TM Report: George C Waldo State Park

Date: 12/12/2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park
Town: Southbury
Trail Conditions: Leafy/Tacky

Before

Observations/Information: Took a quick ride - Where's Waldo, to Daffy, to Hunter's, and back up the fire road to the parking lot - before grabbing tools and a stack of 2x6s Paula had hanging around to redeck the little bridge at the bottom of Hunter's.

After

Before photo is from last weekend; between then and now, another board had broken through, so it was definitely time to replace the whole thing. (Most of 'em came up in pieces.)  Not perfect, but better.

The nails came out with me; the old wood I tossed in a loose pile up the hill at the base of the double tree. Next trip in, I'll have to bring something sufficiently large and heavy-duty to get them and carry them out.

Also of note: tree down across Daffy (eastern end). It looks like someone tried ramping it with some rocks (behind my rear tire).

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy
Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden: Where's Waldo, Daffy Duck, Hunter's, Fire Road
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 2:20 (including TM, ride and photos)
Approximate Distance (Miles): 1.5 (ride only)
Image Description(s)/Instructions:

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: Nov. 15, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Beacon Falls, Oxford, Naugatuck
Trail Conditions: Clearly blazed!

Observations/Information: I have just about finished my work of blazing the trails in the Naugatuck State Forest, West Block. There are now about 15 miles of trails blazed and pruned back, work that took me 53 hours to accomplish with another 9 hours of help from others. I took the state map, enlarged that section, and added colors on top. Where two colors are shown side-by-side, that means a trail is blazed in two colors, such as Red-White. A copy of this map is available on the webpage I created on my West Rock Ridge State Park website at http://westrocktrails.blogspot.com/p/naugatuck-state-forest-west-block.html. The state will publish an updated version of the map with colors, but that could take a year. The official map without the colors is at http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/stateparks/maps/NaugatuckEastWestBlocksTrailMap.pdf. The trail along the west side of Reservoir 3 is not blazed. I thought about doing that, but the trail has many blowdowns due to the storm of several years ago, is overgrown with pricker bushers, and has soft, uneven ground, so it is not a good place for a trail. I recommend using the trail on the east side of the Reservoir. I am grateful to the state forester for granting this permission. The trails northeast of Spruce Brook Road have been marked by the state with metal disks. I have not visited that area recently, so I do not know how easy those trails are to follow. In addition to blazing and clearing, I also removed about 10 buckets' worth of litter.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Multiple colors
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 53
Approximate Distance (Miles): 15
Image 1: NSF, Red Tr. at powerlines, 11-15.jpg
Image 2: NSF, Orange Tr. at Green Tr., 11-15.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: The gravel under the powerlines has been replenished, making for much easier biking and walking where the Red Trail passes under the powerlines. The Orange and Green Trails take different paths in the center of the forest.

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: Oct. 25, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Beacon Falls, Oxford, Naugatuck
Trail Conditions: Blazed and cleared

Observations/Information: Blazing trails is like eating potato chips: you can't stop at just one. I received permission from the state forester to reblaze the White Trail from near the flag overlook crossing over High Rock/Toby's Mountain to clarify an important and confusing trail. With that finished, I set my sights on other trails. Thirty hours of work later over multiple days, I have blazed 8 miles of trails with another 3 miles to blaze.

Using the forest map from the state website, this is what is completed so far. The Purple Trail has been blazed from the steep rocky road coming up from the big rock parking lot off Cold Spring Road and follows the outer, easternmost trail in the forest for 3.2 miles, extending to the property boundary. This trail was challenging to blaze because it passes through some open areas with too few trees to blaze. I created rock piles at two key turns near the top of the hill where there are woods roads going in multiple directions. When I went back a few days later, someone turned over one of the rocks with a blaze (why, I don't know). Someone had blazed parts of this trail in Yellow, using a flaky paint that will not last long, and did not get permission to do this. The yellow blazes are scattered in their location. I recognize that yellow is more visible than purple, and I need to apply a lighter shade of purple as a second coat in the spring. I found an existing, overgrown trail that was fortunately blazed in Red because that was the color I was using to connect the Purple Trail to the existing woods roads on the west side of Reservoirs 1 and 2, and the east side of Reservoirs 3 and 4. The existing woods road south of Reservoir 1 is heavily overgrown, in part because it crosses private properties, one of which has a "No Trespassing" sign posted. This Red Trail has been blazed so far for 1.4 miles, from the Purple Trail until midway up the east side of Reservoir 4. If weather conditions are favorable, I will hopefully blaze this trail this fall up to the junction with the woods road north of the reservoir.

