The Aspetuck Valley Trail

    Today I decided to tackle the Aspetuck Valley Trail located in the towns of Redding and Newtown Connecticut.  I have been doing a lot of hiking recently because i want to explore something new and get some exercise.  Today's hike Started at good'ol Hunting to State Park  where I picked up the Aspetuck Trail, and followed it all the way down to Good Ridge Road in Redding Connecticut.  The hike was a to and back with a one way distance of 5.5 miles for a total length of 11 miles.  I didn't think i was going to pull it off.

Eggs, sausage, and English Muffin

    I started out my day much like BrkTrt over at, Small Stream Refelctions, by making a killer breakfast.  I made scrambled eggs, brown and serve sausage,  a lightly toasted English Muffin, coffee and OJ.  After fueling up I got dressed and headed over to my mom's house to grab my day pack and i was off to the trail.  On the way I had to stop and grab an energy bar and a powerade, but i finally made it to my destination.
 

At the Aspetuck Tail Head

  I am not going to go into detail about Huntington State Park since I have posted twice about it.  I simply got my socks and boots on and hit the trail.  I was able to pick up the Aspetuck Valley Trail inside the park.  The Aspetuck Trail is a Connecticut Blue Blazed hiking trail that starts in Huntington Park and travels through the Centennial State Forest.  There are no views or peaks on the trail, just woods.  These woods however, are abundant with New England's forest trade mark, Stone Walls.  As recent as 100 years ago New England was mostly farm land.  As the industrial revolution and then the great depression  most of these farms were lost.  The Centennial Forest is a prime example.  Originaly the property was purchased during the great depression from failing farms by Bridgeport Hydraulic.  They also did all the surveying so i am sure the farmers got ripped off.  Today the property is owned by Aquarion. Aquarion owns thousands of acres of land in Fair Field County and several large reservoirs are located on the property such as the Saugatuck.  In 2002 the State of Connecticut, Nature Conservancy, and Aquarion reached an agreement to conserve 15,000 acres of water shed property for public use.
    15,000 acres is a ton of land and even more considering it is located only 1.5 hours from New York City.    The State allows public access and manages the wildlife, allowing the public access in return for big tax credits to aquarion.  The land has allows for hiking, jogging, and snow shoeing.  The State also goes as far as allowing bow hunting and shotgun hunting for deer.  Some of us savages have even killed deer here over the years.  Because the area contains several drinking water reservoirs there are a lot of special regulations like no dogs and you must stay on the trail.
   As for my hike, I found the trail is well marked.  The terrain was not difficult and all the bridges were in A+ condition.  High Five to the people who maintain the trails my guess is the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association is behind it.  The hike i took crossed 2 roads, Hopewell Woods Road and Poverty Hollow Road.  I turned around at Good Ridge Road since most of the trail past that is along a dirt road.  I did stop to refill my water, and again, my Katadyn Hiker worked.  I also had a Cliff Bar while i took a rest.  The walk back to the truck seemed to go a lot faster until I got back to Huntington Park.  The distance inside the park was mainly uphill back to the truck, but I made it.  Back at the truck I peeled my boots and socks off and exchanged them for sandals and hit the road.

   I would not rate this hike as difficult. There are no vistas, but some geological features can be found.  Just like my Macedonia Hike I found The red salamanders all over the place, I found a deer, and saw a set of coyote tracks.  The star of the hike is the Stone walls.  You cross through several old bar ways, and it makes you wonder what the place looked like 100+ years ago.

Stopping for a cliff bar and some water