TA Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of Activity: October 15th
Location: Cockaponset SF/Weber Woods
Condition of Trail(s): Moist with lots of small blow down and leaves
Observations: Hiked out on the green, cleaning up the trail as I went; explored the trail around the old paintball war zone that needs a little help, but has promise; back on the green I decided to follow the short logging road just before the cliffs; I wanted to scout this area again for a potential trail so I bushwhacked the forest north; came out further down the green by the horse farm and followed an unmarked lollipop trail south towards the farm house that I had never been on; met up with a couple of women coming down from the private property with four dogs and exchanged introductions; they were both long time horse riders and told me about a few hidden horse trails within Weber Woods I didn’t know existed; we hiked up the green to a beautiful hidden trail that took us north to the green again; we talked a lot and they gave me some names of other long time horse riders who have handmade trail maps of this area as well as the Cockaponset parcel between route 80 and 145 north; we kept east out to the dirt road and back to the parking lot, then parted ways; I had a great hike and ended up with some good leads I need to follow up on.

TA Report: Racebrook Tract

Date of Activity: 12/31/09 Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten Trail Ambassador Email: edperten@sbcglobal.net Town: Orange Location: Racebrook Tract Trail(s) Ridden: All How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding What was the time of day?: Late morning Duration (Hours): 1-2 Distance (Miles): Several Condition of Trail(s): Snow covered Observations: After being unable to meet up with Mark, Paula, Heather, Glen and others at Huntington State Park in Redding due to poor road conditions – it was snowing – I reluctantly went to the Racebrook Tract as it was local. Let's hear it for WTB Veloceraptor (however it is spelt) tires which provided great traction whether it was going uphill or going downhill in approximately 2" of snow. Nice ride, friendly hikers and I learned two important issues about snow covered riding. 1) If a patch of snow looks real smooth in a grassy area, there is a reason for this…there was a frozen puddle underneath it and as I leaned into a turn, down I went. 2) If you reach your hand to wipe your nose, be aware that you may cause a shift in your weight, lean of the bike and possibly a skid. No I did not fall as I recovered quickly. A nice ride in a 'snow shower', I would have liked to have joined the crew in Redding. Oh well, there will be a next time. Happy holidays!!!

TA Report: West Rock S.P.

Date of Activity: 12/30/09
Condition of Trail(s): Some mud, mostly frozen
Trail Ambassador Name: Eric M
Town: Hamden
Location: From Hill St entrance

Trail(s) Ridden: Red, Red n White
How did you use the trail?: My feet

What was the time of day?: Mid-afternoon
Duration (Hours): .75
Distance (Miles): 2?

Observations & Encounters: After all the snow and then rain that melted the snow the trails were mostly good and frozen throughout though a couple spots that get all-day sun were a little mucky. Picked up a bunch of trash to bring home and throw out (hence my reporting). Other than that and a few small branches down courtesy of yesterday's wind that I threw off the trail not too much new. A lovely time to be out!

TA Report: George C Waldo State Park

Date of Activity: 12/29/2009
Condition of Trail(s): Bone Dry, some frost heaves and patchy snow and ice.

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie
Town: Southbury
Location: George C Waldo State Park
Trail(s) Ridden: Where's Waldo Trail (Red Blaze), Access Road & Hunter's Trail
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day?: Midday
Duration (Hours): 2 hours
Distance (Miles): 7

Observations & Encounters: 18 degrees and minus 3 degrees with the wind chill, no problem if you are properly dressed for it. The Waldo Trail is awesome! Paula should be extremely proud of this trail. It reminds me of Grayville.

At the end of the lower section, past the Hunter's trail there was a tremendous blow down right before the little bridge.

Spent a few minutes clearing the branches to open the trail.

And then rode through and across the skinny bridge.

The Waldo Trail is in remarkable shape considering all the rain and snow melt we recently had. This is a great example of a sustainable trail!

