Using Shelton's Trails to Prep for Mountain Hiking

Hiking the White Mountains

You might have vacation plans that include hiking in places with actual mountains and want to get in shape for that. But how? Going to the gym can help, but it's not the same. The gold standard is to prepare for hiking by hiking. If you plan to hike up rocky hills, you want to prepare by hiking up rocky hills. For example, if you plan to hike up a 4,000-footer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, you want to train by hiking up long, steep, rocky hills.  Some people drive all the way up to Bear Mountain, Connecticut's highest peak. That's a beautiful hike, and if you take the steepest route you'll ascend and descend 1560 feet in about 5.4 miles. But you'll also spend a solid three hours in the car if coming from Shelton and not everyone has time for that. 

I'm here to say you have options right here in Shelton and I've listed some below with total mileage and elevation gains for each. I recently walked from Birchbank Mountain to Eklund Garden. The total elevation gain was 1460 feet over about 7.6 miles, about the same as hiking Bear Mountain. Call it "interval training." Instead of one big up and one big down, there are lots of ups and downs that add up. That hike included a relentless ascent of 530 feet from the falls area at Indian Well to Wiacek Meadows, just north of the High School.  And there was some rocky, uneven footing (especially through Burritt's Rocks), which is critical training if you plan to hike in a rocky area like the White Mountains. Compare the two photos below: 

White Mountains

Paugussett Trail at Birchbank Mtn 

These are the hikes I've been using the past few years to train for backpacking parts of the Appalachian Trail and doing the 4000-footers of New Hampshire.  I work up to carrying a loaded backpack, and have learned to supplement the hiking with about 50 squats and some knee exercises. The squats are super helpful if you plan to go up and down boulder-filled trails like the ones in the White Mountains. 

Note that if you want to do overnight backpacking but are new at it, or you have new gear you want to test out, one option is to take the Paugussett Trail northbound from Buddington Road and tent at Webb Mountain.  If you run into trouble, you can always call home for a ride or supplies you forgot. (Note you'll need to apply for a camping permit from the Town of Monroe). 

All of the hikes involve the Paugussett Trail along the Housatonic River bluff, because that's where the hills (and sometimes rocks) are. I use the app GaiaGPS to determine the ascent of the hike. The app does tend to understate the mileage, apparently by not including vertical distances. I adjusted the mileages below to account for that. 

This list is ordered by total ascent: 

1. Fastest hike -  Indian Well/Tahmore Figure-8 (1.7 mile with 410 ft ascent  - 242 ft/mile): This hike starts with lung-busting steep ascent, has a nice overlook, and the footing is easy and mostly dry even in mud season. But it can get crowded and noisy during peak summer weekends. Also, the gnats can be really bad in summer. Park in the hiker lot across the street from the beach entrance to Indian Well and go up the big rotting flight of steps. Take a left sobo (southbound) on the Paugussett Trail, and then pick up the blue/yellow Tahmore Trail to the overlook. Continue on the blue/yellow loop. Make it a figure-8 loop hike by continuing south on the Paugussett Trail and take a hard left on blue/red Beach Cutoff Trail. 

Indian Well/Tahmore Figure-8
1.7 mile with 410 ascent and easy footing

2. Birchbank Crazy-8 loop with Burritt's Rocks: (2.6 mile with 420 ft ascent - 162 ft/mi). This scenic hike is best at giving you the illusion of wilderness so you can pretend you're in northern New England. The first and last half-mile are flat, but the rest is all up and down. The southern loop (Burritt's Bypass) is very rocky, while the rest has good footing. From the Birchbank trailhead, head north on the white-blazed Birchbank Trail, crossing two bridges, and heading up the hill along the cascades to Chimney Junction. Turn left onto blue and cross the river (or continue on white to cross at a bridge, it doesn't really matter). Continue on blue, passing the overlook, the junction with the blue/white Birchbank Connector, and the first junction with blue/green Burritt's Bypass. Go through a very rocky section and near the top of  the hill turn right onto Burritt's Bypass Trail (blue/green), now heading north. At the end, take a left back onto the Paugussett then the next right onto the blue/white Birchbank Connector. Turn right onto Birchbank Trail (white), and another right at the bottom of the hill to return to your car. 

Birchbank Crazy-8 
2.6 miles, 420 ft ascent, lots of rocks

3. Housatonic Woods lollipop loop: (2.0 miles with 485 ft ascent - 243 ft/mile): Click HERE for a trail map. This is an interesting hike with mostly good footing (just a short section through "the passageway" with some rocks and drop-offs.) You're unlikely to see anyone on this hike so it's a great option if Indian Well is busy. The con is you end the hike with a long uphill climb, and there's a lot of road noise. Park at the end of Woodsend Ave and hike a lollipop loop using Woodsend Trail and the Paugussett Trail. 

4. Indian Well Beach to Housatonic Woods Lollipop Loop. (3.4 mile, 770 ft ascent - 226 ft/mile). This hike offers good footing and includes a part of Indian Well nobody ever sees. Good for wet or icy weather, but crosses Route 110, so don't do this during rush-hour traffic. You'll start at the beach at Indian Well, climb up to the overlook, then descend to Indian Hole Brook. Then continue on blue across Rt 110 and up to Woodsend Trail to make a loop in Housatonic Woods. See this page for maps and a better description. 

The BIRCH-WELL Hikes: Bigger ascents and lots of rocks!  "Birch-Well" is our nickname for the steep, rocky slope that spans the southern part of Birchbank and northern section of Indian Well.  Old deeds called the area "Burritt's Rocks." These hikes mostly cross Burritt's Rocks TWICE and are good training if you plan to hike in a rocky area like the White Mountains. Avoid these hikes if it's wet or icy. The first three hikes ascend and descend the river bluff once, twice, or three times, giving you the total ascent you're looking for.  I make sure I can handle the hardest one (the Birch-Well Triple), carrying a fully-loaded pack, before setting out on a backpacking trip up north. 

1. Birch-Well Single (3.4 miles with 780 ft ascent 230 ft/mile): Start at Indian Well at the trailhead across from the beach entrance, go up the white access trail and turn right to head north on the blue-blazed Paugussett Trail until you reach the Birchbank Overlook of the Housatonic River. Be sure to take the Burritt's Bypass trail (blue/green) when northbound but stay on blue when southbound. The return hike is easier because you're going mostly downhill. 

Birch-Well Single (3.4 miles with 780 ft ascent)

Click "Birch-Well Single" profile to enlarge

2. Birch-Well Double (lollipop loop) (4.4 miles 1,040 ft ascent): The same hike as the Birch-Well single, but with an added loop at Birchbank that takes you all the way down to the bottom before climbing up to the overlook.  It has the benefit of giving your mind a reprieve from all the rocks (hiking through rocks can be mentally draining) before going back through them again. Start the hike from the Indian Well beach, but before you get to the Birchbank Overlook, take a right and go down the Birchbank Connector (blue/white), take a right on Birchbank Trail (white), and take that all the way down the hill. Turn left to follow the white Birchbank Trail loop counterclockwise, cross Upper White Hills Brook at the Scout bridge, and stay on the white loop past the cascades all the way to Chimney Junction. Take a left on the blue Paugussett Trail across the brook and up to the Birchbank Overlook. Return the way you came (but stay on blue instead of taking Burritt's Bypass). Click the hike profile below to enlarge. 

Click "Birch-Well Double" profile to enlarge

3. Birch-Well Triple (Figure-8): (6.5 miles with 1270 ft ascent - 195 ft/mile): This is my default long hike for building stamina before a backpacking trip. Start at the Birchbank trailhead and continue past two bridges to take the Birchbank loop counterclockwise. At Chimney Junction, turn left to go south on blue (or if the water is high, stay on white and use the upper Scout bridge to cross the brook). Stay on blue all the way to Tahmore Junction at Indian Well State Park. Turn right towards the sign that says "Overlook 200 feet", now on the blue/yellow Tahmore loop going clockwise. Follow the blue/yellow for one mile around the loop, arriving back at Tahmore Junction. Return to Birchbank Mountain the way you came (remember to take Burritt's Bypass when northbound). Turn right onto the blue/white Birchbank Connector, then two rights on Birchbank Trail to return to your car.

"Birch-Well Triple" Profile
Click to enlarge

Birch-Well Triple
6.5 miles with 1270 ft ascent

4. Birchbank to Eklund Garden: (7.1 miles with 1460 ft ascent - 206 ft/mile): Not as many rocks, but this option adds variety and is especially fun if Eklund is in full summer bloom, and the walk along Silent Waters and Hope Lake is always enjoyable. This hike is one-way, so you'll need to figure out the logistics of that. It can be shortened by ending at Constitution Blvd with almost the same total ascent (5.8 miles with 1255 ft ascent - 216 ft/mile). You can make the Wiacek Meadows overlook your goal (it's at the top of the 500+ foot ascent) and enjoy the view for a bit. 

Birchbank to Eklund Garden
7.6 miles, 1460 ft total ascent

 

Click Profile to enlarge

So those are some of the hikes I do in Shelton. Some regional options that aren't too far away nclude: 

• Zoar Trail, a 6.3-mile blue-blazed loop in Newtown with 1115-ft total ascent and lots of annoying boulders along one section. 
  
  
• Sleeping Giant. There are a zillion options here. If you take the blue-blazed Quinnipiac Trail from the main parking area up over the Giant's Head and on to the tower, you'll get some serious steep rock-ledge climbing on a challenging trail and a total of 725 feet of ascent over 1.4 mile, although it seems like it should be more than that (The least-treacherous descent is via the Tower Trail). If you plan to hike someplace out west with trails that switchback gently up mountains (or go down the Grand Canyon), the easy Tower Trail heading up the Giant would be great training. Trail. Same elevation gain at the blue trail, but a different type of walking.