Shelton Trails Committee

Marshmallow March - 2012

2012-01-22T18:03:00.010-05:00

Considering that the previous day had seen up to 8" of snow blanketing the area, causing postponement of our sometimes annual Marshmallow "March 'til you drop and are revived with hot chocolate and burnt marshmallows" hike, an impressive turnout made the event a success. It was cold, but not excessively, and the fire and hot chocolate helped take the chill out of the air.

Click on images to enlarge
The Shelton Land Trust property at Nicholdale Farm was the ideal location for this event. The trek began from the parking area just off Rte 110, leading over a stream and through the woods to grandma's fire pit.

This bridge was built as a Boy Scout project. The trail we followed was also created by the Scouts.

It appears that we had a professional snow-shoer in our midst!

I had to trudge back to the parking lot and leave Nellie with a horse-sitter!

Meanwhile, the fire crew was preparing the bonfire and dusting off the picnic tables.

The gang started arriving, eager to get to the promised hot chocolate and marshmallows.

...and they kept coming...

...and coming!

"Hey! Where's the marshmallows!"

The kids, as well as the adults, enjoyed creating lava-filled charcoal briquettes.

Appetites sated, bellies warmed, mittens and gloves steaming, everyone headed back to the parking area, having enjoyed a relaxing walk in the winter woods with a warm ending.

Nicholdale Marshallow Hike Today!

2012-01-22T10:33:00.005-05:00

Snow Hike Today at 1:00 at Nicholdale.

After a winter of no snow - we're in luck! The hike was postponed from yesterday to Sunday at 1:00 to allow 9" of fluffy white stuff to be placed at Nicholdale for the first hike of 2012. The parking lot on Rt. 110 will be plowed and open courtesy of the Shelton Land Conservation Trust, so come out and explore winter with us today.

Last weekend a number of volunteers from the Trails Committee & the Land Trust were out clearing up blowdowns and vines in preparation of the hike. Here are Martin & Joe clearing out a new relocation around a wet spot leading to the Cattle Pass.

We also had help from Alex, Bill, Jim, Rich, Sheri, Bill & Terry. It was a good turn out - I think we had 5 chainsaws going so we got a lot accomplished.

There will be a bonfire going at the Scout Camp, marshmallows & hot chocolate will be provided, or you can bring your own. So pack up the kids, load up the snowshoes and cross country skis, leash up the sled dogs and join us for an invigorating hike before heading indoors to watch football.

Silent Waters Goes Up and Down

2011-12-23T15:08:00.004-05:00

We had always read that after the Silent Waters dam burst in 1903, it was never repaired. In most places the water doesn't get anywhere near the dam. Yet here is an aerial from 1934 (courtesy of the State of Connecticut) showing a completely full reservoir. It's bigger than Hope Lake!

Here's a close-up with the current school and dog park locations shown for orientation purposes. You can see the water lapped right up to the dam wall, which is now a part of the Rec Path with a split rail fence to keep people from falling off. The dam is actually two dams with a break in the middle at high ground, but the total length from end to end is close to 1/3 mile. Where the spillway is shown we currently have a large pedestrian bridge serving as a scenic overlook.

What happened to the reservoir?? From the 1965 aerial above you can see that the reservoir was nearly completely drained and was mostly marshland with some open water in the center (there is white snow and ice in the photo on the water surface). We don't know exactly when this happened, but we can assume it was done because the water was no longer needed and the dam posed a safety hazard (in 1903 it burst and flooded out businesses downtown).

Here's another aerial, this one from 2006 (we can tell because work on the bridge abutments at the spillway can be seen in preparation for the Rec Path bridge installation in late 2006). In this picture you can see a lot of trees in the water because when the school was built, a new weir was installed at the spillway to increase the stormwater storage capacity of Silent Waters. That rose the level of Silent Waters a few feet and flooded a lot of trees. Great wildlife habitat.

Nells Rock in 1868

2011-12-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

Here's an overlay of a map from 1868 on Google Earth in the Nells Rock area. The overlay is not exact because of the scale of the old map, but it's pretty close. Hope Lake had not yet been created, and it looks like the old Nells Rock Road (previously spelled "Knells") may now be under water. Shelton Ave was later straightened out. Here's a test for our trail enthusiasts: See if you can identify two old roads that have been recycled as hiking trails. First one to get it right gets one of our famous free hiking passes. (Click to enlarge).

Take a Trot

2011-11-27T12:38:00.003-05:00

It's beautiful weather for this late in the Fall - so get outside.

This family was one of many out enjoying the Nells Loop Trail this morning. It's a little muddy in spots but most of the blow downs have been cleared.

The Trails Committee was out yesterday blowing off the Turkey Trot Trail & clearing some remaining blow downs in preparation for this afternoon's guided hike. Join us at 1:00 on Constitution Boulevard North near the High School Driveway.

Reverse "TIMBERRRR!!!"

2011-11-21T18:25:00.007-05:00

This time of the year, it's not unusual to see members of the Shelton Trails Committee and volunteers doing the much beloved leaf-blowing and raking along the various Shelton trails and the Rec Path. This year we had the additional task of clearing blow-downs from the tropical storm and the early snowfall. Mostly it's been a matter of pushing aside fallen branches and chainsawing the larger limbs that had obstructed the path. The Boehm Pond Trail, accessed from Far Mill Street, was in need of some work.

Click on photos to enlarge

We started the day clearing leaves and brush, occasionally having to do some heavy-duty cutting and moving of the larger blow-downs.

Whoa! A monster tree had been uprooted right across our trail, and there was no easy way to bypass it!

Bill ponders the situation. Should we cut down, or up? There was a chance the the chainsaw could get pinched and irretrievable (temporarily, at least) if we cut the wrong way. Bill correctly concluded that we should cut downward.

Rich is about to cut through the last inch when, BOING!, the trunk, now topless, snaps back to a position of attention!

The weight of the root ball was enough to bring the trunk, now minus the weight of the rest of the tree, back to its original position.

Job well done, everybody go home!

Frugal Yankees Build a Rec Path

2011-11-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

So far, the Rec Path has cost just $169,000 per mile to build, with most of that money coming from outside sources like grants. Compare that to some other similar projects in the region, such as the Ansonia River Walk, which is reported to have been built for about $1,000,000, and it's only 2/3 of a mile long. That works out to about $1.5 million per mile, nearly ten times the cost of our Rec Path!

We're cheap. Go ahead and say it. But when your project doesn't qualify for the huge multimillion dollar grants like the regional riverwalks, you have to be. Regional planning allows each town to priorize one path for the big federal bucks, and the Shelton River Walk got the top priority, leaving the Conservation Commission to scrounge around for alternative ways to build the Rec Path.

How did Shelton build the Path at such a low cost?

First of all, it's not paved. The original plans called for a paved Rec Path, and the first section built was paved (by the schools), but it's a lot more expensive to pave a path, and we received repeated feedback from people who didn't want it paved, so why bother? Asphalt is good for rollerblades, but hard on walkers and joggers, and it has a more urban feel that people didn't want at Shelton Lakes.

Second, volunteers did a huge amount of the work. The route layout, planning, permitting, project management, cutting down trees, bridge building, sign kiosks, edge dressing and more were done by volunteers. If it could be done by a volunteer, it was.

Third, Parks & Rec staff did some of the machine work, grading, cutting trees, spreading asphalt millings for a base, and dropped off woodchips for the side dressing. This was typically done during their slow time in late fall to early spring.

Fourth, we used asphalt millings as a base for much of the trail. Saved money on construction supplies.

Fifth, some of the work that was contracted out was at an extremely low price by local residents willing to give us a great deal to help out the community. Barry Mucci essentially worked 'at cost' to construct the Lane Street section. Fairview Tree Farm and Pruzinsky & Son bid the work at half the cost of other contractors. Our logo was designed at a cut rate by Pete Stockmal.

Here's a run down of our funding (click to enlarge):

Click to enlarge

3.5 miles done, 0.5 miles to go! I must leave you now to go work on a grant application.

Tahmore Trek

2011-10-23T19:03:00.007-04:00

Although the day started out overcast, the sun broke through in time for our guided hike on the Tahmore Trail. As in past years, the weather was almost perfect for one of our favorite Fall hikes. The Tahmore Trail is a figure eight configuration that bumps up against the Paugusset Trail (Blue Trail to some), where there is a nearby overlook of the Housatonic River, and is owned by the Shelton Land Trust.

Click on photos to enlargeThe previous day, Shelton Trail Committee members and volunteers prepared for the hike by leaf blowing and raking the trail. Lynn and Jim were among those working on one loop, while others worked on the other loop.

Some of the early arrivals await their marching orders.

Some repeaters, some new faces.

The Tahmore loop runs through a splendid wooded area, with some roller-coaster sections. Deer were seen fleeing the hikers and their dogs. Turkeys were spotted the previous day by the work party. And in the pasture beyond the Land Trust property, cows could be seen grazing peacefully.

Joe Welsh, President of the Shelton Land Conservation Trust, with his son. He usually joins us on this hike every year, possibly to make sure no one is left behind!

Participants take a break after scurrying up a challenging hill.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the hike. In fact, a few hearty souls repeated at least one loop of the hike. The views, the serenity made it worthwhile!

Dreams Really Do Come True

2011-10-20T10:17:00.015-04:00

Back in 1994, the Rec Path was a pipe dream. Here's an article from the Huntington Herald covering Conservation's efforts to build support from Planning and Zoning for the Rec Path. At that time, the City did not own any land along the 4-mile route, and we assumed the properties would be subdivided. I was on the Conservation Commission at that time, and I remember the basic thinking was to simply preserve the route from development so that future generations would always have the possibility of building the Rec Path.

From 1994 Rec Path Article

Only after the City bought several hundred acres of water company land along the route in 1998, as well as some other properties in the Nells Rock area, did efforts begin to actually construct the Rec Path via series of small grants and volunteer efforts. - Teresa

Harriet's Bench Restored

2011-10-17T13:35:00.004-04:00

Click on photos to enlarge

Harriet's Bench, named after the late Harriet Wilbur, a longtime member of the Conservation Commission and a respected Shelton citizen, has finally been returned after a prolonged absence to it's rightful place overlooking the pastoral setting of the Shelton Land Trust's meadow off Lane Street. Originally hand-built with loving care by her friends several years ago as a memorial to Harriet, the bench had to be removed due to extensive vandalism and graffiti. Over the summer it has been restored close to it's original condition in the hope that those that use it to rest and enjoy the serenity of the meadow also respect the sanctity of this memorial. Enjoy the shade and the view!

Far Mill Work Party Saturday

2011-10-13T22:48:00.004-04:00

Join us Saturday 10/15/11 for a work party to clear up storm damage on the Far Mill Trail. Meet at the big retaining wall behind ASF Sports on River Road (Rt. 110), across from the Transfer Station.

There are a lot of blowdowns and erosion from the hurricane. Bring saws, gloves, rakes, lopers, shovels, garbage bags, and wheelbarrows. The more hands that we have the easier it will be. Come see one of the prettiest spots in So. Conn. along the Far Mill River.

And if you need some free mulch for your yard visit Shelton's newest attraction; Mt. Irene at the Transfer Station. Take home some mulch after the work party - FREE.

Nells Loop Trail Blowdowns

2011-10-13T22:38:00.007-04:00

The Nells Loop Trail off the Abby Wright parking lot (on Nells Rock Road by L'Hermitage) took a big hit from Hurricane Irene. A couple of weeks ago Jim & Rich spent the better part of the day clearing blowdowns so the trail is now passable.

Some trees were so badly broken that they had to take the whole tree down just to clear the widowmakers that were hung up.

This big oak was across the trail near John Dominick Drive. It took a while but the guys were able to clear a path thru the end of this.

There is still some work to do but the trails are passable. Thanks for all the hard work guys.

We'll be working on the Far Mill Trail behind ASF Sports on River Road 10/15 at 8:30. There are a lot of blowdowns and washouts in there, so the more the merrier. Come out and help maintain your trails.

Sucessful Shelton Day 2011

2011-10-13T22:27:00.003-04:00

It was a beautiful Sunday.

We had probably our best Shelton Day booth ever on October 2nd. The weather was nice, there was a great turnout, and we said hi to a lot of old and new friends. We handed out several hundred new maps, talked to a lot of people and had a lot of folks sign up for trail work parties.

My favorite was the mom who signed up her son so he could earn community service hours, and then signed up her husband when we suggested it would be a great father-son hobby. Hope they turn up at our work party on Sat 10/15 behind ASF Sports on River Road.

Once again, we had a great booth location between Danny O's and Dunkin Doughnuts thanks to Sheri. A lot of our key volunteers came out to man the booth throughout the day.

Thanks to everybody who bought a tee shirt (and special thanks to the gentleman who made a donation). The trails seem to be pretty popular & it's good to see all the people enjoying Shelton's open spaces. Hope to see you at the upcoming trail parties.

Rec Path Celebration Unmarred by Satellite Impact

2011-09-25T08:50:00.035-04:00

Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, a cut-off Low Pressure System, and a falling NASA satellite (maybe somebody's trying to tell us something?) failed to stop the Rec Path Celebration from being a success on Saturday.

The start up at Pine Lake drew a good crowd of participants despite the gloomy weather. Over 4" of rain had been forecast for the night before & Saturday morning, but we did not have to use the rain date.

Mayor Mark Lauretti was there to say a few words about the recent improvements to the Recreation Path and citizen efforts. Approximately 2 miles of Rec Path were built & the final key 13 acres of Great Ledge open space purchased this year.

A number of local people were there, including the Dikovsky Family & Terry Jones (second from left). Terry, along with Harriett Wilber, came up with the concept of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path when they were chairmen of the Conservation Commission over 10 years ago. Our Rec Path is modeled, in part, after the Stowe Vermont RecPath. It's taken a looong while to get this built, but we're getting close to completion.