Using the main through set of woods roads as the Red Trail creates a "spine" from which I blazed the existing woods roads as loop trails. The 1.1 mile trail on the east side of Reservoirs 1 and 2 are blazed Red-White. I am also using Red-White on the trail that roughly parallels the Oxford-Beacon Falls town line on the map. The 1.2 mile trail connecting the west side of Reservoir 2 and crossing the dam of Reservoir 3 and intersecting the Red Trail on the west side of Reservoir 4 is blazed Red-Green. The last stretch of this is known as the Camaro trail, due to the abandoned car on the trail. I put a blaze on the car as a whimsical touch to the trail. Finally, the 0.3 mile short connecting trail from the left shoulder of Reservoir 2 to the Red-Green Trail at the base of Reservoir 3 is Red-Yellow. I used Purple-White to mark the 0.3 mile trail connecting the Purple Trail to the Red-White Trail. Someone had blazed one of the woods roads (again without permission), extending north from the Purple Trail. On the map, this is the third of three woods roads in the center of the forest. It is marked with a north facing arrow and the mileage 0.6. I did not have time to follow it to see how far Green was blazed. Other trails to blaze include the gorge trail in Blue, which is not suitable for mountain biking, the steep trail from the big rock parking lot, and the woods road that runs from near the big rock parking lot to the Red Trail. If all this seems too confusing, the state forester plans to add these colors to the map and update the map for the website.


Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal.net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red, Purple, White, etc.
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 30
Approximate Distance (Miles): 8

Image 1: NSF, Purple Tr. at WP 159.JPG
Image 2: NSF, Purple Tr., SW of White Tr., 10-15.JPG
Image 3: NSF, Purple Trail rocks at turn, 10-15.JPG
Image 4: NSF, Red-White end at top of Res. 2, 10-15.JPG

Image Description(s)/Instructions: Three pictures show various locations along the Purple Trail, including bootleg blazing of Yellow and Green. One picture shows the junction of the Red-White Trail with the Red Trail by the top of Reservoir 2.

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Red-White Trail
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Good

Observations/Information: Over three days, I spent about 10 hours hauling a load of process (a gravel/stone dust mixture) onto the Red-White Trail. I used it to raise the level of process at both ends of a bridge built by Boy Scouts, so there is no surprise drop off for mountain bikes. I also used it to cover a set of stepping stones that had been put in by others. I rearranged some of the stones as best I could, but the stones were so uneven, no one was using them, and were instead trampling through the low ground along the stepping stones, allowing nothing to grow. During the spring, this area is very muddy. Even with the recent rains, Farm Brook is still totally dry. I cut up an invasive autumn olive shrub and placed it on the area to keep people out. If you see the wood there, please leave it, so the area can restore itself. I also cut down some dead trees and used them to define the path. I also removed some of the barbed wire along the Red-White Trail, so now there is none near the trail, although there is still some further back into the woods. The state has installed a new fence at the Hill Street parking lot and put down a fresh layer of process. At my request, they also plan to install a sign board. From the Red-White Trail, it is a short ride to the newly relocated section of the Red Trail that I described in a previous post. As always, there is plenty of park and trail information on my website at http://westrocktrails.blogspot.com.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red-White
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 10
Approximate Distance (Miles): 0.5
Image 1: Red-White Tr. bridge w. full process, 10-15.jpg
Image 2: Red-White rocks w. process, and brush, 10-15.jpg
Image 3: Red-White top rocks w. process, 10-15.jpg
Image 4: Hill St. parking area2, 9-15.jpg

Image Description(s)/Instructions: The photos show the Boy Scout bridge with full ramps, the stepping stones covered with process and the trail defined with brush, and the new fence and process at the Hill Street parking lot.

