Stillman-Danaher Preserve & Topsmead State Forest - Litchfield, CT

Date Hiked: Saturday, June 9, 2018
Estimated distance:  1.85 miles at Stillman-Danaher + 3.07 miles at Topsmead
Weather: 73°F, sunny
Resources: Litchfield Land Trust, DEEP Topsmead SF
Highlights of the trip:  gardens, wildflowers, birds
Progress toward NET Hike 50 Challenge: 10.5/50 miles completed

Nearly two months ago, my hiking partner and I headed over to Litchfield to check out two properties neither of us had been to before.  First, we hiked the trail at Litchfield Land Trust's Stillman-Danaher Preserve and then we drove less than two miles down the road to Topsmead State Forest.

The hike at S-D was fine, but there were no views, even from Pinnacle Rock.  I think perhaps this is a trail best done in the winter, where you might get a peek through the trees or other features may stand out (see Peter Marteka's article here).  One thing we did find of interest were some young trees that seem to have some kind of disease.  I'm not sure this would be noticeable in the winter without the leaves.  It only seemed to be happening on young trees.  The thin branches were all twisted and there was a mass of dead leaves with new smaller leaves growing above.  My pictures were terrible and I haven't identified the tree.  The Land Trust thought it may be a beech tree, but I am not sure.  I have searched the internet for something similar, but without success.  I may have to go back and take better pictures.

What is wrong with this tree?

Spider with large egg sac.

 Topsmead State Forest

At Topsmead, we parked and strolled up to the former summer home of Edith Morton Chase.  The "cottage" is beautiful and is surrounded by lovely gardens and fields.  There is also an area of cedar and yew that forms a bit of a cave that I am sure kids would really enjoy.

Neat little "cave" under the trees.

As we wandered around the house, we also saw that there were bobolinks at the edge of the field.  I first saw these birds last year at the Winchester Land Trust's Hurlburt Field.

Bobolink

From the cottage we went back toward the cars, but turned north past a field with wildflowers to end up at a little pond lined with yellow irises.

Leafy spurge.

Cow vetch.

We took the trail that went past the pond and looped around back to the road and then walked across the fields on the southern side of the property.  There were lots of wildflowers and more birds.  The birds were blue, but I couldn't get a good enough look to say whether they were blue birds or barn swallows.  I am sure a real birder could tell simply from watching their flight, but I can't.

Ragged robin.

Orange Hawkweed aka Devil's Paintbrush.

Path through the pines.

  
Topsmead State Forest is an absolutely stunning piece of property and well worth another visit.  There are picnic tables in various places, so I would recommend stopping and getting some sandwiches and enjoying a picnic.  I would think this would be an ideal place to snowshoe or cross country ski in the winter months.

Auer Farm - Bloomfield, CT

Date Hiked: Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Estimated distance:  2.48 miles
Weather: 65°F, scattered clouds
Resources: Auerfarm, Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve, CTMQ
Highlights of the trip:  views
Progress toward NET Hike 50 Challenge: 10.5/50 miles completed

Playing catch-up blogging about my hikes.

In June, I joined the Take a Hike! Farmington Valley facebook group on a hike at Auerfarm.  Auerfarm is Connecticut's newest state park and it is well worth a visit.  This hike would be a nice one to do as a family, especially if you take the kids to visit the animals afterward.

We started our hike from the parking lot near the education buildings and walked back down the road to the turn off for the trail that goes up the hill.  For a shorter hike, there is parking near the trail.

When we reached the top of the hill, we followed the road around to a couple of abandoned cabins.  I love finding these old places, but it also makes me a little sad that they have fallen into ruin.

We then headed back to the mown trails that went across the fields.  The view from up here is spectacular and I was thrilled to find that I could see the Heublein Tower from the eastern side.

Heublein Tower is visible about a quarter of the way from the left hand side of the picture.

Check out that view looking north along the Metacomet Ridge!

We passed an apple orchard on our way down the hill back to the road.

 I highly recommend this hike and I am surprised it took me so long to get here.  I will be back.

CF&PA Trails Weekend: Scantic River State Park - East WIndsor

Date Hiked: Sunday, June 3, 2018
Estimated distance:  2.6 miles
Weather: 68°F, scattered clouds
Resources: Scantic River Park Map, American Heritage River Commission Facebook Page
Highlights of the trip:  new bridge
Progress toward NET Hike 50 Challenge: 10.5/50 miles completed


I have long wanted to participate in CT Forest & Park Association's Trails Weekend, and I finally made it happen this year.  I selected a hike in East Windsor that was along the Scantic River.  The parking for this event was at the end of Melrose Road on the east side of the river.  From the map, you can see that there is a Melrose Road on the other side of the river, but the road is not connected.

When I arrived, there were quite a few cars already lining the road and as I looked down to the end, there was a group of people all wearing the same color shirt.  Also, the person I parked behind had legislative plates on their car.  Ugh.  What was I getting into?  I thought I was just going for a hike.

It turns out, that the American Heritage River Commission, who had organized this hike, was having a ribbon cutting for the new bridge that had been laid down.  It was placed within the framework of the old Melrose Road Bridge.  The ribbon cutting and speech took very little time and then we were off on our hike.  I do not remember the name of the trails, but they make a big loop.  First we climbed up along the ridge and then came down and walked back along the river.

The river was very shallow and I don't think it would be good for kayaking right now.  When we got back, I checked out the new bridge.  I have included pictures of the signs that were on display. 

On the far side of the bridge, the volunteers have just started clearing a path that follows the old road bed.  It is still pretty rough, and it looks like it took a lot of work.  A lot of undergrowth.  I don't know if they plan on continuing it all the way to the western part of Melrose Road.  During the dedication of the bridge, someone in the audience was explaining that this used to be the main road for the farms to get their goods to the Connecticut River.  It makes sense if you look at a map.  Melrose Road runs straight into Route 140 which continues straight to the Connecticut River.

One of the highlights of this hike for me was speaking with the hike leader after the event.  I had been on the hike by myself, and didn't know anyone, so felt a little out of place.  After speaking with the leader and learning more about the work the Commission has done and other activities they organize, I left feeling glad that I had attended.

Cowles Park to Tariffville Gorge - East Granby, CT

Date Hiked: Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Estimated distance:  3.41 miles
Weather: 75°F, sunny and a bit humid
Resources: Cowles Park to Tariffville Gorge
Highlights of the trip:  Snake, view from the overlook, river
Progress toward NET Hike 50 Challenge: 10.5/50 miles completed

Hiked today with a couple of others from Cowles Park on Route 187 in East Granby, up to the lookout on the Metacomet Trail over Tariffville Gorge, down to the river, and back through Cowles Park to our cars.

As we were hiking along the ridge, before we got to the overlook, we came across a fairly large black snake.  He did not seem keen to move, so one of the others tried to gently move him along with her hiking pole.  He took exception to that at reared up and hissed.  It was a little nerve wracking even though I was pretty sure it was not a poisonous snake.  He eventually got fed up with us and moved off the trail.  Did I think to get my camera out while this was going on?  No.  Drat.  No snake pictures.

We got a great view from the overlook up and down the river and out across to the same Barndoor Hills we saw during last week's hike at Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington.

Barndoor Hills in Granby are the two little humps in the middle of the picture.

The trail down to the river was much better marked than I remember it.  We came out on Tunxis Avenue not far from the powerline cut and then walked back up the road so that we could see the water flowing through the gorge.  There is a nice little sandy beach area that allows a good view of the river.  I believe you are advised against swimming there, though.  It would not be safe.

We walked back down the road and followed the trail between two homes back into Cowles Park.  Really, a nice little hike with the hard part over early and a reward of nice views.

If you go, I recommend looking at the map I drew in the post linked at the very top of the page, or getting an app that shows all the various trails in Cowles Park.  There are a lot of criss-crossing mountain bike trails and it could be confusing.  You want to stick to the yellow trail which goes north and then turns south.  When you get to a bench, you will head west on a trail out of Cowles Park, across the power line cut and up to the ridge.  Follow the blue blazes south to the overlook and then continue south on faded blue blazes down to the road.  A sign indicating the Orange Trail back into Cowles Park is on a post between two homes.  Follow that back to the bench at the yellow trail and back to your car.

Enjoy!

Rattlesnake Mountain

Date Hiked: Thursday, May 24, 2018
Estimated distance:  2.4 miles
Weather: 73°F, beautiful and sunny
Resources: CT NET: Section 16,
Highlights of the trip:  View, Will Warren's Den
Progress toward NET Hike 50 Challenge: 10.5/50 miles completed


I'm going to try and start blogging again.  We'll see how it goes.

Recently, I have joined a facebook group called Take a Hike! Farmington Valley.  Today, I joined five people from that group for a hike up Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington.  They were a nice group of people and it was a good hike. 

We started our hike by parking along the side of Route 6 just east of Pinnacle Road.  There is a short trail that parallels the road before heading away from it.

There were several large rock outcroppings, but you have to get almost to the overlook before you come to Will Warren's Den.  Here is a short video from the kids at Farmington Alternative High School that talks about the mountain and Will Warren's Den.  In the video, you can see one of the boys crawling into the den.  The idea of doing that did not cross anyone's mind today.

The view from the overlook is fantastic and we were blessed with a beautiful clear day.  The picture below is a view to the south and shows East and West Mountains in Hubbard Park in Meriden.  The Tilcon quarry in Plainville is in front of the mountains.  We did not head over to Pinnacle Rock today, but it can be seen as a small outcropping just right of center.

Looking north, you can see the city of Hartford.

On our hike, we ran into another group that was hiking all the way through to Route 372.  Here, a few people are standing on the traprock ridge.  If you continued on the trail, you would go right down under these cliffs.  Later, when we got back to the parking lot, we saw two people carrying what looked like large black mattresses folded in half.  We asked what they were and they said they were crash pads for climbing.  I didn't notice that they were carrying any other equipment, so I assume they were going to be free climbing.  It would have been interesting to see.

One of the people I hiked with spotted a Lady's slipper on the trail.

Near the bottom of the trail, there was a small clearing that gave a good view to the north.  In the picture below, you can see the Barndoor Hills in Granby at the center of the picture.

We could not have had a better day for this hike.  I look forward to getting out more and getting some miles for my NET Hike 50 Challenge.