Naugatuck State Forest

Date: 12/31/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Much blow down, puddles, mud, trails and woods roads are in poor condition
Observations/Information: Went to Nagatuck State Forest to avoid Brooksvale Park which I believe is still closed to mountain bikes. We started off on the rail trail, then did a hike a bike up the power lines and then explored several old woods roads, all in poor shape with much blow down, puddles and mud. We removed some of the blow downs when it was possible to drag them away. And finally we found our way back to the rail trail and back to the cars.
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: Dec. 31, 2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Beacon Falls
Trail Conditions: An obstacle course of blowdowns
Observations/Information: I hiked in the Naugatuck Forest West Block in Beacon Falls, starting from the lower parking lot by Cold Spring Road. The trails are a mess of large and small blowdowns. On the woods road near the base of the waterfall, there are a number of large trees across the trail. Virtually everywhere there are tree crowns blocking the trail. I had brought my hand saw and ended up using it a lot more than I wanted to, cutting a fraction of the blowdowns out there, but making the trails considerably more passable than they were before we started. I went back with my larger handsaw, along with a friend who brought an axe, to clear three tree trunks along one trail. This was intended to be a hike, and ended up being an impromptu work party. The woods road near the base of the waterfall is showing an unbelievable amount of washout and erosion with a foot to two feet deep of gravel simply washed away.
If you go, I recommend starting from the trailhead at the junction of Rt. 42 (west of Rt. 8) at Old Litchfield Tpke. This trailhead bring you into the forest in an area of woods roads around the reservoirs where you can warm up before you hit the hills. Download a map before you go from http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/NaugatuckEastWestBlocksTrailMap.pdf
The forest is a great place to ride with a mixture of double and single track. Nothing is blazed and some roads and trails end unexpectedly, so pay attention to where you are going.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

West Rock Ridge SP

  

Date: Dec. 30, 2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Muddy in the usual spots, firm otherwise
Observations/Information: I walked the Red Trail south of the main entrance up to the South Overlook, checking for blowdowns. I found a few small branches hanging here and there, which I removed, but the trail was generally free of any problems.
I cleared out some culverts, in particular the one in the pictures. I was pleased to see that when I shoved a branch through to clear it, the area drained like a tub when the plug is pulled. I came back two hours later and even the water on the trail itself had drained away, leaving only mud behind. This portion of the Red Trail had some mud issues because the drainage ditches and culverts have filled, so the water just runs across the trail in spots.
The state has done some work with digging a drainage ditch and installing culverts, but more needs to be done before that works is effective. Along the trail, I found this split tree, which is a natural playground for bikers more daring than I am.
I had previously put up a "No Bikes" sign on the Blue-Blazed Regicides Trail at Judges Cave. Today I found the sign in the woods. I put it back on the tree, not that I expect it to remain there for long. Whoever took off the sign may not like the idea of "No Bikes" on the Blue Trail, but that's the current park policy. Also, the action of removing the sign is technically vandalizing state property, which is a crime.
I submitted a proposal to the state Trails Committee to change the trail usage policies at West Rock. I actually am recommending that this particular stretch of the Blue Trail (the Westville Feeder from the ballfield off Blake Street to Judges Cave via the Regicides Trail) be opened to bikes as the trail surface was constructed from native rock and is very durable. I also recommended that the Red Trail from the base to the top of the South Overlook be closed to bikes as it is not suitable to bikes with elevations up to 30 percent (by my estimate), the large steps in the picture, and a heavily eroded surface in general. For now the Blue Trail is officially closed to bikes, while the Red Trail is officially open. I will post an update on this topic when I have one, but that process will likely take months. One of my future trail plans calls for blazing and restoring a trail that parallels the Red Trail at the base of the South Overlook. When this project happens, I will recommend that that trail be opened to bikes, and that will create an excellent loop of single to double track.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

George C Waldo State Park

Date: December 30, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Excellent!
Observations/Information: I figured I'd better get a ride in while the weather was nice, so I took a quick spin at Waldo. Temps were unseasonably warm and I had overdressed, requiring gradual shedding of the layers- my Camelback was bulging with surplus clothing by the end of the ride (see photo). I was riding a little rusty after the holiday break, not feeling one with the bike, but enjoyed myself nonetheless. The trails were in great shape considering recent weather. There was only one wet spot on Daffy Duck and one on Where's Waldo (in the usual place, just below the Captain's Log.) There were also some wet/icy spots on the dirt road and bottom of the Hunter's Trail (typical places). These spots should be frozen hard in the morning. Just a few sticks down that needed picking up, and the trail was easy to follow with packed (slightly slippery) leaves. There was a model airplane flying in the field across the power line, buzzing and whining like some demonically possessed chainsaw run amok.

Waldo would be a great place to ride this weekend, especially in the morning.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Rocky Neck State Park

Date: 12/30/2010
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Rocky Neck State Park
Town: East Lyme
Trail Conditions: nice, tad of Frost Grease
Observations/Information: Nice little ride around Rocky Neck today. Little its of Frost Grease from the freeze thaw cycles but nothing terrible. tooled around the pavilion a bit, noticed the grass was a nice healthy green, on the Day Before Nw Years..
Trail Ambassador Name: Thom Lamourine

West Rock Ridge SP

Date: 12/28/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: New Haven/Hamden
Trail Conditions: Great, some mud, some flooded trails, some blow downs which we cleaned up, otherwise, trials were dry and in good shape
Observations/Information: Bumped into only one rider entering the park as we were leaving, only one sole hiker, one family of hikers, nobody in the woods. It always amazes me that an area so close to New Haven is so underutilized, oh well. Three of us braved the forecast for strong wind gusts and a partly sunny/cloudy day with dropping temps. Sun remained with us for most of the ride, very little wind to speak of, and yes the temps did drop during the day. Cleared several blowdowns by dragging them off the trail.
My email list is huge, only three attended, where is everyone else???
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

Shelton Greenway

Date: 12/26/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Shelton Greenway
Town: Shelton
Trail Conditions: Good, some crusty, frozen ground, thin icy crust on the puddles, some blowdowns, everything rideable
Observations/Information: Parked at the Shelton High School parking lot instead of where I usually park on Rt 108 at the powerlines. Rode with a different group who showed me new trails and we rode some trails that I usually ride in one direction, in the other direction. Some blowdowns, crusty ground, icy puddles, everything rideable. Unfortunately, some of the trails have been covered with a rock and sand mixture which has been packed down. Although it is rideable, this section of the trail is no longer challenging. On a positive note, there is still plenty of single track available, hopefully they, whoever they are, will not cover more trails.

West Woods Preserve

Date: Dec. 26, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: West Woods Preserve
Town: Guilford
Trail Conditions: Muddy, but clear of blowdowns
Observations/Information: I did a 6-mile loop hike from the trailhead off Peddlers Road (I-95 Exit 57). The trails are muddy in spots, as can often be the case at Westwoods in low areas. There was evidence of many blowdowns from Hurricane Irene that have been cleared back. I cleared one oak tree canopy that fell across a trail. There were a few people out walking dogs, but no bikers. If you are bike Westwoods, be sure to bring a map and pay close attention to the blazes. The trails are reasonably well marked, but with many intersections, you have to really pay attention to stay on track. Bikers should not use the Yellow Trail as it is simply too rugged for bikes. In some sections, I had to use hands and knees to crawl through some rock notches. A trail map is available at Bishops Orchards on Rt. 1, or download one from http://guilfordlandtrust.org/wordpress/properties/westwoods.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Wadsworth Falls SP

Date: 12/24/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Wadsworth Falls SP
Town: Middletown/Middlefield
Trail Conditions: Much blowdown on singletrack trials, doubletrack in good shape
Observations/Information: My first time riding in Wadsworth Falls State Park. The doubletrack was dry and clear. The singletrack areas ended up being a hike a bike due to much blowdown, however, the trail following the stream back to the parking lot was clear. The falls was quite full and nice to look at. There were 13 of us on this cold winter day, sponsored by the Meet Up group folks..
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date: 12/24/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: damp
Observations/Information: Completed re-route of 100 foot section of orange trail that was destroyed by a blockage in the river and over flowed the banks. Benching was easy, just need to blaze
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TM Report: Wilton Woods

   

Date: 12/23/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: WILTON
Trail Conditions: WET
Observations/Information: Ryan Tucker and I tackled the removal of a huge tree in the river on the orange trail. This tree has created a dam that has raised the water level behind the tree 2 feet higher and after a rain the river swells even more and breaches the bank. The trail has completely been destroyed for about 75-100 feet; an approved re-route not has to be put in, currently there is a temporary re-route

Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

Roosevelt Forest

Date: 12/22/11
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Roosevelt Forest
Town: Stratford
Trail Conditions: awesome, dry, a few muddy spots, two stream crossings
Observations/Information: Earlier this week it was 25 degrees, now the inverse, it was 52 plus (actually 57 degrees). Had the forest to myself, beautiful day, trails are in good shape.
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten

Thank you from the State of Connecticut

Good afternoon Trail Volunteers,

Over the past month I have heard many reports on hundreds of volunteer hours spent (and continuing) clearing storm debris from our trail systems.  Please tell your volunteers that we at State Parks are grateful for their continued efforts.

As you may know (or have seen) our staff, and our debris management contractors have been hard at work as well dropping dangerously hanging branches, and felling leaning trees that pose a danger to the public.  Well over 7000 trees have been addressed so far, and we know a great deal more work lays ahead of us.  With your support (and particularly with your volunteers’ efforts!) we will be successful.

Thank you again for all of your efforts, which help us provide a higher level of service to CT’s recreational trail users.

Tom Tyler

Thomas J. Tyler

Director

State Parks and Public Outreach Division

Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date: 12/19/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Dry
Observations/Information: Finished cutting down some widow makers on the blue trail; flagged the re-route on the orange; began chain sawing the trees blocking the river on the orange trail; Also had a 1 hour meeting with WCC regarding projects. (2 hours TM / 1 hour meeting-planning)
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

TM Report: Wilton Woods

Date: 12/17/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Damp
Observations/Information: Armored about 30 feet of the end of the Red trail and dug a drainage ditch to help remove water. Continued armoring by Raptor. Will need to chain saw out a large limb in order to move the trail over about 15 feet to higher drier ground
Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

George C Waldo State Park

Date: December 16, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: I rode Waldo Friday afternoon. The place was drier than I expected. There's just one wet spot near the "Captain's Log" (second log over- see photo). This is the first place to get wet and it's easy to walk around. There are a lot of annoying small sticks and twigs down, though, due to recent high winds. They don't block the trail but they're a minor nuisance and potential derailleur killers. Daffy Duck is also dry. There's a little wetness on the dirt road and at the bottom of the Hunter's Trail. There's a new widowmaker at the end of Daffy, just before it intersects Waldo. It partially blocks the trail and is easy to see.

I was feeling a little whipped so I took it easy and played around seeing how far I could go without pedaling, how slowly I could ride over obstacles, and trying to use momentum rather than pedaling. This is a good way to develop balance and weight transfer skills- you don't have to ride fast to improve your skills.

Waldo is currently a lot drier than Huntington and would be a good place to ride this weekend. Just please use good judgment regarding the wet area.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Collis P Huntington SP

Date: December 14, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Collis P Huntington SP
Town: Redding
Trail Conditions: Wet, sloppy in places
Observations/Information: Hit Huntington Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to try out the new rock ring I installed in place of a large chain ring. Trails were wetter than I expected. The area got a major dump of rain in the first week of December and, although it has not rained for the past five days, colder temps mean longer drying times. There is a lot of standing water in the low places, and slimy trail surface where the trails dip low. Pretty much all the trails are this way, but the Rusty Truck (boardwalk) and south end of Rock and Roll in particular. Although temps get below freezing at night, by afternoon the trails had lost whatever freeze-induced hardness they acquired the night before. The carriage roads are also wet/gooey in places. Good news is that the South Pond reroute is dry from end to end, a testament to its good design. The improvised plank bridge at the boardwalk is still in place and holding up well.

