Airline Trail

Date: June 11, 2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: Airline Trail

Town: Colchester to Willimantic

Trail Conditions: Generally good

Observations/Information: I led a group ride on the Airline Trail with 8 people from the Route 2 parking lot east into Willimantic. We rode over the recently-decked bridge. The trail continues for another 1 mile past the bridge where it is paved (the rest of the trail is stone dust) and ends at a kiosk about 0.2 miles from Rt. 32. We also rode on the half-mile paved section of the Hop River Trail (its only paved section) out to Route 66. The trail is generally in good shape, although some of the gates are tight to get around and often have a sandy surface underneath. Two people joined me for a second loop west that included a loop through the Salmon River State Forest. The forest road is in good condition; last year it was a kidney buster. The section between Route 149 and River Road always seems to be a sandy mess. My GPX track, which includes a map:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1219097004

Trail Ambassador Name: Tom Ebersold

Trail Ambassador E-mail: bikehikekayak123[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

How did you use the trail? MT Biking

Trails Ridden: Airline Trail

Time of day: Morning

Time/Duration (hours): 5

Approximate Distance (Miles): 35

Image 1: Airline Trail start, Willimantic, 6-16.jpg 
Image 2: Airline Trail bridge over Willimantic River from trail, 6-16.JPG 
Image 3: Airline Trail bridge, view to Lebanon, 6-16.jpg Image 
Description(s)/Instructions: The Airline Trail Bridge over the Willimantic River and a view from the bridge toward the Hop River Trail.

George C Waldo State Park

Date: 5/9/2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: George C Waldo State Park

Town: Southbury

Trail Conditions: Fine, tacky in spots

Good morning, Southbury!

Observations/Information: After a rainy week, I couldn't wait for a ride, so I took probably my longest singletrack ride since the crash in August (not saying much, I know, but to me it is).  I rode the new trail down to where it dumps out onto the fire road, then down to Hunters, up to Daffy (eastbound), out to Where's Waldo, all the way to the western terminus of Daffy, back to Hunters, down to the fire road, up to Thing3, down to the lake, then up the western end of Where's Waldo, to Daffy, to Hunters, up to Where's Waldo, eastbound back to the parking lot.  (A lot to type, but the map makes sense of it.)

Rotten Tree Leaner

Despite a week of wet weather, everything was pretty dry, except that spongy spot on Daffy near the Hunters intersection (and even that was drier than expected).  That said, it looks like someone was riding just after the rains before the trails had a chance to dry out.

Items of note: Paula (I'm assuming) has a couple of signs up near one of the trail features on T3 requesting people not open unauthorized lines.  There's also a nice little bridge on T3 where that mucky brook crossing used to be (and pin flags indicating a proposed reroute).

There's a rotten tree leaner across Daffy a bit to the west of the Hunters intersection.  Ride-underable, but I won't be surprised to see it come down in the next windstorm.

Fiddleheads

TM = removing branches here and there.  I was getting slapped in the face enough next trip in I should probably do some lopping.

No other two-legged users in evidence; just me and the squirrels.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy

Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com 

How did you use the trail? MT Biking 

Trails Ridden: Several (see narrative) 

Time of day: Morning 

Time/Duration (hours): 2 (incl. TM and photos) 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 6.7

Update 5/17/2016: ...and it's down:

Someone ramped it somewhat with pieces of the rotten tree.

Naugatuck State Forest

Spring color in the trees! (Reservoir 2)

Date: 5/1/2016

Report Type: TA Report

Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest

Town: Oxford/Beacon Falls

Trail Conditions: Typical Naugy

Observations/Information: I got in a quick AM ride before the rains.

ATVs had been in, doing donuts in a few places.

Trails mostly dry, with the exception of the places always wet (e.g. under the power lines on Red).  Even the east side of Res 1 only had a couple of damp spots.

West side of Res 3 (in addition to the persistence of logging debris) is also getting prickery.  Tree down across the trail by one of the brook crossings, a bit too big for my handsaw, and the (even bigger) tree across by the turn up the hill to Res 4 is still there.

Other users: dog walker going in as I rode in, and coming out as I rode out.

West side Res 3, looking east (before the rains)

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy

Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com 

How did you use the trail? MT Biking 

Trails Ridden: Reservoir Tour 

Time of day: Morning 

Time/Duration (hours): :45 

Approximate Distance (Miles): 3.7

Quillinan Reservoir

Date: 2/27/2016
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Quillinan Reservoir
Town: Seymour/Ansonia
Trail Conditions: Mostly frozen

Observations/Information: It was sub-20 at sunrise, so I figured I'd climb into the flight suit and have one of the last cold-weather rides of the season. By noon I'm guessing the temperature will be sufficiently high to cause mud.

From the Rimmon lot, down the fire road, left at the logging site and up the hill, right (west) side purple branch down to the reservoir, then back up the purple branch farther down, all the way back to the lot.

Trails were for the most part frozen, except for a patch of the fire road just north of the brook crossing with the downed tree (see photo), where water is running down and across. The tree's a split trunk, and the other half is hung up and will probably come down next windstorm. (Don't be under it.)


Bits of the singletrack had that frozen crunchiness that freeze/thaw will do. And yes, there's evidence someone's been riding there wet. I also saw another "Please contact me to coordinate trail work" sign Travis has up.

TM = kicking branches off trail, and dragging off a small tree that was down near the reservoir.

No other people this morning - a couple of wild turkeys were about, though.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy
Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden: Fire Road, Purple
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 1
Approximate Distance (Miles): 4.1

Naugatuck State Forest

Date: 2/11/2016
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Naugatuck State Forest
Town: Oxford (and a tiny bit of Beacon Falls)
Trail Conditions: Snowy of various flavors

Observations/Information: This morning's sunrise 20-degree quickie was in the West Block. In at the Rt. 42 lot, down the hill then left up to Res 2, around and up the east side of #3 to #4, down the Camaro(less) Trail, right onto the bypass down to the power lines, then Red down to #2, around the east side and back up and out.

It doesn't look like the snowmobiles have been in, but other users plus thaw/refreeze has "groomed" a lot of the reservoir loop at least. Not so much some of the other trails - climbs were tough and got bogged down enough to walk it more than once.

The predicted cold snap this weekend may change this (though probably not for long), but the mushy patch on the Camaro(less) trail is all that and then some. And the wet stretch around the power line crossing is an absolute mess.

Item of note: just east of the mush on Camaro(less) a tree is down, not huge but too big for hand tools. Given the snow on the trail past it and the snow on top of the log, I had a hard time seeing it until I was almost upon it, and I was moving slowly. I can easily imagine a faster user (e.g. snowmobile) hitting it, especially in lower visibility. I cleared as much of the snow on the log as I could, and in the next day or two want to get back over there to apply some flagging tape to mark it better until it can be removed.

TM = clearing a couple branches here and there.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy
Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden:
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): 1
Approximate Distance (Miles): 3.1

Quillinan Reservoir

Date: 1/31/2015
Report Type: TA Report
Trail Name: Quillinan Reservoir
Town: Seymour/Ansonia
Trail Conditions: Snowy/Frozen ***

Observations/Information: I took a (very) quick sunrise ride @ Quillinan: purple up from the Rimmon lot to the four-way purple junction, right and down to the fire road, then back to the lot. (Hey, I said it was quick.)

Only complaint was some bumpiness due to frozen boot tracks, and some icy patches here and there. TM = kicking the odd branch off trail.  Some hikers (not us folk) made a couple of shortcuts.

One item of note: logging adjacent to the fire road by the spur that runs out to Clinton Rd. (i.e. by the double logover, which BTW is now just a single logover).  Also, the purple trail teepee is flat (and has an odd tote that looks like it contains remnants of someone's picnic lunch).

*** Temps are coming up rapidly and will likely stay warm over the next few days, so if you haven't gotten today's ride in by now, you're probably SOL until late next week or the weekend.

Trail Ambassador Name: John Joy
Trail Ambassador E-mail: jmj [at] savagejoy [dot] com
How did you use the trail? MT Biking
Trails Ridden: Purple, Fire Road
Time of day: Morning
Time/Duration (hours): :30
Approximate Distance (Miles): 2.5
Image Description(s)/Instructions: