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