Trail Monitoring Example: The Paugussett

See the big white mattress off to the left? 
It's on the edge of Indian Well Road. 

We're always asking for help with trail monitoring. People ask us what is involved and aren't always clear about it. So here's an example of trail monitoring. Over the weekend, I hiked the south end of the Paugussett from the falls area at Indian Well to Buddington Road, maybe five miles.  The Paugussett is a long trail where some sections get hiked frequently and others rarely, so I wanted one long hike where I would see it all before heading into winter. 

The first issue was a big white mattress dumped of the side of Indian Well Road. An eyesore for hikers, but not visible from the road. I noted the exact location so I could explain it to the DOT. 

Log across the trail

Then there was a new log across the trail. Easy enough to step over, but should get cut eventually. My foot in the photo is for scale and I noted the exact location. Note that we intentionally leave some logs across certain trails, especially at Birchbank, to discourage wheeled traffic. So it helps to be familiar with the trail. I also removed some sticks from the trail and picked up some litter. 

The base of the sign is broken

When I got to Rt 110, I saw that the blue oval "Paugussett Trail" sign was leaning. I examined the base and found it had snapped in two. Another issue for the CT DOT. 

Patio umbrella below Sinsabaugh Heights

When the trail reached the edge of the Sinsabaugh Heights Senior Housing, there was some litter that had blown in, including a big patio umbrella that I folded up and left at the base of one of the buildings. There was also a bird feeder that maybe a bear dragged into the bushes. I couldn't get it because it was in thorny raspberries and I wasn't prepared for that. 

Yet more piles of landscaping debris at Mayflower Lane

Mayflower Lane has always been problem, and for years people have been leaving big piles of lawn debris at the edge of the trail. There's always a fresh new pile, but it's hard to say which house it came from (possibly several houses). I've put up official signs and they get ripped down. It's frankly embarrassing. That's our trail entrance and we want it to look nice, not like a waste pile. Sure enough, there was a fresh pile of bright red ornamental Japanese Maple leaves. Grrr. 

Caught in action, House #30 

But wait, this time the culprit was obvious! A few houses up the road there was a big blue tarp in the road with the same leaves being gathered. I spoke with the homeowner at 30 Mayflower Lane, who said he dumped his leaves in the open space at the trailhead, but claimed it was OK because he wasn't dumping "IN" the trail, but at the edge of it, and there are already leaves there, so it doesn't matter. In terms of trail monitoring, having photos and a record of who exactly is causing problems is quite helpful.  The homeowner can later be notified in writing, and any subsequent violations are then a "knowing" violation and more subject to penalties. 

A bit shaggy but not horrible

The section beyond Meadow Street looked OK. A bit shaggy here and there, which was not surprising since I hadn't been there for a few months, but not bad. The bog walk and stepping stones installed last year were in good shape.  

The Eversource work completed last year is finally regrowing

Crossing Wellington and heading towards Independence Drive, it was nice to see everything growing back where Eversource had turned the trail into a construction site. A much nicer walk and the ground seemed more firm.

Tilted bog walk section

Back into the woods just before Independence Drive I noted a bog walk section was very tilted and not something you would want to step on if wet. This was problem before that had gotten worse. 

Houston, we have a problem

This brought me to the only critical trail issue: A rotting bridge that was turning into a dam of leaves and sticks. This has been on the todo list for the Trails Committee all season. A temporary fix was done previously to prevent the bridge from collapsing, with cinder blocks placed in the brook to hold up the bridge, but those cinder blocks were obstructing the water and the top three blocks had shifted over the fourth block. The brook frequently floods to the top of the bridge with a strong current, so this bridge may not survive the winter. 

Hope Lake

The rest of the hike through Shelton Lakes had no problems. The trails in the greenway get more use, and problems are more likely to be reported. There was some erosion going up the hill past Eklund Garden, that was it. 

Eklund Garden

The three new Rosebay Rhododendron at Eklund Garden seemed to be in good shape (I watered them all summer with jugs of water from home). The Oak Leafed Hydrangea still had it's leaves and some nice color. 

After a monitoring hike: The hiker shares their findings (both positive and negative) with us. Saying, "I walked the trail and everything looked fine" is valuable to us, because then we don't need to wonder if there are any trees down across the trail or whatever. 

How to be a Trail Monitor: There are two options. First, on a casual basis, you can simple walk any trail and send us your findings. Second, you can become a more formal Shelton Trail Monitor, where you are listed as a person who routinely checks a specific trail and alerts us to any issues. See https://sheltontrailscom.blogspot.com/p/shelton-trail-monitors.html for the monitors currently listed, although we honestly don't know if they are all still actively monitoring their trails.  A trail can have more than one listed monitor.  The email to use is conservation@cityofshelton.org. You can also post issues to our Facebook Group  

What happens after a monitoring hike?  In this case, since I'm a trail manager and work for the city, I'm the one responding to these issues.  But normally a Trail Monitor would not be expected to address the issues themselves unless it is easy to do so on the spot (like the umbrella that blew in from Sinsabaugh). 

For the Paugussett inspection, I've contacted the state DOT about the mattress and the broken sign. I've added the log across the trail on the Trails Committee's chainsaw map. I shared a photo of the bridge near Independence Drive with the Trails Committee and talked about its precarious condition, so there are some tentative plans to possibly work on that over the Thanksgiving weekend. The resident at Mayflower will get a letter in the mail. And I may take a string trimmer and hedge trimmer to the trail between Meadow and Independence. Note that none of these actions would have been taken if the monitor hike hadn't occurred, because "out of sight, out of mind."