Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden CT

May 26, 2012

3:00pm - 5:30pm

Blue Trail - 2.0 Miles

Castle Trail - 1.6 Miles

Difficulty: Intermediate


This blog was created as a way to keep donors up-to-date with my training for the 26 mile Xtreme Hike to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.  To make a donation to our team, please go to http://www.cff.org/LWC/hiketocurecf

With the holiday weekend and a wedding to attend to, there aren't many mountainous areas along the shoreline of Connecticut, but there is Sleeping Giant State Park across from Quinnipiac University in Hamden. As you can see from the picture above, the park got its name from the image of a giant that is laying asleep.  My hike would start off on the Violet Trail which starts off hugging the near by river until you get to remnants of an old building.

Just behind the above structure is an open field and old quarry with a straight up rock face of close to 400 feet; this is where we veered off to take the Blue Trail which traverses the edges of the cliff. It was quite taxing but the views on the way up and from the top are worth the extra effort.

After resting for a little while, we continued on our way towards the castle and took a few detours so check out the other cliff edges in the area. While it might seem like I love heights, I can honestly say that I really am not that big of a fan, but in order to keep things interesting and get some great pics, I test my limits every once in a while.

My friend on the other hand had a great time scaring his girlfriend who was not as fond as he was with the cliff edges

To try and give everyone a better image of how the cliffs were, I decided to change it up and have a bit of fun with the numerous videos we took and make a minute and a half movie trailer so hope you enjoy it (note there is background music, so if at work, be sure to keep those speakers down)

After sitting up top for a bit, we started to hear the sound of thunder and decided to get out of the open and head back down on the trail and reach the castle before we got poured on.  The next half a mile was fairly rocky as we descended down the "neck" of the giant and back onto the dirt trails. It was quite humid, but the winds started picking up and not at a moment too soon as it was in the upper 80s.

After about an hour and a half we finally made it to the castle which, as a kid, was the main reason you would hike sleeping giant.  It was nice to sit at the top for a but with the thunderstorms approaching fast, we had to cut our hike short and took the gravel path 1.6 miles back to the parking lot.

While we missed the storms, it was the smart decision to make as they sounded pretty bad.  Next up on the list is a 15 mile hike this coming weekend (rain or shine, but most likely rain) and then hopefully my final training hike will be at Mount Katahdin on the Knife's Edge.  To say I am terrified of this hike would be an understatement, but what an accomplishment it would be!!

Acadia National Park - Cadillac Mountain

May 13, 2012

1:30pm - 4:45pm

North Ridge Trail - 4.4 Miles

Dorr Mountain Summit Trail - 1.2 Miles

Difficulty: Intermediate


This blog was created as a way to keep donors up-to-date with my training for the 26 mile Xtreme Hike to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.  To make a donation to our team, please go to http://www.cff.org/LWC/hiketocurecf

Nothing like seeing the sunrise as you drive especially after you've decided to wake up at 4am to take a five hour drive so you can hike both weekend days, but that is what I chose to do Sunday morning.  After the easier hike on Saturday, I was looking for something with a little more of a challenge, so I decided why not drive five hours each way to Acadia National Park and do both a summit climb and a cliff climb.  

When I first arrived I decided to take a lap around the park in the car and take in some of the sights and sounds. I pulled over in numerous areas and even took a stroll on the beaches.  The water was quite cold and tide was really low:

For the hike, I researched within Acadia the most difficult trails and came across the "Precipice Trail" which was a 1.2 mile straight up hike on the cliffs of Champlain Mountain, but of course the trail was closed until August due to local falcons mating and nesting near the cliffs.  Guess it was a good thing since this is what it would've been like for about the hour and a half ascent; I will definitely be going back at the end of the summer to complete it!!

Instead, I settled for the North Ridge Trail up Cadillac Mountain which is roughly a 4.5 mile loop to the summit; I was looking to do the 7.5 mile South Ridge Trail, but could not find the entrance driving around the park, so before it got too late, I went with the North Ridge.  The trail started up with a quick 100 foot incline up a bunch of rocks, but then leveled out to old glacial rocks that were pretty easy to ascend. 

Halfway up the trail it really started to open up and the views of the Gulf of Maine and Bar Harbor were magnificent.  You were able to see the vast majority of the eastern and southern parts of the park, but the fog that developed obscured the view of the black mountains in the distance.

After about an hour and a half or so, I made it to the summit where it was quite calm and not that chilly, although that may have been because I was still trying to cool down from hiking up.  While on the summit, I learned that the top of Cadillac Mountain is actually the highest point an the Atlantic Coast, so I guess that is something to add to my list of accomplishments!!  Of all the people at the top, I think I was part of the 1% that actually hiked as just about everyone decided to take the drive along the Summit Road.  

There is something about climbing rather than driving that makes you appreciate the views that much more because you know that you worked for them.  I was glad I left though when I did as it began to downpour and that would've really sucked to have been stuck in the chilly weather soaking wet. After the rain passed, I was left with one last surprise from mother nature and that was a double rainbow that showed up for a few minutes. 

