TA Report: Mianus River Park 1-29-11

  

TA Report: Mianus River Park
Date of Activity: Saturday, January 29th, 2011
Location: Mianus Park
Condition of Trails: Snow covered and Hard-packed (but too soft for riding)
Observations:
I was cooped up, busy behind a desk for over a month and had to get out so I finally buttoned up and headed over to Mianus late afternoon Sat. for a quick hike. I was curious how the trails looked after so much snow. Sadly, the sun disappeared by the time I got there but the park was still beautiful with heaps of snow blanketing everything.
It's a popular park and all the trails were hard-packed. I met a few dog-walkers, snowshoers and a XC skiers on my hike but no bikers and not the tell-tale sign of bike tread on any of the packed trails. (Even through its hard-packed, it's pretty hard to get much traction on snow this thick and the bike's weight might mess it up for XC skiers.)

Mianus River

I headed north along the river on River Trail and Meander, headed up New Trail and circled back down by the river. I then wandered in on Inner Road and headed up to Peak Trail and Ridge Run before heading out.
Although the snow was really deep, every trail was was packed down. By the time I left, darkness was creeping in and the white ground became gray and featureless in the fading light.
I snapped a few photos but, as mentioned, too bad it was overcast.

TA Report: Naugatuck Forest

Date of Activity: Jan. 29, 2011
Location: Naugatuck Forest, Oxford Reservoir Block, Oxford
Condition of Trails(s): Deep snow
Observations: The deep snow made snowshoeing a challenge, especially since about half the trails I walked with two friends had not seen any use. In some places there were snowshoe tracks, and in other places there were cross-country ski tracks, but we did not encounter anyone else. There were a few large trees down across the trails, one about 18-inches in diameter that was lying about one foot above the ground.

CT SB 831: AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL LIABILITY FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN OPEN SPACE LANDS

The Environment Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, January 31, 2011 at 12:00 P.M. in Room 1E of the LOB.  Please submit 40 copies of written testimony to Committee staff one hour prior to the start of the hearing in Room 1E of the LOB.  Sign-up for the hearing will begin at 11:00 A.M. in Room 1E of the LOB.  The first hour of the hearing is reserved for public officials.  Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony.  Bills will be heard in the order listed in the Bulletin.  Unofficial sign-up sheets have no standing with the Committee.

Bikewalk Connecticut's Bill SB no 831 is 5th on the agenda ..  Hope you can join us and give public testimony.

This bill will restore protections for Municipalities that existed for 25 years prior to the 1995 Conway v Wilton case.

The bill will ensure that the same limit on liability afforded by state law to state,private owners, utilities and corporations who make their land open to the free use and enjoyment of the public is likewise extended to municipal owners of land. 

If you need background material for your public testimony, check out  Save Our CT Trails web site   and our position paper.

We were able to get an active crowd to the MDC Public Hearing with lots of public testimony .. hopefully we can have a similar turnout.

Please spread the word... this is very short notice... and we need you!

 

Currently there are 10 separate but very similar bills moving through the state legislature with over 28 legislative supporters. The listing of the bills can be found here.

Any questions email cberistain@saveourcttrails.org 

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls State Park

Date: January 24, 2010
Location: Wadsworth Falls State Park
Condition of Trails: Bright sun and deep snow
Observations: I hit Wadsworth with the snowshoes on Monday. There was about 1 ½ feet of snow and the main trails were well packed out. You could hike the main trail with boots alone and even contemplate riding it. Bright sun reflected off the snow, requiring sunglasses. There were a large number of fallen limbs on the trials- brought down by the weight of snow. They were firmly enough anchored in the snow that any attempts to move them would result only in cursing and perspiration. I saw various sized canine and rodent tracks and a "deer superhighway"- a well-packed trail that had only deer tracks.
Wadsworth is due for another four to eight inches this week and conditions will be superb for the Middletown Madness activities on Sunday. A sunny day is expected, so bring your skis or snowshoes and come have some fun.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Paine Open Space

 

Date of Activity: Jan. 22, 2011
Location: Paine Open Space, Easton
Condition of Trails(s): Deep snow
Observations: Paine Open Space is mostly town of Easton Open Space with two small areas that belong to the Aspetuck Land Trust. Even if you have been here before, this area is VERY confusing to navigate. The signage (in the form of arrows on plastic signs) is inconsistent and scattered on some trails. The trail colors almost never correspond to the colors on the map. There are unmarked trails leading off to private land. The trails are a mixture of easy double-track with some technical single-track. Elevation changes are mild. There are a series of ponds on the west side of the property. The snow on this outing was deceptive. From the parking lot, the snow along the main trails looks packed down, but if you walk in boots, you easily plunge down eight inches. Snowshoes were essential for a successful outing. In the photo, my hiking pole is pushed down about 20 inches into the snow by the sign. Part of the snowshoe took place at the nearby Poindexter Preserve. As the photo indicates, bikes are not permitted in the Poindexter Preserve, which was news to me, as I had not seen the "No Bikes" sign before. The Paine Open Space is located at 220 Maple Rd., Easton, off Rt. 59, about 1 mile south of Rt. 25. You can download a trail map at the website: www.aspetucklandtrust.org. The site will ask you to enter your name, address, etc. and once you do this, you will be redirected to the page for the maps. On that page, click on "Easton," then you will see the list of land trust preserves in Easton. The Paine Open Space area is listed twice: as 1. Pond View (Paine O/S Preserve) and 2. Island Pond (Paine O/S Preserve). Pond View and Island Pond are part of the Paine Open Space area. Choices 1 and 2 are actually both the same map, so you only need to click on one of these two options. This is the key to the trail colors:
Seven Ponds Trail (Brown on the map; poorly blazed in White); Meadowview Trail (Green in the map; sort of blazed in Red); Oak Hill Trail (Red on both the map and the blazes); Laurel Ledges Trail (Purple on the map, clearly blazed in Yellow); Seven Ponds Trail (Brown on the map; clearly blazed in White); Evergreen Trail (Green on the map, you might see a Yellow blaze or two). There are two loops by the pond near the parking lot. The map lines are Green. The loop above the pond is blazed White. The loop around the pond is blazed Red. Near the hay barn are two unnamed trails: one is blazed Yellow; the other is blazed Red. Near a stonewall, the trails colors mysteriously and abruptly change from Yellow to Red when headed north.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TA Report River Highlands State Park

    

Date: January 21, 2011
Location: River Highlands State Park
Condition of Trails: 5" powder over hard snow

Observations: What a difference three days can make. Instead of soft snow, clouds, and a cold drizzle I was treated to sunshine and snow hard enough to walk on top of. I even considered riding on it-well, on a Pusley maybe. It was cold and the wind was picking up, a primer for the deep freeze to come. I stuck to the green trail at the southern end of the park.

Snowshoeing on hard snow is a lot easier physically than tramping through powder, but it requires more technical skill. You need to make sure your shoes and poles are well planted, or they'll slide out from under you. I've also learned- the hard way- that snowshoes are nearly impossible to walk backwards in.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: River Highlands State Park

 

    

Date: January 18, 2011
Location: River Highlands State Park
Condition of Trails: Deep snow & light rain.
Observations: I decided to try out my new snowshoes at the Blow Hole. The area had received about five inches of new snow that night and the parking lot had not been plowed, but I decided to take a chance and go in anyway. With about eighteen inches of soft snow and a thin layer of ice above it the trials did not favor riding, and likely won't for quite some time. A cold drizzle made me glad to be swaddled head-to-toe in Gore Tex. The recent snows had not brought any new trees down. Some of the trials were broken, some were not. Breaking trail through 18" of snow gave me a good workout.
Snowshoeing is a good excuse for getting outside when there's too much snow for riding. It's not as much fun as riding or cross-country skiing but it gets you in the woods and it gets you some exercise. Breaking trail or climbing steep hills is strenuous.
Well my parking lot gamble did not pay off and my car got stuck, but I had a shovel and was able to dig it out without needing to call for a tow.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Tower Hill Lake

Date of Activity: January 8, 2011
Location: Cockaponset SF / Tower Hill Lake
Condition of Trail(s): Snow covered
Observations: This was my first time on this parcel because I received a trail map from a horse rider I met who utilizes these trails all the time; it is located just north of Weber Woods, across Route 80 from Tower Hill Lake, and east of the Quinimay trail so I figured I would throw on the snowshoes and explore the area; it was beautiful due to the recent snow drop and I was completely on my own seeing only a young couple in a Jeep; since none of the trails are marked, the map was my only guide and it was a lot of fun; lots of tracks ranging from coyote to deer to horse and very fresh; I just wandered around and took in the quiet and the new set of trails that I plan on incorporating into my rides from Weber Woods; a totally enjoyable hike that gave me lots of ideas for expanded rides from my backyard.

Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

TA Report: Branford Quarry

The White Circle Trail at the Branford Quarry.

Date of Activity: Jan. 17, 2011
Location: Branford Quarry
Condition of Trails(s): Snow covered
Observations: Branford Quarry is the adjacent neighbor to Guilford's Westwoods, but with fewer trails. I started from the large dirt parking lot with a street address of approximately 100 Quarry Road. This is an excellent place to start because the lot is large and you are in the center of the trail system. The blazing is spotty, so getting turned around is very easy. The Green Trail west of Quarry Road has faded blazes for the first half-mile or so, then there are fresher blazes that are teal colored. Some blazes are on dead hemlocks, of which there is an abundance, so I would expect that there will be an ongoing problem with trails partially blocked by falling trees. Many trees have been cleared away, indicating regular maintenance. On the east side of Quarry Road, the trail is marked with both Green blazes (again spotty and fading), and metallic White circles. The map only indicates Green, so having a dual blaze only adds to the confusion. According to the map, the White Trail is further east. The trails are mostly flat to rolling single-track, and looks to be a good place to ride in dry conditions. Maps are available online at http://guilfordlandtrust.org/wordpress/properties/westwoods, or stop at the Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford, or Bishops Orchards on Rt. 1 in Guilford to purchase one.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TA Report: West Rock

Date of Activity: Jan. 16, 2011
Location: West Rock Ridge State Park
Condition of Trails(s): Snow covered
Observations: People were out in abundance enjoying the snow with cross-country skis, snowshoes, and just plain boots, some with dogs. The trails around Lake Wintergreen were reasonably beaten down to the point where snowshoes were not really necessary. In other places they were definitely necessary. Baldwin Drive (the road north of the main entrance) was plowed, due to the antenna farm near the West Rock Tunnel. The road up to Judges Cave and the South Overlook was not plowed. If you want to build some quad muscles for hill climbing, try snowshoeing. Snowshoeing for 4 miles in deep snow is exhausting, even if the trail is somewhat trampled. With the expected ran on Jan. 18, the trails are likely to be an icy mess for the foreseeable future.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

The snow covered road by Judges Cave.

Middletown Madness

TA Report Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Parks

Date: January 1, 2011

Location: Bluff Point & Haley Farm State Parks

Condition of Trails: Wet & slushy

                                     

Observations: Paula and I rode Bluff Point & Haley Farm on Saturday the first. Conditions could have been better, but they were good enough to make riding worthwhile. Trails were wet but not muddy, slushy but not icy- our bikes stayed clean until we got back to the sandy parking lot. There were a lot of other riders on the trails as well.  

I find that the best strategy to employ in these marginal conditions is to stick to the rideable trails. On this particular occasion I stuck to climbing on the south-facing hillsides, because they had less snow, and descending on the north facing ones. I spent most of my time on the singletrack trails near the railroad tracks. Some of the trails in the interior of the park were only marginally rideable and not much fun.  All in all a worthwhile ride and a good way to start the year.

TA Report River Highlands State Park

Date: January 1, 2010

Location: River Highlands State Park

Condition of Trails: Bad!

Observations: A quick hike revealed conditions that couldn't get much worse; wet snow, muddy ground, slushy footprints. This park has held on to more snow than other places, since it slopes to the east. A uniform 2" covers the whole place. Colder temps later in the week should bring an improvement, although ice will be a problem. Now would be the time to do things off the bike- rebuild the shock, balance your checkbook, start a beard- anything but ride.

Picked up some litter near the parking lot.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes