TA Report: Wilton Woods

Date: 4/30/2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Dry
Observations/Information: Took some new peeps of a tour of the park and hit all trail and played on all stunts. Ran int the dog walker that is petitioning the WWC to re-open a yellow trail that was permanently closed in the fall for restoration. Told her I will be meeting with WCC on Monday to discuss, also to get flag re-routes approved.
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TA Report: Bluff Point SP

this doesn't even begin to show how many people were there!!

Date: 4/30/2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Bluff Point SP
Town: Groton
Trail Conditions: decent, few moist spots, but not bad
Observations/Information: headed out to Bluff point for the first time in awhile. I expected some heavy activity there do to this being the first real nice weekend in some time. Didn't plan on the place being down right packed!! Easter Seals Or March of Dimes (or both?) were having a party/fund raiser thing there. Both huge lots were full to the brim!! Barely got in and parked down in the lower, boat launch area lot. tons of people everywhere!! Lot's doing walks on the main fire roads around the place.. as well as the usual joggers, hikers and dog people.

   

Got out onto the single tracks and was surprised what great condition everything was. The usual slow draining areas were muddy but nothing bad. Trees are starting to pop leaf buds all over giving everything that nice day-glo green tint!! Really nice! Few new little log and rock overs here and there. Some new trails some one built last year are now well broken in and a nice riding surface. Clouds came in and it got chilly fast so I bolted after a single spin, never went over to Haley Farm.. maybe tomorrow ;)

   

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TA Report: Collis P Huntington SP

Horse Biscuits on Rock & Roll
Hope the next time an equestrienne comes through they
have the sense to get off their high horse and kick the poop off the trail!

Date: 4/30/2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: TA Report: Collis P Huntington SP

Town: Bethel
Trail Conditions: Damp and Muddy

Muddy section on Rock & Roll

Observations/Information: If it's usually wet then today it was muddy Lots of wet and muddy sections on just about all the singletrack that I rode. The state fixed all the bridges near Hopewell Road. They look really nice. I think we need to think about putting some board walks in on a few of these trails, especially on the blue coming down from Sunset Hill Rd, the Glacial Erratic, and The Rusty Truck Trail.

Nice armor on Rock & Roll

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

New bridge decking

TA Report: Millennium trail

Date: April 29, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Peter Blume
Town: Vernon
Trail Conditions: Dry, hard packed sand, crushed gravel
Observations/Information: Traveled down into Rockville section of Vernon (Millenium Trail) and back up to Valley Falls (Vernon, CT). Many joggers out for a run. I did remove one very large tree limb off the path, cut into 3 pieces. Also assisted in helping a woman get her elderly dog back from wandering the woods.
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Blume

TA Report: River Highlands State Park

Date: April 29, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: Good, but lots of sticks down
Observations/Information: A short mellow ride Friday night found the trails to be in good condition with just the usual wetness at the top of the yellow trail, and a lot of sticks down from Thursday's heavy rain and strong wind. I picked up what I could. Trails were free of leaves in most places, allowing one to really stick the corners. The Blow Hole is still partially flooded (see photo), but that doesn't affect riding in any way. I took a bagful of litter away from the parking lot.

Well folks, this might be my last TA report from the Blow Hole for a while, as I'm moving to another part of the state for a few months. If any Middletown area TAs want to make this place their own, feel free.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Upper Gussy

Date: 4/29/11
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Upper Gussy
Town: Newtown
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Putting the effort in to design and build a sustainable trail pays off. A fun trail with some challenge.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TA Report: Rocky Neck SP

wet 70% of the year here, needs to be drained...

Date: 4 - 28 & 29
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Rocky Neck SP
Town: East Lyme
Trail Conditions: decent considering
Observations/Information: did a ride yesterday just before the storm hit, took some pictures of the moist areas. rode out today to do a compare just for the hell of it.. Honestly the place was not bad!! was expecting more water and mud. The usual spots were muddy but even those weren't all that bad. the lowest section down by the swamp was flooded, but that is 70% of the time anyway.

