CONNECTICUT HIKING

6 miles. Metacomet ridge walk with frequent overlooks. Bring water, lunch and hiking boots. DIRECTIONS: From the junction of Rtes. 372 and 71A in Berlin take Rte. 71A south for 1.2 miles and turn right on West Lane. Follow to parking area on right side of road.  (Or meet 8:55 at 4 Crabapple Lane, Unionville to carpool.) Thunderstorms cancel. L Gene Grayson (860-698-9074, emgrayson@cox.net )

Meet at large parking lot in far rear.  Entrance is off Rt. 4 in Farmington, just W of West Hartford town line.  Expect about 5 miles, and rough guess is to finish not too much after noon.  Bring plenty of water, snacks and lunch. L: Jane Macomber

Learn why this is called Wolf Den and what does Israel Putnam have to do with it on this 5 mile, 3-hour hike. Mashamoquet (mash-muk-it; “stream of good fishing”) State Park’s 781 acres has great biological and botanical diversity and may provide good early leaf-peeping opportunities as well as wildlife. And although dogs are allowed on the trail under control, they do lessen the chance to see wildlife. From CT 101 just east of its junction with US 44 in Pomfret, S on Wolf Den Drive for 0.7 mile. L into the Wolf Den camping area for parking. (the NO PETS sign applies to the campground).   Bring plenty of water, snacks or lunch, and good hiking boots for stability and traction. RSVP: connecticut.chapter@sierraclub.org or 860-508-9952

3.2 mile Eddy Loop plus 1.5 mile McLean Loop. Meet at 244 Farms Village Road/ Shopping Center (where Mario's Ristorante is located), W Simsbury. Because parking at Eddy Loop is limited we will car pool to start. Moderately hilly. We should be back to cars by 1:30PM. Bring water, lunch or snack. L: Jerry Marcum (860 810 0087)

8+ weekly FCE hikes begin. Please call FCE at 404-0290 and register for Course #08F1301: "Hikes", or click here to enroll on-line.  Distances will be about 4 - 6 miles, with back-to-cars goal before 12:30pm.  Also see Hiking Notes. First meeting is at Sessions Woods, Rt. 69, 3.3 miles south of its intersection with Rt 4, Burlington. 

First we will do some of the mainline and orange-dot Tunxis Trail. Then for those with remaining time and energy, we will do some of the black-dot Tunxis (Nature Center Connector) trail, and then cut back into Sessions Woods. L: Len Berton

All hikes are open to the public. Hike will leave from the bulletin board at the Sleeping Giant Park entrance on the north side of Mt. Carmel Avenue in northern Hamden, about 0.5 mile east of Whitney Avenue. Hikers should wear comfortable, supportive shoes and bring snacks and water, as desired. No pets, please.