Hartman Park

Date: Oct 31, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Hartman Park
Town: Lyme
Trail Conditions: Sloppy/ slushy, leafy, slippery...but rideable
Observations/Information: Went up to Hartman Park just to check out the snow as we got squat here right on the shore. It's not 5 miles away but there is a definite change in snow coverage even if it's not as much as what a good part of the State got.... did a little vid but didn't push the switch on all the way so I only got the last 1/2 of the ride :(
anyway, video...
1st Snow ride of fall season 2011

Also finally cut the tree over the bridge on the red trail that has been there since the storm 2 months ago...
Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TM: Pole Bridge Preserve

Date: 10/29/11
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Other (named in Information area)
Town: Newtown
Trail Conditions: Good until it was covered with snow
Observations/Information: First day working on trails at Pole Bridge Preserve in Sandy Hook. Had a hard working crew of three, and we benched a couple hundred feet of trail, and raked and cut brush from another 1/4 mile.
Trail Ambassador Name: P Burton

George C Waldo State Park

Date: 10/25/2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Excellent!
Observations/Information: Paula and I rode Waldo late Tuesday afternoon. Paula's first ride of the day, my second (must take advantage of the dry trails and sunny days). Trails were in great shape, although there were a lot of sticks down (this park gets a lot of wind due to its riverside location). No wet spots, and a fluffy blanket of leaves that made the whole place a little more challenging. Forcast rains will make the place wetter, and the leaves less fluffy.

On our way out we encontered another group of riders who were on their way in. One of them declared Waldo to be the best place he'd ever ridden. High praise, but not undeserved.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton, Glenn Verenes

Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 10-25-11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown
Trail Conditions: Perfect Fall conditions
Observations/Information: I took a new rider out on a tour of Upper Gussy. The trails are exactly what you'd expect for early fall. Light leaf cover. Some wet spots. But overall beautiful riding. The new re-route that I helped Mark with the last 2 weekends is looking good. There is a nice short technical climb in the beginning where we layed some stone to compensate for uneven ground. The rest flows nicely and sets up well for the large up and over. Didn't see any hunters but we had a our blaze orange on.
Trail Ambassador Name: Rick Brodsky

Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 10/25/2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown
Trail Conditions: Very good, leafy
Observations/Information: A quick up and down revelaed the trail to be in great shape. Although the forest road is a little wet, the Gussy Trail is dry (for the time being at least). A lot of leaves down, though, more down than still up I'd say, and still fluffed. I had a little trouble finding the bottom of the trail, off the forest road (it's just before the big puddle). Once on the trail I had no trouble following it all the way up. The leaves make the trail more challenging, espescially if you're not intimately familiar with it.

This trail gets better every time I ride it. There's a reroute about 2/3 of the way up that takes away an unsustainable fall line climb and gives back a log-over and short but challenging rock garden. I rode it in both directions and pronounce it to be "fun both ways".


Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TM: Hartman Park

Date: Oct 24 2011

Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Hartman Park
Town: Lyme, CT
Trail Conditions: leafy
Observations/Information: Took a tour around Hartman Park today. check out some areas that trees from the hurricane/Tropical Storm still blocked some areas. Most of the trails have been cleared, but no one goes on the fire roads much so they haven't been touched much other than tho get foot/bike traffic around. But we do need to get trucks and such up as it truly is a fire road and the power company uses it for access to the lines... I cleared 3 trees off the roads and a mess of smaller branches and one large tree on the start of the orange trail where it crosses the fire roads just north of the power lines.. Did ride around and found one someone else has done that is pretty cool...

Someone made a tunnel...

