2017 Hike #10: Holcomb Farm East Side Trails - West Granby, CT

Date Hiked: Sunday, March 19, 2017
Estimated distance:  1.82 miles
Weather: 39°F, sunny
Resources: Holcomb Farm, Trail Map
Highlights of the trip:  views over snowy fields
Progress toward 2017 Outdoor Goals:  10/52 hikes; 29.77/250 miles hiked


After my snowshoe fail the other day, I decided to try hiking without them.  I had thought about strapping the snowshoes to a pack and bringing them along, just in case.  I fumbled with strapping them on the pack and finally gave up.  I figured by picking a place where other people had packed the snow down, I would be okay without them.  People often walk their dogs on the east side of Holcomb Farm, so that was where I decided to go.

OpenStreetMap from my MapMyHike app.

Sure enough, the trail up the hill was pretty well worn.  The sun was shining and melting the snow.

Looking to the southwest from the bench.

I started to doubt myself as I made my way over to the bench at the viewpoint.  Not as many people had traveled this way and I was trying to stay in others footprints.  When I got to the bench, there was another person there on snowshoes.  He said the trails in the woods were pretty well traveled and packed down, so I thought I had made the right choice not to bring my snowshoes.

Entrance to the woods from the field with a trail sign.

No.  I had not made the right choice.  While the trails through the woods were well used, the snow was pretty mushy and hard to walk on - like walking on a sandy beach.  The trails are also narrow, and I felt bad for post holing ski/snowshoe trails.  (Although, I was not the only one who had been walking out there.)

I took the blue trail in a clock-wise direction.  I went past the first turn on to the red trail and took the second turn, which went south along an old barbed wire fence and cedar trees, to a field.  I walked across the field and back down to the road.

Today's lesson was "be prepared".  If I had strapped my snowshoes to a pack, I certainly would have put them on.  It would have been easier along the trail, and I wouldn't be hobbling around with sore calves 3 days later.  Hopefully, this is a lesson learned.