The hiking we did on our trip to Acadia was the beginning of what's becoming a new favorite hobby for us. You know someone is getting serious about something when they drop a bunch of dough on it, which we did last month when we bought new shoes and a trail guide. We've been on five hikes since Acadia:
- Huntington State Park, Redding, CT. Our first hiking venture here in Connecticut and probably the closest hiking trails to our place of residence. 2.5 miles along the blue, green, red and white trails. The trails here were wide and multipurpose, as we saw evidence of horseback riding and mountain biking along the way. The terrain is nice and we should go back at some point to do more exploring.
- Fahnestock State Park, Putnam County, NY. We walked the Catfish Loop (4.9 miles) at this sprawling New York state park with our friends Laura and Sara and their dog Ellie. All in all not a scintillating hike, but a pleasant enough trail on a nice day.
- Appalachian Trail, Hoyt Rd to Bulls Bridge. Our first time on the venerable AT was 4 miles or so of trail from the New York-Connecticut border to Bulls Bridge, CT, which is actually a covered bridge and a bit of a local attraction. A nice up-and-down Ten Mile Hill and beautiful views of the Housatonic River, which was swollen and rushing from all the rain.
- Lillinonah Trail, Newtown, CT. Our first Blue Blazed trail hike, we followed it from one parking area to the other, about 3.9 miles or so, along the shore of Lake Lillinonah. The trail, as noted on the website, is a bit steep, plus it was hot and buggy, which made this an exhausting hike, but a rewarding one.
- Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, NY. We took an approximately 5 mile hike out of one of the several guide books I've been getting from Interlibrary Loan. An easy hike along wide trails, this reminded us of Huntington State Park, except not as strenuous. We took a side trail called Leatherman's Loop to see one of the caves that the infamous Leatherman slept in on his wanderings.
So that's what we've been up to on many weekend mornings recently. Have any suggestions for good hiking nearby?