The Mayor presented an award to Bob Van Egghan of PerkinElmer in recognition of all the volunteer efforts of their staff to help complete finish grading and landscaping along the Rec Path. PerkinElmer sponsored 3 days of work parties for dozens of employees as part of their For the Better campaign.

The Mayor also presented an award to local poultry farmer Basil Dikovsky, who generously donated some of his land to help build the Recreation Path near Wesley Drive. The City also formally renamed the stream that runs along that portion of the RecPath "Basil Brook" in honor of Mr. Dikovsky earlier this year. The Brook is one of the scenic highlights of the Rec Path.

Teresa Gallagher explains how to find the hand-carved stamps for the Rec Path Passports that were handed out. Sassafras Restaurant in Huntington Center was giving participants ice cream cones when they presented their passports at the end.

Tom Harbinson, Conservation Commission Chairman did his auctioneer imitation as part of a charity raffle before the hike began. A number of local businesses and individuals donated prizes for the event & it made for a fun hike - especially for the kids - even the "older kids". Some of the people and businesses that donated things included Beechwood Market, Center Deli, Connecticut Forest & Parks Association, Bill Dyer, Gallagher Family, Gifts on the Green, Tom Harbinson, & Royal Bakery. Sassafras partnered with the Shelton Conservation Commission for the ice cream at the end.

The crowd took off and broke up into groups of runners, bikers, strollers, and dog walkers. The Rec Path was in good shape following last night's storm and there were a lot of people out enjoying it even if they didn't start at Pine Lake. Here are Sandy & Rich overlooking Silent Waters from the top of the dam.

We did pass the debris field from NASA's satellite (at least we think it's theirs). Or it could be part of of '53 Buick.

The debris was clearly marked with an official NASA sign to deter souvenir seekers.

We also want to thank the guys from Pruzinsky & Sons, and Fairview Tree Farm who attended. They did a great job with the recent construction on the Recreation Path; on-time, under budget, & really nice craftsmanship working the Rec Path into the landscape. We got a lot of positive comments about their work. My personal favorite is the section west of the the Iroquois Gas Pipeline.

Basil's son & his dog Flocka were really rubbing it in our face for most of the bike ride. He had run past us while we were biking (we did stop to stamp in and catch some breath), and they had made it to Huntington Center and were running BACK when we showed up at the Lane St. Boardwalk. They were the winners of the Fastest to Huntington Center division.

But the Bike Brigade did make it to Huntington Center and earned the first ice cream cones. And we needed them; the air was pretty thick & we were hot by the time we got there. Thank you Sassafras. Maybe we should have seen the chiropractor too while we were there.

Then after some refreshment we started the ride back to Pine Lake. We passed various groups of walkers on their way to Huntington Center.

A couple of hikers were stamping their passports to earn their ice cream cones.

This is a copy of what the inside of the Passport looked like. Teresa Gallagher carved all the stamps for this event showing scenes along the Rec Path.

The Shelton Police Dept. loaned us some cones and signs along Huntington Street to help with traffic protection; thank you Sergeant Zakowicz. We really need a good concrete sidewalk built here to connect from 90 Huntington St. to Beechwood Market.

Teresa, Biscuit, and Laurie Gianotti from the DEP Greenways Office were the official sweepers making sure everyone made it out alive.

Sandy & Terry posing at the End of the Trail back at Pine Lake starting point. We had a fun 10 mile round trip.

Here's the real End of the Trail Party at the Huntington Street Cafe. It was a good time for everybody. Thanks to all the businesses and individuals who helped make this a fun Shelton Lakes Recreation Path Celebration. Wait until we get the center section completed & can have a real grand opening ceremony next year.

Rec Path Celebration

2011-09-22T08:40:00.005-04:00

Update 9/24 *****Rec Path Celebration is ON for today, Saturday!!!***
Join us this Saturday at noon for our big party/hike/bike -the Rec Path Celebration. Hike or Bike from Pine Lake to Huntington Center on the NEW & IMPROVED Rec Path. FREE ICE CREAM AT SASSAFRAS!! A few scattered showers are OK. Just throw some rain gear in a pack and you're good to go. The woods can be really neat in this type of weather. See the events listing in the right margin for more details.

To get the free ice cream, pick up a Rec Path Passport at the start of the event, then stamp your passport along your journey to Huntington Center. We'll have six stations along the way with hand-carved stamps. Redeem the passport at Sassafras for a free single scoop ice cream.

Busy Leprechauns preparing for RecPath Celebration

2011-09-20T06:41:00.008-04:00

With the RecPath Celebration less than one week away the leprechauns have been busy making the route passable. Brush has been cut, storm damage cleared, paths raked, leaves blown, mudholes filled; all so you can enjoy your walk or bike ride.

Jim Taradine & Rich Skudlarek cleared out around the mudholes on the Great Ledge property. The City just acquired this central open space last month after several years of negotiations - we thought we were all set, and then we had record rainfalls that flooded the existing gravel road.

So the Mayor got the Bridges & Highways Dept and the Parks & Rec Dept to drop off some road millings from recent City jobs. Volunteers from the Trails Committee hand dug drainage ditches, cleared briars, and filled in some of the wetter areas to make the road passable for now.

The long term plan is to improve this section to full handicapped accessibility like the other sections, but that may have to wait until next year.

Here's the location of the Great Ledge Open Space at the end of Oak Valley Road. The City of Shelton and the Shelton Land Conservation Trust now own all the Right of Way for the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path. Join us Saturday at Noon at Pine Lake on Rt. 108 for the festivities. Bring kids, bikes, dogs, shoes, wheelchairs, or pogo sticks. Fun for all ages.

Get Outside Today!

2011-09-18T11:19:00.007-04:00

It's a beautiful Fall weekend - perfect weather - get outside & enjoy it!

Father & son fishing off the RecPath Bridge at Pine Lake last weekend - not many more days like this ahead.

Strollers using the RecPath crosswalk near Constitution Blvd. North headed toward Silent Waters.

Trail runner taking advantage of the RecPath along the Land Trust Meadow off Lane Street in the early morning.

Friends out walking on one of the new RecPath sections near Wesley Drive. New fences have been installed on some of the steeper sections to help protect younger bikers.

So get out today & enjoy the trails and open spaces.

Rec Path Helmet Cam

2011-09-07T11:47:00.002-04:00

Here's a helmet cam view of the Rec Path by bicycle, taken a week after Hurricane Irene. The video starts behind Hope Lake (aka Nells Rock Reservoir), which is at about Mile 1.5 on the Rec Path. That's the high point of the Rec Path, so it is generally downhill to Huntington Center.

Featured is our new property purchased just over a week ago called "Great Ledge." The CL&P maintenance road through that property is a little rough, but provides linkage between the northern and southern halves of the Rec Path.

It was about 6:00 on a Sunday evening with rain coming in, so the trail was nice and empty. There's a LOT of debris on the Path from the Hurricane and in some places you can hardly tell it's there except for the hole through the trees.

Thanks to the guys for all that work clearing away trees from the Path!

Rec Path Celebration is September 24 at noon at Pine Lake. Bike or walk your way, we'll show you how to get through the unfinished center of the Rec Path.

Blowdowns, Deadfalls, & Widowmakers, Oh My!

2011-09-04T13:47:00.021-04:00

Rich & I spent the better part of yesterday clearing blow-downs from Hurricane Irene. The storm that knocked out power to half of Connecticut made a shambles of the woods along the trail system.

Rich had spent a good part of the week cleaning up things where he could, but there was only so much one person could do. Here he is clearing up portions of a triple domino blow-down at Lizard Head Rock on the RecPath. The guys from Pruzinsky & Sons were really helpful with their excavators knocking down some dangerous trees that were hung up.

This is the after image of the same section near Scotch Pine Drive.

There were trees and branches down on every section of the RecPath. Here's a big leaner behind Pine Lake that was hung up in the tree. The dangerous part of this is cutting the branches gradually so we could get it down out of there without it crashing down on us.

This is the "after" picture & we had this nice couple come walking along right after we finished. There were a lot of people out enjoying the trails & it worked out well having two of us clearing the deadfalls.

These doggies had no problem getting under the fallen trees.

Once the trees were down it was much easier, but we had to shift the trunks to avoid pinching the saws. The Gator was really helpful because we were able to carry all the gear with us.

A lot of the trees were crisscrossed and hung up - like these ones behind the High School. That made the clearing interesting. We would drop the easiest ones so they could be bucked up, but we had to be careful of trees and branches that would spring back and move when cut.

The multiple blowdowns were definitely sporty. The trees could behave unpredictably at times as the pressure was released. It was good that many of the trail users were able to give us some room while we worked.

And here's the "after" picture with Rich getting ready to do his famous chainsaw juggling act.

It seems like Hurricane Irene didn't enjoy the good news about the City finally buying the Great Ledge open space at the end of Oak Valley Road. She dropped a big oak tree across the access gate.
But here is the "after" picture. The gate has been "antiqued" with that "broken in" look, but it still works. This section links to the newly constructed RecPath at the powerlines. We inaugurated the first run of the entire RecPath route with the Gator. This will definitely make trail maintenance easier in the future.

There still are 3 big maples down across the RecPath near the Land Trust Meadow off Lane St. These will have to be their own work party next week, but at least you can walk around these and they're not a hazard.

We even met two nice ladies who where farming caterpillars in the milkweed plants in the meadow. Who knew we had butterfly farmers in Shelton?

After a brief respite at the Huntington Street Cafe we resumed our journeys around the trail system. We clearing this large oak that was hung up across the Eklund Garden access on Oak Valley Road. We used wedges to avoid getting the saws pinched. There's still more of the tree that's hung up, but at least it's not an immediate hazard to hikers or mountain bikers.

We went on a little excursion with the Gator, saw more blow downs, and got back to the Barn. We were drenched by the end of the day, but we got everything cleared except for Lane Street.

We owe a Big THANK YOU to all the trail Samaritans who started clearing the trails earlier. It made our job a lot easier. Anybody who wants to clear up some wood please be our guest. Stay tuned for upcoming work parties - there will be a lot of them.

"Great Ledge" Property Purchased!!

2011-08-30T13:25:00.010-04:00

Whoohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just took title to the last property needed to complete the Rec Path. We are doing a happy dance! Known as "Great Ledge" on deeds going back as far as 1914, the 13-acre property does indeed have a substantial ledge cliff, maybe 50 feet high. There is also a very big swamp, powerlines, and the Iroquois gasline. It's not a great place to build houses, which is why it cost only $190,000, but it's a perfect place to build the Rec Path. The photo above shows the utility road that will be resurfaced for the Rec Path.

The property is located off the end of Oak Valley Road Extension, a narrow asphalt road that connects to Nells Rock Road near Hope Lake. Here's a map showing the property location in the Shelton Lakes Greenway. And here's the Tax Assessor's map with more detail. The photo above shows more of the utility road as it approaches Oak Valley Road. The Conservation Commission has been actively pursuing acquisition of this property since 2005, so it's been a very long process. This is a real milestone, because Rec Path users can now go all the way from Pine Lake to Huntington Center on the Rec Path (well, a temporary detour onto Oak Valley Road and we'll need some signs showing people where to go...soon, soon). Forget the "Bridge-to-Bridge" route, this is the real deal!

The utility road is pretty easy to walk or ride a bike on except for this one muddy spot. The Trails Committee was already working on plans to fill in this spot for our September 24 Rec Path Celebration, but Irene has given the Committee a lot of unexpected trail clearing to do.

The best way to see this property right now is from the south. Follow the Rec Path off of Wesley Drive north to the powerline and there it is to the left. From L'Hermitage/Chordas Pond on Nells Rock Road, follow Nells Rock Trail to the powerlines and turn right. When you get to that mudhole, that's more or less the beginning of the Great Ledge piece. It's harder to see from the north at this time because there are no signs indicating where the property is (yet) and we don't want people straying onto nearby private property. Also, Irene left a great big tree right over the gate and you can't even see it's there.

Better yet -- join our Rec Path Celebration on Saturday, September 24, at noon. We'll take you along the new route on bike or by foot, stopping in Huntington Center for refreshments.

TWILIGHT TRAMP

2011-08-17T19:49:00.008-04:00

For the second year in a row, the Shelton Trails Committee organized a day's-end hike, starting at Huntington Center at the foot of Lane Street, moving along the Recreation Path to as far as it is completed on the Huntington end, and onto the section still under construction, ending at the power lines. In spite of a confusion of starting times and duration, an enthusiastic group put their lives in our hands for an enjoyable, and different, guided hike.

Participants are briefed on the route, destination, and logistics of the hike. In other words, we're going from here to there, bring water and bug juice! And don't get lost!

This was an opportunity to meet new people, and pooches.

And they're off! Terrance talks the wary group into following him into what could prove to be a harrowing experience, trekking into the unknown. Not to worry, as Terrance has been on this same tour at least once, and has only suffered minor bruises and an insignificant bear mauling.

Although not a scripted part of the tramp, folks seemed to be lured by the scenic Means Brook flowing under this bridge on Lane Street. Several inches of rain the past few days had brought the streams and brooks back to life.

Terrance leads the tail end of the group through the always-enchanting Shelton Land Trust's Lane Street meadow, home to deer, hawks, and assorted critters, many of which can often be seen especially around dawn and dusk.

At the high end of the meadow, Teresa's newly planted walnut tree was declared "Off Limits" to deer, bear, and curious passers-by.

At this point we entered the woods, and it was not long before twilight became darkness. While there was still some natural light, however, the hardy group continued on over the Rec Path, through Huntington Woods, and onto the as yet unfinished section under construction. Braving protruding roots and toe-stubbing rocks, we were able to follow the rough path to its convergence with the power lines, where we stopped to collect survivors just as it became necessary to turn on our flashlights, glow-sticks, and burning torches. We marched back in the dark, stopping occasionally to listen to the eerie howling of a lovesick coyote, or was that a werewolf? Shucks, it was just someone's cellphone ring-tone! Needless to say, we made it back to our starting point, and a head count assured us that any grizzlies or mountain lions will have to go hungry for another night.