Lowest section by the swamp,.. time to turn around!

big tree down

One new really big tree down also, right at the beginning of a little climb.

yup! she's big alright, not hopping that thing

Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls State Park

   

Date: April 27, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Wadsworth Falls State Park
Town: Middletown
Trail Conditions: Good, typical wet spots
Observations/Information: A Wednesday ride found the trails to be dry for the most part with just the typical, easily avoidable wet spots, although that might change by the time you read this. First ride on my new Maxxis Ikon rear tire- works great, by the way. I cleared fallen limbs from below a very large, very dead hemlock on one of the unmarked singletracks on the southern end of the park, and also cleared a large tree that had been lying across the yellow trail. The tree had been down for over a month and, although someone had cut about ¾ through it, they evidently gave up at that point. I took out my trusty TA-issue folding saw with 9" blade and attempted to finish cutting the 12" plus tree. At this point two more riders came along and helped. By alternately cutting, bending, and weighting the free end of the tree, we were able to break it at the cut. I couldn't have done it without them. A nice display of teamwork that saved me from having to hike in with the big saw.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TA Report: Hop River

Date: April 26, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Hop River
Town: Vernon/Bolton
Trail Conditions: Excellent, Dry, Clear
Observations/Information: Many joggers and hikers following the main trail and some hikers using the feeder trails (Yellow blaze). Very few mountain bikers on this 80 degree day. No assistance required this evening.
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Blume

TM Report: Cockaponset- (Rocky Road)

    

Date: 4-25-2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Rocky Road (Cockaponset)
Town: Chester
Trail Conditions: Boggy
Observations/Information: I armored the muddy section of trail which traverses a small tributary. This is a problem area because the trail on the other side of the stream has turned into a tributary as well.

The plan is to build another stone slab bridge with a small ramp to redirect crossing to a new treadway. A local rider, Scott, and I were able to move the first stone into place, but we encountered some engineering difficulties. The second stone was massive and weighed at least a full ton, probably more. We were only able to set this one in close proximity to the bridge project before we ran out of steam and daylight.

We'll be back.

Note: We tried out a chain hoist to see if it would work better than a come-along. The come-along was a bit easier, so no more chain hoist.

Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland

TA Report: Cockaponset / Weber Woods

     

     

Date: April 25, 2011

Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Cockaponset / Weber Woods
Town: Clinton / Westbrook / Deep River
Trail Conditions: Mostly moist to wet and muddy
Observations/Information: I headed out on the green over to the farm and down the grey horse trail to the yellow and until this point the ride was relatively dry; once on the yellow, the washouts and mud began on any area that was low; there were two herons flying over the beaver pond and I noticed a large nest about forty feet high; because of the mud, I walked a good distance over to the grey leading up to the north green; took the lower yellow up towards the white and the bridge crossing, but that was a dead end due to high water, so I turned around and headed back to the green; took it to the blue to the red, then orange and back to the southern green and a lot more mud and standing water; I'm not going to ride here for at least a week (and hopefully the horses won't either) too to let the trails dry out; I've got plenty of work to do to reblaze most of the trails; a great day and ride for the most part.
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

TM Report: Where's Waldo

Date: 4/25/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Where's Waldo
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Worked on new section of trail, and opened up a small roller on the existing trail.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TM Report: West Rock Ridge

Date: 4/24/2011 Report Type: TM Report Trail Name: West Rock Ridge State Park Town: Hamden Trail Conditions: Varied: Many sections were damp, but solid. Some sections were muddy. A few short stretches had about an inch of water on them. I have never previously seen standing water in these areas, so it reflects the recent rain. I had thought about biking because it was warm and sunny, but I'm glad I decided to go with trail work. Observations/Information: I continued my assault on the invasive plant species that are displacing native plants with a focus on autumn olive and multi-flora rose. The trailhead at the northern end of Mountain Road is always being narrowed by multi-flora rose, so I continue to cut it back and hopefully it will eventually die off. There are two other bad sections of multi-flora rose about 1/3 mile south of this trailhead, areas that are narrowed down to nearly an impassable trail in mid-summer. I took down numerous autumn olive shrubs that are choking out native plants near this section of Mountain Road. I also cut back ones I cut in previous years that have resprouted. If the woods look a bit open in this area, it reflects the work I have been doing. In one section, you can now see a year-round vernal pool that was previously hidden by the autumn olive. Over time, native shrubs will make a comeback. The autumn olive and multi-flora rose were VERY easy to spot today because they are sprouting leaves. Three runners and a mountain biker passed by while I was working, and a friendly neighbor came out to chat. Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

