Starting at 2111 Hartford Turnpike, North Haven and ending at 2295 Downs Rd, Hamden, CT ~ 13.81 miles and 7.5 hrs

Just going to start off by saying this is a huge chunk of the trail with many climbs up and down. I would recommend breaking it up into smaller chunks. Maybe just do the section through Sleeping Giant (which I believe measured out around 6 miles), and pick up from there another day — unless you like torture, then carry on. It is also advisable to go on a dry day. The trap rock ridges get steep and one section is a giant slide. That said, it is a really cool, pretty, and fun section.

We had a gorgeous day for a hike. It was sunny — in the seventies with a gentle breeze. We parked the car on the side of the road right by the trailhead and were greeted with an instant uphill. As previously mentioned, this was just the first of many, as we were climbing a giant, after all. The trail starts out as a dirt wooded trail, but quickly changes over to a mix including trap rock ridge walks and some sections that are only rock.

We were happy to see the little flowers coming up including Salomon’s seal, wild violets, red trillium, red columbine and little azure bluets. Dana pointed out some tulip trees that were budding, and of course, I was enamored by the cedar trees.

After almost two hours of winding up and down and along ridge line, we came to the tower at Sleeping Giant. It was a good spot for a group photo opp, some water, protein bars, and sunscreen. From there the trail turns rockier. There is one hill that made me feel like I was Q*bert “hopping” from flat rock to flat rock.

The trail continues to go up and down around trap rock and wooded paths, until you get to the very top of the giant’s head. This is where the trail gets a little crazy. We had to climb down a very steep 100% trap rock slide. We passed more people going up this part than going down, so maybe they were on to something, but either way it was intense.

We passed a group of maybe second graders who were climbing up with their guides. It made me so happy to listen to them as they passed. One kept announcing that, “slow and steady wins the race, guys,” and another exclaimed how they were so high they should have oxygen masks. The one who shouted slow and steady was definitely correct and anyone who has hiked down steep hills with me, knows I resorted to sitting on my bum and “crab walking” down this section.

After getting to safety it was kind of fun to look up and see what we just came down. From here, the trail crosses over one of the flat trails that circles the park, and then up one last adventurous climb straight up a rock, (with the assistance of a giant root), before the trail winds you out of the park. Dana had the untimely experience of having a drop of sweat mixed with sunscreen get into her eye and blind her as she was climbing this section. Fortunately she is a rock star in more ways than one, and made it up safely, to hand off Dogo and wash her eyes out.

From here the trail leads to an intersection and a small street walk. We saw there was a protein smoothie store on the corner and made the decision that smoothies were definitely in order. We took 15-20 mins or so to enjoy our smoothies, and sit and stretch before carrying on “up” the road. Of course it was uphill… it follows a sidewalk for a bit before dropping back into the woods at the gate on the right.

There is a notable shift in the trail at this point. It turns back to a mostly wooded path and the rocks are different, less basalt, maybe? The hills do not stop though, and rightly so because we were heading to High Hill. Being completely honest though, we were done with hills long before we reached the car. It seemed like every time we thought we would turn the corner to see our cars, instead we saw another hill.

We carried on up and down hills passing the Regicides Trail and pretty look out points. And finally, finally, finally we saw the cars!

I love hiking, but when they are this long and with so many hills, it does get grueling. It’s proof positive how blessed I am to have hiking partners who I can spend long hours with, and even when we are sore and tired, we still stay respectful, supportive, and caring of each other.

Adventurers included: Jes, Mike, Dana, Bryan, and Dogo