TM Report: River Highlands State Park

Date: 9/12/15
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: Good, clear

Observations/Information: Been to River Highlands lately? If not go check it out again. There's been a lot of beneficial work done over the summer. A new trail has been built (check out the picture). It's in the southern part of the park and runs from the green trail just below the cul-de-sac to the top of the red trail (road) just before the steep drop to Nooks Hill Rd. It's a flow trail about 1 km long. It's not finished yet but it's rideable.

We've also sculpted the corners on Sidewinder and made other improvements to that section of trail. It's smoother and more fun to ride now.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador E-mail: glennvernesatgmaildotcom
How did you use the trail? Other
Trails Ridden: N/A
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): Many
Approximate Distance (Miles): N/A
Image 1: River Highlnds 083015 012.JPG
Image Description(s)/Instructions:

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Sept. 13, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Good

Observations/Information: The new section of the Red Trail at West Rock Ridge State Park is complete. The trail is open to use and I encourage people to go use it, so we can get some feet and wheels firming up the trail surface. This section moves the Red Trail from the open field by Farm Brook Reservoir into the woods, giving a path that can be blazed and maintained. Total distance is 0.4 miles. Total construction time is 130 hours from April to September 2015! I think a snail could have crawled that distance in less time. The most direct access is via the Red-White Trail from the Hill Street parking lot, which has a new fence, thanks to the state workers.

If you find any brush on the trail or any changes to the blazes, please let me know. The trail crosses an access road to a private driveway and this past week I found brush on the trail by the private driveway. I have had past issues with this homeowner (whose house and land are hundreds of feet away) and I suspect he is the person who placed the brush there. Thanks to all who helped make this project possible.

When riding from the gravel road near the Farm Brook Reservoir dam, the trail crosses a stone wall at the top of a short hill. From that direction, the trail DROPS over the wall and makes a sharp turn. Be careful riding down this on a bike. Just past this point, the trail descends a sandy slope that is slippery with loose sand. I hope to get some gravel on the wall to smooth out the descend and also firm up the sandy spot.

The complete details with lots of pictures are on the park website I created at
http://westrocktrails.blogspot.com/p/reclaiming-native-forest-from.html

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 85
Approximate Distance (Miles): 0.4
Image 1: Red Tr. N. top of stone wall descent, 9-15.jpg
Image 2: Red Tr. SB by stone wall cross, 8-15.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: These pictures show two perspectives on the stone wall crossing near Farm Brook Reservoir.

TM Report: Naugatuck State Forest

Date: Sept. 4, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Good

Observations/Information: I reblazed and pruned back the White, Yellow and Yellow-White Trails. They were last blazed in 2010. The white blazes were yellowed. The yellow blazes were in pretty good shape. In the middle of the Yellow Trail, there is a long distance between blazes because there are no trees to blaze. I picked up two buckets worth of trash, mostly from Downs Road. I did see some ATV tracks in a couple of places.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot]net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: White, Yellow, Yellow-White
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 6
Approximate Distance (Miles): 2
Image 1: Naug. SF Hamden, White Tr.jpg
Image 2: Naug. SF, Hamden, Yellow Tr.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: The White Trail at Brooksvale Stream.
The Yellow Trail as seen from the Blue-Red Trail.

