Trail Report: George C Waldo State Park

Date of Activity: 3/8/09

Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

Trail Ambassador Email: peburton [at] aol [dot] com

Town: Southbury

Location: George C Waldo State Park

Trail(s) Ridden: Where's Waldo Trail

How did you use the trail?: Hiking/ Mountain Biking

What was the time of day?: Early Morning

Condition of Trail: Very good. Almost all dry. A few isolated muddy or icy spots.

Encounters & Observations: I was almost afraid to go take a look at the trail, since I haven't been there since December, when I took the gas powered leaf blower and recleared the trail. It is a game almost, between me and whomever keeps blocking and obscuring the trail. This has been going on for two years now. Flags removed, tapes left in piles on the side of the trail, brush piles ( definitely cut by a human), leaves put back on the trail, and so on. Fortunately, the winter was kind to the trail. I did notice someone was up to the usually tricks, putting brush across the trail on the turns. All of it was easy to remove. There were no big blowdowns or chain saw work needed. Now the Hunters' Trail did not have one bit of brush on it, and I have done some work on that trail too, blowing the leaves and cutting a number of blow downs. No one interferes with that trail. This spring I am hoping to finish the first section - there is still some benching and a few rock projects to complete. I also need to finish the layout for the second part of the trail, and by the end of the season I hope to have it cut enough to ride for about 3-4 miles of trail. Today I first walked the trail with my dog Rufus, and took some pictures. I wasn't sure if the trail would be in good shape to ride, but most of Waldo is amazingly well drained. When I got back to the car, I realized that I had lost my camera. This called for drastic measures. I went home and got my new bike. This was the first ride on the new bike.I did get a very nice ride in, and found my camera.