Date Hiked: Sunday, May 17, 2015
Number in Group: 1
Estimated distance round-trip: 2.2 miles
Weather: Warm, low to mid 70's when I started hiking at around 9 a.m.
Resources:
Holcomb Farm,
trail map
Highlights of the trip: wildflowers
I decided to get my hike in earlier rather than later on Sunday, since I knew it was supposed to get into the high 80's. I was on the trail around 9 a.m. and it was already pretty warm. I didn't use my car to get to the farm, so I had no bug spray with me. I definitely could have used it!
Holcomb Farm has gone through some changes in the last few years, but activities including art classes,
Two Coyotes Wilderness School, educational classes, and more, keep the place busy. I was surprised to see people there on a Sunday morning. They were there for
The Institute of Sustainable Nutrition class.
The western trails start behind the big red barns. I walked down the hill, crossed Kendall Brook, and entered the CSA fields. Straight across the field and through the gate took me to the banks of the West Branch of the Salmon Brook.
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| Kendall Brook |
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| Holcomb Farm CSA |
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| Bridge over the West Branch of the Salmon Brook |
On the far side of the bridge there is a lot of sand and rounded rocks. It's a nice place to sit and enjoy the sun, or look for unique looking rocks. Head straight back toward the woods and you will come to the start of the Yellow Trail. I decided I would take the trails in order - Yellow to Blue to Green to
Purple - always turning right and gaining elevation on each trail. I went to the right and wound my way through the woods a bit, noticing a few wildflowers and a lean-to, before I got to the stairs.
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| Going up! |
At the top of the stairs, I turned right onto the Thruway (Blue) Trail. This trail climbed a little higher and turned 180 degrees, after which it connected to the High Ridge (Green) Trail. This leads you out to a trail head off of the dirt section of Broad Hill Road, or if you turn left and stay on the trail, it very quickly connects to the Lookout (Purple) Trail.
The Lookout Trail has a little spur that takes you to the lookout. It is an outcrop of rocks in the middle of the woods. There is not much to see at this time of year, but maybe once the leaves have fallen you can get a view to the east. Just below the lookout, on the trail, is a picnic table and small bench next to a couple of glacial erratics.
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| The sign on the right indicates the Lookout that you see on the left. |
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| A bench to enjoy the view once the leaves are gone. |
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| Glacial erratics. |
Continuing on the Lookout Trail, I soon connected back to the High Ridge Trail at the end opposite from where I started. A short section of the High Ridge Trail, took me back again to the Thruway Trail. I think it was near here that I came across what I assume are shelters built by the kids in the Two Coyotes classes. I also spotted the only
Pink Lady's-slipper that I have seen this year. I looked around, but didn't see any others.
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| A little village in the woods. |
When the Thruway (Blue) Trail connects with the Yellow Trail again, you have two choices. If you go left, you will stick to the woods and go back to the stairs. If you go to the right, which is the way I went, you will follow the Yellow Trail down the hill until you get to the bridge over Beach Brook.
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| A hawk or owl feather. Not sure which. |
You must cross Beach Brook again in order to get back to where you started. The only issue is, there is not another bridge. The water needs to be low enough for you to be able to cross using the rocks in the stream. Someone has put a rope between a couple of trees to help with the first part of the crossing. This gets you to a little "island" from which you have to make your way over another smaller section of the stream. I got the toe of one boot wet, but not a big deal. You would not be able to cross this area in higher water.
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| See the rope tied between the trees? |
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| West Branch of Salmon Brook |
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| West Branch of Salmon Brook back near the bridge. |
I followed the Yellow Trail back to where I started, crossed the bridge, went through the CSA fields and back to the barn.
According to the data on my phone, I went about 2.2 miles and reached an elevation of 644 feet. I really enjoyed the hike. It was on the warm side, but not too bad, although the mosquitoes were ferocious if I stopped moving. You could lengthen this hike by zig-zagging the trails as you went up, or you could visit some of the
Granby Land Trust properties (Diamond Ledges, Petersen, and Beman Family Preserves) off of Broad Hill Road. (As far as I know there are no trail maps for these properties).
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