TA Report: Cockaponset SF

Date: 4-24-2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Cockaponset
Town: Chester
Trail Conditions: Wet and dry mix with areas of mud
Observations/Information: Did a 12 mile loop and ran into 5 other mountain bikers. Mosquitoes are hatching, the frogs were very loud and some undergrowth is beginning to develop leaves again. Not the best ride, especially since it rained a bit. The trails were more wet than what I had expected - more rain on Saturday than what I thought.

I would expect Cockaponset to be much better tomorrow afternoon.
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland

TA Report: Case Mountain

   

Date: 4/24/11
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Case Mountain
Town: Manchester
Trail Conditions: Moist but rideable
Observations/Information: Started out at the Line Street lot. Conditions were on the wet side, primarily at the stream crossings and usual low wet spots. Rode all of Blue, Fern, and bunch of connecting trails in between. Case never ceases to amaze me in terms of how well it does after a rain. Ran into a few groups, but it was pretty dead for a sunny day.
Trail Ambassador Name: Matt Viara

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date: 4/24/2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Completely Wet
Observations/Information: Hiked out to do armoring on the red trail. Armored 2 ten foot sections and raked out the leaves from the newly formed stream.
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TM Report: George C Waldo SP (Daffy Duck)

Date: 4/23/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Daffy Duck
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: not built yet
Observations/Information: Finished flagging first part, hope to get working on it soon.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TM Report: Rock and Roll

Date: 4/22/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Rock and Roll
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Worked on the reblazing.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TM Report: Norwalk River Valley Trail

Date: 4/23/2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Norwalk River Valley Trail
Town: Norwalk
Trail Conditions: Wet
Observations/Information: REI sponsored event to repair damage from floods last month. The rail trail section we worked on was paved, but in 3 sections had enormous amount of gravel/Trap rock was onto it about 4-6" deep from the adjacent power company lot. We used a wheel barrel and moved all the gravel back.
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TM Report: Hop River

Date: April 23, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Hop River
Town: Vernon/Bolton
Trail Conditions: wet with soft areas
Observations/Information: The Hop River is in very good condition considering the amount of rainfall this month. Started in Vernon (RT 30) and rode out to Steele's Crossing in Bolton. There were some walkers and hikers. Trail blazes were visible and clear to view. Very little debris (leaves, sticks, etc..) on this trail.
Trail Ambassador Name: Peter Blume

TA Report: Wadsworth Falls State Park

   

Date: April 22, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Wadsworth Falls State Park
Town: Middletown
Trail Conditions: Good, just a few soft spots
Observations/Information: A quick ride Friday afternoon found the trails to be in good shape with one soft spot on the yellow trail, and still some mud on the red. There's still a tree down on the yellow, and a stout birch tree is lying across the white trail just below the four corners. I cut a small tree lying across one of the trails, and used the cutting to ease the transition over a larger one.

The trail gnomes have also been busy. They have extended a log feature on the yellow trail, and have also built a new rock feature on the unmarked trail between the orange and blue. While it might look at first like an ordinary pile of rocks, it proves on close inspection to be much more. It was clearly designed to be ridden over and, while it is not high, its narrowness means it will require more nerve and skill than other features in the park.

