Hike to Heublein Tower, April 24, 2014

Sensing a bit of momentum with a few good hikes under my belt, I decided to pack my Rover uniform on the morning of Thursday the 24th of April, and by the end of the workday, I decided I needed to get outside and out of sight for a while.  I had left my CT Walk Book at home, so the decision was made  to stick again to familiar territory, so I headed for my old favorite "stomping ground" as I liked to call it.  Up off of US-44 in West Hartford is one of several reservoirs for the greater Hartford area with beautiful foot trails.  This particular reservoir, Reservoir #6, also hosts a section of the Metacomet Trail which piggybacks along part of the reservoir loop trail, then heads up the side of Talcott Mountain and then along the ridge to a landmark famous to Avon & Simsbury residents: the Heublein Tower.  Unfortunately, my journey would be held up by nearly an hour due to heavy traffic in Farmington.  By the time I arrived, it was already 5:30pm and sundown would be around 7:40pm.  Having done this hike before, I seem to recall it taking at least an hour & a half one way under ideal conditions, so if I was going to make it, I was going to have to hoof it.

The first few paces of the trail are quite lovely.  The route is for the most part level, meandering gravel road.  The reservoir itself is lined in many places with tall, gorgeous pine trees.  A few minutes into the trail, I realized something was wrong.  As I was heading up the west side of the reservoir, I realized that some serious tree removal had been happening along  the left hand side of the trail.  I had been out here last fall and remembered that some trees had been cleared, but this was nearly a clear cutting.  I said, "Well, they didn't do this all the way up the reservoir," but it turns out they cleared a lot more than what I remembered from last October.  I mean, they even put in a handful of logging roads along the way, that weren't exactly un-wide.

I tried my best to put the destruction out of my mind, but it was a good mile and a half of spoiled scenery before I finally got to the Metacomet Trail turnoff, which incidentally is clearly marked:

I gleefully turned left and attempted a trot up the hill, only to be met with tire ruts and mud for the first 100 yards or so.  I suppose I shouldn't carry on so much about the clearing.  Working against my pleasant mood was also the fact that I was rushing thru my journey as fast as I could to get to the top.  All along the loop trail (before the turnoff), I practiced Scout's Pace to try to cover some distance.  Considering how out of shape I thought I was, I am actually grateful for the opportunity to practice without falling flat on my face. :-)  Anyhow... I slogged it out in the mud up thru the first portion of trail up the ridge.  Once I finally exited the tree-cutting zone, things began to return to normal, when suddenly I began to see signs of what had really been going on:

It was finally obvious that there was a lot of catastrophic tree damage from all the powerful storms that rolled thru the region over the last few years... recall "Snowtober" and "Snowmagedon".  The trees were all down in the same direction, so there was clearly a lot of previous wind damage.  In other spots, you could see tree branches snapped off and dangling near the tree tops.  I spent as much time looking up as I was looking at the trail, to be aware of "widow makers".

Much of the trail heading up the ridge is steep and rocky.  Be prepared and wear good boots.  PArt way up the ridge, you will come upon a clearing which, in warmer weather, will look a bit like a meadow, but it's really an electric transmission line.  Of course, being an ex-utility geek, I had to snap a picture of it:

... and the nearby underground gas line markers:

 

The closer you get to the top, the more signs you start to see.  In fact, near the top, you cross from the MDC's property (the company that owns/manages the reservoirs), over to Talcott Mountain State Park.  It was at this point I finally got the full story on the tree removal:

Just past this point, the trail crosses a road and heads to the right with a very clearly marked sign, pointing the direction to the tower.  Wander a bit further and you will pass a fenced State Police radio tower, and eventually the pavilions and picnic area which are just to the south of the tower.  The views at the top are simply stunning and must be enjoyed.  I believe the tower houses a museum that is open in the summertime.  My rover crew did this exact hike back in December of 2007.... that was probably the last time I did this walk.  It's well worth the trip.

Epilogue:  I did everything but run down the mountain to make it back to the parking lot in time before the park closed.  I finished up about 7:50pm.  Definitely allow yourself more time than I did so that you can ENJOY the trip!!

MILEAGE COUNT:   The first leg of the hike until the turnoff is about 1.5 miles.  It's probably another good mile up the mountain and along the ridge until you get to the tower.  Round trip: 5 miles.  Running total:  10 miles, 90 to go!!

For more information about the MDC and the reservoirs, visit:  http://www.themdc.com/recreation-areas/reservoirs

For a downloadable map of the trails around Reservoir 6, visit:  http://www.themdc.com/assets/uploads/files/Recreation/Res6TrailsMapWeb_12_2013.pdf

UCONN Forest Hike - Part 1 - April 22, 2014

On Tueday the 22, as luck would have it, I got sent home around 2pm because I had some software maintenance to do later that evening.  I took advantage of the beautiful spring afternoon to hit the Nipmuch Trail located not too far from our home in eastern Connecticut.  The Nipmuck cuts right across a beautiful tract of land known as the UCONN Forest, which is owned and maintained by the University of Connecticut.  They have a modest webpage about it at http://www.canr.uconn.edu/rh/rh/images/facilities/forest.html

The Nipmuck Trail crosses US-44 in the vicinity of Old Turnpike Road.  I believe the brook that crosses 44 in this area is called "Fenton Brook" on the sign, but Google maps shows it as "Mason Brook".  In any case, just past the brook, if heading east, turn right on to Old Turnpike Road, cross back over the brook, and look for the trail put-in point on the left / south side of the road.  There is a pair of signs nailed to a tree at that point:

 

The trail heads south towards Gurleyville Road, a key east-west route between the UCONN campus on CT-195 and.... well, Gurleyville itself which is a small quaint New England village.  There's not much out this way, at least by Connecticut standards, but I digress.  I had intended to do the whole trip to Gurleyville Road, which I will estimate to be about two miles one way.  Since I had to be off the trail and back home at a certain time, I really only had time to go about halfway into the forest before I had to turn around and head back.  So I still got two miles out of it, but to do two miles in and back would have put my employment in jeopardy.  So I'll describe the first half of the trek here, and will detail the second half at a later date.

It was a beautiful mid-spring day when I set out to do this trek.  Many of the trees are either budding or just starting to put out their leaves.  This portion of the trail begins along a wet marshy area that drains into the Fenton Brook / Fenton River, so one of the first things I noticed were the skunk cabbages starting to turn green and pop out of the ground.  The trail crosses at least a half dozen streams that empty into the Fenton, so a good pair of waterproofed boots and a staff would come in handy.

Fenton River tributary

The very first crossing had a very convenient concrete block sunk right in the middle of the brook to help you get across.  Some of the others along the way were not so well furnished.  When you get to this first major crossing, take a moment to look up... you will notice some rather tall mountain laurel.  This spot will be beautiful in late May/early June.... I will most definitely need to return in about a month.

Tributary crossing

The trail will make a few turns as it gets closer to the actual Fenton River.  Once along side it, the trail will at times be right at the river level, and then later ascend quite high enough so that a slip off the trail down would be rather dangerous.  There are assorted fire rings around, the largest being just a few feet from the river itself.  I'm still not sure if these are actual campsites available for use, so I need to do some more digging to figure this out.  Just past this large fire ring (you can't miss it), there is a rather large tree down that makes the trail hard to find.  Stay to the left of this and you will remain on the trail.  I suspect there was a blue blaze on this unfortunate giant.

Fire ring

Trail - keep left!

The website I mentioned above states that parts of the forest are over 100 years old. I believe the next part of the hike takes you through one of these old sections.  Eastern Hemlock trees will become more plentiful as you continue, many of which are quite old.  Be sure to look up... its as close as we get here in southern New England to gazing up at giant redwoods.

 The trail will cross a few more brooks thru this zone and will enter a marshy area.  Eventually, the trail will exit the forest and enter a grassy meadow of some sort.  Look for green metal poles with blue blazes to find your trail.  I can't wait to see this area again in mid summer when everything is green and growing.