I got a goofy little video of me clearing the trees off the fire roads if you want a little laugh  ;)

Sven Saw Attacks Hartman Park

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TM: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Oct. 23, 2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Drying out
Observations/Information: I was part of a group of four people from the West Rock Ridge Association doing invasive species removal on the Red and Red-White Dot Trail off the Hill St. parking lot at West Rock. We cut back the autumn olive at the entry to the Red Trail off the hayfield, so people can see it better from the gravel road. We also cut some multi-flora rose, which has become a real problem in that area because it grows completely across the trail, and there's no way around it. We pulled out lots of bittersweet vines that are killing trees and pulling them down. On the way out, I carried out the trunk lid to a very old car that has been along the trail to the pond. I let the state know I left it by the parking lot, so they can remove it permanently. We encountered a few dog walkers. The muddy section of trail here is still muddy and a couple of the others expressed interest in doing some armoring as a future project. The other parts of the trail are dry.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 2011-10-23
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Some mud, mostly OK
Observations/Information: Rick and I met at 7 AM at the Echo Valley and hiked in to the Trail Reloc. We finished benching the section from the technical crossing to the tree.

Before and After

Then we worked on the other end benching as much as we could and then making a rock feature because it was really rocky.

We ran into this guy named Scott who said he rides the trail a lot, too. He was walking his dogs. He said he was the one that opened that big Oak Blowdown and it was not the State. I thanked him for his work.
Trail Ambassadors: Mark Lurie, Rick Brodsky

Wadsworth Falls SP

   

Date: August 23, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Wadsworth Falls SP
Town: Middletown
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: A Sunday ride at Wadsworth was eventful from a TA standpoint. There was a family (mother, father, and kids) shooting birds and squirrels with BB guns. Not cool, and not appropriate in a state park. I emailed the park supervisor about it. I also encountered a father and son on mountain bikes. The son had fallen and cut his knee. I gave them a band aid. Dad was curious about my 29er and we talked for a few minutes. This gave me an opportunity to proselytize the 29er creed.

The trails on the state park land have been nicely cleaned up post-Irene, even the unofficial ones. There are logs everywhere, raw material for some enterprising gnome to build skinnys with. The Rockfall Land Trust trails are not in such great shape. Dolce Vita/Taco Bell is clear, but the yellow/brown has two large trees across it that requires bushwhacking to get around (see photo). Trails were pretty dry with just the usual wet spots (red below the four corners, and a few spots on yellow). Of course the leaves are down.

Overall Wadsworth is nicely cleaned up and fun to ride. Feel free to join us tomorrow (Wednesday) for the pre-meeting ride at 4:30 in the main parking lot on Rt. 157.



Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TM: Collis P Huntington SP

Date: 10/8/11 to 10/23/11
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Collis P Huntington SP
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: Good

Observations/Information: Over the last several weeks, I did some prep work for the relocation on the South Pond Loop at Huntington. This was a joint trail maintenance between REI, FCNEMBA, and CTNEMBA. Ryan and Kyeria Tucker and I scouted out projects and came up with a rough idea of where to put the reroute. The reroute was needed due to three highly eroded sections and one muddy area. We spent two hours on that first day. Then I went back two times, once to do the flagging and detail design work, and once to cut dead work and logs that would block the trail. The design was crucial because to keep the old trail blocked the new one would need to meet the needs of the folks who rode it.

Many people take new riders, children, and significant others on this section, so the trail would need to be a fairly easy one. But since riders with more skills enjoyed the trail also, we needed to provided a fair amount of challlenge. To do that we created an easy flowy line with the challenges on the sides of the trail. We also kept access to the one boulder ride from the old trail.

On the day of, 25 people showed up and worked for three hours. We were able to do most of the basic treadway cutting, install a rock spine, clear a roller, create several other technical challenges, and do a substantial reclaimation job on the old trail. The next day, I came back to work on the treadway some more, and also to ride. Over the past week,I visited the park twice more, installing some rolling grade dips, doing more treadway work, and making one more technical feature. Also I wanted to keep an eye on the reclamtion - so far so good, no one has blocked the new trail or opened the old. Whew!
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

Hop River State Rail Trail

Date: Oct 23, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Hop River State Rail Trail
Town: Vernon-Andover
Trail Conditions: Very Good

Observations/Information: Sunday morning ride started at RT 30 (Vernon) headed out to Burnap Brook. Considering the rain soaked Sept/Oct the Hop River has very good riding conditions. The sounds of waterfalls made for a peaceful ride. Leaves have been blown off most of the trail too. In the Valley Falls area, new signs for the Shenipset Trail have been posted. Trail usage was very low this morning: a few joggers/dog walkers, 4 bikers, UConn mens cross-country team. Happy Sunday!
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Blume

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Entrance to the reloc

Date: 2011-10-22
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Poly Brody is very wet and Upper Gussy is starting to show some soft spots
Observations/Information: Headed out for quick ride at the Upper Paugussett. Also wanted to see how the reloc was handling all the rain we got in the past week and test ride a bike that I recently converted back to a mountain bike.

;

All the rain last week is certainly making the Poly Brody pretty sloppy and with the increased usage on the Upper Gussy some soft spots are starting appear. Used to be that you could ride the Gussy right after a torrential down pour and there'd nary be a speck of mud but now that there are a lot more people on the trail some weak spots (aka mud) are starting to show. For example the first stream crossing (riding north to south).

Muddy at the first stream crossing

Spent a few minutes finding more flat rocks and shored it up a little more.

Armored up, a little

Ran into three mountain bikers on the Poly Brody and two hikers on the Gussy Trail.

Checking the reloc I have been working on no one has touched that. Hopefully, after Sunday's trail work it will be open for riding. The intention of the reloc is give an alternative to the fall line climb that it parallels.

I have more plans for this area, too, after finding a nice spine line to ride, some cool mounds and some additional varied terrain, all of which would make a nice, natural pump track. Just have to work out the entry and exit points now.

River Highlands State Park

   

Date: 10/22/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: Not bad, but still some storm damage, and leaves.
Observations/Information: I took a quick ride at the Blow Hole Saturday afternoon. The DEEP has gone in and repaired hurricane damage. The gravel road has been reconstituted, and the bridge that was undermined has been repositioned. It now takes a straighter, easier, and slightly less fun path over the stream (see photo).

 I also saw evidence of recent chainsaw work on the green and red trails. Most trails are clear of blowdowns but there are still a lot of derailleur eating sticks down, and now leaves as well- the trails can be hard to follow. Still a little soft at the top of the yellow trail, everything else was dry.

The blue trail, a little used trail at the far northern end of the park, was hard hit by the storm and has not been cleaned up yet. There are several large trees blocking the trail. They are close together and were obviously taken down by wind because they all point in the same direction (see photo), as if showing the way to buried treasure or an alien landing site. The trail might have to be rerouted in this area.

The park has suffered since I stopped doing regular TA work about six months ago. People are riding but not maintaining the trails, and they're not as fun to ride as a result. It got me thinking about how much a dedicated TA can do for a riding area.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Collis P Huntington SP

   

Date: October 18, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Collis P Huntington SP
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: A Tuesday afternoon ride at Huntington found the trails to be in good shape, dry for the most part (although that might change), and clear of twigs and sticks, although there are still a few storm related blowdowns yet to be cleared, the one at the south end of Rock and Roll in particular. I heard rumors of a lot of trees down on Twister, but I never got there. We're due for another soaking on Wednesday, so this evaluation might not hold up for long.

The main reason for my visit was to check out the new reroute of the South Pond Loop. The old trail was relatively straight and not very interesting, and it had some steep fall line climbs that were getting badly eroded. The new trail is not only more sustainable, but more fun as well. It is longer than the old trail, twisty and with good flow, and has optional "honch lines" with rollers, drops and a forty foot rock spine type of thing (see photos). The trail has something for everyone, from novice to advanced, freeride rats and xc weenies alike. I rode it several times in both directions and pronounce it to be "fun both ways".

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Hop River State Rail Trail

Date: Oct. 18, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Hop River State Rail Trail
Town: Andover
Trail Conditions: Improving
Observations/Information: A bridge has been planned for the Hop River trail over Rt. 316 in Andover since 2002, but has been delayed due to a dispute between the contractor and the state, according to published reports.

The Hartford Courant reported that the logjam has been broken, and the first section of the bridge has been delivered with more sections to be delivered next week with installation to follow. This is good news indeed, so people will no longer have to slid down the embankment, or detour onto the road.

Article link: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-marteka-andover-bridge-1014-20111013,0,5683058.column
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TM Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 2011-10-16
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Hiked into the Gussy Trail from the Pond Brook Turn out to do some more benching on the trail re-route on the Gussy.

