Report Type: TM Report:
Trail Name: West Rock Ridge SP
Town: Hamden
Trail Conditions: Dry with some blowdowns
Observations/Information: In past postings, I have discussed work I have done on removing invasive plant species and people may wonder what does that have to do with mountain biking. This photo of a dead, fallen tree wrapped with vines shows the answer: everything. Vines weaken and kill trees, and then they can fall on the trail. I spent time on the Red Trail up to the "Hang Glider" overlook, and the Red-White Trail from the Hill St. parking area out to the Gravel Road clearing blowdowns from the October blizzard. There were numerous small blowdowns from tree crowns along both trails. One hiker who passed me on the Red-White Trail looked at my handsaw and said that I was not going to be able to clear the blowdowns with just that saw. A couple of hours later with decidedly sore arms, the job was done. I encountered a couple of mountain bikers who were headed up to the Red Trail, so they were pleased to hear that I had just cleared it. I asked them about the Red Trail heading down to Lake Wintergreen where I reported four large trees to the state. They said the trail was clear. As I walked back to Hill Street in the rapidly fading light along the Red Trail where it's a gravel road, I opened up one blowdown a bit more, cleared a second one, and steered clear of a third tree that was totally wrapped with poison ivy. I'm still clearing out the case I caught two weeks ago while working on the vines on Baldwin Drive. I'll report those blowdowns to the state. In the open field, I cut back some autumn olive (another invasive) that was encroaching upon the trail. The trail surfaces were generally dry and firm, excepting the part near the pond where an armoring project is on my list of trail repairs.
Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold
Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak [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): 4
Approximate Distance (Miles): 2 miles
Images/Photos: Red-White Tr., vines on tree, 11-11.jpg
2nd image:
3rd Image:
4th Image:
No comments:
Post a Comment