This next weekend I will have time for just one hike and it is planned to be Wachusett Mountain on Saturday morning.  Looks like the weather will be great once again!!!

Upton State Forest

May 12, 2012

8:30am - 10:30am

Loop Rd Trail - 7.1 Miles

Difficulty: Easy

This blog was created as a way to keep donors up-to-date with my training for the 26 mile Xtreme Hike to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.  To make a donation to our team, please go to http://www.cff.org/LWC/hiketocurecf

Another weekend of training and another perfect day to be outdoors!! Five other hikers, and one of their golden retrievers Lucy, met up nice and early to do two quick laps around the Loop Road Trail within the Upton State Forest.  This trail was a nice reprieve from last weekend's mountainous trail as it was nice and flat, with the exception of a half mile rocky hill on the back side of the trail.  We set out around 830 and within just over two hours we had completed two laps and the seven miles we had aimed for. 

The one issue with the trail was the amount of sitting ponds and water along the side which was a haven for mosquitos and other bugs. While they didn't bother me that much, there were areas where they were more prevalent than others and you found yourself swatting at your legs and arms to kill them.  Otherwise, this was a very novice trail for anyone to enjoy the scenery and be outdoors.

Hoping to get up to Maine tomorrow as the weather will be equally as nice and do some more strenuous training hikes!!

Franconia State Park, New Hampshire

May 6, 2012

10:30am - 4:30pm

Franconia Ridge Trail - 8.9 Miles

Difficulty: Hard

This blog was created as a way to keep donors up-to-date with my training for the 26 mile Xtreme Hike to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.  To make a donation to our team, please go to http://www.cff.org/LWC/hiketocurecf

Up at the crack of dawn on Sunday, I made the 2.5hr drive up to the White Mountain National Forest to hike what some believe is one of the most majestic trails in New England. Lucky for me, the clouds gave way to sunny skies and the temperature was a perfect 65 degrees.

I started the hike at 10:30am along the Falling Waters Trail with plans to reach the summit of "Little Haystack", then cross over the Franconia Ridge Trail (part of the Appalachian Trail) over two more summits to the top of Lafayette Mountain. From there I would head down the Green Leaf Trail until I intersected Old Bridle Path which would then lead me the final three miles back to parking lot; in total I was told it would take anywhere from six to eight hours.

The Falling Waters Trail lived up to its name, as the last few days worth of rain made for beautiful waterwalls along the trail, but also flooded some of the crossings. Walking my way through the ice cold water wasn't what I had pictured when starting off on the climb, but quickly came to accept it as the beginning mile called for multiple crossings of the river.

An hour and a half into climbing over large rocks and crossing streams, I finally got my glimpse of the White Mountain Range and decided this would be a good time to take a rest and take it all in; it would be another hour of switchbacks up the steep hills (the last 30mins of white were still covered in ice and snow!!)

After two and a half hours of navigating the rough terrain, the trees kept getting smaller, and I knew I was only minutes away from reaching the Tundra and getting my first clear glimpse of what I had gotten myself into. The terrain eventually turned into all small rocks and little bushes that looked like coral and I got my first unobstructed view of Lafayette, almost two miles to my east.

It was around 1pm by the time I reached the top of Little Haystack, so I decided to sit down on top of the rocks with a passer by and take out my Subway sandwich and eat half of it while enjoying the breeze that was cooling me down; temperature on the summit was around 50.

After 15 mins of resting, I headed off on the 1.7 miles across the Franconia Ridge Trail which would include climbing up both Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. Walking along knife's edge, I took the time to look back at the parking lot and came to the realization of just how far I had climbed; there was no turning back at this point as it would be another three hours (at least) before I would make it back to the Trail Head. I even took the time to pose for a pic at the top of Mount Lincoln.

I even strapped on my GoPro HD camera and decided to film part of my hike up Mount Lincoln so you could appreciate just how desolate the terrain was:

Once I finally got to the top of Mount Lafayette I was already close to 4.5hrs into the hike and was exhausted. By this point my knees were starting to swell up and my feet were bruised and battered from climbing up and over rocks for the last 5 miles basically barefoot. I took another break on what I later found out was the remnants of an old trail house that used to be on the summit.

Around 3pm., I decided to take off and begin the 3.5mile hike back down the mountain so I could finally go home. The ensuing 1.5hrs would be some of the most painful I would do in recent memory as my quads began to tighten and I felt blisters beginning to form on my big toes. I knew I had to keep fighting the pain knowing that it would only be a matter of time before I got off the rocks and back onto the less strenuous dirt trails.

Finally after just over six hours of grueling hiking, I made it back to trail head and walked like an old man back to the car. By now my right quad was tightening up every few minutes and it was time to massage it out and drink the two bottles of gatorade I had saved for just this instance.

Next week, I will be hiking in Upton State Park where we plan on doing a 7.8 mile hike; it will be a lot less demanding, but hopefully just as scenic.