TA Report: George C Waldo State Park

Bridge on Hunters Trail

Date of Activity: 12/27/09
Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton
Trail Ambassador Email: peburton@aol.com
Town: Southbury
Location: George Waldo SP
Trail walked: Where's Waldo Trail, access road, bushwack
How did you use the trail?: Hiking
What was the time of day?: Late morning
Duration (Hours): 2
Miles: 4

Condition of trails: The trails were in great shape considering that the snow pack had just thawed. The trail is 97% free of snow, ice, and mud. Some trail angel had blown the leaves, and did a great job, not cutting any turns. Thank you! If you are looking for someplace to ride without damaging the trail, this is the place. I would have ridden if I had known. Instead, I brought the dog, a ski pole ( in case of tough footing), and the hand saw. I cut several blow downs ( see picture) and also removed a fair amout of brush, some left by a human ( this has been ongoing- it is human work- always at a right angle to the trail, and with saw cuts on the branches) and some left by mother nature. The trail is compacting nicely. It can take up to a year for the soil to compact after cutting a trail, depending on the soil type and usage.

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date of Activity: December 24th, 2009
Trail Ambassador: Mark Lurie
Town: Newtown
Location: Upper Paugussett State Forest
How did you use the trail?: XC Ski
Trail(s) Skied: Poly Brody Forest Road, Upper Gussy, Blue Trail
What was the time of day?: Morning
Duration (Hours): 2.5
Distance (Miles): 3

Observations & Encounters: Besides the bloody mess of deer offal nearby the trail head at the parking lot off of Echo Valley Road, the first thing you will notice is the ATV tracks in then snow. The ATVs basically stayed to the Poly Brody, however there was one track that tried one of the new skidder paths from the recent logging activities.

ATV Tracks passing by the Upper Gussy Trail Head

ATV tracks coming out of the forest on Hanover Rd, across from Silver City Lane

Clearly the ATV riders didn't want everyone to know they are breaking the law so they tore down the No Motorized Vehicles sign

TA Report: Day before the Snow at Trumbull

Date of Activity: December 19th, 2009

Day before the snow

Trail Ambassador Rich Coffey

mtnbikerdad[at]yahoo[dot]com

Trail Ambassador Mark Lurie

Town: Trumbull

Location: Pequonnock River Valley (aka P-Valley)
Trail(s) Ridden: White, Blue, Yellow, Red, and few bootlegs
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day?: 9 am
Duration (Hours): 2.5
Distance (Miles): 7.5

Observations & Encounters: Met Rich, Larry, and his buddy at Daniels Farm Commuter lot and it was freaking cold! Must have been hovering around 20 degrees. Our intent was to ride and survey some of the fall line descents on the trails in the ledges section and to figure out what would be the best strategy for some reroutes and repairs on these sections.

If you are a frequent rider at P-Valley you will know that Trail Maintenance here has slacked off and starting next year Rich is working on organizing a group of riders and hikers, and anyone else who wants to pitch in and lend a hand at fixing these trails in order to make them more sustainable. Check out Rich's assessment of our Day Before the Snow Ride. He'll be building an interactive TM site for Trumbull similar to the Mianus site shortly.

In the map below, we looked at three areas, the first two which are in pretty bad shape are along the red trail in the ledges sections of the park. There is another section that I wanted to look at but missed is a descent on the yellow trail in this section of the park, too. The last area we looked at was a possible reroute off one of the bootlegs to add a little variety and possibly hook up with the trail that parallel's the entrance to the Town of Trumbull's raw materials handling area.

#1: Red Trail descent from the ledges to the second stream crossing (the first being the one as you enter park from Daniel's Farm). As you descend on the red trail, where after it connects with the yellow trail it hits a fall line descent to the stream. Just past where the two trails come together there is a really nice flat rock that people have been rolling in the past. This is the anchor point for the reroute.

The base of the roller is seen in the picture above on the left and in the shot below it's a view down the roller. There will be connector to the old cart road that climbs up from the stream crossing for those wishing to link directly with the Yellow Trail after the crossing. Coming off the roller, we'll bench a trail to the west of the current, washed out section of the red trail and hook back up where the trail crosses the stream today.

In the picture below, you are looking up from the stream where the cart road crosses the stream (on right and in yellow) and further to the left but out of the picture is where the re-route will using the existing crossing. In the back you can make out where the roller is (which I have pointed out in the picture).

#2: Second Red Trail Descent. What's confusing about this descent is that when you ride up to it, you are actually riding up to some boulders that are not where the trail goes, rather it's another boot leg trail. Thus, the idea would be to close these little bootlegs and funnel users into the originally intended path, underneath the boulders and rather turning into a steep fall line descent, the re-route cuts across the slope, makes a switch back turn and picks up the original trail ending up at the intersection with the Yellow Trail.

What's cool about this idea (shown below) is at the end of the green line on the left you can make out a section of the really big, flat rock that quite a few people are rolling.

#3 The last section, not pictured, would be to add a little differentiation to the existing bootleg trail and possibly use it as a connector trail to the un marked trail that parallels the white trail to the east.

TA Report: Roosevelt Forest

Ed Freezing

Date of Activity: 12/19/09
Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten , Paula Burton
Trail Ambassador Email: edperten@sbcglobal.net , peburton@aol.com
Town: Stratford
Location: Roosevelt Forest
Trail(s) Ridden: Several
How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding
What was the time of day?: Late morning
Duration (Hours): 1
Distance (Miles): ?

Condition of Trail(s): Very cold- freeze the toes and nose . We started at 19 degrees, and when the ride was done it was a balmy 25 degrees. Dry, pleasant riding, great traction, a few mud puddles, two stream crossings, icy puddles in the parking lot. Wet feet necessitated returning to parking lot a bit early. These trails are fun rolling double tracks and some single tracks.

Paula Freezing

TA Report: Roosevelt Forest

Date of Activity: 12/16/09 Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten Trail Ambassador Email: edperten@sbcglobal.net Town: Stratford Location: Roosevelt Forest Trail(s) Ridden: Several How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding What was the time of day?: Late morning Duration (Hours): 2 Distance (Miles): a buch Condition of Trail(s): Dry, pleasant riding, a few mud puddles, two stream crossings, icy puddles in the parking lot Observations: What a difference a day makes, What a difference location makes. No ice or snow on the trails, a few saturated areas were rideable. A nice fall day. Enjoyable rolling terrain, I plan to return!

TA Report: Racebrook Tract

Date of Activity: 12/15/09 Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten Trail Ambassador Email: edperten@sbcglobal.net Town: Orange Location: Racebrook Tract Trail(s) Ridden: All How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding What was the time of day?: Late morning Duration (Hours): 1 Distance (Miles): a bunch Condition of Trail(s): Very damp, some mud puddles Observations: Felt like I was riding in sand due to the fact that the ground was so saturated. I stopped to make sure I did not have a flat and that my drive train was moving freely. No flat, drive train okay. Many dog walkers, and their dogs were out in the woods today. All were very pleasant to me, the sole mountain biker. I received several positive comments from them and they were very courteous to me as they restrained their dogs, apologized for their dog running in front of me and even told me to "run over" their dog as "he needs to get to know what bicycles are." The few walkers I shared the trail with were all very courteous as well as they gave very positive comments about sharing the trails with a mountain biker.

TA Report: Rocky Neck State Park

Date of Activity: 12/13/09
Trail Ambassador Name: Thomas Lamourine
Trail Ambassador Email: Thom(at)ectrr(dot)com

Warning!!! Icy Ruts at bottom of hill!!

Heading to the cliffs on the side of Four Mile River, Overlooking Point O Wood Beach area

Looking off in the distance at where I face planted!! :)

COLD!!!

Frozen High Tide Waters!

Town: East Lyme , CT
Location: Rocky Neck State Park
Trail(s) Ridden: all over
How did you use the trail: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day:10:00am
Duration (Hours): 2
Distance (Miles): 6+
Condition of Trails(s): Good, far better than expected after all the rain and weather.
Observations: few icy patches here and there. Not anywhere near as many as I was expecting. Most are at the bottom of hills so watch your speed! Leaves are starting to brake up a bit so it's a lot nicer to ride now. A few trails have been raked or blown off too as you get closer to the pavilion! Very nice to ride! :)

Watch out in the lower, tidal areas because the high tide came in before the cold and the ice is everywhere!!

Few pictures attached, more & larger versions can be viewed at;

http://ectrr.com/Media/RockyNeck_12_13_09

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest

Date: December 9, 2009

Condition of Trails: Wet Snow

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie
Trail Ambassador Email: eatsleepfish@gmail.com
Town: Newtown
Location: Upper Paugussett State Forest
Trails Ridden: Poly Brody and Upper Gussy Trail
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day? Afternoon
Duration (Hours): 1.5 Hours

Observations: Well, what can you say except there was 3 or 4 inches of wet snow on the ground and it's like riding cream of wheat when you short the recipie by a 1/3 of a cup of water. While there were no cars in the parking lot I happen to notice something quite odd in the picture above, towards the top on the left side. Is that a couch? I didn't really notice it all but captured it on the camera. I will have to stop by on my way to work and see what that is.