Wadsworth would be a good place to ride this weekend, just watch out for hikers, as there is bound to be a lot of them.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TM Report: Wilton Woods

   

   

Date: 4/22/2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Damp, Wet in some spots
Observations/Information: Hiked out to the red trail to determine how to handle a "NEW" stream from all the recent rain. It has made a very large area very wet, so I dug a trench about 75 feet long to keep all the water in one place and then armored that area of the trail that crosses the stream (2 Hrs). Afterwards I grabbed the bike from the car and rode the Orange, Blue and Red trails (1.5 Hrs)
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TA Report: Upper Gussy

   

Date: 4-21-11

Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Upper Gussy
Town: Newtown
Trail Conditions: A mix of wet fireroad and dry singletrack
Observations/Information: Beautiful morning. The fireroad is sloppy wet. The Gussy is dry, fast and flowy. Just some minor dampness around the short log ride and the wetspot.
Trail Ambassador Name: Rick Brodsky

TM Report: Cockaponset / Weber Woods

Date: April 20, 2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Cockaponset / Weber Woods
Town: Clinton
Trail Conditions: Moist with low sections of mud
Observations/Information: Needed to break in a new pair of mid weight hiking boots so I took to the green trail for some Spring trail clean up; the main dirt road from the west lot has a lot of mud in low sections, and once on the trail, it was a lot better, but still moist after all the recent rain; picked up a ton of over winter blow down all along the way; discovered an old hidden logging road across from the cliffs and hit it; not technical, but very nice natural features including passes through of a couple of stone walls and a small brook crossing requiring a short hop; cleaned up lots of decent sized downed trees and ended up intersecting a trail used by horse riders exiting the farm; looped around back to the green; with a minor bit of work, it would add a great 3/4 mile loop to the trail system on the western portion; a great day.
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka

TM Report: George C Waldo SP (Daffy Duck)

Date: 4/119,20/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Daffy Duck
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Not built yet
Observations/Information: Laying out new trail in Waldo. Have about a mile + figured out. Started to clear some of it. I will be scheduling some work days for the rock work and benching.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula

TM Report: Cockaponset (Rocky Road)

Date: 4-20-2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Rocky Road (Cockaponset)
Town: Chester
Trail Conditions: Boggy
Observations/Information: Field re-assessment of trail armoring project and adjusted plans a bit. Also found the next flat-slab boulder for the 2nd bridge.

     

Photo documentation of some work completed.
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland

TM Report: Goodwin State Forest

Date: 4/17/2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Goodwin State Forest
Town: Hampton
Trail Conditions: Wet in spots
Observations/Information: Trail Boss Training held, 3 hour class room, 2 hour practical outdoor. Training class re-routed a section of the yellow trail which included benching, armoring and closure of the old trail section

Teachers: Paula Burton, Keith Coughlin, David Francefort
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TA Report: Roosevelt Forest

Date: 4/14/11
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Roosevelt Forest
Town: Stratford
Trail Conditions: Good, two soft muddy areas, one mud puddle, two streams which were easy to traverse
Observations/Information: I went on a recon mission as I was invited to a meeting with the Town of Stratford to discuss possible trail maintenance and or construction by NEMBA in Roosevelt Forest. I wanted to get my facts straight regarding forest boundaries, trails on and off the map, no trespassing/private property signs and the like. Armed with this information I caught the tail end of the meeting, (I work late and they invited me to join them at that time), the proposal I had forwarded had been reviewed and I was asked to meet with the Conservation Officer and later to address issues of liability. I plan to pursue these meetings this coming week. I had a good discussion with a member of this meeting who mountain bikes in Roosevelt Forest. We exchanged contact information with plans to ride together in the forest at a later date.
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

TM Report: Trumbull-Pequonnock

Date: 4/14/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull)
Town: Trumbull
Trail Conditions: Decent
Observations/Information: Couldn't get there until 9:15 and when I got there I was lucky to find a parking spot. It was the first day of the Fishing Season and the north Whitney Lot was full. Got a call from Steve who got there earlier and couldn't even spot a spot - he said there were cars up and down the street! Although it was an exceptionally crappy day (cold, gray and windy), I met a lot of fisherman in the Lot and on my way in.

I walked in with a bunch of tools on my shoulder and some pails (fortunately where we intended to work was only a short walk) and got started. Steve met me shortly. Our intentions were to (1) spruce the short boardwalk over a muddy area near the North Bridge and (2) close a trail braid nearby along a soft and vulnerable riverbank.

  

We dug out a channel under the mini boardwalk to get the water flowing and also moved a lot of deadwood and leaves to block the braid nearby. Meanwhile Tom showed up and we tackled the job of finding heavy flat rocks to use as anchors and ramps for each side of the boardwalk. Alex showed up as well and the end result Steve photographed.

Tom stayed a little later (past the usual end time of noon) to continue covering the braid and I moved up to finish the short reroute (tagged the week before) to avoid the never ending battle with the pricker bushes on a short alt route back to the rail trail across the river.

Tom then joined me up there as well. During the morning we ran into quite a few hikers (including a close-to-20 organized hiking group) and a few mountain bikers.
Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C, Tom Ebersold

TA Report: Shelton Greenway

Date: 4/14/11
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Shelton Greenway
Town: Shelton
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Met Joanna for a mellow ride on the new double track section of Shelton Lakes. Trails in good shape.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TM Report: Rock and Roll

Date: 4/13/11
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Rock and Roll
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: good
Observations/Information: I am repainting the blazes. Someone grayed out a bunch of them in the last year or so.
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton

TM and TA Training, Sun. April 17

Join CTNEMBA for a day of Trail Advocacy. Trail Ambassador and Trail Boss training. Sunday April 17, Goodwin State Forest Conservation Center, Hampton Ct .  Learn how you can be an effective trail advocate. 

TA Report: River Highland & Wadsworth Falls State Parks

Date: April 14-15, 2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: River Highland & Wadsworth Falls State Parks
Town: Cromwell & Middletown
Trail Conditions: Highlands great, Wadsworht so-so.
Observations/Information: Rode River Highlands on Thursday. This was only about 24 hours after the rain stopped but that's long enough at this place. The logs and roots were dry but the soil slightly moist, making for phenominal traction. I was able to climb some of the hills that usually give me trouble. Just a little soft at the top of the yellow trail, and stay out of the swamp for now. Conditions were so good I rode for two hours, repeating some of the trails four or five times.

Rode Wadsworth on Friday. Conditions were only so-so with more wet spots than usual and a lot of limbs down. This park is full of dead hemlocks that are dropping limbs faster than we can pick them up. This park also gets a lot of hiker traffic on Fridays and weekends.

So if you're looking for a place to ride areound Middletown, I'd suggest River Highlands. Conditions are as good as I've ever seen them. Take advantage of the loamy soil and try your hand at the many short, steep hills this park has to offer. Just do it before the rains come Saturday afternoon.
Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Deadline is looming on HB 6557

If you haven’t yet sent an email to the members of the Judiciary Committee asking them to schedule a vote on HB 6557, a bill regarding protecting towns from recreational liability, please consider doing so as soon as possible.

While there have been some positive developments --more that 10 legislators are now sponsoring the HB 6557--the Judiciary Committee still has not scheduled to vote on the bill.  If they don’t do so by April 15, this bill will simply die in committee.

Please let the committee know that you wish them to schedule a vote and support HB 6557.  Here’s how to take action:
 
http://www.nemba.org/nembaevents/action.html#ConnMDC
 
Thank you for your help, and please pass on this email to your CT riding friends.

TA Report: WIlton Woods

Date: 4/15/2011
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: WIlton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Dry, except for a few short muddy areas
Observations/Information: Did the full-pull hitting the entire park and stopped and played on all the features. Notice that the someone re-open a crappy fall-line roller trail of the red again. I think I have closed it at least a dozen times with logs and brush...So tomorrow it is game camera time...
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TM Report: Rocky Road (Cockaponset)

Date: 4-14-2011
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Rocky Road (Cockaponset)
Town: Chester
Trail Conditions: Boggy
Observations/Information: I first built a stone ramp for the flat-slab bridge and stabilized it with shims quite well. A local rider, Scott, met with me after work and we went renegade on a couple of large flat-slab boulders. The first was about 1000 pounds and the second about 1800. We pulled these things about 50 yards and set them in place including shimming and stabilizing. The cool thing was that he brought a bucket full of super-duty straps and a fantastic heavy-duty come-along. This made rigging a snap. He also had a super-heavy-duty chain hoist we can use for the big rocks! Woooohooooo!

* Sorry, no photos of the finished product yet.
Trail Ambassador Name: Bryan McFarland