Rick and I benched two more sections of the reroute but there is still more to do.

TA Report: Collis P Huntington SP

Trail workers out riding

Date: 2011-10-15

Report Type: TA Report:

Trail Name: Collis P Huntington SP

Town: Redding/Bethel

Trail Conditions: Damp and Muddy

Observations/Information: Still many post Hurricane Irene blowdowns block a lot of the trails.

Rock and Roll has a major blow down will be better served with a re-route rather than trying to cut down all the limbs and trunks.

There is some rutting taking place on Rock and Roll in the Mt Laurels that we need to fix at some point.

Similarly, at the bottom of Little Vomit (Green Trail) there is a tree down that is blocking the white trail entirely. There is a go around developing but there is also a muddy stream crossing, too, that needs serious armoring.

Rode the new relocated trail that I worked on as apart of the REI & Fairfield County NEMBA trail work day. Nice flow and lines but needs a lot more benching.

Bridge is back in business

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

Bluff Point State Park

Date: Oct 16th, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Bluff Point State Park
Town: Groton CT
Trail Conditions: awesome
Observations/Information: HAven't been to Bluff point pretty much all summer. The last time I was there it was soooo over grown that the briars where just tearing my arms apart and I ended up cutting the ride short as I was worried about something turning into a derailleur snake!! Well, totally different story today, trails are in great shape. Guessing the State Trail Gnomes have gone through after the hurricane/tropical cause there are a mess of trees cut up pretty much all over the top of the ridge, big areas seem like they have been cleared out now with trees just domino'd everywhere. Kinda changed to riding experience a bit! Ands the wind was unreal out on the point.

I took my pretty new Cam with me and took a bunch of footage but only had time to make a little "iMovie Teaser" film..
Bluff Point Teaser Vid...

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

Hop River State Rail Trail

Date: Oct 16, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Hop River State Rail Trail
Town: Manchester-Vernon-Bolton
Trail Conditions: Very Good
Observations/Information: Windy and cool October ride along the Hop River this morning. Started off at the trail head in Manchester, CT (Colonial Rd.) and rode to Steele's Crossing. Obviously the trail is "leaf covered", making pot holes and terrain changes difficult to visualize. Very enjoyable riding, I just modified the pace when necessary. A few dog walkers and joggers doing their workouts. The UConn womens cross country team was out running too. The girls took a short break at the Vernon Depot. Enjoy the riding!
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Blume

West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Oct. 14, 2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Ranging from damp to muddy
Observations/Information: I moved about six loads of process to a soft spot along a seasonal watercourse at the junction of the Purple-White Trails. Process is a gravel-crushed stone mixture that makes an excellent, solid base for a trail without the traction issues of just plain gravel that tends to be loose.

I removed the crown of two large trees that fell on the Purple Trail near Main St., which took about an hour. I needed to walk up the Purple Trail from Main Street to access the process pile where it was left by the state, and then haul it up to where I needed it. This part of the Purple Trail is currently closed to bikes, but I will make this part of my request to state to open it to bikes, as it is an old road, non-technical double-track, and it's very suitable for bikes, from the Red Trail, east to Main Street.

I cut an opening in a large pine that fell across the Red Trail near the powerlines by Mountain Rd. Bikes and hikers can easily get around this.

With the recent dry spell, followed by two days of rain, conditions were all over the place. The trails were generally damp, but solid, but there were small areas with standing puddles. The seasonal watercourse at the junction of Purple and White was dry, but the seasonal watercourse on the White Trail in the marshy area, just south of the trails' northern junction with the Red Trail was running freely.

The paved road up to the South Overlook will be open to motor vehicles through Oct. 30, and then closed until Memorial Day weekend in 2012, which means bikes and hikers will have the road to themselves.

I didn't take a camera to the park, due to the rainy conditions, but felt I had to show off the mud and the dirt when I got home. My shorts were originally white.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

George C Waldo State Park

Date: 10/16/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Very good
Observations/Information: Finally got back on the bike after getting wiped out from a nasty virus. Beautiful day...trails dry but getting leaf covered. On WWaldo just before the Duffy trail there was a decent size blowdown. To big for my small hand saw to cut through. Great day for a ride!
Trail Ambassador Name: SAS(Jim)

West Rock Ridge SP

   

   

Date: Oct. 16, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Generally firm and dry
Observations/Information: I hiked the Red Trail from the overlook of Farm Brook Reservoir to the Red-White Dot Trail at the base of the overlook, then back on the Red Trail at the gravel road, down to the junction of the White Trail, south of Mountain Road, and took the White Trail back to Lake Wintergreen. Trail conditions were generally dry and firm, other than an occasional muddy spot. There were a few people out walking dogs, but I did not see any bikes. Only one seasonal watercourse was running. The others have dried up, as they typically do.
In the pictures taken along the Red Trail between the two sections of Mountain Road, the armoring project I did in 2007 is holding up well, but another nearby section of trail might benefit from armoring, as evidenced by the muddy tracks. There are a few such muddy sections in this general area.
Bikers have taken a long plank at the junction of the White Trail, which was intended to be used to get across muddy ground, and turned it into a seesaw.
The state completed clearing a pine tree that fell across the Red Trail just south of Mountain Road near the powerlines. I had cut off the top part, leaving a four-foot wide opening, and let the state know about the rest of the tree.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Collis P Huntingting SP - Bridge Work

The bridge that connects all three ponds will be out of service October 10th through the 14th while Nate Hale and his crew from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection work to rebuild it.  I am told that the new bridge will be similar to the one off of the South Pond Carriage Road.  There will be warning signs indicating that the bridge is out and you cannot get across.  Because this is an actual water crossing you will not be able to get around it and will have to seek an alternate route.

George C Waldo State Park

   

Date: October 12, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: I hit Waldo Wednesday afternoon for one last ride before the latest round of downpours. The trails were in good shape, although leaves are starting to fall, hiding obstacles and making the trail harder to follow. This happens every October. There's a new log skinny thing at the second stone wall crossing (see photo). It's well built and fun. The second log-over has been improved since my last visit, with a smoother transition up-and-over. No evidence of any recent trail tampering. I took away a piece of debris- a long blue foam tube that had been littering the Extra Credit trail(extention of Where's Waldo past the dirt road)for too long.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Collis P Huntington SP

   

Date: 10/11/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Collis P Huntington SP
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: I was tired from a hard weekend of riding and socializing at NEMBA Fest, but the weather was just too perfect, and wouldn't it be a great idea to ride the singlespeed! (Not!) I rode the Rusty Truck (Boardwalk), Burn Loop, and Twister. The trails had dried out considerably since Friday, and it looks like the weekend's riders did the right thing and avoided the wettest areas.

Unfortunately, I broke my chain while powering up a steep hill. An inner plate broke right in half (see photo). Singlespeeding is tough on chains. The trailside repair proved that while summer might be gone, the bugs are not.

After the ride I spent a little time checking out the new boardwalk. There is a wet area at each end and I think I know why. The heavy stone
"trannies" (transitions) on the ends are blocking the flow of water, and digging drainage channels should solve the problem.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TM Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 2011-10-09
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Nice
Work:  Nicked a section that looked like it wasn't draining very well and rebenched the grade reversal.

The big project today, however, was to put in a re-route/go round a fall line climb that has been nagging me for years. I didn't quite finish all the benching that I wanted to get done so I will have to come back but what I did do is really cool. It's swoopy and fun in both directions. Can't wait to put some fatties on it.

Hartman Park

   

Date: Oct 9 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Hartman Park
Town: Lyme, CT
Trail Conditions: leafy, lots of trees down
Observations/Information: did my first trip to Hartman Park since Irene hit. seems some people have cleared the smaller stuff off the main used trails but the less used/side trails are pretty much covered.. lot's of trees down. Going to have to go in with a chain saw. Tree even over my newest bridge!! oh the horror! LOL
 Got tired just hopping over trees and cut the trip short.

   


Hartman park - 1st trip after Irene at EveryTrail

EveryTrail - Find the best MT Biking in Connecticut

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine