10:30am, this time going south.

View from AT parking area

I passed by Belters Campsite, Sharon Mountain Campsite, and Pine Swamp Brook Shelter on my way to West Cornwall Rd. I climbed Sharon Mountain and slide my way through a baby Lemon Squeezer.

I arrived at the road around 1:10pm. I then walked down West Cornwall Rd until it intersected with Rt 7. I attempted to get a hitch but I didn't get anyone to pick me up until I hit Rt 7. I was able to get a ride back to the parking area, arriving by 2pm. I now have only 23 miles of CT left to complete - Old Sharon Rd to Hoyt Rd (CT/NY border). I currently plan to hike it in the spring with a friend over a weekend.

Regicides Trail

Hike occurred on November 15, 2014

Trail Heads: 

Short St & Hard St, New Haven, CT - This is an official trail head for West Rock Ridge State Park, with access to the Blue/Yellow Westville Feeder Trail as well as Teal and Teal/White trails. The parking lot has space for parking for at least 8 cars and is open sunrise to sunset. There is additional parking available at 1 Valley St that has access to the playground area via a foot bridge. 

507 West Shepard Ave, Hamden, CT - This is the closest parking available to the beginning of the Regicides Trail. It's a dead end road and there's side of the road parking for 3-4 cars. 

Length/Distance: According the DEEP's trail map, the entire trail was 7.04 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 8.69 miles, which included 0.3mi from the car to the trail, 0.3mi of backtracking from the northern terminus, and 0.6mi along the Blue/Yellow feeder trail as off-trail mileage.

Summary: Originally, we'd planned to park one car at the southern terminus of the Blue trail which was within the park. However, the park closed to car traffic after the last weekend in October. Instead, we parked one car at the Westville Feeder trail and then headed to West Shepard Ave. The day was a bit brisk (~high 30's) and windy. 

We began hiking by stepping over the low metal barrier and continuing up West Shepard Ave. 

This area felt very strange. We were greeted by a carved head hanging from a tree. 

There was electric lines going back along the road as well as street lights (which were on in the middle of the day). After maybe 2/10ths of a mile along the blocked off road, the road went by an old abandon house and barn. 

We continued along the road until it ended at a pile of rocks, with some spray painted rock formations. We could see the blue trail blazes from there.  

 

From there, we headed to the right along the trail, to walk back to the northern terminus of the Regicides, at the intersection with the Quinnipiac. 

There was some snow at the trail intersection. 

 Near the intersection, there was a good view. 

From here, we continued back the way we had come, passing by the end of West Shepard, and hiked south. We passed by a view of Farm Brook Pond. 

There was also a good view of New Haven. 

We then had some good view of Lake Watrous. 

We passed by a little stone shed with no roof. 

We had some views of Lake Dawson. 

 

Eventually, we crossed over the Rt 15 tunnel. 

And went by the tunnel's ventilation shaft and emergency exit which was much larger than pictures had led me to believe. 

We passed by Judges Cave which was really more like gaps between rocks than a cave. 

After a walk that skirted along the edge of the cliff, the trail finished behind the pavilion.

 

 There was some beautiful views from the parking area. 

 The sleeping giant...

From here, we headed back along the Blue trail to the Blue/Yellow Westville Feeder Trail. 

After a bit of slipping and sliding down the trail, we arrived at the park entrance where we had parked one car. 

Overall, it was a good hike, though a bit longer than our typical. 

Quinnipiac Trail - part 4

This hike occurred on September 13, 2014

Trail Heads: 
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. 

Cheshire & Chatfield Rds, Prospect, CT - This was the final terminus of the Quinnipiac Trail. There was room to park maybe 2 cars on the side of the road near this sign. 

Length/Distance: According the Connecticut Walk book, the route between the trail heads on Mountain Rd and trail's end was 4.0 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 3.79 miles.

Summary: We started at Mountain Rd and hiked towards Cheshire/Chatfield Rds. We hiked along Mountain Rd for a few hundred yards then crossed the road and entered the woods, following the blue blazes. 

 There were some pointless ups and downs (PUDs) but overall, the elevation was minimal. There was a rock scramble partway through the hike, where the trail skirted around a small farm. 

 

We passed by the Roaring Brook Falls spur.

The trail paralleled Roaring Brook for a time. 

Right at the three mile mark, the trail emerged onto Cornwall Ave where we followed the blazes along a road walk all the way to the end of the Quinnipiac Trail. It began to rain just as the car came into our line of sight. We quickly took a picture of the final trail sign and then hoofed it to the car. 

Appalachian Trail - part 2

This hike occurred on August 16 & 17

Trail head:
395 Undermountain Rd (Rt 41), Salisbury, CT - Off of Rt 41, there's a large parking lot with space for maybe a dozen cars. In addition, there's also road side parking.

Length/Distance: According to the CT Walk book and the Appalachian Trail guide, the first section of trail we completed should have 3.6 and the second, 3.2. Our GPS tracking program said the first was 3.66 and the second was 3.42. However, it's worth noting that we only traveled a few miles on the AT.

Summary: 
We parked at the base of Undermountain Trail. We hiked up Undermountain trail, past the intersection with Paradise Lane Trail. 

We eventually made it to the intersection with the AT, Riga Junction. 

   

We went to the right and climbed up Bear Mountain. 

The view from the top of the rock tower was great. 

 

We met two SOBO thru-hikers, talked, and gave them some of our beer. One of my friends went searching for blueberries (as they're in season) and found a lot. 

From there, we descended the mountain, into Sages Ravine. 

 Shortly after that, we came to the campsite. 

We set up camp and then went swimming in the creek. 

 

Our campsite was quite nice, with a spring and privy nearby. 

We had dinner and then settled in for the night. It rained a little bit overnight but nothing major. In the morning, we made oatmeal and added fresh blueberries we'd picked the day before on the top of the mountain. 

After breakfast, we packed up and headed back to the parking lot, taking the AT to Paradise Lane to Undermountain Trail. We packed our stuff into the car and headed out. On the way home, we stopped for second breakfast at JDT's Brickhouse in Thomaston.