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: June 11, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Trail relocation in progress

Observations/Information: I had help from four other people as I continue to hack through the multi-flora rose, autumn olive, and bittersweet vines near Farm Brook Reservoir. More of these invasives are part of the next phase of the work to be completed on state-approved relocation of the Red Trail from the open field into the woods. I have no specific timeline for when this trail will be blazed and open to the public, but probably not until August or maybe September. When completed, this will be a mixture of minimally technical single to double track.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
How did you use the trail? Other
Trails Ridden: Red Trail
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 4 hours
Approximate Distance (Miles): 1 mile
Image 1: Red Tr. relo, past ivy tree, multi-flora to cut, 6-15.jpg
Image 2: Red Tr. relo, multi-flora cut open, 6-15.jpg
Image 3: Red Tr. relo brush pile, 6-15.jpg

Image Description(s)/Instructions: These photos show before and after pictures of clearing of invasive autumn olive and multi-flora rose shrubs at West Rock. The other photo shows the wall of debris resulting from the trail clearing.

TM Report: River Highlands State Park

Date: 5/31/15
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: N/A

Observations/Information: We had our second TM session on the new River Highlands trail on Sunday 5/31. The weather was not favorable as it was hot, humid, and rainy. Also very buggy. The bugs meant that you had to keep moving, and that necessitated a change in plan from the stationary work benching to the roving work of scouting the route for the remainder of the first segment. We found a good route that takes advantage of the gently rolling topography of the area, and some cool natural features. It's going to be a fun trail. I'll schedule more build dates shortly so we can finish segment one and move on to segment two.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes, Al Tinti, John Joy
Trail Ambassador E-mail: glennvernesatgmaildotcom
How did you use the trail? Other
Trails Ridden: N'A
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 2/5
Approximate Distance (Miles): N/A
More Photos...

TM Report: River Highlands State Park

Date: 5/10/2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: River Highlands State Park
Town: Cromwell
Trail Conditions: N/A

Observations/Information: First build session for the new trails at River Highlands. We got a lot done, raking and pruning about 1/3 of the first segment. The trail is not ready for wheels yet, but it should be soon. Thanks to Jim, Matt, and Sam for coming out on Mother's Day morning (I didn't realize that when I scheduled 3 months ago). to help. The next build is scheduled for May 31.

Trail Ambassador Name: Glenn Vernes
Trail Ambassador E-mail: glennvernesatgmaildotcom
How did you use the trail? Other
Trails Ridden: N/A
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 2.5
Approximate Distance (Miles): N/A
Image 1: Highlands TM 051015 002.JPG
Image Description(s)/Instructions: L-R Sam, Matt, Jim

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: May 3, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Dry and Rideable

Observations/Information: I worked on the Red-White Trail from Hill Street to its junction with the Red Trail where that trail is a wide gravel road. I reblazed the trail and pruned back the overgrowth. The new blazes are bright and really pop out. Other than the usual muddy spot near the brook, the trails are solid and dry.

I have been working on a state-approved project to relocate the Red Trail out of the field and into the woods by Farm Brook Reservoir. That work is progressing slowly, but steadily. In the final section, I literally have a wall of invasive plants to cut through. Today was a typical day. I through a layer of sharp-thorned greenbrier to reach an autumn olive shrub that I cut down piece by piece. With each piece, I had to drag it through to woods to find a place to place it. After I got through the autumn olive, I cut down a multi-flora rose, which kept catching me with its sharp thorns.

The motivation for the relocation is that there is nothing in the field to blaze, so when people come to the end of the gravel road, there is no clear indication which direction they need to go. This project will probably take another four to six weeks, depending on how much I get out there to work on it. After all the clearing is done, I need to rake the leaves to better define the path, and then blaze the trail.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red and Red-White
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 6 hours
Approximate Distance (Miles): 2 miles
Image 1: Wood anemone, Red-White Tr. 5-15.jpg
Image 2: Rue anemone, Red-White Tr., 5-15.jpg
Image 3: Red-White Jct. with gravel road, 5-15.jpg
Image 4: Red-White Tr. by lake looking to field, 5-15.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: Wood anemone and rue anemone are two wildflowers in bloom along the Red-White Trail. The Red-White Trail crosses an open field from Farm Brook Reservoir to the west side of the field. The blazes are faintly visible in the distance. The Red-White Trail has a junction with the Red Trail where the Red Trail is a gravel road.

