Sleeping Giant

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Sleeping Giant

Massive tectonic forces and huge basalt uplifts in li'l ol' Connecticut? You betcha!

"Sleeping Giant, a fault-block ridge that formed 200 million years ago during the Triassic and Jurassic periods, is composed of traprock, also known as basalt, an extrusive volcanic rock. Huge slopes made of fractured basalt scree are visible beneath many of the ledges of Sleeping Giant. The basalt cliffs are the product of several massive lava flows hundreds of feet deep that welled up in faults created by the rifting apart of North America from Eurasia and Africa. These basalt floods of lava happened over a period of 20 million years. "

Sleeping Giant - As you can see by this photograph - it looks like a sleeping giant!

My Hike

It was a nasty day - gray overcast with the threat of heavy rain. Nevertheless, knowing I was scheduled to meet a couple of college friends from way back in New Haven sometime mid afternoon, I ventured down to Sleeping Giant Park to hike. I took the easy trail to the Tower and was impressed with the rugged scenery.

The Tower Trail is a long wide winding gravel road that climbs 500+ feet. Surprisingly, even though the weather sucked, there were a lot of people out hiking!

The sharp angles in this rock outcropping indicate its volcanic origins - its basalt

That's the sleeping giant's head ahead -- you hike through a ravine (more or less the giant's neck!). Hard to get a true feel from the photos but the cliff is massive!

The Tower

Built in 1936 by the WPA, you can ascend a series of dark interior ramps to get to the top.

You can imagine on a beautiful sunny day - the view would be awesome!

There was a picnic table in the fireplace room where I had an apple before descending back down the mountain.

The Descent

Careful observation - Yep that's someone climbing--Yikes!

The park is riddled with trails - next time (on a nicer day) I will return and hike the White or the Blue Trail - it looks like fun (and a bit of a challenge).