Starting at 639 Country Club Road in Middletown to corner of Spruce Brook Road & Berlin Turnpike, Berlin – 12.2 miles ~ 6 hrs and 15 mins with lots of breaks

We have finally completed the thru hike of the Mattabesett Trail! It was also Doggo’s 2nd birthday, so we had two things to celebrate! Today we covered Highland Pond Preserve, Wilcox Park, Giuffrida Park, Chauncey Peak, and Lamentation Mountain.

I have to say as much as I have loved this trail, today was my least favorite section. It may have been partially due to the 95 degree heat, and that we decided to tackle so much at once, but it was also because a good portion is spent walking on pavement. Also the blue blazes were not as clearly marked in Giuffrida Park and we got confused a few times and turned around once. One interesting part of the trail had rocks with eyes painted on them. This was the first section where the trail markers seemed to disappear.

What I did appreciate about the trail was the beautiful ferns in Wilcox Park, the views from Chauncey Peak, the wild flowers: multiflora rose, crownvetch, narrow leafed blue-eyed grass, the birds, the frogs and the gorgeous white-tailed deer we encountered.

Adventurers included: Jes, Dana, Bryan, Steph & Dogo