As for the rock ring, I found it to be an improvement. It's easier to hop logs without that big, toothy appendage hanging down. The big wheels and higher final drive ratio of 29ers renders a big ring useless to all but the strongest riders, and mine had lost most of its teeth anyway, due to scrapes with rocks. The bike even feels a little bit lighter, although that might be wishful thinking. So if you've got a big ring you never use, you're tired of the way it scrapes on rocks, hangs up on logs, and inflicts dirty, greasy puncture wounds on your leg, you might want to try a rock ring. They're not just for freeriders anymore.

The trails at Huntington will not be drying out anytime soon, so if you ride there this weekend, I'd suggest going in the morning when the ground is(hopefully) still frozen. Also, please use good judgment regarding the wet areas.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

TM Report: Wilton Woods

   

Date: 12/11/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: Wilton
Trail Conditions: Wet
Observations/Information: Continued work on the Re-routed an approved 300+ section of the blue trail which required extensive benching and rock armoring; Also raked in a temp trail on orange as trees fell in river creating a dam and the water now has crested the bank and the river is now going down the trail for 50 feet then going back in the river


Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: 2011-12-10
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Good and Bad but not overall Ugly

Observations/Information: The Poly Brody is pretty sloppy and for the most part the Gussy is really good, except of the one section of trail near the new turn off leading to the loop around. Guess I need to add some drainage cuts there because the trail appears to be getting soggier.


While on the Gussy there were numerous blowdowns there were probably weekended during the Great October Snowstorm and finally came down in the wind we had earlier this week
Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

TM Report: Wilton Woods

   

Date: 12/10/2011
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Wilton Woods
Town: WIlton
Trail Conditions: Wet
Observations/Information: Re-routed an approved 300+ section of the blue trail which required extensive benching and rock armoring; we had 4 NEMBA workers (Ryan T., Paula B., Chris K and myself) along with 2 park riders

Trail Ambassador Name: David Francefort

Mianus River Park

Date: December 4, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Mianus River Park
Town: Stamford & Greenwich
Trail Conditions: Good
Observations/Information: Paula and I rode Mianus on Sunday. This is becoming a regular destination for us because it's a cool place to ride. I rode the single speed this time and found it to be a great place for that type of bike with its undulating terrain and short steep hills. We rode the newly benched and armored Cabin Trail up to the old chimney and found it to be a dumping ground for candy wrappers. How sad. We spent some time on the older, unmaintained trails on the Greenwich side of the park (Greenwich doesn't allow maintenance). These trails are not as good as those on the Stamford side, but to get in a ride of decent length you have to include them.

The trails along the river were a little moist; those away from it were just about the right tackiness for traction. Here was also less leaf cover than you'd expect. The West River Trail Spur, just off Merribrook Rd, has been blocked off. The River Road was busy with hikers and unleashed, energetic dogs, per usual on Sunday afternoon. We encountered a few other mountain bikers and I loaned one my mini pump. Sadly though, his tube was too far gone to hold air and he had to walk.

Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton, Glenn Vernes

TM Report: Trumbull-Pequonnock

Date: 12-3-11
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Pequonnock River Valley
Town: Trumbull
Trail Conditions: Wet in Lower Areas, Dry on the Ridge
Observations/Information: Finally had a moment to return to the trails (it's been over 6 weeks!). I met Steve McAllister at the Daniels Farm and we hiked in to scout out conditions on the connector trail between the Yellow (Mullholland) and the Main Blue/White.
In our walk in, much of the lower areas were still muddy and leaf cover naturally was everywhere.
Prepared to see a soggy, rough rock washout; our destination the trail was actually fairly dry and in good shape.
It looked like the rock strewn short climb on the curb was "readjusted" for a nicer ride. Pleasantly surprised to not have to resort to build a reroute (our original intention), we just dug out a few knicks where needed on the lower stretch.
We then walked back to the lot and headed up to Whitney to knick and bench a few spots that I remembered were getting kinda funky. I knew the trail I had built in the early fall had a narrow section I wanted to widen but upon arrival, I noticed riderrs had already cut a small shortcut there so I just benched the shortcut a little better. (Being Trumbull, it was best to simply fix the shortcut then to try and block it--especially since it was only a few feet long. )
I took a short break from the Park to stop over at John Lauria's. He had a copy of the Fairfield County Weekly that featured a real nice photo spread of the Valley hike I co-lead back in Oct. 85 plus people showed up for that! It turns out (as I found out later), the magazine is also available over at the Corner Deli if any one is interested.
After finishing up some other TM near the Whitney Lot, we rode for a couple of hours. The weather had warmed up considerably. We hit the Red Trail (north of the Copper Creek) and rode the Yellow slab rock trail thru the Central Maze, Trails were dry up on the ridge. Surprisingly there were hardly any riders in the park!
I'll notify the Town re the Blowdown up north where the Red meets the White - there's a braid there now but it's still best to get this one cleared. Other fallen trees along the Red were cut or had real nice stone-assisted up and overs.
Fun ride / great weather -especially considering it's Dec!
Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C

TM Report Upper Paugussett State Forest

Yesterday's ride is in Blue.  Walked and re-routed in Red

Date: 2011-12-03
Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Benched

Observations/Information: After riding Upper Gussy Friday I felt that this turn really needed to be fixed because I find in low light situations I am always losing the trail and it doesn't have any flow.

 Paula met me at the Echo Valley lot and we hiked up the blue trail to the right of way portion of the Gussy and walked in from there. The turn is between the Wet Spot and the big tree that came down as a result of the Tornado that was not officially not a Tornado in Newtown but in Southbury, Roxbury, and Woodbury.

After raking off the new route we set to benching and benched the sloped section leaving the flat area to be self compressed by bikers and walkers.

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie, Paula Burton

Upper Paugussett State Forest

Today's Ride in 3D

Date: 2011-12-03
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Town: Newtown, CT
Trail Conditions: Leafy

Observations/Information: Looks like the state ran a brush cutter up and down the Poly Brody this week to cut back the encroaching trees. It mucked up a lot of sections, too.

Upper Gussy is looking nice. Appears some trail gnomes reopened the fall line trail after the original section through the Taco Stand was closed by a downed tree in the October Snowstorm.

It has some potential but to do it right you would have to curve it around and have it descend to the trail on the slope of west side of the ravine. Do-able might probably not worth the effort.  Later down the trail, I hit the Reach Around, which is a combination of some old cart roads, skidder paths, and game trails I found this summer that pops out on the Jeep/Horse/Blue Trail.  It's a good little route to bring you back to the Gussy Trail Head so you can ride back up the trail and cut back to the Echo Valley Parking lot or what I often due is take the bailout on the Cleavage that dumps you out on the lower section of the ROW to the driveway that leads to the parking lot.  

There is this one section is that is always wet and today I went around it but looking back I noticed ATV tracks.  I guess my previous attempts to block ATVs from this side of the forest has finally been thwarted.  I think it kept them out for a couple of years.  I think it might be time to make a by pass and at the same time add a few nicks to see if it will drain.

At the Western entrance to the Gussy is this old lawn chair with a broken coke bottle sitting atop an old rusty gas can.  So, if you are ever looking for the start of the Gussy from this part of the forest I don't think you will miss this.

George C Waldo State Park

Date: December 2, 2011
Report Type: TA Report:
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Dry, very good

Observations/Information: Hit Waldo Friday afternoon. It was the first ride of the last month of the year. Ah December, a time when the days and the rides are shorter, but no less rewarding, when the shadows are long, when exertion makes one warm but not hot, and when the low sun casts a golden hue upon the fallen leaves. 

I rode Where's Waldo out and back, including the Extra Credit Loop. Everything was dry, and the trail was easy to follow in most places (the trail is blazed). There were some new storm-weakened limbs and sticks down- I picked them up. Looks like a little partying went on at the campsite recently- I took away some litter. I didn't get to ride Daffy Duck but it should be just as good.

I heard intermittent gunshots that sounded like they were coming from the field across the powerline. On the way back, just before getting to the parking lot, I heard a very loud gunshot coming from across Purchase Brook Road, where firearms hunting is allowed (bow hunting only at Waldo).

Waldo would be a good place to ride this weekend, just be sure to wear blaze orange.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes