Chauncey/Lamentation

Hike: Chauncey Peak & Lamentation Mountain
Location: Giuffrida Park/Lamentation Mountain State Park
Nearby Town: Meriden, CT
Elevation (Max): 688'
Elevation Gained: 772'
Mileage: 5.5
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: From the north, Take Exit 20 off I-91, turn L at Middle St., turn R on Country Club Rd., Country Club Rd. becomes Westfield Rd as you pass a quarry, parking in Giuffrida Park is ahead on the R. From the south, take Exit 20 off I-91, turn L on Country Club Rd, and the rest is the same as above.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauncey_Peak, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamentation_Mountain

Sometime around February 2009, while perusing Michael Lanza's New England Hiking, my favorite hiking guide, I came across his guide to doing a Presidential Traverse, a 20 mile hike from end to end of the Presidential Range (Mt. Washington and its surrounding peaks) in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The idea of hiking along the ridgeline of New England's most impressive mountains including the legendary Mt. Washington instantly captured my imagination. I pitched the idea of doing a post-graduation traverse to some friends, and, with surprisingly little persuasion, I got a group of 5 (including me) together. We scheduled the hike for the beginning of June, so in the time between graduation and the hike, E and I were desperate to do some training because we knew the Presidentials would be tough. Unfortunately, it is a bit of a challenge finding hikes in southeastern Connecticut that are strenuous enough to train for the Presidentials. However, E and I found a couple enjoyable hikes to do in CT before heading to New Hampshire.

Chauncey Peak/Lamentation Mountain are two, rather steep, hills in central Connecticut along the Metacomet Ridge which essentially runs from Long Island Sound up to the New Hampshire/Vermont border. I don't think I ever really noticed the hilliness of the Meriden area before, but there are some really impressive old peaks in the area. E and I headed out on a hot and sunny late May day with my sister, M. After parking in Giuffrida park, we walked along the end of a reservoir tucked in between Lamentation Mountain and Chauncey Peak called Crescent Lake. It was a really pretty view, and reminded me of somewhere in the Adirondacks perhaps, not the middle of the Connecticut River Valley.

Crescent Lake with Chauncey Peak on the right

We started up Chauncey Peak, which starts as a gradual path but quickly turns into a precariously steep ascent. To make matters worse, the trail is composed of loose traprock making climbing a slow and challenging process. On our way up, we were startled by a loud, deep boom followed by the ground shaking beneath our feet. For a moment, we were frightened by this, and we felt a bit like characters in a fairy tale climbing a mountain to confront a dragon, but I soon remembered that a quarry is on the opposite side of Chauncey Peak, and the tremor was surely the result of blasting. After scrambling over a few boulders, we reached the summit of Chauncey Peak. The view was quite impressive, especially for a 688' peak, and the surrounding area looked surprisingly pastoral. After taking in the view, we walked around to the quarry side of the mountain to try to see another blast, but after waiting about fifteen minutes in the hot sun we gave up and continued on our hike. From there, the trail follows the cliffs above Crescent Lake providing ample views.

The view from the summit of Chauncey Peak

The cliffs over Crescent Lake

The trail then reenters the woods and descends Chauncey Peak. At this point the trails and trail markers started to conflict with what my guide said. We made our best guess at how to get to Lamentation Mountain, but we first wound up walking in a circle and then entered a marshland--we were certainly lamenting. We passed by another hiker a couple times and asked him how to get to Lamentation, but he too was lost because the trails had been rerouted. To make matters a bit worse, E and M were starting to complain about the heat and being lost and I started to suffer from seasonal allergies. This unhappy group eventually stumbled upon the trail to Lamentation Mountain, summitted it, took in the view (which really was very nice--it overlooks a horse pasture), and turned around to return to the car. The return trip was pretty rough with the combination of heat, exhaustion, shortage of water, and my constant sneezing. To return, just retrace your steps back down Lamentation, across the stream that feeds Crescent Lake, ascend Chauncey Peak, walk along the cliffs, and descend the way you came. The only thing more tricky than hiking up loose traprock is hiking down. You really must be careful on this part of the hike because losing your footing is more likely than not, so take it slow. We stopped in a Subway on our drive back, and didn't really realize how sweaty we were until we entered the air-conditioned shop and began shivering. Despite the challenges of the hike, though, the views were impressive, it's always fun to hike with E and M, and challenging is exactly what we needed if we wanted to successfully hike the Presidentials.

The view of the horse pasture from Lamentation Mountain


Crescent Lake from Chauncey Peak looking SSW to Sleeping Giant State Park

P.S. My apologies for the poor photo quality. I forgot to bring a camera so I had to make do with a cell phone camera.