TA Report: Rocky Neck SP

Mark came down to get my old Anti freeze green, Blunt wheels so he can ride after taco-ing his front. 

So we decided to take a quick spin around Rocky Neck since we have only about 3-6 inches of snow left here after the winds blew it all away! Well right away we discovered it was going to be a workout. Was like riding in quicksand! Not that much snow but it got warm today and the snow melted a bit, kinda wet, thick, slippery stuff, but ridable. We just did a quick loop. Started heading into the camp grounds but it was getting late and darkish.

 So we looped right back up. Very difficult to keep the front tire pointing ahead with all the foot prints roughing up the trail and more than once we both ended up veering off the side all the sudden. Only did like 4 1/2 miles but felt like 40! Think we both did the GPS thing so go ahead and compare..
Iphone GPS- http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=918397

Think he's got some vids we can edit up and link here too, later.

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine and Mark Lurie

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of Activity:  December 28, 2010

Location:  Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Condition of Trail(s):  Snow covered with lots of small blow down

Trail Ambassador Name:  Don Hazuka

Observations:  I strapped on the snowshoes and took to the trails; there was lots of small blow down everywhere due to the high winds, but nothing large enough to prevent/alter passage; it's great to hike soon after a snow fall because all the tracks and animal movements are captured for viewing; deer activity was very high with lots of foraging evident; someone had done some X-country skiing up by the farm and on some adjacent trails; the snow cover offers great visibility in all directions so I just cranked along scoping out possible new trails and land feature uses; because of the recent high winds, the depth of snow on the trails varied from a couple of inches to over a foot; at one point I spotted what looked to be a cairn about three hundred yards in the woods, so I broke off and headed towards it.  When I got there I was amazed to find an old beehive fireplace standing about six feet tall constructed with great care and skill.  Because of its hidden location, it had been left alone and was in incredible shape.  I plan on bringing a photo to our historical society to hopefully get some answers; continued on and came across several sets of boot and dog tracks near the east lot, but saw no one; the winds were still gusty, but not too cold, so it turned out to be a great, peaceful hike.

TA Report Trout Brook

Date of Activity: Dec. 28, 2010
Location: Trout Brook Valley
Condition of Trails(s): Covered in 8 to 14 inches of snow
Observations: Snow cover varied from location to location, but it was deep enough throughout that it was hard work to move anywhere, even with snowshoes. In some spots, others had traveled the trail and left tracks, which made life a little easier in those spots. In some locations, there are very prominent signs for "No biking" along with an explanation stating that some trails have been closed to biking, and if this is not respected, then all trails could be closed to bikes. As a reminder, Trout Brook is closed to biking from January to April. One portion of the Blue Trail near the private driveway has a set of narrow planks that are tricky to negotiate under the snow because they are felt, not seen. A better long-term solution would be relocate the trail about 50 to 100 feet away on the slope of the hill. The plastic arrow signs for the Red Trail coming off Elm Drive are so faded that they look tan. Elm Drive offers easy parking, but challenges users with a long upward slog (about a 200 foot elevation gain) on the way back. The trail colors at Trout Brook continue to evolve, so pick up a current map at the trailhead. Trout Brook is managed and partially owned by the Aspetuck Land Trust, so if you are a regular user, be sure to join. Website: www.aspetucklandtrust.org
Encounters: Two snowshoers headed in the other direction, which was appreciated because they helped to break trail.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/26/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry, Frozen
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Led a small group ride, all of which had not been to the park, we had a few mechanical issue, one of which could not be resolved and the rider had to bail, then the snow started, making some of the stuntery very tough to navigate, but we pushed on and hit every trail in the park, great route: West Blue, Red, Orange, White, Blue, White, Blue. Riders were officially hooked on the technical aspects of the park.

TA Report: Rocky Neck SP

Did the local quick spin around Rocky Neck,  Tad of snow "Dandruff" on the ground made it a little white and interesting..  Was windy and cold, but glad I went. Trails are definitely frozen and actually hit a few areas where the frost heaves have broken up the trail.

More bike tracks than foot or paw!!

Notice this place is starting to get really popular for riding now a days. There were more tire tracks in the snow than dog and foot prints which NEVER has happened in all the 35+ years I've been hiking & riding there. Think a group ride happened, guessing 10ish bikes by the tracks..?

lots of bike traffic, place is getting popular with the bike crowd!

Met up with Steve down in the beach parking lot. We kinda just tooled around the board walk at first and headed back to his truck as he needed a tad heaver gloves. My eyes kept watering and blurring my vision do to the cold so I wasn't feeling safe for any "real" MTBing. So we motored easy around the camp grounds BS'ing as much as actually riding. I was getting a bit cold and winded for some reason so I headed back to my van up the main fire road from the beach. Nothing too heavy but still a good time on the bikes! Better than sitting home staring out the window or watching TV!!

did the whole GPS thing too... see where we went...  

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=916400

Steve on his new 650B Jamis

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/25/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry, Frozen
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Noticed new tree down on the Blue trail, too big to move will need to bring saw in and cut up.

TA Report: West Woods Preserve

A challenging climb on the Green Circle trail.

Date of Activity: Dec. 24, 2010
Location: Westwoods Preserve, Guilford
Condition of Trails(s): Dry and solid
Observations: The trails at Westwoods are in impressively good shape with dry conditions throughout, except for a few minor muddy patches. The blazes mostly looked fresh. There was almost no deadfall on the trails. My praise to the volunteers from the Guilford Land Trust who keep the trails in such top-notch condition. The Green Circle Trail is highly technical single-track that will challenge even the best of riders. The Green Rectangle and Blue Rectangle Trails are mostly mellow woods roads. The Red Square was mildly technical single track. The Yellow Circle Trail is a rock scramble not suitable for mountain bikes. If you plan to ride at Westwoods, sit down with the map and sketch out a route ahead of time. Westwoods is HIGHLY confusing with the same trail color used in a rectangle, circle, and sometimes a square and a triangle. If you want to buy a map, stop first at Bishops Orchards on Rt. 1, or download one from http://guilfordlandtrust.org/wordpress/properties/westwoods. A recommended starting location is Peddlers Rd. Take I-95 to Exit 57 and head north on Rt. 1 for 0.5 miles. Sharp right on Peddlers Rd. (opposite Bishop's Orchards) and go 1 mile. Just past Denison Dr., the trailhead is on the left.
Encounters: A pair of mountain bikers and a few hikers.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TA Report: Roosevelt Forest

Date of Activity: 12/24/10
Location: Roosevelt Forest
Condition of Trails(s): Hard, crunchy, dry, leaf covered
Observations: What a difference the time of day makes. Earlier this week I rode the same ride in the morning. This time I rode it in the early afternoon. A big problem was sun glare. The sun reflected off the shinny leaf covered ground and the sun shone right into my eyes. My sun glasses did not filter it all and I found myself riding into small branches on the trail.
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

Trumbull-Pequonnock

Glad to see graffiti tag taken care of.

Date of Activity: 12/23/10
Condition of Trails(s): Frozen
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

Observations: Lots of frost heaves and a few sections of ice over the trail but otherwise nice and dry.  The up-and-over near the swamp roller was obliterated and I don't understand why, unless it was done by the State or the Town.  Too bad.  Furthermore, it's sad that who ever did this chop job didn't have the common sense to make this into a skinny.  You could have tied it in the rock in the foreground and would have had a really fun riding feature.  

In the rocky/cliff areas there are many ice waterfalls, the most spectacular of which are at the old dam.  I don't  I have ever ridding across the spillway but before doing so I had to sweep a lot of glass away.  The trail at the base of the cliff, however, is completely iced over and you have to divert to the right of it through some soft ground and leaves.

New blazing on the NEMBA Trail

The new blazing of the red and yellow trails make following the trails really easy now and not at all confusing as it used to be.  The NEMBA river trail is exceptionally good right now and appears to have been recently reblazed, too.  There is a new tree down on the white trail but one it's an easy up.  Again, if someone goes in and does something with, be creative!

TA Report: WIlton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/24/10
Condition of Trails(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Inspected all trail closures and all are holding up.

TM Report: West Rock Ridge State Park

Date of Activity: Dec. 23, 2010

Location: West Rock Ridge State Park

Condition of Trails(s): Icy patches, but mostly dry, with some heavily eroded sections

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Observations:  I advise against parking your vehicle at the parking area for the West Rock Nature Center, or at the main entrance. There were two piles of broken window glass at the nature center parking lot by the Rt. 15 overpass. I have cleaned up piles of broken window glass by the main entrance and the state reported a couple of smash and grabs in that area this summer. The best place to park is the Lake Wintergreen parking area where I have never seen broken glass and the state did not report any problems this summer.

This was my first trail maintenance session on the Red Trail south of the main entrance in 2010. The section of trail is showing definite signs of erosion in the past year. The trail is well-designed and engineered, but some of those features are failing, as both drainage ditches and culverts are filling with leaves and dirt, and water is flowing down the trail, instead of being captured by the ditches and then fed under the trail to the other side. The state did a project this year to replace two culverts and dug a drainage ditch about 200 feet long, so that area was drier. The long-term need is to clean out all the culverts, and dig a drainage ditch on the high side of the trail to collect the water.  The other project would be to create drainage channels across the trail where there are no culverts to channel water across the trail, instead of down it.

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/20/10
Condition of Trails(s): Frozen
Observations: Parked at Boas Lane lot and hike to Red Trail to tackle drainage issue. A small stream has began running again since the last hard rain and it crosses the trail in 5 locations, 3 of which I had previously armored and is holding up nice. I raked out the 100 of stream allowing the water to flow and added rock armoring is the last 2 locations.
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/21/10
Condition of Trails(s): Frozen
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Observations: Gave a tour to a group, we hit up the entire park, including all 3 rock ridges, drops, stuntery, etc.

TA Report: Roosevelt Forest

Date of Activity: 12/21/10
Location: Roosevelt Forest
Condition of Trails(s): Hard and frozen, crunchy, leaf covered, clear, dry
Observations: Except for a couple of ice skaters, had the forest for myself

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of Activity: December 22, 2010
Location: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods
Condition of Trail(s): Slow, crunchy, and frozen
Observations: I started out pretty late, so I chose to ride the outer perimeter of the forest in the clockwise direction; a little chilly at the start, but warmed up quickly working through the crunch; I started to get annoyed at the conditions and my speed, but got it together and realized why I was on the trail in the first place; decided to mellow out and just enjoy a serene pace and the scenery; besides the expected frozen conditions, the trails were clear and in good shape; I didn't see anyone until later when I began to approach the Muck Rock section by the horse farm when I heard a thundering rumble approaching from the front. Two girls with red, windblown faces were crrrranking towards me on horses and laughing. I exited the trail fast and as they flew by, one called out "thank you"; shook my head and continued out to the dirt road and towards home; as I approached my back yard, I spooked a large hawk 20 feet up a tree that was eyeing the birds on my bird feeders; turned out to be a fine ride, glad I did it.
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

TA Report Blackledge Falls & Case Mountain

Date: December 19, 2010
Location: Blackledge Falls & Case Mountain
Condition of Trails: Frozen hard with thin snow

Observations: This was our first Sartorial Splendor ride of the season. What is a Sartorial Splendor ride? It's a winter ride where, in response to the cold temperatures, riders will rummage through their old riding gear in search of items to use for layering. This inevitably leads to the bringing out of old road bike gear with garish logos, neon tights, gloves, and jackets from the eighties, and other items that, when worn together, can result in some interesting, even shocking, color combinations.

         

The ride started with fifteen riders and gradually whittled down to seven. We started from the Blackledge Falls parking area, rode up the Ribbon Trail to Birch Mtn Rd, then did a loop in Case which included a very well designed, and very fun, new trail through the logged area. Total riding time was a little over two hours. We had three crashes- two endos, and one icy stream crossing slam-down, and one mechanical- Al's chain broke, miraculously, just feet from the parking lot at the end of the ride. We had Quick Links and would have been OK regardless.

Trails were frozen hard with a thin dusting of snow, and started to thaw toward the end of the ride (early afternoon). There were some icy patches, especially at the stream crossings.

TA Report - Tyler Mill 12/19/10

Trail Ambassador Name: Troy William Turner
Condition of Trails(s): leaves and ground heaves due to freezing weather....but makes for a more enjoyable ride!
Taco'd my front large sprocket and had to limp along out of the trail. Rest of group went on without me.

Observations: some other riders and hikers.

TM Report:Trumbull-Pequonnock

Date of Activity: Saturday,December 18th, 2010
Condition of Trails: Frozen and crunchy, Lots of Ice
Today we worked in three different spots, all in the southern part of the park. We met at the Daneils Farm parking lot. A reporter from the local online newspaper joined us. The Trumbull Patch [ http://trumbull.patch.com/ ] had heard about our activities through the Town and wanted to do a story...



Knickwork - First Rocky Ascent on the White Trail
Although the soil was frozen, we were able to dig out a couple of strategically-placed knicks using pick axes, rogue hoes and shovels. These should help divert some of the run off at a higher level and keep the bottom of the hill from getting muddy.

Fallen Trees on the Blue 
Nick and Steve had split off first thing and went down by the river and cleared some massive trees that had fallen on the Blue Trail from last week's storms.

Ice, Ice, Everywhere

We then moved on down to the abandoned lake basin. On the way there, Larry headed off to join Steve and Nick. Apparently a lot a rain fell last week - the lake basin had now turned into a small frozen lake! The trail was a complete iced-over mess. The ground was frozen solid and the ice was a few inches thick making it impossible to do anything in this area.
PIC > icepond1.jpg

New Alternative Side Trail

We gingerly moved on just a few hundred feet further north. A long stretch of the main trail along here is always a deep puddle. To steer traffic to drier higher ground, we extended--for another 90 feet or so northward--the raised alternate route off on the side, connecting it with another offshoot trail on the north side of the huge ice patches.

12-18-10 Trail Crew
Robert, Steve, Tom and Robbie (not pictured Nick and Larry)

Post TM Ride

After we finished our trailwork, Steve and I took a "crunchy" ride through the park. Frost heaves everywhere made it a strange and unusually noisy ride. Once we got to the North End, Steve showed me the work the Town Crew had done at the eroded spot where the North Bridge entrance connects with the Rail Trail. It is shored up quite nicely as the photos indicate.

We also noticed during our ride, the Town Crew has been in the park and cleaned up a few spots here and there, removing fallen trees and some of the log up and overs that have sprung up this year. We recently were notified by the Town that, during the week, they will be working in the park thru the winter months. Expect more changes from the Town Crew in the months ahead...
Trail Ambassadors: Rich C, Nick Hage, Tom Ebersold

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Date of Activity: 12/18/2010
Trail Ambassador: Mark Lurie, Rick Brodsky
Trail Conditions: Excellent Early Winter Conditions.

Observations: 34 degrees at about 3:45. Got down to 30 degrees by the end. The Poly Brody fire road had several very, very icy spots that were a must hike-a-bike. But the Gussy trail was very dry and surprisingly cleared of leaves. Took the Polly Brody fire road up to the Upper Gussy trailhead. Saw one lady with 2 runty pitbulls off leash.  Later near the Gussy trailhead we saw one hiker who looked way under-dressed. All the fun features are in good shape. Some people have been making mods to the recent log cut between the first and second stream crossings. Didn't see any other riders. It was a good fast flowy ride for a winter day.

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of Activity: December 18, 2010
Location: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods
Condition of Trail(s): Nice shape, lots of frost heave stretches
Observations: Headed out and passed a guy and his dog getting out of his car in the west lot; all low spots on the road with water were frozen over and could hold the weight of rider and bike; with no particular route in mind, I just tossed together a great ride hitting parts of all of the trails; it was tough riding when you hit a stretch of frost heaves because you crunched through and it felt like pushing through frozen peanut butter- especially dangerous when speeding downhill because the front wheel liked to break through and drop; didn't see anyone else on the trails until I took the grey by the horse pond and came across the guy I saw earlier and we had a nice chat; I headed northeast and looped around to the east lot where there was no activity; the trails were in good shape and fairly clear all around; when I got to the stream that crosses the white, it was somewhat frozen over and it was easier to head upstream and use the board bridge to get across; continued out on the green to the access road and back home; very nice, very nice.

TA Report: West Rock

Date of Activity: Dec. 18, 2010
Location: West Rock Ridge State Park
Condition of Trails(s): Mostly solid, some icy spots and some frost heaved places

Observations: The White Trail from the Purple Trail continuing for a distance to about one-third of a mile north of this location has lots of ice on it. I plan to focus on this area for an extensive rerouting that I will put into motion next spring, working with the park supervisor. I figure that flagging a route is best done when the trails are soggiest. Water is flowing along all the seasonal watercourses and the boggy area has about 2 inches of water throughout, but trail users stay dry thanks to an extensive trail project I did with the help of others about two years ago. The Red Trail has a few icy spots, but is mostly dry. There are many large piles of leaves, which are the result of heavy water flows from recent rains. Complete trail info is available on my blog at http://westrocktrails.blogspot.com/.
Encounters: Surprisingly almost no one until I was headed out, and then I saw three trail runners on the Red Trail.

TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date of Activity: 12/17/10
Condition of Trails(s): Cold, dry, fast

Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort
Trail Ambassador Email: dfrancefort@excite.com
Town: Wilton
Location: Wilton Woods
Trail(s) Ridden: Most
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day?: 9AM
Duration (Hours): 2
Distance (Miles): 5
Observations: Blue, Red, Orange, White, Blue

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls State Park

Date: December 17, 2010
Location: Wadsworth Falls State Park
Condition of Trails: Frozen hard with crunchy ice on top

Observations: A quick after work ride revealed that the trails are frozen hard with a lot of crunchy, crystallized ice on top. This is hard stuff to ride on, because it creates a lot of resistance, and can also hide obstacles. It can also hide holes large enough to stop your front wheel and send you over the bars. There were still a few very large trees still down from the last storm, but not many sticks or twigs to speak of. The Little Falls is now frozen, and made me think of the movie Ice Castles, which I haven't seen.

The highlight of the ride was a wildlife interaction. I was riding down the red trail, just below the four corners, when a large brown and white bird swooped over me and landed in a tree not far off the trail. It was a large owl in winter plumage, and sat casually in the tree as I removed my camera and took some pictures. The pictures didn't come out, but it was a barred owl like the one in the photo, only larger.

The trails could have been better, but still a worthwhile ride for the wildlife and winter scenery. If you're looking for a place around Middletown to ride this weekend, I'd suggest River Highlands- the conditions are better there.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: River Highlands State Park

Date: December 15-16, 2010
Location: River Highlands State Park
Condition of Trails: Frozen hard

Observations: Quick rides on Wednesday and Thursday revealed that winter has come to the Blow Hole bringing frozen ground and a thin dusting of snow. I came expecting copious blowdowns, after Sunday's strong winds and rain, but I found very few. The only sign of the recent deluge is that the Blow Hole is partially flooded (see photo), and the stream running down to it is a little higher than normal. This is a great place to ride in winter although it does run out of light a little bit early, since it slopes to the East.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of Activity:  December 8, 2010

Location:  Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Condition of Trail(s):  Fast, frozen, lots of crunchy frost heaves

Observations:  The clothing layers keep being added, now it was the Gore beanie and WindBloc fleece; it's getting chillier and taking longer to warm up, but well worth the effort; started down the access road and all the low regions that are usually moist/wet are now getting frozen; jumped on the lower green east where there was a parked truck- probably a hunter's; continued on the green and rodeo'd the Muck Rock Road section; it seems all the low, moist areas have transformed into frost heave fun- it's like riding over;  followed the blue to the red then over towards 145 and onto a grey where the small hidden pond had its first full layer of ice; came out on the green and headed up and took both oranges over to the parking lot where two vehicles stood, with one of them containing two people; circled back up onto the northern green west, then took a grey south back to green by the farm; came across a decked out hunter making his way to the parked truck and we traded greetings; headed home feeling really good.

Trail Ambassador Name:  Don Hazuka

TA Report: Collis P Huntington State Park

Date of Activity: 12/11/10
Condition of Trail: Frost Heaves, frozen mode, ice and some snow
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

Encounters & Observations: Another beautiful pre-winter ride at Collis P Huntington State Park.  There is some mud here an there in spots where you expect it, other wise trails are pretty good.  The snow from last night is pretty much gone although it could still be found on the northern faces of most rocks.  Lots of walkers with dogs in the park but very little bikers seen.

All the ponds are frozen over but the ice isn't really thick enough to support a person's weight.

TA Report Hurd State Park

Date: December 11, 2010

Location: Hurd State Park

Trail Ambassador Name(s): Paula Burton, Glenn Vernes

Condition of Trails: Good & dry

                                        

Observations: Paula and I rode Hurd on Saturday afternoon. This is becoming one of my new favorite places to ride. Great intermediate level trails and also great scenery for those so inclined. I rode the singlespeed and got a good workout on the hilly terrain. The trails were in excellent shape- still frozen hard despite the warmer temps, and not a wet spot anywhere. The trails were also clear of fallen sticks and limbs. These trails get a lot of use and for good reason- we saw one other riding group and two solo riders, and a lot of tracks in the dirt.     

TA Report: Hartman Park

Started out chilly!!

Date of Activity: 10/15/10
Condition of Trail: perfect
Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine
Encounters & Observations: Haven't been out to Harman Park in some time and thought it would be fun! (and was a little miss communication between Steve and myself! ), anyway..
Place is in really good condition. Many of the trails it looks like someone has come through with a leaf blower as there is almost no leave coverage on many of the more used trails. Get out in the back though and some of the trails are down right hard to follow. Started out WAY chilly but warmed up super fast to the point were I was just in a light fleece and a tee shirt. Down right perfect riding weather!! Sun shining kinda blinded me on more than one occasion but was well worth it!

Blinding sun!

Kinda forgot just how much fun bombing around the place is! Even stop for a visit of the first bridge installed by CT NEMBA ;-)

TA Report Wadsworth Falls State Park

Date: December 8, 2010

Location: Wadsworth Falls State Park

Condition of Trails: Good & dry

Observations: Trails were dry but there were a lot of new sticks, limbs, and trees down, some way too big to cut with the pocket saw.  I spent a lot of time off the bike clearing said sticks and limbs and creating rudimentary up-and-overs on the new downed trees.

Someone had recently been in with a chainsaw and had cleared a lot of the older fallen trees, some of which had been down for years.  Most of them were a nuisance, but a few enhanced the trail and I will personally miss them. A few trees in the right places make a trail more fun and challenging. 

TA Report: Rocky Neck SP

Umm.. burrrrrr!! It's cold out! but I really wanted to get outside and get some exercise! Was actually think of just a walk around do to wind and cold but throw the bike in the van "just in case" Glad I did! Was a tad over dressed actually but was all good. 

Trail conditions were actually pretty good and the leaf coverage is 80% gone or crushed down now. Surface was a tad hard & frozen which is to be expected but allowed for some easy rolling. Stayed on the fire roads mostly with a few branches off here and there on short single track spurts. Scared one elderly lady coming up the trail from behind so I stopped and apologized and had a quick "nice day" chat. Wind wasn't so bad when going with it but trying to head north or west got a tad brutal. Headed across to the beach and saw a couple trying to take self pictures so I volunteered to take a few shots for them!  Stopped along the mild climb from the beach to the pavilion to adjust the my Pack and snapped off this shot.

All in all a great ride!  If you are hesitant about going out in the cold to ride... just do it, you'll be glad you did even if you only go for a short romp!

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TA Report: Naugatuck Forest

A wet spot on the Brooksvale Road with a dry bypass around it.

Date of Activity: Dec. 5, 2010
Location: Naugatuck State Forest, Hamden
Condition of Trails(s): Mostly solid, but the low spots were iced over

Observations: The low spots in various places, particularly near the new bridge on the White Trail at Brooksvale Stream at iced over. There was LOTS of deadfall along the trails. There are several places along the White Trail where users have created a bypass around washed out sections. When I reblazed the trail this summer, I made a point of throwing some brush across the entrance to the washed out trail to better direct people onto the bypass trail. In all areas, users have removed the brush. 

Fresh blazes clarify the White Trail on a tree
under two signs that have provided guidance to bikers
and hikers alike for many years.

I believe the orginal trail should be abandoned in these areas and left to grow over and heal. If you see a blocked off trail, respect the redirect and use that for the better health of the forest. A map of the property may be found at the DEP website. Remember that mountain bikes are not permitted on the Blue-Blazed Quinnipiac Trail, or the Blue-Red Quinnipiac Connector Trail.

An unknown volunteer built this bridge on the Brooksvale Trail
over Brooksvale Stream this summer.
The area beyond the bridge is wet and icy at the moment.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/naugatuckmtsanford.pdf

Encounters: None on this cold December day.

TA Report: Collis P Huntington State Park

Date:  12-4-2010

Great skinny opportunity on the Blue Trail

Trail Conditions:  Wet and Soft.  Huntington is still reeling from the nearly 3 inches of rain that was dumped on this part of the state last Wednesday.  Vernal pools are over flowing and there are many wet trails.

Spray painted blazes

Observations:  The Big Burn is really nice except for one section that is still flooded.  That new skinny on the Blue Trail was probably a result of the high winds from Wednesday's storm.  Wet and soft trails abound.  Some rattle canned blazed the single track that connects the Blue Trail with the Singletrack that goes into Newtown and did absolutely crappy job.

The torrential down pours also did a good job washing out some some of the carriage roads, like the Green Trail that is also known as Little Vomit.  Even coming down was pretty hairy.

Little Vomit

The new bridge on the blue trail is really nice.  Looks like it was built to hold up the Governor's Horse Guard.

Don't think the temperature go over freezing today unless you were in the sun.  Lots of frost heaves and frozen leaves made the trails a bit slippery.

Barry

Trail Ambassador:  Mark Lurie