4/29/2011 Res 6 to Heublin Tower (4/21/2011)

Ok so this hike that I am writing about now took place on 4/21/2011.  Sorry it took me so long to write about it but I have been training alot for jiu-jitsu tournaments so I have been away from the computer.  It was a great day to go hiking, myself and Mr. V meet up at Res #6 in West Hartford and proceeded to hike up to Heublin Tower, and then we were like screw it lets keep going so that's what we did.  The first part of the trail, well it wasn't even a trail it was more like a dirt road with some pavement for park police and other qualitfied vehicles.  So we walked on that for pretty much the length of the entire res which was atleast 1 mile where we picked up the trailhead on the left.  This was the CT blue trail as always and we followed up to top of the mountain where Heublin Tower is located.  The trail in the beginning was pretty shitty, very wet and muddy but that's how things are around here until the summer when things dry out, so until we gained some elevation it would have to muddy.  Here is a short history of Heublin Tower. ( The following I took from www.friendsofheublintower.org. 
Gilbert F. Heublein was a celebrated German-born hotelier and restaurateur in Hartford, Connecticut as well as an innovator in the American gourmet food and liquor industry. Heublein built the Tower in 1914 as a summer retreat for his family and for the entertainment of weekend guests.
Builder T. P. Fox and Son was contracted by Heublein to carry out Hartford architects Hilliard Smith and Roy D. Bassette’s Tower plans, the specifications of which called for a tower that would never blow over, having been designed to resist wind pressures of 100 mph. It is a six-storied structure, with a 165- foot solid square shaft of steel beam and concrete construction that rises from a massive, asymmetrical fieldstone base. The property on which it rests totals approximately 350 contiguous acres along the mountain ridge, with the Tower being at the midpoint of the plot.
Many famous people have been guests at the tower, where the Republican Party asked General Dwight Eisenhower to run for president. This same party was also attended by Prescott Bush, father of George H. W. Bush. Ronald Regan also visited the tower in the 1950s while he was president of the Screen Actors Guild.
From 1948 to 1950, WTHT, an FM station operated by The Hartford Times, used the tower as its antenna site.

Here are some pictures from the hike, and yea it was incredibly windy at the top, I would have to say gusts where up to 25mph, myself and MR.V had to yell at each other to be heard over the wind.  The farther we got from the crest of the mountain and ridgeline the wind actually made it sound like there was a major highway directly near us, but it was only the wind being windy, anyway here are some pictures. 

Trail to Heublin Tower obviously

Mr. V pointing west, looking dignified

Top of the tower

neat little spot to have a picnic

me looking at something and then thinking about that thing i am looking at

Heublin Tower

So it was a pretty neat hike.  We stayed up at the tower for alittle bit and took pictures and stuff, then we decided to keep going north on the Blue trail.  If we were to follow it all the way to it's beginning we would end up in Granby but unfortunately we couldn't do that on this day.  We kept on hiking and then hoped onto the blue/red trail and cut across the forrest to pick up the Blue trail back to the trailhead and where we parked.  Overall it was a great day of hiking, it was beautiful out as you can see and I can't wait to just get dropped off at the beginning of the trail up in Granby and just hike all the way south on it.  One day this will happen but until then I will just keep on hiking parts.