TM Report: Pisgah Mountain / Chalker Brook Valley

Date: 4/22/15
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: Pisgah Mountain / Chalker Brook Valley 
Town: Durham CT
Trail Conditions:

Observations/Information: New trail system Pisgah in Durham CT. Worked on section 10 cutting the thickest laurel I have ever seen.

Trail Ambassador Name: Jon Petersen
Trail Ambassador E-mail: jonpetersen@sbcglobal.net
How did you use the trail? Other
Trails Ridden: Section 10, exit exam
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 2.5
Approximate Distance (Miles): .1

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Feb. 13, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: New Haven
Trail Conditions: Deep snow

Observations/Information: I met with a representative from a private school that is interested in having students help with trail work. They plan to start once the weather warms. I told them to focus on cutting invasive plants and picking up litter. While I was there, I walked a circuit, out on the Red Trail and back on the Teal Trail. I cut lots of vines and pricker bushes on the Teal Trail. I pruned mountain laurel on both trails. I cut a blowdown on the Red Trail that would normally be at knee height, but it was buried under snow. The Red Trail was packed down by boots, as was the Teal Trail near Westville, but some of the time I was post-holing through the snow, as snowshoes are definitely not compatible with the trailwork I was doing. Baldwin Drive is plowed for access to the antennas, so that is one option for biking. Red is one of the designated biking trails at West Rock. I have suggested to the state that they open up the Teal to mountain biking, as that trail is an old carriage road. There is still a 24-inch diameter red oak across the Red Trail by the Teal Trail. I asked the state if they can cut this, which they will do at some point. The tree has been down since 2012, and a well-used trail has been created around the root ball.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red and Teal
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 4.5
Approximate Distance (Miles): 2
Image 1: Baldwin Drive plowed.jpg
Image 2: Red Tr., big red oak, 2-15.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: Baldwin Drive is plowed.
This red oak is across the Red Trail.

TM Report: West Rock Ridge SP

Date: Jan. 17, 2015
Report Type: TM Report
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Generally clear

Observations/Information: I cleared various invasive plant species along the Red-White Trail near Farm Brook Reservoir with help from a friend. We cut about 100 Asiatic bittersweet vines, plus plenty of Lycra-tearing multi-flora rose, and autumn olive. While clearing the invasives, we discovered an old road paralleling a large stone wall near the reservoir. I am asking the state if I can relocate the Red Trail to this location. More invasives needs to be cleared so this project would not be completed for another few months, plus i can't blaze until the weather is much warmer.

The Red Trail currently heads north from Mountain Road along a gravel road. The gravel road ends at Farm Brook Reservoir, but the Red Trail continues across the field and up the ridge. The problem is that people can't follow the Red Trail easily because there are no blazes in the field between the end of the gravel road and where the Red Trail enters the woods to head up the ridge. The field gets overgrown in the summer, so it is hard to follow and there is the risk of lots of ticks.


I also collected three buckets worth of litter from the trails and the Hill Street parking area. Afterwards I led a hike on the Red-White trail up to the ridge on Yellow and returning on the Red Trail. The trails had minimal ice and snow, except for occasional patches. There was a crust of ice and snow on Baldwin Drive. There were some dramatic ice flows across the rocks. We saw ice fishermen on the reservoir and a group of college students playing hockey.

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123 [at] sbcglobal [dot]net
How did you use the trail? Hiking/Walking
Trails Ridden: Red-White and Red
Time of day: Afternoon
Time/Duration (hours): 7
Approximate Distance (Miles): 5
Image 1: West Rock, old road by Farm Brook Res. w. vines, 1-15.jpg
Image 2: West Rock, Farm Brook Res. ice fishermen, 1-15.jpg
Image 3: West Rock, Red Tr., ice flow on rocks, 1-15.jpg
Image Description(s)/Instructions: An old road near Farm Brook Reservoir, ice fishermen on the reservoir, and ice flows by the Red Trail.