Climbing in a lot places instantly turns to a hike bike, especially while riding a single speed but riding in the snow is about as buff a trail will get in New England.

While the Poly Brody was pretty easy to ride, the Gussy Trail was a lot more challenging.

TA Report: Shelton Lakes

Date: December 8, 2009
Condition of Trails: Good,mostly dry except for the usual wet spots

Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton
Trail Ambassador Email: peburton@aol.com
Town: Shelton
Location: Shelton Lakes
Trails Ridden: White, Orange, part of Bridge to Bridge, road part way around the lake, some other trails on the other side of 108,
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking
What was the time of day? Afternoon
Duration (Hours): 2 Hours

Observations: There has been some recent trail work going on. A new path goes from the corner of 108 and the nearest cross road. Also there are some new bridges. It was a perfect calm before the storm ride, clear skies, no wind. A few spots still had snow and ice from the last storm. The bridges especially the new ones were very slippery.

TA Report West Hartford Rez

Date of Activity: December 5, 2009



Trail Ambassador Name: Paula Burton



Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes

Trail Ambassador Email: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
Town: West Hartford
Location: MDC Reservoir, aka The Rez.
Trail(s) Ridden: Blue, Yellow, Levee, Fence Line.
How did you use the trail? Mountain Bike
What was the time of day? Morning

Duration (Hours): 2
Distance (Miles): Around 8
Condition of Trail(s): Cold, snow/sleet/rain.

Observations: The precipitation started early, and we experienced all of its varieties, starting with snow, then sleet, and finally rain. Despite the weather there were several other groups of riders on the trails.



The trails at The Rez are in bad shape, there's no way to sugar coat it. It's no fault of the users- it's been a popular place to ride, hike, run, and walk the dog for a long time. People have had a lot of fun and healthy exercise here, and the trails show it. Permission to do maintenance has never been given.

The trails were dry, other than the parts that never dry, which we avoided. We picked up a few sticks that had blown down.

TA Report: Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull) 12-6-09

TA Report: Pequonnock River Valley (aka Trumbull)
Sunday, Dec. 6th, 2009

Condition of Trails: Muddy, Leafy, Rutted, Wet in Spots, Soft Everywhere


Trail Ambassador Name: Rich C
Trail Ambassador Email: mtnbikerdad[at]yahoo[dot]com
Town: Trumbull
Location: Pequonnock Valley State Forest
Trails Ridden: Various
How did you use the trail?: Mountain Biking, TM, Photos
What was the time of day? Mid Afternoon 2:00 PM
Duration (Hours): 2 Hours

Observations:

Didn't get to the park until 2 pm but it was sunny -- although' bit cool with snow on the ground here and there.

I rode in from the north end to see if the Parks Dept brought in the gravel for the washout on the Rail Trail that I reported. I noticed that nothing has been brought in yet.



It was wet and muddy throughout most of the park - even on the doubletrack and high ground. Most of this could be fixed by removing the miniberms lining the trails (logs, leaves and mud) and providing small drainage channels at strategic locations.



I stopped to examine a solution for the large ever-present mudhole at the south end of the grassy area. This has been a persistent issue ever since I've been riding in the park. Bikers have made a couple of trail braids to the side to avoid the water (it can get pretty deep) but cutting something more aggressively further off to the side and up the ridge a bit seems to be a more sustainable solution.



Creating better drainage would help as well. Since it's so low, water will always gather here but draining it off quicker will minimize the width of the water covering the trail and allow the trail itself to dry and harden quicker.

Once down near the old lake bed (a.k.a. The Serengeti), I stopped to photograph the rooty trail which skirts the grassy area on the woods edge. It was a mess of mud and widened by trail braiding. The trail is armored fairly well and fun to ride (if you like to be jostled by roots!) but should be narrowed to keep riders on the armoring.



Although I only saw one other biker, two deer scampered by while I was at the mudhole.

TA Report: River Highlands State Park

Date of Activity: December 6, 2009

Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador Email: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
Town: Cromwell
Location: River Highlands State Park.
Trail(s) Ridden: Green, Red, Yellow, Yellow/Red.
How did you use the trail? Mountain Bike
What was the time of day? Morning

Duration (Hours): 1.25

Distance (Miles): 7.5

Condition of Trail(s): Dusting of snow, cold.

