So excited! Will be checking on the WB boxes ASAP!

I was at Kettletown SP recently, which had unbelievable damage from the same storm. The 3-mile Pomperaug-Crest Trail loop had hundreds of blowdowns, all of which had been cleared off of the trails. I mean the full length of the trail was blowdowns, not just patches. The Miller Trail loop to the north fared better, but one section also had severe damage. The good news is that despite the massive tree carnage, I was able to find all seven boxes I was looking for. One I had to crawl into the crown of a fallen tree, but it wasn't that bad. Another I had to step over some limbs. I hope most of the boxes at Sleeping Giant fare as well as the ones at Kettletown. Here's a photo at Kettletown: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DaUw29R4qKP7yiBb6

There is a June 1st Trails Day Hike at Sleeping Giant, I have Fridays off so I hope to spend a big part of the day there on May 31st.

Is there a definite opening date for the park? Just because there is a Trails Day hike there doesn't necessarily mean the park will be open to the general public yet. I heard they were trying to be open by Memorial Day, but they were also trying to be open last fall. An authorized, guided hike might be allowed even when the park is still closed.

My sister has been helping with the clean up. It still sounds like there is a lot to get done. She expressed concern over the proposed memorial weekend openeing.

All I see is there is a hike planned, hopefully it is fully open by then.

Please tell your sister "thank you!"

Seems like there are two different issues with the opening. One is the picnic area and the new landscaping/seeding, and it would be very bad to have people walking all over that before it's fully established.

The other is the risk of someone getting hurt on a trail that isn't cleared, especially if crews are in there chainsawing. I can attest that people are pretty stupid when our volunteers are using power equipment. We'll have signs up telling people to stop and ask permission before proceeding but they will still walk directly under a leaning tree that someone is sawing.

It is heartbreaking to see the logging operation going on along Mt Carmel Ave. The crossover trails won't have a tree on them at this rate.

Give it a few years. The open canopy will let more light in and hopefully the shrubs and saplings will be able to explode, if there aren't too many deer. After that, the forest will be a lot thicker and there will be more wildlife.