Estimated distance: 4.11 miles
Weather: 43°F, scattered clouds, breezy
Resources: Friends of Northwest Park, Trail Map
Highlights of the trip: bald eagle, view of frozen reservoir
Progress toward 2017 Outdoor Goals: 1/52 hikes; 4.11/250 miles hiked
Let's start the New Year off with a hike! The tricky part is figuring out where to go. We've had a little snow and then rain on top of that, so icy trails were likely. I chose Northwest Park because it is relatively flat with a lot of open fields. If the conditions were too bad, I hoped that at least the trails around the fields would be free of ice. I threw my microspikes into the car just in case.
There were some icy spots in the parking lot and then again in front of the nature center, but overall things looked pretty good. As you can see from the pictures, the snow is pretty much gone. I left the microspikes in the car. The nature center was closed today for the holiday, but I think it is normally closed on Sundays anyway.
I headed behind the nature center and back toward the reservoir. The trails were pretty good except for an occasional icy patch and I just took my time and used my hiking poles.
I stopped for a moment to consult my map and see if there was a trail around the field I had just come to. When I looked up again, there was a bald eagle flying over the field toward the reservoir. Already a great hike!
I picked up the yellow (Wetland Forest) trail that runs along above Rainbow Reservoir.
From the yellow trail, I connected with the pink (Rainbow Reservoir) trail. It became much more icy here, but in many cases the worst of the ice could be avoided by walking along the edge of the trail.
The reservoir was frozen, but I doubt the ice was very thick.
Someone got a little carried away with the pink blazes, but it added a little color to the scene. The trails at Northwest Park are very well marked. The only problems I have are when I come to the criss-crossing woods roads. Putting numbered markers at the corners and marking those on the map might be helpful.
The picture below shows the dam at the end of the reservoir. Somewhere along here, I looked across a cove and thought I saw a sign on a tree that said "Portage Here". By the time I got over to that spot, I had completely forgotten about it, but now I am curious. If it really did say "portage" where are you supposed to go? Looking at the Farmington River Watershed Association website, there is no mention of a portage here. You would take out at across the reservoir at the boat launch (Access Point 29) and drive down to River Street to put-in again (Access Point 30). Curious.
I left the pink trail and picked up the black (Triassic) trail. This took me through the woods and then out into a field. I thought the trails would be free of ice here, but the trees block the rays of the sun on the trail that runs along the east side of the field.
When I got to the next field, I walked on the trails on the west side of the field which brought me to one of the old tobacco barns. The roof is in bad repair, but the beams inside still look pretty good.
I made my way back to the entrance with a quick detour to see the animal barn. This was a very nice hike on a beautiful first day of the new year.
You were getting much more exercise on that day than we were!
ReplyDeleteWell, I think you had a reason.
ReplyDelete