At the other end of this meadow, the trail will enter the woods again.  In this area, you will see signs of civilization in the form of a paved road, and signs put in place by the College of Natural Resources, identifying trees and explaining about the ecology of the area.  I continued only a little bit more when the trail actually crossed this service road.  I stopped to take a selfie, then it was time to turn around...

#butfirstletmetakeaselfie

The trip back was just as nice. I was able to stop and grab a bunch of snapshots along the way.  I could easily fill this blog with photos but it would be easier to refer you to my online album.   So meanwhile, I will count this as two miles, with my running total at 5 miles, with 95 to go!

For more information, visit: http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/development/parks.html

Coney Rock Preserve Hike - April 10, 2014

On a particularly lovely evening after work, my hubby Matt & I met up to hike one of our favorite spots, the Coney Rock Preserve located in Mansfield off Chaffeville Road.  The land is comprised of two parcels, one owned by the town of Mansfield, and the other is part of Joshua's Trust.  We feel very lucky to live so close to so many forests and trails; now that life is settling down, we are making an effort to use them more often.  Anyhow, the land itself seems to be a ridge of some sort that seems to level off near the top.  At the trailhead is a well marked sign and a board with a map of the different trails on the properties.

 

We started up the ridge along a white blazed trail which was rather well marked.  The start was a bit steep but not as aggressive as the Castle Craig inclines.  As you made your way up the ridge, the trail tended to switch back and forth a bit, often with clever arrow signs to point the way:

 

On the way up the ridge, I noticed that many of the trees were oaks of some sort, based on the leaf litter on the ground.  As we got further up the ridge, a beautiful hemlock grove opened up in front of us.  It was nice to see that not all the hemlock trees were destroyed by the recent blight.  Each of the trails in the preserve, it seems, have their own name.  This became apparent just past the hemlock grove as we came to an intersection with Chaffeeville Trail, which turned to the left and continued deeper into the preserve.  To continue on the trail we were on would have taken us across the preserve in the direction of a very old white oak tree.  More on that later.

 

Hemlock Grove

We decided to turn left onto the Chaffeeville Trail, which was rather nice.  It continued for a ways along some old scenic stone walls.   We hit another junction, this time with the Olsen Trail.  We turned left onto the Olsen Trail and followed it along until we crossed over into the Joshua's Trust part of the preserve, which was easy to tell based on the white diamond shaped signs indicating the trust's boundary.  In this general area is where we hit a T junction with the yellow-blazed Chapin Trail, which brought us right across the preserve and thru a pretty mountain laurel grove, which I would like to see again in June when it should be in full bloom.  Just past this, the trail hooks around and takes you under an overhead wooden sign to indicate your arrival at the outlook point.

The outlook point was nice.  There was a sheer drop which one would want to be aware of when approaching the edge.  There was also a pretty stone bench with these words inscribed in it:  I saw the last leaf of fall ask the first snowflake to dance.  We enjoyed the outlook for a little while but then realized we would soon be running out of daylight if we didn't start moving.  We continued along the Chapin Trail, which brought us slightly downhill and then back towards the left.  Eventually we reconnected with the Olsen Trail, took it back towards the Chaffeeville Trail, and almost headed right back down the ridge, but realized we had some time to cut back across the preserve to pay a quick visit the "Great White Oak".  The tree itself was magnificent.  Of course, I had to stop to take a selfie to prove I was there...

We headed back and then down the ridge, just in time to lose daylight.  It was a really nice way to spend the evening.  

The town of Mansfield publishes a brochure on the preserve's trails which is available online.  The brochure says there are over 5 miles of trails on the properties. I would say we probably did about 2 miles based on the time it took us to do.  This would put my running total at 5 miles.  95 to go!

For more information, visit:  http://www.mansfieldct.gov/filestorage/1904/5357/coney_rock.pdf

Hike to Castle Craig, April 2, 2014

It's really been a long winter here in southern New England, so when the thermometer went up into the 60's last week, I knew I needed to take advantage of the weather and get outside.  The days are getting longer but they aren't at their longest. I waffled at first as to where to hike.  I had been smart enough to pack my boots, socks, jeans, and even my red 1st Lone Scouts neckerchief, but overlooked bringing a map.  Then it occurred to me that any map that I had would be drastically out of date, as many of Central Connecticut's blue-blazed trails had been rerouted in recent years.... but there was an old standby that I knew would still be available and intact:  the trail up to Castle Craig at Hubbard Park in Meriden, CT.  I hastily changed my clothes and headed across town to take to the trail.

Hubbard Park is located just over the border from Southington in Meriden on West Main Street.  Interstate 691 goes right thru the park, so if you get off at Exit 4, you are not far.  The main road thru the park is one way.  Enter the park and keep to the left when the road turns right.  You will see a gravel parking area at the edge of the woods with a wooden sign indicating the put-in point for the trail.

 

Below the sign is a map of the park trails in case you need a visual reference.  Bear in mind, the only reason why I went without a map, is because I have done this trip many times... don't do what I did.  Be prepared: bring a map!

The first part of the trip is about a half mile along a badly disintegrating road.  If you look carefully at the gravel and sand below your feet, you can see bits of pavement from the original roadway.  You are walking along side I-691 until you get to the pedestrian bridge which takes you across the highway.  You will see it off to the right as you approach.  Turn right, and head over the bridge.

The above shot of the bridge is looking back across from the other side.  Get ready because the easy part is now behind you.  Most motorists can see the castle from the highway, about 1000 feet above the roadway.  That's the ridge you're going to climb up.  This next shot is looking up the trail after having just crossed the bridge.

Most of what you're climbing is shale or as we call it, trap rock.  It's a bit oxidized in nature but it has great commercial value when mined as drainage rock or for use as a gravel in asphalt mixtures.  Much of the state is made of alternating layers of trap rock and red sandstone, all tipped up on their sides a bit.  The tall ridges are trap rock and the lower areas are red sandstone.  The sandstone was more easily weathered down, leaving the trap rock ridges heading skyward.  Much of the sandstone dates from the Triassic period.  Take a visit to Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill to get an idea about how old these rocks are.

Anywho... so most of your trip up the mountain will be on a white blazed trail.  The trail will head up from the bridge to the right, and then comes back around to the left.  You will see a wooden foot bridge that spans a brook, I believe it is called "Beehive Spring".  Your best bet is to hang a right BEFORE you hit the bridge.  Go up a bit of an incline... you may see some old faded white blazes on the way up.  In a short while, you will find yourself intesecting with the main white trail again.  Turn right.  The trail is going to bring you along a relatively level area until it bends to the left when you start climbing again.  At this time of year, there was still a lot of melting and runoff happening, so much that at one point, what looks like should be a muddy trail instead starts looking more like a flowing brook... this shot looking back behind me:

Eventually you will come to an intersection with a red blazed trail which will enter from the left.  The white trail will turn to the right.  Go right.  Proceed for several yards (not sure how far), until you get to another intersection.  The white trail continues forward AND left up the hill.  You are going to turn left.  Now it gets interesting as the terrain gets a bit more rugged.  You may notice, particularly in this area, a general lack of large trees.  In this area once stood several large hemlocks which were lost to the blight back in the 1990's.    You may find that a walking stick to be helpful as the terrain becomes very rocky and steep up ahead.  In warmer weather, be aware of rattlesnakes that may be sunning themselves on the warm rocks.

 

looking down the trail from the rocky part

You will pass thru an area that seems to resemble a bit of a ravine, until finally you will junction with the blue-blazed Metacomet trail.  Turn left onto the blue trail.  It will bring you quickly up out of the woods and onto a paved road, with the castle dead ahead in front of you.  Wander over.  Enjoy the views.  In the summertime, the castle should be open (I found it to be gated on this trip).  On a clear day, from the top of the tower, you can see New Haven in one direction and Hartford in the other.  I have been told this is the highest point along the entire eastern seaboard within 50 miles of the shore.

 

A view of the tower as you pop out of the woods.

 

Castle Craig

There are several trails that traverse the ridge, and several different paths you can take to get up to this point.  I walked pretty quick to get up there because I wanted to beat the sunset at around 7:15pm.  I left the parking lot at around 5:45pm and made it to the top in about 45 minutes.  I made it back down in another 45 or so, going back exactly the same way I came.  Rough guess, this hike was about 3 miles. The Meriden Land Trust brochure rates this hike as a moderate hike.  In the shape I'm in, I rate it as a strenuous walk for me!  But I made it, and I'm glad I did it.  My knees barked at me for about a day, but my legs are happy.

For more information, visit: http://www.meridenlandtrust.com/Hubbard_quad.pdf

Welcome to my Rambler Blog

"By Rovering I don’t mean aimless wandering, I mean finding your way by pleasant paths with a definite object in view, and having an idea of the difficulties and dangers you are likely to meet with by the way." - Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell

Eight years ago, on Sunday April 2, 2006, I became a Rover Scout.  I traveled to southwest Florida as the only representative from my then new crew, the 3rd Charter Oak Rover Crew, and camped with the 2nd Southwest Florida Rover Crew, to take part in the first Brownsea Training Camp (1BTC-1).  My investiture happened at the end of the weekend. My own personal notes are written up on my archived copy of my old crew's website.  A lot has happened between then and now... too much to write in this blog, which frankly would be well beyond the scope of what I'm trying to do here.  But the short version is, life took me in a different direction, with my crew eventually disbanding, with my service being needed elsewhere in my home community.  My life in uniformed service unofficially went on ice in May of 2009.

As luck would have it, the Baden-Powell Service Association continued after I took several steps back.  On March 6th of this year, they reached out to me.  My original lifetime membership would still be honored.  The organization is still going strong with now over 400 members.  For the time being, I can get used to the idea of being a Lone Rover until the time is right to relaunch a new Connecticut crew.

In recent months, my life has changed dramatically. I recently started a new job which now allows me the time to do some of the things that I love to do.  I have scaled back my level of commitment in other areas of my life so that I can find some much needed time for my health & sanity and for my family.  Due to life's choices or whatever, I had unfortunately become a bit sedentary.  With a brutal winter finally behind us, I threw on my hikers and my red Lone Rover neckerchief to hit the trail for the first time in a very long time.  The hike itself, I will describe in another post.  It will be the first that will count towards my Rambler badge.  It's my favorite walk, up to Castle Craig which overlooks Hubbard Park in Meriden.  It's one that I had done many times before as a boy scout and as a young adult.  It is just uncanny how I needed to be on that trail, climbing that ridge, with that red sandy dirt under my feet.  Is it any coincidence that the date of this hike was April 2, 2014, eight years to the day of my Rover Scout investiture?

It's been said that the "Y" in a Rover's thubstick is there to remind you about the different paths you can take in life.  Sometimes it's summed up simplistically as taking the right path or the wrong path.  True, there are some paths which are clearly not the best ones to take.  In many cases, however, I have found that life is not always that simple, but in other ways it is.  What I mean is this.... in life, we do our best to stay "on course"... whatever we feel that is.  We may find ourselves lost along the way, but if we keep our heads about us, we find ourselves back on our path.  I find that it really wasn't a wrong turn, it was merely a little meandering to the left or to the right.  We were never really off our path to begin with; at least, we were still moving in the right direction even though it didn't look like it from our perspective.  I have found this little bit of wisdom to be incredibly helpful in coping with the unexpected things in life. 

To answer my own question as to whether it was a coincidence to get back on the trail on the anniversary of my knighting, I will say no.  I had no idea the dates lined up when I made the decision to hike this week.  I did decide it was time to get active again, and to commit to my own well being.  I do not believe in coincidences because I believe everything in life happens for a reason.  Seeing an alignment with the dates, however, makes me smile, and helps me realize that the path I chose was a good one.