Observations: I was hoping for an inch or two of snow and the first snow ride of the year, but I had to settle for a dusting. There was, however, enough to make traction sketchy, allowing one to "Tokyo drift" the corners.

Someone is re blazing the red trail, painting over the red blazes with yellow, and a small bridge on that same trail has collapsed, but is still rideable. Trails are otherwise in good shape. I picked up a few sticks brought down by the storm, and cleared one small fallen tree on the green trail.

TA Report: Upper Paugussett State Forest & Dingle Brook Trails

Date of Activity: 12/5/09

Trail Ambassador Name: Mark Lurie

Trail Ambassador Email: eatsleepfish@gmail.com

Town: Newtown/Brookfield

Location: Upper Paugussett State Forest, Dingle Brook Trails

Trail(s) Poly Brody Forest Road, Lake George ROW, Blue Trail

How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding

What was the time of day?: Early morning

Duration (Hours): 2

Distance (Miles): 8

Condition of Trail(s): Dry for the most part but the Lake George ROW is muddy in a lot of places and sports some quite large mud holes now.

Observations: If you aren't wearing blaze orange on a Saturday where there is active hunting, you are taking your life into your hands. Came across three different groups of hunters, two in Upper Paugussett and another big group on Pond Brook Road. Except for the Lake George ROW, trails are nice and dry.

I armored one little section on a mud hole bypass.

TA Report: Collis P Huntington SP

Date of Activity: 12/5/09 Trail Ambassador Name: Ed Perten Trail Ambassador Email: edperten@sbcglobal.net Town: Redding Location: Huntington State Park Trail(s) Ridden: Several, Rock & Roll How did you use the trail?: Mountain bike riding What was the time of day?: Early morning Duration (Hours): 2-3 Distance (Miles): a bunch Condition of Trail(s): Surprisingly wet, muddy, lots of puddles Observations: Got to Huntington early to beat the rain/snow storm, we lucked out. Very few people in the woods, all muddy areas and puddles were rideable. The woods will be very wet tomorrow.

Trail Ambassador Report: Nassahegon State Forest

Trail Ambassador: Mark L.

This report covers November.

My time in the woods has been limited due to illness, but the woods have seen plenty of riders and other activities this month. Among them:

• CTNEMBA members have put in a considerable number of TM hours prepping trails, replacing bridges armoring mudpits and stream crossings, and clearing fallen trees. Superb trail conditions result on many trails. Total TM time was 42 hours for the month.
• Heavy leaf cover has presented a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the leaves prevent rain from reaching and ruining the trails making some of them quite rideable soon after the storm. On the other hand, finding the trail has often been difficult earlier in the month. Now, the large numbers of riders have mashed the leaves making the most popular trails easy to follow.
• Both bears and hunters are being sighted with some frequency but are creating no problems for riders.
• Riding through mud pits on the trails remains a controversial and highly polarized topic as some groups feel strongly that no damage is being done while others note that the 6 inch deep ruts in the mud areas dry into impassable obstacles that need to be repaired. In my experience, the folks who ride the mud pits rarely – if ever – help to repair them. Education is needed.

TA Report: Salmon River State Forest (Grayville)

Date of Activity: November 29, 2009

Trail Ambassador Names: Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador Email: glennvernes33athotmaildotcom
Town: Hebron
Location: Grayville Falls Park/Salmon River State Forest.
Trail(s) Ridden: Many, all unmarked.
How did you use the trail? Mountain Bike
What was the time of day? Afternoon

Duration (Hours): 2.5

Distance (Miles): 12ish

Condition of Trail(s): Dry.


Observations: Grayville was busy on this sunny but chilly Sunday morning. We saw several other riding groups and a few hikers/dog walkers as well. We rode the mellow trail by the river, the plank bridge trail, the slickrock trail, and others. We gave a group of young riders directions to the stunts.

There are a lot of great trails in here, and a few not-so-great. Some of the trails don't seem to go anywhere. It's best to ride with someone who knows their way around so you don't waste time on the less satisfying stuff.

Very few sticks and branches, and no trees, had blown down after the high winds of the day before. Maybe everything that can blow down already has.

Trails were dry and in good shape- no problems besides a few muddy areas that could use bridging or armoring.