Twilight Hike Tonight - maybe

2011-08-16T07:36:00.004-04:00

Tonight is the night for our August 16th Twilight Hike, lets see if the weather cooperates.

No, No - not that twilight. There will be no vampires or werewolves along the RecPath (we think). But do bring your flashlights, glow sticks, head lamps, lanterns, torches, etc. because we will be coming back in the dark and you never know what you might see. This is a good hike for families and kids.

We're going to leave from the shopping center at 90 Huntington St. at 7:30 and go up Lane Street along the new sections of the RecPath through Huntington Woods and beyond. Bring shoes and boots that can get muddy. Hopefully it'll stop raining, but at least the water should be up in Basil Brook. We might even stop at the Huntington St. Cafe afterwards. It should be fun - see you there.

Bella, Edward, Jacob, Edward, Jacob, Bella, Jacob, Bella, Edward ........

Lane Street Spruce Up

2011-08-14T10:35:00.016-04:00

We had a work party yesterday on the RecPath at Lane St. in Huntington Center in preparation of the Twilight Hike this coming Tuesday.

Here's Jim Taradine removing a pile of yard waste that somebody dumped in front of the Path entrance. Come On - do we really need to clean up after goobers? Is it that hard to have a compost pile on your lot? If you don't want it on your property take the brush to the grinder at the Transfer Station on River Road. Don't use our City park as a dumping ground.

Here's the Before Picture. The brush likes to grow along the entry where it gets a lot of sun and water.

The 8 foot wide RecPath was reduced in width so it limited passage. We had a lot of nice customers go by, including a number of families with future trail fans. There seem to be a lot more baby carriages on the Path now that the new sections are being completed.

Bill Donofrio was a big help, particularly with clearing some of the taller stuff that dangling down into the Path.

People spread out along the Path doing various tasks. Sheri is using the new trail mower that Rich's friend just donated to the Trails Committee.

Big Trails Thank You: to John Loughran (Rich's pal), and Joel Horton (Bill's buddy) for the kind donation of a lawnmower, shovels, rakes, hedge trimmer, and other instruments of brushy destruction. Your gifts have found a good home and will be put to good use.

Bill Dyer got himself coated with a fine blend of brush spackle using the weedwhacker.

Jim & Rich mowed the edges of the Path with the our trail mower. It saves a lot of time in the open areas. Now if only we can get them to smile when a camera is pointed in their direction.

There were a number of native plants in flower, particularly near the boardwalk. This is Joe-Pye Weed. The boardwalk lets you see wetland species that you normally couldn't see without getting soaked. Stop and take a look as you pass through.

Speaking of boardwalk, Bill cleaned up the edges of the RecPath out to the end of the Land Trust Meadow and back.

And this is the "After" picture of the RecPath looking toward the little meadow. We had a lot of people thank us for the hot work, now all we need are a few more volunteers like Bill. The more people that show up to work really helps make a difference.

Here's some more happy customers at the end of the work party as we were cleaning up. We cleared from Wesley Drive down to Lane Street. Come out Tuesday night on the Twilight Hike (bring flashlights) and see the RecPath for yourself. It should be fun for kids of all ages.

The RecPath has reached the Powerlines!

2011-08-14T10:18:00.007-04:00

The next section of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path reached some major construction milestones this week. The Pruzinsky/Fairview Team crossed the Iroquois Gas Pipeline & reached the powerlines!

The RecPath base was constructed out from the Crab Apple Drive bridge northward toward the Abby Wright open space. This section will link up with the Knells Loop Trail that goes over to Nells Rock Road by the L'Hermitage Condos. The contractor is using road millings from the recent roadwork on Buddington Road as a base. The millings will be covered with filter fabric and fine gravel.

They are cutting and chipping as they go to have a very narrow corridor of disturbance out to the powerlines. This section goes through some rugged terrain and will feature some great views of wetlands and cliffs later this fall.

They used steel plates to distribute the load of construction equipment, and smaller machinery when working over the gas pipeline. The work was scheduled so an inspector from Iroquois could be there while the construction was taking place.

Next week should see clean up, more base, adding some drainage pipes, & then the finish course should start going down!

Come to our Twilight Hike this Tuesday and see the work for yourself. Look for more exciting RecPath news in the coming weeks, and pencil in Sept. 24th on your calendar (tentative) for a little RP celebration.

Summer Mowing

2011-08-14T09:58:00.006-04:00

Summer is the time for mowing. One of the great things about Shelton is that we're created miles of interesting trails for walking, hiking, and biking. Unfortunately, the brush & hay keeps growing and all those miles of trail need maintaining. Particularly those trails along the powerlines north of Rt. 108 and the new sections of the Blue Dot Trail. And while we don't have a scythe like Homer Winslow's "Veteran in a New Field" above. We do have Rich & Jim who were out on August 5th with the Gator and the DR Field Mower.

The guys tracked their path using GPS and plotted it on an air photo. You may want to click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better view. They got a lot done for 2 guys in one day. Technology is wonderful. Maybe Homer would've painted a different picture if he was still working today. Happy trails.

1996 Shelton Lakes Article: A Close Call

2011-08-11T09:26:00.006-04:00

As the Rec Path construction nears completion, let's take a look back. I just ran across this article from the Huntington Herald dated January 1996 that talks about how the water company was looking to sell 238 acres along Shelton Avenue and Nells Rock Road. A developer had already drafted up plans to build a few hundred condos and houses along with some retail, including a gas station, where the Dog Park now sits. By this time, the Conservation Commission had already drawn up plans for a handicapped-accessible Rec Path to run from downtown Shelton to Huntington Center, and was working to persuade City leaders and residents to buy the property for open space, recreation, and a new school. (Depending on your browser, you may need to click the article TWICE to enlarge).

The City was receptive to Conservation's goal, and the land purchase went to referendum in 1997. It passed by a wide margin and the land became the core of the Shelton Lakes Greenway.

Over the years, other properties have been added to the Greenway, which now encompasses over 450 acres. Instead of condos and a gas station, we have fishing, hiking, the Rec Path, Dog Park, a new school & ballfields, a community garden, and Eklund Native Species Garden. And the purchase LOWERED taxes over the long run, since residential areas require more in government services than they pay in taxes. Win-Win-Win!

PerkinElmer is Awesome

2011-08-05T10:40:00.002-04:00

PerkinElmer's "For the Better" program resulted in three days of crews like this one spreading woodchips along the newly constructed Rec Path AND two days of crews picking up litter along Isinglass and Booth Hill Roads (40 bags total). And we like the matching shirts.

Rollin' on the River

2011-07-31T19:13:00.013-04:00

Late Saturday morning the sky was clear, the tide was still coming in, and a group of eager paddlers, organized by the Shelton Trails Committee, set out to explore the Shelton section of the Housatonic River, starting at the ramp behind Sunnyside School, with the intention of paddling upstream to downtown Shelton and the old riverside factories below the Ousatonic Dam. The heat of the day was tempered by a challenging breeze.

Hearty seafarers Emma, Richard, Sheri, Terry, Ken and John
make preparations for getting under way.

Leader of the pack Terry attempts to catch up with the eager voyagers.

Once away from the launch area, the river provided a surprising
departure from the cityscape, into a serene, almost rural atmosphere.

A lone gull, perched on the remains of a long-abandoned dock,
observes the passing seafarers.

O'Sullivan's Island (shown on some maps as Hog Island) appears ahead, with the Naugatuck River and railroad bridge just to the right. The fleet, however, chose to stay on the left and stick with the Housatonic.

One of the problems facing waterways all over the country is the proliferation of this invasive plant, Purple Loosestrife.

Rich and Emma take in the sights along the way. We saw a lot of waterfowl; ducks, egrets, cormorants, and even a crane.

No, it's not a Sandhill crane! But it is interesting how most of the industrial and municipal yards along the river manage to keep out of sight for the most part.

A view of the Route 8, "Commodore Hull" bridge that only fish and boaters get to see.

Trees growing out of retaining wall built many years ago.

Several tunnels were built under the factories to provide water for power

The last lock of the old canal the carried boats from above the Ousatonic Dam to the river below.

The orange line is the GPS trace of the paddle route, starting at the bottom from the Sunnyside ramp, up to the canal locks, and return to Sunnyside. (Click on map to enlarge)

The threat of oppressive heat undoubtedly discouraged more folks from joining us, but those that did agreed that it was a fun and entertaining paddle. Check our blog and the local news for future activities, as well as planned work parties.

Can't Stop Those Blue Dudes

2011-07-30T20:05:00.011-04:00

Just when people walking their dogs on the RecPath thought it was safe to go back in the woods for a nice quiet stroll, another pack of Perkin Elmer-ites were at it again this past Tuesday.

The Parks & Rec Department dropped off more mulch & the PE team provided the muscle to move it all into place along the RecPath.

They moved a lot of mulch to protect the middle section of the RecPath. This would've cost a lot of money if the City had to hire workers to do it and it was great to see the volunteers pitch in.

Bill Dyer used the Trails Committee's Gator to shuttle mulch around to the various work groups.

This was the third and final group of PerkinElmer folks to work on the RecPath this month. Surprisingly, this was the biggest group who also picked the best weather of the three days to work in. They must have had a good scheduler. Here they are with their instruments of destruction, including one woman who brought a big snow shovel? Was she hoping for colder weather?

Even on the "cool" day it was obvious that these guys put in quite a bit of work.

We think that everybody on the Trails Committee is very grateful to all the good folks at Perkin Elmer for all their hard work. They are an example to every business in Shelton that it pays to invest in the community; one way or another. Everybody go out at lunch, or before or after work and enjoy their handiwork.

And if you feel like volunteering for a trail work party just show up. You don't have to dress in blue or bring dozens of friends, but by all means, the more the merrier. Thanks again to the dudes in blue.

RecPath Construction Resumes at Crabapple Drive

2011-07-27T23:19:00.010-04:00

People are starting to explore the new sections of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path over by Huntington Center. Here's a nice family having some fun near Lizard Head Rock.

Last week Pruzinky & Sons resumed work and placed a fine gravel topcoat on the Lane St. fire access road. The road was built to provide the Shelton Fire Department a second means of access into the neighborhood, but it also makes a great multi-use path.

The lower crossing at Wesley Drive now clearly links both sides of the road.

The RecPath now turns off the fire access road and connects with the sections that were built earlier.
Which brings you down along the edge of the Land Trust Meadow and out to Lane St. & Huntington Center by the Fire House.

Meanwhile, on the portion north of Crabapple Drive the guys from Fairview Tree Farm have started clearing out toward the powerlines.

Construction is gradually proceeding with the base. Hopefully we will have most of this new construction done in August. Have fun exploring, but mind the excavators when they are working please.

PerkinElmer Gang Strikes Again

2011-07-25T21:31:00.010-04:00

Last Tuesday, a perfectly good summer day with temperatures and humidity levels well above 90, the peace and quiet of the day was shattered by the racket of a gang of blue interlopers in the woods.

That's right, another group of PerkinElmer workers, armed with field instruments, had escaped their air conditioned cubicles to volunteer to work along the Recpath. Their location, just above the Shelton Dog Park, was in clear sight of a major road, but no supervisor drove by and made them return to work. Clearly management was slacking off.

Their plan, was to place more mulch along the RecPath than the first crew from PerkinElmer placed last week. It could have been to claim bragging rights, or to earn a cold beverage. We're not sure yet.

And just to make the competition fair, they selected an equally sauna-like day to work on as the first crew. They did a very professional job fixing up the edges of the newly constructed path so the edges wont erode. If their supervisors see this they may put them to work maintaining the grounds at their office building.

Here is a group photo of these scary looking people from a local company out volunteering on a handicapped-accessible RecPath along the Shelton Lakes Greenway. Be careful if you're out walking on the RecPath tomorrow above the Dog Park - there may be more PerkinElmer folks moving more mulch, and trying to out-outdo their coworkers. They may be aided and abetted by a guy in a green cap who looks like an escapee from a golf course. If you see them be careful or they might put you to work. Offer them a cold drink and say thank you, and they may let you pass.

Do-Gooders

2011-07-16T20:27:00.017-04:00

There was a lot of activity this week from various groups in Shelton that are trying to improve things in the City.

On Saturday, the Shelton Trails Committee spend a hot morning clearing briars and barberry from the Paugussett Trail between Indian Well State Park and Sinsabaugh Heights. Some people had so much fun whacking weeds they went back and cut some more with the mower later in the week, hopefully when it was cooler.

And one volunteer from CFPA drove in from Danbury to help us! Now all we need is all those local students who wanted community service hours to show up.

And a big thanks to CFPA for leading the charge on Municipal Liability Reform for Open Space. The Governor signed the bill into law today, & it only took months of arguing and arm-twisting. But on to more tangible endeavors.

Tuesday a crew from PerkinElmer worked in 90+ degree heat to spread woodchips along the RecPath off Oak Valley Road. Two other PE crews should be working on the RecPath during the next two Tuesdays by the Dog Park and at Wesley Drive to help complete the RecPath prior to our September 9th Celebration.

Thanks to the Shelton Parks & Recreation Department for loading & hauling all the wood chip mulch that was placed.

And then on Thursday a group of Sikorsky Aircraft volunteers cleaned up dozens of bags of trash along the Far Mill River & Trail behind ASF Sports on Rt. 110. The area needed it & it's good to see corporations helping their staff take on these challenges. That portion of the Far Mill Greenway has some really scenic spots along the river.

Volunteers also put new signs at the Eklund Native Species Garden at 10 Oak Valley Road so people could find and enjoy the mid-summer blossoms.

While it's not a trail item the Shelton Lakes Community Garden #2 on Soundview Avenue is also up and running thanks to volunteers. And a big thanks to the Huntington Co Volunteer Fire Department for keeping the water tanks filled at the garden. Those tanks are probably going to get a workout this coming week.

Thank you again to Dean at Parks & Rec for hooking up the piping from the tanks to the garden.

And the Dog Park folks spent some time sprucing up their park on the Shelton Lakes Greenway along Nells Rock Road today. It's nice to see the landscaping and maintenance going on.

It's weeks like this that renew your faith that Americans can solve problems and get things done. Sometimes the world's troubles seem so large and unsolvable that we just throw up our hands. And maybe we can't fix world peace or the economy; but we can all cut some briars, move some mulch, pick up some trash, or grow some food. Every little thing that we chose to do, or not do, counts. Now if only the Republicans and Democrats in Washington and Hartford could just get The Memo. Thanks to everybody who chose to be a somebody in Shelton this week.

A Corporate Gift

2011-07-12T20:32:00.006-04:00

Click on photos to enlarge

"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". Noel Coward could have added PerkinElmer employees to that group! This Tuesday, as hot and muggy as it was, these folks lived up to their commitment to display corporate citizenship by spending the better part of the day making improvements to one of the newer sections of the Shelton Rec Path.

The first team hit the ground running, rakes, shovels and hay forks blurred as they spread wood chips pre-placed by the Parks and Recreation Department.

The wood chips were used to help stabilize the edges of the rec path and impede erosion

Fortunately, most of the day's work was done in the shadier section, making the task at hand a bit more bearable

"Let's go home!" The PerkinElmer gang gathers their tools heads back to civilization, having put in a good day's work and personalizing their company's slogan, "for the better". The corporation will be providing more work parties in the weeks ahead. Thank you, PerkinElmer and your community-minded employees!

Paugussett Trail Party

2011-07-11T20:27:00.015-04:00

Well, after getting complaints that the Paugussett Trail Restoration was "brushy & hard to follow" we did a little well-needed trail maintenance. We worked south from Indian Well State Park, past Rt. 110 and up to Sinsabaugh Heights on Meadow Street.

We parked at the trailhead lot near The Maples on Indian Well Road and hiked in. The DEP had mowed the aisle through the overflow meadow. I don't remember seeing a black bear with us, but Rich is much more observant than me when he takes the team photos. Pity he didn't say "Run, there's a bear behind you."

Here's Sheri, Jim, and Steph Olsen from Connecticut Forest & Parks Association. Steph was a big help (and she drove in from Danbury to work with us). What happened to all the Shelton High students who were looking for community service hours & said they were coming? Alarm clocks work in the summer guys.

Wherever the trail was open we had a lot of brush. We need to go back with some power equipment for those areas, but they're all passable now. Inside the woods the trail was pretty passable, but we took out a lot of barberry.

Climbing the trail above Rt. 110 was pretty tropical following last night's storms. We crossed a number of streams going up the hill.

Bill couldn't be there this morning, so Rich had to do the Carl Spackler imitation with the weedwhacker near where the trail crosses the sewer easement.

And this is what it looked like up by Sinsabaugh Heights. Amazing what a few weeks of torrential rain, sun, and no mowing can do to a trail. This looked like a job for someone who was committed, or who should be committed, so we sent in Jim.

Who had a great time cutting briars, thorns, and other things that wanted to take the hide off trail volunteers. Rich eventually came thru with his weedwhacker; about 10 lbs lighter from all the sweating. The trail is now open from the parking lot at the bottom of Sinsabaugh Heights to Indian Well State Park. The crossing at Meadow Street is a little tough to follow, so we need to add some signs. The adventurous explorers can now find their way from the Shelton Lakes Greenway to Indian Well State Park.

Thanks to everybody who came out. And thanks to Steph from CFPA for coming out and having all the great stories of the petting moose and filming bobcats. It made for a fun and productive, if somewhat hot, morning. There were a number of folks enjoying the hike up to The Well when we left, and hopefully someday will enjoy the restored Paugussett Trail.

Burning Barberry (Without getting the Fire Dept Angry)

2011-07-06T20:20:00.013-04:00

It all started with wanting to mow some hay.

We had been really busy this Spring with construction of the RecPath, and fell behind in some of our maintenance tasks. At our June meeting we decided to mow the Paugussett Trail at the Wiacek open space between Constitution Blvd. North and Meadow Street. The trail runs along the edge of a hay field & the trail gets really obscured in late Spring.

Problem was, we couldn't get our DR Mower into the field because the Trail had been turned into a soupy mudhole at the powerlines. One of the volunteers for Shelton Clean Sweep had good in there with his pickup truck to pull out a big pile of garbage this Spring, and given all the rain that we had got stuck. So he backed out and tried again, and again, and again. Long Story Short - Mike got the garbage (nice work, single-handed) but our trail access was a mess for getting our mower into the meadow. So we were going to use some extra millings from a City road improvement project (we love recycling) to fill in the mudholes, but we though the millings wouldn't look quite right & had access to other materials.

The new Community Garden #2 at 279 Soundview Avenue had LOTS of rocks and dirt available. All looking very natural and good for filling in mudholes, the question was how to get from the Paugussett Trail over to Soundview? We knew there were old woods roads between the trail and the Community Garden and thought that we could just drive between the two with the Gator, get the rocks, fill the hole & problem solved.

So Rich Mudlarks walked the route with his trusty GPS. Unfortunately for him he walked had to walk thru a sea of Japanese Barberry while wearing his shorts. Needless to say he emerged bloody looking like a cross between someone trapped in a tight cage with a grumpy bobcat, or an early-bird shopper on the day after Thanksgiving.

The Japanese Barberry is an invasive non-native species that has thorns and spreads out everywhere when there are a lot of deer. They eat everything else but leave the barberry - which happens to form an ideal habitat for ticks. So, armed with the knowledge that we had to cut thorns we scheduled a quick work party & brought various tools of destruction.

Here's Jim & Rich clearing out a patch. We have a new Ryobi with a sickle bar attachment that works well for cutting this stuff. Trouble is it grows over rocks and stumps and you can't always see what your cutting until you hit it. The Stihl brushcutter with the plastic vanes works well here also - if you nip a rock you haven't dulled up a blade. Janice, Lynn, Bill, Terry, Jim & Rich all had a hand in cutting and hauling rocks. Once we cleared out a path thru the barberry the guys went up to the Garden, got a lot of rocks, and when back to fill in the mud holes.

In the meantime we tried out the new Trails Flamethrower to burn the barberry after we cut it. This is supposed to be the preferred way to permanently eradicate this invasive species. Here's Rich trying to see how long his has to aim the flames at his foot before his boot catches on fire. It had rained a lot that week so there was no danger (well, limited danger) of us setting the woods on fire. Come to find out that we were doing things correctly for a change & this is a good method for getting rid of barberry (and ticks) - see the article in The New London Day.

So meanwhile the guys were trying to fill in the mud holes with the rocks, however the rocks were going back to China and we still had lots of mud holes.

After a while the crew gave up and punched a hole through a dryer section of a hedge instead.

Several hundred pounds of rocks were moved, but no fingers, toes, or backs were lost in the process. We didn't do exactly what we originally planned, but we did finish with a dry passage for the Mower, we did not set the woods on fire, we did put a small dent in some invasive species, and we did the clearing the the Soundview Ave. Neighborhood Access Trail that was one of our 2011 Goals, so it was a productive if somewhat long & hot day.

One of our goals this year is to create a number of neighborhood access trails so more people can enjoy the trails network.

The next Paugussett Trail Work Party will be this Saturday 7/9. Meet at 8:30 at The Maples parking lot on Indian Well Road and we'll work uphill from the Park. Wonder what we'll find on that end.

New RecPath Section Completed!

2011-07-05T07:11:00.021-04:00

No matter how fast or slow you like to move the latest section of the RecPath has something for everybody. It seems like it's taken forever to get this project built but it's getting completed one step at a time.

Above is one of our local residents out enjoying a leisurely, and I do mean leisurely, stroll on the Wesley Drive section of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path. This section was completed last week when the contractors added the last pavers at the road crossings.

It might not seem like much, but it was an important milestone given that this was one of the most difficult sections of RecPath to build. This section extended the Lane Street end of the RecPath almost a mile. And there is more to come!

Helpful Trail Tip: This section is really fun to bike ride going South toward Huntington Center. The upper Wesley Drive entrance near Scotch Pine Drive is a nice downgrade to get the roller coaster started.

The RecPath skirts the top of a ridge overlooking scenic Basil Brook; one of the prettiest little streams in Shelton. Last week my wife met a couple of local residents who had lived here 5 Years & had never been back to walk through the open space. They were amazed how beautiful it was.

There is a really nice section of the different natural features along Basil Brook on Teresa Gallagher's In The Field blog. The owner of the neighboring property, Basil Dikovsky, liked some of the work that was being done with the RecPath when it was just a hiking trail, and actually donated some of his land to the City so we could avoid having to climb a steep slope. It was a very generous gift that saved the taxpayers a lot of money because we didn't have to grade out a big cut slope while making the path handicapped accessible.

So go try out the new RecPath section at Wesley Drive. Whether you enjoy a quite walk in the morning, or bike riding with the kids we guarantee your satisfaction or your money back on the trail user fee.

Bridge Moving 101

2011-07-03T16:11:00.014-04:00

Originally, the RecPath was slated to cross over two telephone pole bridges were built along Wesley Drive by Eagle Scouts a few years ago when the RecPath was just a hiking trail. During construction, we saw an opportunity to shift the RecPath alignment a bit in the field, and preserve some nice trees near the stream crossings. The contractors had never moved any bridges before, but they were game for it. Bill Dyer was able to be with them the day they moved the second bridge.

One of the timber bridges is shown with one of the trees that originally were slated to be cut down. The contractors (Pruzinsky & Sons & Fairview Tree Farm) placed steel plates over the streams to protect the stream bed, put gravel over the plates and used that crossing for all their heavy hauling.

Once the heavy machinery was back across the stream the larger excavator removed the steel plates and stone foundations were built where the plates had been.

Steel channels were placed under the bridges and the entire bridge was lifted over onto the new abutments. We weren't sure how well this would work because we didn't have any records when the scouts built the 8 foot wide by 20 foot long bridge. Trails volunteers scrambled that week to add extra floor beams and stiffen the bridges prior to the contractors reaching those crossings.

Everything went well and the contractors took the better part of a day to relocate each bridge.

A lot of care was taken to minimize disturbance of the stream bed, and to make the bridge abutments look as natural as possible. At this point all the heavy earthwork was done and the smaller equipment was placing the final surface of fine processed aggregate.

The steel plates were loaded into a truck and hauled up to the next work area. They really worked well to avoid disturbing the stream bed.

The contractors then worked on cleaning up the side slopes, placing stones, and a lot of wood chip mulch to stabilize all the disturbed areas.

Here is the finished bridge looking very natural and with a number of trees preserved along the stream. One of the good features of a Design-Build contract is that you have the flexibility to try things like this in the field. Good job by everybody involved.

Stop Growing D#%*$t!

2011-06-29T21:50:00.010-04:00

Before

A lot of work & attention has been going into the recent Shelton Lakes Recreation Path construction lately and getting the RecPath in shape for the recent National Trails Day hike. This means that a lot of other trails have not gotten needed maintenance, which combined with record rainfalls means that things have gotten way, Way, WAY out of hand.

Here's a portion of the Paugussett Trail near Dyer Straits (between Independence Drive and Wellington Court). It was impassible to anything short of tigers or ticks. So Jim & Rich fired up the DR Field Mower and swung into action on June 15th.

After

The DR Mower is towed behind our Gator & allows us to keep up with brush. The Paugussett Trail along the powerlines has some of our most aggressive plant growth and it's hard to keep up with it with just hand tools.

Before

This is another section of the Paugussett Trail north of Rt. 108. This stretch is popular with mountain bikers, residents of surrounding streets, and the High School Cross Country Team.

After

It was hot work but Rich & Jim got a lot done for just two guys. Unfortunately it's been two weeks since the mowing was done & the Paugussett needs a new haircut.

If you like using the trails come out for a work party some time. Many hands makes for light work as Bill likes to say, and these trails don't keep themselves clear.

Great Job at Wesley Drive

2011-06-16T23:14:00.007-04:00

The guys from Fairview Tree Farm & Pruzinsky & Sons have really outdone themselves this week on the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

They were just wrapping up as I stopped by after work. They installed concrete pavers instead of bituminous pavement as the warning pad at Wesley Drive. They also did a great job mulching and planting landscaping the slope below the Path.

This was one of the toughest pieces of the entire RecPath because it had to have handicapped-accessible grades, function well, and look halfway decent. Brad Wells and Bob Pruzinsky & their associates did a nice job solving this problem area and really exceeded our expectations on this section.

It's been a busy week. In addition to the Wesley entrance they built a retaining wall, added drainage, finished close to 4/10ths of a mile of RecPath, stabilized slopes with mulch, and relocated 2 timber bridges. If the weather isn't too bad tomorrow they may be close to finishing this section.

Take a walk or bike ride this weekend to visit the new section and see how it connects to Huntington Center. Do a little exploring and see what Shelton has to offer.

Bloomin' Mountain Laurel

2011-06-12T19:36:00.008-04:00

The weather this weekend was a bit drippy but that didn't stop some folks from getting out.

This guy was having fun mountain biking some of the new sections of the RecPath behind Wesley Drive. The contractors are making good progress there & should complete most of that section this week if the weather cooperates a bit.

For those who like to ride on more rugged trails - try the Paugussett Blue Dot trail North of Rt. 108 - it may need mowing in some areas because we haven't been able to get to it, but it's got some challenging terrain.

A number of trail users were out enjoying the Path, including this 4-footed customer taking her human out for a walk between the rain drops.

The RecPath behind Wesley curls along the top of a ridge overlooking scenic, and newly named, Basil Brook. There were a couple of nice deer standing on the Path two days in a row. Its a very pretty area with the brook running, but bring some OFF.

This was one of the scenes from last weekend's hike. The trail twins have talked their adults into getting matching trikes. Now all they have to do is talk them into racing. One of the nice things about making the RecPath handicapped-accessible is that it opens up hundreds of acres of greenway and parkland for the enjoyment of families - no matter how young. Now all we have to do is get these kids on a trail work party one of these days.

The mountain laurel are in rare form this week. People should force themselves to get out on the trails and see the show this week. The best places to see the Laurel are Oak Valley Road at the Eklund Native Species Garden, the RecPath south of the Dog Park, and the Paugussett Trail north of Rt. 108 along the powerlines. Go tomorrow - don't miss it.

Its Hammer Time

2011-06-09T21:32:00.010-04:00

No, No, No. Not that Hammer.

This Hammer.

The contractors from S.P. Pruzinsky & Sons have this cute little mini-excavator with a chipping hammer on it that they used to remove ledge and boulders from the RecPath. Chipping the boulders with a hydraulic hammer is more discrete and less damaging than tearing everything up with blasting and larger machines. That's one way they are able to do some environmentally-strategic work with limited disturbance along the route.

Here's an example of one spot south of the Dog Park where the Path was threaded between a rock outcrop and some red oaks that we were trying to save.

But you can't always use the little machinery to get things done. This is the medium-sized excavator that Steve Pruzinsky has been using to grade most of the RecPath. This machine has a hydraulic thumb on the bucket that is used to move boulders and build retaining walls. The goal is to make the slopes look natural were possible.

But the RecPath is going through some rugged terrain and sometimes you hit ledge that just doesn't want to move.

Then it's Hammer Time with the big excavator. The Pruzinsky team was able to create an 8% handicapped-accessible grade at one of the Wesley Drive crossings using this impressive beast. The contractors did a nice job limiting the time of construction near the neighboring houses by using some big equipment to knock this out. You definitely Can't Touch This.

Another Great Hike for Shelton Trails Day

2011-06-07T21:04:00.028-04:00

We finally lucked out with the weather on one of our trail events this year! Saturday's Trails Day Hike was great & we had 40-45 people out to enjoy a fine walk on the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

Dick Skudlarek did a great job with the photography. The mountain laurel were in excellent shape along the powerlines. There are also a number of fine photographs taken by Beren Jones on the Shelton Patch. He hiked the whole route & from the sounds of it Bill & Tom gave him a running history of the Shelton Lakes Greenway in three part harmony. Nice job of reporting Beren.

Mayor Lauretti started out the festivities by reading off his annual Shelton Trails Day proclamation (in between running the Family 5K race at the High School & heading downtown for the Relay for Life).

We started off at Pine Lake, crossed Meadow St. and then up toward the schools (this was part of the route for the race about an hour earlier).

It was a nice turn out and we passed a lot of other families enjoying the RecPath, baseball games, or the Dog Park along the RecPath.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the newly constructed sections of the RecPath overlooking Hope Lake. We then headed out to Oak Valley Road & off to Eklund.

We got a nice tour of the Eklund Native Species Garden - a number of things were in bloom. (We can always use more help for Eklund if anybody is interested in native plants and gardening - call Teresa Gallagher at (203) 924-1555 x 315.

Following Eklund we proceeded along the Bridge-to-Bridge route though shady mature woodlands.

The mountain laurel along the powerlines are really pretty this year. Must be all the snow & rain we had earlier is good for something after all.

Eventually we came out near Huntington Woods where one of the new RecPath sections is under construction.

And by under construction, we mean REALLY under construction. Some hikes will cut a little brush or mow some grass in preparation for Trails Day, buy how many towns go out and chop ledge out the way.

This was one of the most challenging spots on the RecPath to create handicapped-accessible grades. Nothing a big hammer cant fix. The contractors from Fairview Tree Farm & Pruzinsky & Sons are doing a great job on this project.

We then proceeded down the RecPath on some of the more completed sections to the beautiful Land Trust Meadow. Following the boardwalk & a little more open meadow we came to Scenic Lane St. and on to Huntington Center for shuttles and refreshments.

The nice folks at The Higgins Group once again had ice cold water for the hikers; 2 legged and 4 legged. It was much appreciated as we were arranging shuttles back to the starting point.

Time for a little lunch and refreshment at Trails End at the Huntington Street Cafe. One of the nice things about this hike is there are a number of places to grab lunch, an ice cream, or a cold beverage following the hike.

Thanks to everybody at the Chamber of Commerce, Shelton Patch, Valley Sentinel & Huntington Herald who helped publicize our hike. We hope everybody who came out enjoyed the day. Thanks to the Mayor and all the volunteers and everyone else who worked on the trails to make this another fine success.

National Trails Day Happenings

2011-06-03T06:46:00.012-04:00

Join us for the Annual Shelton Trails Day Hike on Saturday June 4, 2011. We'll be doing the Bridge-to-Bridge Route along the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path. The start will be at Pine Lake on Rt. 108, about a half mile west of downtown Shelton. The length will be 4.5 miles of easy walking and biking, and should take about 2 - 2 1/2 hours depending on the pace.

There have been a lot of great new developments that we want to show off:

The beginning and ending thirds of the path are now handicapped accessible with a fine gravel surface, and portions of the rest are under construction. (the center section of the hike is NOT handicapped accessible yet - but it will be one of these days). Truth In Advertising: Portions of the middle section are under construction - so the footing is a little rough for some but very passable. The contractors are making great progress.
The route now overlooks historic dams & lakes. There are some great new views of streams and wetlands along the way.
We will pass by the new Shelton Dog Park (and yes dogs on leases are welcome on the hike). We'll even show off The Red Barn that we fixed up.
The Eklund Native Species garden will be along the way - and it should be very beautiful this year.
The route will use the new mountain bike bypass and J-Pond Bridge constructed by scouts last year (mountain bikes are welcome too).
New RecPath construction will be on display through the Wesley Drive area, but the route will be safe and feature new vistas created by Pruzinsky & Son and Fairview Tree Farm.
New handicapped accessible sections have been constructed down to the Land Trust Meadow on Lane Street - allowing a nice short walk or bike ride from Huntington Center.

Some of the new RecPath improvements along Wesley Drive at Lizard Head Rock feature dramatic topography & nearby wetlands and streams.

The Mayor will be at the start to read his annual proclamation. Shuttles will be available for return rides to Pine Lake.

Helpful Tip: If possible, take two cars and leave one in Huntington Center, or leave a car in Huntington Center in the morning and get dropped off at the start).

It should be a great day - come and join us on a free family-friendly event. There is also a hike at Jones Tree Farm, the Family 5K Run at the High School, and the Relay for Life downtown at the Riverwalk - so it's Get-In-Motion Day in Shelton. We'll probably stop at the Huntington Street Cafe for lunch and beverages after the hike. Come out, have fun, and see what your trails volunteers have been up to this year.

Sign Here, Please!

2011-05-28T12:19:00.005-04:00

Click on images to enlarge

Jim and Richard were unceremoniously selected to erect two signs heralding Shelton's part in one of the Connecticut Trails Day Celebration, our annual Bridge to Bridge Hike. Finding locations that were not directly over leftover boulders from Mt. Everest was no easy task!

The first three feet were the hardest!

Something about this sign did not appear to be right. But
once we turned it around, everything made sense.

The sign at Pine Lake, not far from downtown Shelton marks the beginning of the hike. Be sure to be there by 10:30, or hope to catch up with the rest of us.

Our hike, approximately 4.5 miles over mostly level ground, traverses woods and meadows and runs alongside lakes and streams, and finishes in Huntington Center. This route, formally known as the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path, is in the process of major improvements, as will be seen about half way through the hike. While still retaining the natural beauty of the scenic trails that made up the original path, the upgrade will make the sights accessible to strollers, casual bikers, and the physically impaired.

We hope that you will join us on this fun event on Saturday, June 4, at 10:30. Men, women, children, and leashed pets (no Komodo Dragons, please!) are welcome. Don't forget to bring water, and you may wish to join us for a bite to eat at the Huntington Street Cafe at the end of the hike. Oh, and vehicles will be available to shuttle you back to the parking area at Pine Lake. Should you be unable to continue the entire journey, a "rescue" vehicle will be stationed along the route to whisk you away (we aren't saying to where)! See you Saturday!

Ahh Choo! Trails in Bloom

2011-05-16T20:50:00.009-04:00

The woods are in full bloom the Spring - at least that's what the pollen count says.

The wild pink azaleas were out in full force by the J Pond during our work party Saturday. A crack crew from the Trails Committee were out clearing brush along the Bridge to Bridge route in anticipation of National Trails Day.

There were a number of wildflowers out along the trails. The Eklund Native Species Garden on Oak Valley Road had a number of plants in bloom.

We also had our Mutt March Guided Hike on Sunday. A lot of people were put off by the impending rain, but the weather held out & it made for a very moody stroll. Here's the view of Silent Waters from the bridge on top of the dam.

It was a great walk for dogs. Slightly cool and foggy. The puppies had a good time.

The dogwoods were blooming. I don't know if the trees will still be blooming for Trails Day, but they look good right now, so enjoy the views along the trails while you can this Spring.

A Mulching We Will Go

2011-05-09T22:51:00.019-04:00

Hey we're getting new RecPath adventurers in pairs! Here are some folks out enjoying the Shelton Lakes Greenway on the RecPath. Maybe if these two guys like the Path we'll get them out on a work party some day in the future. One of the advantages in making the RecPath handicapped accessible is that it opens up beautiful open space to a wide variety of families.

It was another busy weekend for Shelton's volunteers. Rich and Zack were loading mulch in the Gator to dress the edges of the RecPath between the new Dog Park and Oak Valley Road. The guys from the Parks and Rec Dept. dropped off many piles of woodchips and then volunteers spread them along the shoulders. This prevents erosion, improves footing along the edges, and gives a more woodsy feel to blend in the fresh construction with the Greenway.

Carol, Jim, and Lynn worked in much on the other end going toward Oak Valley Trail.

This section will look great in a couple of weeks when the Moutain Laurel blooms - just in time for the hike on National Trails Day.

Tom Harbinson & Jim Tate from the Conservation Commission were assisting Andrew & James T. Tate set some of the new granite posts along the RecPath entrances. Tom volunteered the use of his machine to excavate for the posts & the young guys supplied the muscle to set them in. Hopefully Dr. Smith will Let James Tyler Tate Go To The Prom for his civic do-goodness.

The posts help new visitors find their way & prevent cars from driving on the RecPath. Posts were added at Lane St., Constitution Boulevard North, and at this parking lot on Nells Rock Road. More posts will be installed as future sections are completed.

And a big Thank You to Mr. Bing Carbone for volunteering to pay for some of the granite posts that were stolen last year. The big construction on the RecPath is being built by contractors, but it takes a lot of work by volunteers to make everything sucessful.

RecPath Work Completed at Lane Street

2011-05-09T22:28:00.007-04:00

Another section of the RecPath was completed last month. The contractors finished the section from the Land Trust Meadow on Lane St. up to the Fire Access Road. You can now ride bikes, stroll, or have handicapped access to one of the prettiest open spaces in Shelton. Lane St. is one of Shelton's Designated Scenic Roads & is located in Huntington Center by the Fire House.

The RecPath winds thru open woodlands and gradually climbs a steep ledge up to the Fire Access Road. This route avoids the steepest portions of Lane St. and provides scenic views. The Fire Access Road leads east to Wesley Drive where two other sections of the RecPath are under construction.

The construction team from Pruzinsky & Son & Fairview Tree Farm are doing a good job & moving quickly. Enjoy the RecPath but please walk around their work zone while they are working.

Judging from the foot prints and tire tracks the RecPath is gaining popularity now that we have a little nice weather. Enjoy Spring and explore the RecPath at Lane Street.

High School Community Service Hours

2011-04-25T11:29:00.000-04:00

Shelton High is now requiring all students to document ten hours of community service by May 1 of each year, and the calls are really starting to come in. So, to answer the questions we keep getting asked:

Yes, we can use high school students on the trails!

We have supervised work parties and can sign your form on the spot.

Monday April 25 at 2:30 am - PLEASE BRING WHEELBARROWS AND PITCHFORKS if possible. Spread woodchips along both sides of the newly constructed Rec Path near the Dog Park. If possible, please bring pitchforks and a wheelbarrow. We have some tools but not enough if we get a large turnout. We will also have the motorized Gator for spreading mulch. Meet at the Dog Park.

Saturday, April 30, 8:30 am - More woodchips. Also possible reroute the Paugussett Trail at Indian Well

We can also recommend doing a Clean Sweep project, which provides maximum flexibility. See h ttp://www.donttrashshelton.org/.

Shelton Parks & Rec dropped off a number of piles of mulch that need to be placed along the RecPath to control erosion. All you need is a wheelbarrow, rake & fork.

Soggy Saturday

2011-04-24T08:08:00.011-04:00

Well - it rained again on our Saturday work party. Our record for planning trails events in 2011 is consistent if nothing else. Originally we were going to work on the Paugussett Trail, but it was too wet so we shifted to Plan B and worked on the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path. We had a great group of volunteers including some Shelton High school students getting their Community Service hours in.

These guys weren't daunted by a little drizzle so off we went into the woods.

The Shelton Parks and Rec Dept. dropped off many loads of wood chips last week for our use in stabilizing the edges of the newly-constructed RecPath (Thanks Ron, Dean, and the gentleman driving the truck Thursday). The wood chips help prevent erosion of the edges of the Path. Most of the chips were out toward the Indian Cave so it took us a little while to get there (Rich kept asking "Are we there yet?"). Once we reached the wood chips the crew swung into action.

One crew used our garden cart; which is great for moving mulch, while the other used the Gator, with the dump bed; which is better. We kept up production in the rain despite a flat tire & running out of gas (did I mention that?). Then came the weather radar call from home "the really bad stuff should be here in about an hour". Great - so we have that going for us - we refilled the Gator with gas & mulched on.

The guys got a lot of stuff done. It was really impressive given the weather. I wonder if there is a Degree of Difficulty factor that they use at the High School when evaluating Community Service?

After a while the rain had moved from a light rain to a thoroughly chilling cascade & our leader Bill decided that dryness & warmth were the sensible options, so we wrapped up. Our semi-aquatic trail crew included: Bob Wood, Matt (the yellow from the gloves will wear off your hands in a couple of weeks), Alex Medinger, Joe Macfadyen, Rich Skudlarek (our shaky photographer), Nicolas Pegacsas, Bill Dyer, Pat Jette, and Terry Gallagher.

Our volunteers enjoyed some soggy doughnuts and RecPath tee shirts to dry themselves with while Bill signed off on their forms. Note to school officials: if there's mud, mulch, and runny ink on the forms there's a reason.

We are going to host 2 other work parties this coming week when it's not raining (hopefully) if anybody wants to help. Bill will be out at the Dog Park on Nells Rock Road on Monday 4/25/11 at 2:30 in case any of the students want to participate after school. And we will host a make up work party next Saturday 4/30/11 at the same location. The more that we get done the better the RecPath will look for National Trails Day.

The sun is shining this Easter Morning. Take a stroll on the RecPath, bring the family, and see what good work these guys did. Hope to see everybody at one of our future work parties.

Trickle-down Trailnomics

2011-04-10T13:16:00.008-04:00

Click on photos to enlarge

Water runoff from the Turkey Trot Trail where it meets the Rec Path has been a problem with rain and snow melt, causing puddling and sometimes treacherous footing in this area (see 1st panel video). Temporary fixes last year were not enough to alleviate the problem. The Trails Committee, along with volunteer help, attacked the problem Saturday by installing two water bars uphill on the trail to divert the runoff to locations where draining was more efficient.

Runoff from above made negotiating the Rec Path difficult at this juncture.

The crew begins digging the first of two ditches to divert water away from the trail.

Terry, the designated mason de jour, carefully positions rocks
in the ditch to impede erosion and to maintain the integrety
of the ditch, or "water bar".

Zack and Al, Shelton High students, have volunteered to help out as part of their community service with the school. Ryan has helped out at many of our work parties for several years.

We left all of the heavy lugging for Lynn.

Terry checks the positioning of the rocks in the water bar.

Poor Lynn! Left all alone to provide the finishing touches!

We are pretty confident that, short of a tsunami, these water bars
should prevent further puddling problems below on the Rec Path.

Rec Path: Rising up from the Meadow

2011-04-07T18:50:00.012-04:00

Construction of the Rec Path is just blazing along! Now that the Dog Park section is complete, all energies are concentrated at the Huntington Center end of things. The above photo is looking down on the Lane Street meadow, owned by the Shelton Land Trust, where a half mile of the Path was previously built.

The Path wends its way up the slope, maintaining a grade of less than eight percent so that it's handicapped accessible.

Bill Dyer and Tom Harbinson from the Conservation Commission were making a progress check.

This section of the Path has been funded by a $73,150 grant from the Connecticut DEP Recreational Trails Program. The photo above is the narrow strip of open space between Serene Drive and the far end of Lane Street. The old stone wall is a nice touch.

We're using the same contractors who built the Dog Park section of the Path: Pruzinsky & Son partnering with Fairview Tree Farm. They're doing a great job.

After climbing up the hill from the meadow, skirting around a substantial chunk of ledge, and squeezing between some houses, the Path turns onto this emergency access road off the end of Lane Street and heads to Wesley Drive in Huntington Woods.

The Path will then cross Wesley Drive and climb the slope at an angle to maintain the eight percent grade. And construction will keep going up the Path this spring, so stay tuned! By this summer, we should have 3.5 miles of the Path complete, with only a half mile left to construct in the middle.

Trail Pass System

2011-04-01T14:51:00.004-04:00

Beginning 4/1/2011, all trail users should begin carrying the new Shelton Trail Pass while hiking or biking on the trails. To receive a pass, simply pick up a $20 gift certificate to any of the following fine local establishments listed below, and mail it with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope to: Shelton Trails Committee, P.O. Box 412011, Shelton, CT.

Participating establishments: Danny-O's, Ascot, Porky's, Dunkin Donuts, Huntington Street Cafe, Billy-D's, and Donut Inn. Oh, and Bertucci's. Can't forget Bertucci's.

RecPath Entrance Completed 4/1/11

2011-04-01T10:37:00.006-04:00

The RecPath entrance on Rt. 108 is DONE! And no, it's not an April Fools Joke. The contractors finished yesterday before the storm hit.

The fine crushed stone was placed over the base from Rt. 108 at Nells Rock Road.

A small culvert was installed to pick up drainage along Rt. 108 near the crosswalk. Now our feet will be dry & we should have an easier time hitting the crosswalk button while driving the Gator on work parties.

The parking lot was cleaned up and boulders placed so people stop parking on the RecPath. Now we've got to get up some temporary signs. Permanent granite bollards, fencing, and a sign kiosk are planned for this spot. Nice Progress - Woo Whoo!

The Finer Points of Grading

2011-03-31T20:49:00.009-04:00

The contractors were busy this week doing finish grading of the RecPath between Rt. 108 and Oak Valley Road. They were placing gravel and compacting it with a roller so it forms a firm durable surface that's good for walking, biking and is handicapped-accessible.

The RecPath has to curve a lot to preserve trees and other vegetation while maintaining gentle grades for handicapped-accessibility. This makes the route a bit more interesting than many of the other rail-to-trail bikepaths that you might find in New England. The RecPath has a lot of gentle curves so it's enjoyable for biking and walking.

Here's a close up of the finished surface. When we were doing public hearings about the project most of the feedback that we received was that people wanted a "natural" surface for the RecPath as opposed to asphalt, so that is what is being constructed. The goal is to make something that will blend in with the greenway, and make a solid surface for the multi-use path.

The contractors have brought a variety of equipment to use in placing the finish surface, and then they compact the processed gravel with the vibratory roller. They used larger equipment to rough grade the RecPath and smaller equipment to finish it. Boy, would the Trails Committee kill to own that little mini-excavator.

Here's another view out along the powerlines. The RecPath was sited along existing hiking trails and woods roads to minimize cutting of some of the mountain laurel. This section should look really pretty in June when the laurel is blooming.

This is the view going toward Oak Valley Road. This section of the RecPath passes near vernal pools where you can hear the spring peepers and wood frogs peeping and quacking up a racket this time of year.

Chilly Briar & Rock Party

2011-03-27T22:49:00.008-04:00

We had a productive, if somewhat chilly, work party yesterday. A smaller crew of Jim, Lynn, Luis, Sheri, Emma, Ryan, & Terry cleared briars, moved stone, and reset bridges on a frosty March morning.

The ground was too frozen to cut in waterbars on the Turkey Trot Trail by the RecPath, so we shifted over to the powerlines. Jim was cutting back the nasty, nasty briars before they start growing into the trail this spring. The foot bridge held up great through the flood, but portions of the trail washed out. We placed some rocks in the washed out sections but will have to wait until things warm up a bit to cover it with gravel.

Ryan, Luis & Lynn filled in the washout with rocks. Sheri & Emma reset the other partially washed out bridge by the gas pipeline. We had a lot of people out using the trails with some walkers, runners, and couple of groups of mountain bikers.

It's great to see everybody enjoying the trails on a Saturday morning. Now all we need is a few more people to realize that they can get some exercise maintaining the trails also. And it can be fun too when you bring a few friends.

And here's the "after" shot showing all the briars that Jim & Co. removed. Remember this when you're not getting scratched up along this stretch of the Turkey Trot this summer. Enjoy.

Spring has Sprung ... a Leak

2011-03-25T21:50:00.001-04:00

It has been a wet & wooly winter & there's a lot of drainage issues on the trails. Join us for one of our first spring work parties this Saturday at 8:30 on the Turkey Trot Trail. Meet at the trailhead kiosk on Constitution Boulevard North opposite the Intermediate School.

Here's Bill watching Rich work (Bill's good that way). Rich was trying to rake the water off the RecPath by the dam a couple of weeks ago; no matter how hard Rich raked the water kept slipping thru the tines. Tomorrow we're going to dig out a couple of water bars uphill to correct drainage and hopefully fix some washouts. Bring your mud clothes, boots, shovels, pick axes, crow bars, and gloves. If you don't have anything tools then don't worry - bring yourself - we'll have some extra tools.

RecPath Construction Reboot

2011-03-25T21:36:00.007-04:00

Two weekends ago we had record warmth and the RecPath was swarming with people, dogs, and families out enjoying the Greenway.

Since then we've had floods, and more snow, but Spring construction on the Shelton Lakes RecPath restarted last week after a winter hiatus. One crew lead by Bob & Steve Pruzinsky has installed drainage and is placing fine gravel on the section between Oak Valley Road and the White House on Rt. 108.

They're laying down filter fabric over the base that was placed last December, and putting down a surface course of fine processed stone and gravel and compacting it with a roller.

About 3/8ths of the first section is done. If the weather holds then the rest of it should be done next week. You'll also see the side slopes dressed, and in some areas covered with wood chip mulch. It's starting to look really nice.

We also started staking out construction of the next phase from Wesley Drive to the Land Trust Meadow on Lane Street.

A second crew led by Brad Wells has started clearing this section this week. The route is being laid out to minimize impacts to significant trees, stone walls, and rock outcrops while creating the 8% grades that we need for handicapped accessibility.

The RecPath will be open during construction but please stay out of the contractor's way and be careful during working hours. Enjoy the RecPath and watch the progress this Spring.

Eklund Garden Spring Clean-up

2011-03-21T12:31:00.004-04:00

This is a cross-post from the Eklund Garden blog. Many of our volunteers are members of the Trails Committee, and the Garden is located along one of our trails, near Hope Lake. Thank you everyone who helped out!

See http://eklundgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-clean-up-2011.html

Snowshoe U

2011-01-30T22:25:00.011-05:00

It was a pleasant 40 degrees and sunny today when we ventured forth for our winter hike. We had to relocate the hike from the Land Trust's Nicholdale parcel to the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path to have some safe areas to pull off, but otherwise things worked great.

We met at the Shelton Intermediate School and took a little while to get organized.

Most people had snowshoes, and we had a number of doggies. The trails were packed down pretty well, and we added to that compaction. We crossed the street and went in by Silent Waters.

The conga line worked it's way forward to the Silent Waters Bridge where the Conservation Commission took their 2011 Team Photo (minus Ed & Jim).

Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo of everybody crossing Rt. 108 in snowshoes at the crosswalk, but it looked funny. We ventured past the Dog Park and headed up the RecPath past Hope Lake.

The route was pretty easy, although there were some soft areas if you didn't have snowshoes. At one point we passed other snowshoers going the other way. Traffic jams on Shelton's trails - in winter - who knew!

We went down to Oak Valley Road & then looped back along the Paugussett Trail on the backside of Hope Lake.

We stopped at various places along the trail to enjoy the scenery, catch our breath and enjoy a snack.

Some folks stopped at the Dog Park on the way back (it was busy), some walked back along the road, and the rest of us snowshoed or hiked back along the trail.

It was a fun afternoon & it was great that everybody could come out to explore the park in the winter. It was a good workout & I'm sure all the 2-legged and 4-legged hikers will sleep well tonight.

Sunday Snow Hike 1/30/11

2011-01-27T19:59:00.007-05:00

The hike scheduled for this Sunday, 1/30/11 at 1:00 has been relocated from the Land Trust's Nicholdale parcel on Rt. 110 to the RecPath opposite the Shelton Intermediate School on Constitution Boulevard North. Click here for a trail map.

It should be fun but be prepared for a winter hike. Dress warmly in layers, bring your snow boots, clamp on your crampons, strap on your snowshoes, slip on your skis, and harness the sled dogs.

Bring something to drink and snack on. Unfortunately we can't do the marshmallow roast in this area, but we will be going by the Dog Park so bring Fido & Rover if they handle the snow. We'll also walk along the newly graded section of the RecPath overlooking Hope Lake, so it should be pretty.

We think that if we pack the trail down a bit with snowshoes it'll be easier for everybody to walk, but we'll see. When we originally scheduled this hike we were unaware that this January would be the snowiest month in Connecticut's recorded history. The Land Trust's parking lot is snowed in, but we should be able to park safely in front of the Intermediate School.

And we may see more snow before the hike, so be ready. If it keeps up like this snowshoes may not be enough. Saddle up the Tauntauns, we're headed for Hoth.

R.I.P. Bob Wilkins

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bob Wilkins; original Shelton Trails Committee member, and former Shelton Parks & Recreation Department Supervisor, died last Friday; January 7th, 2011. Services will be held Friday, January 14 (details can be found here.)

He had been sick for a long time, & had not been able to be active on trail work parties during the last couple of years, however he still was an active member of the Trails Committee assisting us with planning & design during our meetings until a couple of months ago. Just before Christmas he stopped by City Hall to drop off some ideas for a chainsaw bench for Rich to make.

Bob (lower left corner in above photo) was consistently an active guy who helped us get stuff done. He never minded getting his hands dirty, and was always creative in re-using things (as in the above bridge on the Turkey Trot Trail made out of an old machine pallet). He also helped establish the semi-official Shelton Trails "uniform" of plaid flannel for work parties.

Here's Michelle Papa & Bob at an earlier Trails picnic that we had every summer for volunteers. They moved to Milford after Bob retired from the Parks and Recreation Department, but that retirement didn't stop Bob from continuing to help with Trails. Bob even started recruiting his neighbor Burt to come up from Milford and help us build the Lane Street Boardwalk.

Here's Bob pointing out some aspect of the Lane St. Boardwalk to Bill Dyer. The constant back and forth banter about the best way to construct something was a staple of the Saturday morning work parties. He could be a crusty old fart when he wanted to be, but he had a lot of humor, was engaging, and kept working to get things done. Bob was responsible for a lot of our bridge designs, ordering equipment, and coming up with Rube Goldberg solutions for construction on a limited budget.

Bob never liked publicity or putting himself out in front. We had to practically shove him in the front of the table for this photo with the CT Post from a few years ago when they were doing a story on trails. From left the people are Bill Dyer, Tom Harbinson, Bob, and Terry Gallagher. Note the ongoing plaid theme.

And here is a good picture from the New Haven Register story on the Lane St. Boardwalk in 2006. Bob is third from the right. This project a nice partnership between the Shelton Land Conservation Trust and the Trails Committee. Bob was instrumental in coordinating all the construction over many weekends. Bob supported a number of conservation organizations and kept up to speed on a number of issues. He was always coming up with ideas and questions on issues that you might not expect from him on first glance.

He liked working on trails because he liked keeping busy and he enjoyed seeing people using the parks. He always liked going to ball games, fire works, concerts and Shelton Day to see how people enjoyed his parks.

Here's one of our trail parties to a small waterfall off Wesley Drive. Bob, Lynn Reid, Terry Gallagher, and Bert Sobanik had cleared out a trail so people could see the waterfall while doing the Bridge to Bridge hike.

And here's the victory photo at the end of the Lane St. Boardwalk construction. Bob is the second from the left, in plaid, with a cold beer. When you're out enjoying Shelton's trails, bridges and boardwalks it is because of volunteers like him. Thanks for everything Bob; your planning, humor, hard work, and friendship will be missed.

-Posted by Terrance Gallagher

Meetings. Yawn.

2011-01-05T22:05:00.002-05:00

Efforts to build trails actually start right here, in Room 303 of City Hall. This is where the Trails Committee meets each month and comes up with a Plan of Attack. From left to right: Richard Skudlarek, Terrance (Terry) Gallagher, Marianne Chaya (clerk for Conservation Commission - she arrived early), Jim Taradine, and Bill Dyer (Chairman). Sheri Dutkanicz somehow skipped out of the picture.

They schedule upcoming work parties and guided hikes, and talk rather endlessly about the ongoing Rec Path construction. Here is a condensed version:

Terrance: Cut the trees.
Bill: Save the trees.
Terrance: Cut the trees.
Bill: Save the trees.

A more nuanced synopsis of said discussions, aka "meeting minutes" can be found here.

Meetings are open to the public and all are welcome. They are held the first Wednesday of each month at 5:00 pm in Room 303 of City Hall, followed by the Conservation Commission's meeting at 7:00 pm.

Enjoy the Snow

2010-12-31T19:10:00.010-05:00

Don't turn back just because it's winter. Get out and enjoy the snow.

The contractors finished up building the base for the RecPath right before Christmas & then it snowed. Today it was 40 degrees and sunny so I ventured out to enjoy the walk.

Parks & Rec had plowed out the parking lot for the Dog Park on Nells Rock Road & a number of people and their dogs were enjoying the DP. The parking lots at Abby Wright, Hope Lake, and the Dam Parking Lot were also cleared. Nice work P&R.

Winter is a great time to explore the woods - especially with house-bound kids. There were lots of animal tracks criss-crossing the RecPath. The snow had melted down some so walking wasn't a problem, but you'll get a workout for your legs. The RecPath is great for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing too.

After I came out to Oak Valley Road I looped back east along Oak Valley Trail (white blazes), and north along the Blue Dot trail on the backside of Hope Lake. The lake was really pretty in the pines.

This nice woman (sorry that I didn't write here name down) and her dog "Shelton" were out enjoying the RecPath near the Dog Park while her husband and other pooch were inside the DP. Shelton definitely has the right coat for this trip.

So don't let the snow keep you indoors. Get out and enjoy the new improvements on Shelton's trail system & say hi to "Shelton" if you see him.

ELVES AT WORK

2010-12-24T15:32:00.003-05:00

Click on images to enlarge

At the eleventh hour, on a cold, blustery Christmas Eve, three of Santa's elves shuffled out to the meadow off Lane Street to decorate the lonesome pine that stands alongside the Rec Path. Every Christmas season for the past few years Lynn has made it her duty to see that that tree brightened up the spirits of the hikers and bikers that pass by. This year was no exception, and in spite of a broken foot and a bout of pneumonia, she was able to shanghai a couple of her fellow Trails Committee members to help deck the halls, etc.

Having a truck bed to stand on made it much easier to get up near the top. Wow, this tree has shot up in just a few years!

Bill and Lynn admire their handiwork. It wasn't easy working in that wind!

A touch of Christmas to add to the serenity of the meadow.
Thank you, Lynn, for making it happen!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Families Enjoying the RecPath

2010-12-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

Well, the glowing eyes notwithstanding, this Shelton family and their Beagle pup were having a fun time out enjoying the RecPath Sunday. A lot of people and families were enjoying the not-yet-finished Dog Park and the under-construction Shelton Lakes Recreation Path this weekend. There were even people at the Dog Park after I got out of the woods tonight. Maybe Fido & Rover will get headlamps for Christmas.

The contractors are making good progress and doing nice work. They are getting the base in now, and then coming back and installing drainage pipes. Ultimately the surface will be a fine crushed stone to blend in with the landscape, but it will also be bikable, and handicapped-accessible. The alternative route avoids some of the steeper grades next to the Dog Park & gives some nice views of the stream and dam.

People using the Dog Park during the work week just please be aware that this is a work zone and make sure the equipment operators can see you. We want to see everyone enjoy the Shelton Lakes Greenway, but please stay out of their way so they can work safely.

It looks like the big snowstorm blew out to sea, so it will be interesting to see what progress is made next week. The base for this section may be done for Christmas.

Rec Path Construction at Hope Lake

2010-12-16T17:19:00.007-05:00

After talking and talking and talking about building the Rec Path for the last fifteen years, it's a little surreal to see it actually get built so fast. The photo above is along Nells Rock Road, near the Dog Park and Shelton Avenue, looking towards Hope Lake.

It's a very short walk to the Hope Lake Dam along the new Path. Note: Like the Dog Park, the Rec Path is not officially open. During the week, there is a lot of construction equipment using the Path as a haul road and it is not safe to hike. Weekends might be OK to explore the new construction, but use caution. This particular section under construction is only 3/4 mile long (see map), but eventually the Rec Path will stretch from Pine Lake (on Shelton Ave) all the way to Huntington Center.

Nice view! This is the back side of Hope Lake. Nells Rock Road is on the opposite side. The Rec Path does not follow the shoreline due to grading issues and because we didn't walk to spoil the character of the lake with a busy path right along the shore. After the overlook, the Path heads away from the reservoir, into thick stand of spruce trees, then continues on towards the powerlines.

The contractors (Pruzinsky & Sons with Fairview Farm) have quite the operation. Out in front is the backhoe doing some basic grading. The Path cannot be steeper than 8% because we want it to be handicapped-accessible. That's a real challenge!

Back at the Dog Park, there are a couple of small trucks getting filled with a stony material that is being used for the sub-base of the Path. It gets a little congested there at the Dog Park driveway, but it seems to be working out OK. People just need to be careful and not sneak up behind a tractor or truck.

The trucks haul the stone up the Rec Path. They go pretty fast, so don't try walking on the trail while the guys are working!

The stone is delivered to this little bulldozer, who spreads the sub base. After all the grading is done and the sub-base spread, a surface of fine crush stone & dust will be applied, so it should look just like the part that was completed two years ago over by the Middle School.

A few days ago, shortly after heavy rains, the dam overflow looked and sounded like Niagara Falls. It was beautiful! By the time I took the above photo, the flow had diminished substantially, but people are still going to see and hear water falling for much of the year.

RecPath Construction - Week Deux

2010-12-12T19:16:00.007-05:00

The contractors pulled of the job for a couple of days this week, but did some work then shifted their base of operations from Oak Valley Road to the White House on Nells Rock Road.

They added drainage at one of the wet spots on Oak Valley Road. More drainage has to be added, but this corrects a problem area that needed improvements.

They cleaned up a stockpile area for road millings at the powerlines. They did a very neat job restoring the area and placing woodchips along CL&P's access drive. The RecPath entrance is actually a little to the west behind a locked City gate.

Clearing was done along the alternative route going up toward Hope Lake. Sharp chainsaws make quick and neat work. The temperature started to drop this week, but clearing can be done in all weather.

Here's the head of construction winding up the slope. The silt fence on the downhill side of the route protects the stream from mud and erosion during construction. The RecPath base of asphalt millings is being placed right after rough grading to create a stable, non-erosive surface.

Their equipment has been relocated at the White House by the new Dog Park. The contractors are doing a good job leaving the RecPath neat, passable and safe on the weekends. People should remember to stay out of the contractor's way during working hours. Hopefully we see some good production next week.

Fun Paugussett Trail Work Party 12/11/10

2010-12-11T19:32:00.009-05:00

Well, it started chilly, but warmed up as the morning got on. We had a good time clearing the Paugussett Trail south of Indian Well State Park Saturday morning.

Thanks to a good turn out of volunteers, including John, Luis, Kelly, Jim, Rich, Sheri, Terry, & Bill we got a lot done.

Kelly and Sheri lead the lower crew clearing out the trail treadway from fall leaves and storm damage. Access to the trail is at The Maples parking lot for Indian Well State Park on Indian Well Road off Rt. 110. Just follow the blue blazes south through the meadow.

We cleared out briars that had grown into the trail along with other brush & debris.

The new trail passes below historic stone walls built in the 1930's by the CCC. The area was pretty following a dusting of snow last night.

Sheri was clearing out branches hung up in the trees over the trail.
Helpful Trail Safety Tip:
Don't stand under the branch when pulling it down out of the tree.
No trail volunteers were injured in the the making of this movie.

We crossed Rt. 110 and climbed the hill working as we went. Eventually we met up with Rich, "GrandPaw" Bill & Jim working their way down from Sinsebaugh Heights on Meadow Street. Rich said the leaf blowing went better after the sticks and frozen leaves were moved out first.

These guys showed up at the parking lot near the end - a little two late to help with the work party - but good to have around.

We got a really lot done & it was helpful having 8 people so we could split up into 2 groups. Thanks John, Luis, Kelly & everybody else for coming out to help. Enjoy the trail and explore the old CCC stone work at Indian Well Road - you'll see things from the trail that you'll never see from driving on the road.

Scouts open Eklund Bypass Trail

2010-12-10T22:43:00.004-05:00

A big THANK YOU to scouts Kenny Giangregorio & Nick Shigo and their fellow scouts and families for all the hard work. They spent many weekends replacing the J-Pond Bridge, cutting in the bypass trail for mountain bikes along the Eklund Cliff, fixing the footing through the boulderfield, removing garbage, and restoring habitats. We should get some more of those photos on the blog. This will help make hiking and biking easier along the Blue Dot Trail.

Urban Rail Trail Gateways & Road Crossings

2010-12-07T20:01:00.011-05:00

I was in New Haven today & took some photos of the Farmington Canal Rail-Trail crossings. They're spending a little more money on their greenway than Shelton is - it's nice to have Yale for a neighbor.

Here's a typical road crossing. The rail trail is bounded by fence and pillars to keep cars out.

The pipe bollards are removable and have locks. This keeps vehicles out but allows for maintenance access by the City. When the bollards are removed the plates spring back flush with grade to cover the sleeves. These look nice and sturdy.

There's a variety of traffic warnings to prevent trail users from getting hurt in traffic, along with traffic signs on the street alerting motorists. The path is paved with crushed stone along the side for joggers. This system didn't seem to be used as much in Shelton so we went with an all gravel surface for a more rural RecPath.

Here's a closer view of a typical road crossing in New Haven. The stone pillars look like Cleopatra should be carried past them on a litter, but they sort of go on an urban trail like New Haven's. I guess they are supposed to look like the walls around the Grove St. Cemetery.

This is the Canal Trail passing the new Science Park development near their parking garage. Pedestrian and bicyclist users were integrated into the overall car, bus and truck transportation improvements.

This entry uses another type of Trafficguard bollard that is locked at the top and folds down flat. Maintenance vehicles drive over the top of the bollards.

Here's a close-up of the fold down type of bollard.

The trail right of way contain underground fiber optic utilities, as well as portions of the Yale University emergency blue phones. Rail-Trail projects can also double as utility corridors.

It was pretty darn chilly this morning with the wind, and there were still people biking and walking on the Canal Trail. I bet that it gets a lot of traffic on a nice spring day. It's community assets like this that make New Haven one of Connecticut's most attractive citys.

RecPath Production - Week #1

2010-12-05T23:24:00.008-05:00

End of Week #1

The Contractors have installed the RecPath base at Rt. 108 at The White House, and staked the route from there to Oak Valley Road.

The Rt. 108 entry at Nells Rock Road looks good. The 8 foot wide Recreation Path is designed to be walkable, bikable, and handicapped accessible. The road millings are the base and will be topped with a finer crushed stone surface. A small parking lot will also be added at the White House that will serve the RecPath, and the new Dog Park that is nearby.

The Contractor has amassed a small fleet of construction equipment over by Oak Valley Road and are constructing the path from there toward the White House while the staked-out route is being fine tuned. A lot of the machinery is smaller to work around trees and boulders and minimize disturbance.

The RecPath will wind thru the woods with a maximum 8% grade (rising or falling 8 feet per 100 feet of run) to provide handicapped access. This design standard creates some grading challenges, but it's important, because it allows everybody to explore the Shelton Lakes Greenway, regardless of their age or physical situation. It'll also make for a nice path for baby carriages and kids on bikes.

You may also see some stakes on the other end of the RecPath from the Land Trust Meadow out through the Huntington Woods Subdivision past Crabapple Drive. Portions of that route may change a bit, but that will be the next section to construct after the stretch from Rt. 108 to Oak Valley Road is done.

But, if anybody is fretting about the loss of "real" hiking trails in Shelton, join us next Saturday at the Indian Well parking lot near The Maples for our trail work party on the new extension of the Paugussett Trail. We'll introduce you to some fun climbing.

Rec Path Construction Phase 2a

2010-12-02T10:26:00.010-05:00

The Shelton Lakes Recreation Path Phase 2a will be under construction this month as we upgrade the existing hiking trail to an 8-foot-wide crushed stone path. Please use caution and observe all safety markings. This new section begins at the corner of Nells Rock Road and Shelton Avenue where it runs along Nells Rock Road in front of the Dog Park, heads to an overlook behind the Hope Lake dam, then heads off towards Oak Valley Road. Here's a map showing the route:

View Rec Path Construction December 2010 in a larger map

People will be able to walk from the existing sections of the Rec Path that runs from Pine Lakes, between the schools, and along Silent Waters, to the new section, by using the walk signal at the traffic light. That existing section is 1.25 miles. The new section will bring the total close to 2.0 miles. But we are also working on the opposite end of the Rec Path, near Huntington Center. There, 0.5 mile is already complete, with plans to add more either this fall or next spring, depending on the weather.

The work is being done by S. P. Pruzinsky & Sons, Inc. and is being funded, in part, by a grant from the Connecticut DEP Recreational Trails Grant Program.

The Birchbank Marshmallow Roast

2010-11-28T20:01:00.024-05:00

We had a great afternoon for the hike at Birchbank Mountain. It was a bit cool, but sunny & people warmed up as we hiked up the hill. We had about 2 dozen walkers plus a number of dogs who enjoyed a number of highlights; the views of the Housatonic Valley from the Overlook, the re-routed trail along White Hills Brook, and the marshmallow roast at the old chimney.

We started on Indian Well Road (one of the straighter and flatter roads in Shelton) at the railroad crossing. We then walked in along the old colonial road that was level for about a quarter of a mile, and passed a number of trees that had been cut by Aquarion Water Company to try the make the area less attractive to ATVs. The ATVs tearing up the trails and causing a lot of erosion damage. Some of the trail re-routes were done to avoid the damaged areas and try to stabilize the gullys.

We started to warm up as we began the gradual climb up the wooded slope. We crossed the junction with the Paugussett Trail, then headed right through the mountain laurel on the re-routed Birchbank Trail and got to enjoy the babbling White Hills Brook below us. After a bit we came to the junction with the blue and white access trail to the short and easy walk to the Overlook.

We passed the remnants of an old charcoal pile along the blue & white trail. It's hard to believe looking at the woods today that much of these hillsides were once cleared to provide fuel for the mills in the Valley.

The Overlook has one of the most open views of the lower Housatonic Valley from this outcrop & everybody enjoyed it. We were showing people how the Birchbank Trail hooks up with the Paugussett Trail and connects with various neighborhoods.

We then retraced our steps back to the White Trail, crossed the brook and proceeded downhill to the Chimney, where Rich had a nice fire going.

The chimney and foundation are the remains of the old Monroe Rod & Gun Club. The chimney has seen better days but it was fun to take a break next to the fire, crack out some hot coffee, enjoy the sound of the little waterfalls along the brook and toast some marshmallows.

After the break we headed down the hill along the re-routed trail with nice views of White Hills Brook in the ravine below us. (Thank you Rich for staying behind to put out the fire). In some places we were retracing the route the Indians and colonial farmers used in going from the Upper White Hills down to the Housatonic River, and the remains of older retaining walls along the colonial roads were visible at the bottom of the hill. It's fun to hike on trails, but it's more interesting when some of our trails follow historic routes.
There's a longer description of the new and improved Birchbank Trails on the Shelton Trails website. The round 2.3 mile trip took about 2 hours with a nice long stop at the Chimney.

We hope that all our neighbors and friends from the Birchbank and the White Hills neighborhoods explore the new trails. Future access from Little Fox Run is also planned to give neighbors better access to the park. Birchbank Mountain contains some of Shelton's most interesting habitats, so you never know what you'll find. Enjoy Shelton's open spaces, & see you on the trails.

Scout Wish List - Birchbank

2010-11-24T07:42:00.004-05:00

The new and improved trails at Birchbank Mountain still need a few improvements, so here's a wish list for any prospective Eagle Scouts out there. First, the trailhead (above) is hard to spot and we could use a small sign kiosk. Right now all we have is that little brown sign tacked to the post, and people have pulled that off.

Next, we need two bridges for the white trail over Upper White Hills Brook. The lower crossing is shown in the photo above.

Somebody pulled down the top of the chimney arch over the past couple weeks. A repair would be nice.

Part of the white trail follows an old colonial road that has erosion issues because the soil is so sandy and we had a lot of ATVs in there. Some steps, check dams, and/or drainage ditches and pipes would help.

Part of this old road became so eroded it had to be abandoned and the trail rerouted. ATVers had been pulling rocks out of the bottom and throwing them up over the side. In this spot (photo above) we pulled the rocks back down and created check dams to slow down the erosion. This needs to be done for the rest of the abandoned trail.

Birchbank is our most unique and sensitive open space. If you are willing to help out, please contact the Conservation Agent at conservation@cityofshelton.org or call 203-924-1555 x315.

Hey, that's a Gneiss Rock!

2010-11-23T20:51:00.010-05:00

Why the Egyptians? Wait and See.

The Lane Street entrance to the Shelton Lakes RecPath has been problematic with vandalism lately. We moved a small boulder out of the way last year so Barry Mucci could build the entrance, but forgot to move it back. This made it easy for us to access the RecPath for work parties, but it also left the path open to people driving on it illegally and bothering some of the neighbors. So we put a wooden post in place temporarily, however somebody vandalized the post and removed it. This lead to the the following problem:

We had somebody drive in one night to "look at the stars" and they drove off the boardwalk into the swamp. For more photos see Cadillac Tests the Boardwalk. The District Attorney called last week with questions so hopefully some required community service is handed out soon.

So we put the wooden bollard back.

This worked for a while, but somebody vandalized that & went in and cut up some downed trees. Cutting up the trees was one thing, but we didn't want anybody to drive over the boardwalk and damage it. The boardwalk was built for pedestrians, not cars and trucks. We are looking to provide a removable metal bollard and two fixed granite posts at this location to all walkers and bikers in, but keep unauthorized vehicles out.

In the meantime, Bill Dyer rounded up some of the usual suspects (Jim and Rich), with strong backs and weak minds, and they set to work moving the boulder back into place.

Trouble is a 20"x21"x16" Gneiss boulder weights a deceptively large amount. I asked my wife "What's the unit weight of Gneiss?" (a typical conversation at our house). And she started asking me if it was dark Gneiss or light Gneiss because the percentage of iron would effect the specific gravity. I gave up then and just used a range of 167-178 lbs/cf. That puts the boulder at between 650-690 lbs. Not something you easily pick up and move by hand.

They pushed and pulled and swore and crowbarred the boulder over. It kept digging into the woodchips and gravel. Boulders are pretty conservative; they hate to move unless they have to. But Jim had his handy come-along and they gradually convinced the rock to take up sentry duty in the middle of the RecPath. Lets see somebody move that!

Jim may have to spend the rest of November re-coiling his come-along wire rope. Which leads us to the Egyptians. It the trails guys had used some logs and rolled the rock into place it would've been easier to move. See some of the pictures in the front. We really haven't progressed all that much in 2500 years.

We've got some great books on how to move boulders like AMC Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance , we just have to use more block and tackles. Or get us a few thousand slaves.

Birchbank Trail 2.0

2010-11-21T16:49:00.009-05:00

This is what a part of Birchbank Trail looked like a year ago, thanks to rampant ATVs. It was not fun to walk up. The trail was too far gone to repair, so a quarter-mile reroute was in order.

Now the trail goes up a completely different way and has a view of Upper White Hills Brook.

Two other reroutes were done as well. The upper stream crossing was moved slightly, and a new stretch of trail was added below the chimney following the stream all the way down to the floodplain. It's beautiful!

Here's a new section of trail down near the bottom. The neighborhood has actually been walking up here for years. We just dressed it up and made it official.

The water flows over the bedrock in a series of waterfalls and chutes. Very scenic.

A bit further up the hill on this new stretch of trail, the path rises above a small gorge.

And then you're at the old chimney (see the waterfall in the background?)

Today I decide to scout out another possible trail route -- a connector from the Paugussett Trail overlook to Birchbank Trail. Following the Paugussett Trail south from its intersection with Birchbank Trail, the trail first goes down and then up up up, letting you know if you're overweight.

This sign marks the blue/yellow dot side trail up to the overlook. It's very steep and the leaves made for an arduous trek up.

So here's our view. Partly obstructed, and in the summer you probably can't see much. The trees blocking the view are mostly very tall and located way down the slope. Still, it's a neat spot. Just wish it wasn't so hard to get to. I started exploring the possibility of bushwacking to the north to see if there might be another possible route.

Going down the shoulder of the hilltop a bit, I found there was still an overlook, but one that could be trimmed back more easily for a better view because it drops off more sharply to the south. And from there, it was an easy walk north down to Birchbank Trail. Not too rocky or steep or wet. I see a new trail in our future :). This route is shown in yellow on the map below (generated from my gps).

What is It?

2010-11-15T20:56:00.005-05:00

Guess what this is and win a prize. And no, Richard can't enter the contest.

It was a beautiful Fall weekend & there was a lot of household chores to do after our do-good work at the Boehm Pond trail. On Sunday, I got a chance to walk the Birchbank Trail where Teresa has been re-routing some of the trail. The park was really pretty, and it looked like the ATV enforcement was having some effect. The trail is being re-routed in a couple of places to avoid really eroded gullies, and to take advantage of scenic overviews.

It's easy to get so absorbed with working on the RecPath, fixing vandalism, or working on other trails that I sometimes forget how truly pretty this park is. Here's one view over White Hills Brook that is really picturesque. I met a guy walking a large Chesapeake retriever (is there such a thing as a small Chesapeake?) & they were both having a great time along the Brook. It's good to have a big park like this next to some densely populated neighborhoods like Birchbank.

We have a public hike scheduled for Nov. 28th on this trail, but if anybody has the inclination to blow or rake leaves off the trail before then, well have at it. The trail access is by the railroad crossing on Birchbank Road after the rollercoaster.

Ah.... Smell the leaves!

2010-11-13T19:06:00.008-05:00

Click on photos to enlarge.

What a great Fall day it was as we prepared to remove leaves from The Boehm Pond Trail. In addition to clearing the trails, Lynn had proposed that we create a new side-trail to overlook the babbling brook that is the outlet for Boehm's Pond. It made for a rewarding morning's work.

The day's volunteers line up, rarin' to go trail hugging!

Tools in hand, Lynn prepares to define the new trail.

Jim fires up one of the leaf blowers, without which this work

party would have been challenging, to say the least.

Carol prepares to flag the new trail with orange tape.
Leaf blowers and rakes follow the flags.

Rich gets down to the nitty-gritty, so to speak , while Luis follows,

cutting away obstacles such as imposing branches and twigs.

Luis shows off the tools of the trade.

Shari gets what Rich misses with the good old-fashioned rake.

The morning came to a pleasant end, with the work party having cleared the entire trail and establishing a new, scenic side-trail that we like to call "Lynn's Loop". Come walk the Boehm Pond Trail. It is especially scenic right now, as there is still some yellow leaf color in the trees, yet you can see some distance through the trees. The pond at the end of the Yellow Trail is a picture of serenity, and the brook is flowing just enough to present a scene right out of a nature series.

Saturday Events

2010-11-10T21:31:00.008-05:00

This Saturday will be a busy one for trail & greenway fans around the state.

At 8:30 the Shelton Trails Committee will be hosting a Work Party on the Boehm Pond Trail opposite 98 Farmill Street. Mostly clearing brush and removing leaves on a neat little neighborhood trail. If you haven't explored this open space on the West side of town then Saturday is your opportunity.

And if you don't give a hoot about trail work parties then maybe the Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetland Commissions is more your cup of tea. CACIWC will be holding their annual meeting in Wallingford on Saturday & one of the workshop speakers will be our own Teresa Gallagher. Teresa will be talking about the State's greenway program and how the Shelton Lakes Greenway is a case study. Shelton has had one of the most aggressive Greenway programs in the state recently & it's nice when our efforts are used as an example for the rest of the state.

Also the Connecticut Bike & Walk Summit will be held Saturday in New Britain at Central Conn. State University. The summit will feature talks and information about rails-to-trails, greenway planning, and safe street programs from around the state. The summit will discuss how better networks of safe streets and trails can improve the quality of life in Connecticut's communities and why it will be more important in the coming years. This is reflected in a number of local efforts like the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path, The Riverwalk, the Huntington Center & Ripton Road sidewalk improvements, the Sunnyside Safe-Routes-to-School program and other local projects.

So, there is a lot going on Saturday, in Shelton and around the state, to improve our communities with better trails, greenways, and safer streets. If you can, plan to come out and join us for our trail work party on Farmill Street.

And be on the lookout for information about the upcoming Birchbank Hike - it should be fun.

They Went Thataway!

2010-11-01T11:48:00.005-04:00

Click on photos to enlarge

It's all over but the ribbon-cutting! Nick Shigo's Eagle Scout project, a part of which was construction, with the assistance of scouts from Troop 55 and with adult supervision, a portion of a biking/hiking bypass around a steep, rocky section of the Oak Valley trail, is complete. The finishing touch was the erection of a directional sign at each end of the bypass. Nick also designed and constructed a bridge spanning a small pond a bit farther down on the trail.

All chiefs and no Indians attempting to hang the first sign.

Bill Dyer, Chairman of the Shelton Trails Committee, Nick's father, and Nick finally agree that the sign is somewhat level

Nick and his dad hang the second sign at the top of the hill

Congratulations on a job well done!

As luck would have it a biker appeared, having just pedaled up the original trail, as Nick was ready to leave (really!).

He was talked into trying out the new bypass, after having been told of it's open status

He has become the first official user of the new bypass, although no prizes were given! The bypass is an alternate route for bikers, hikers, dog walkers, mule skinners, or anyone that is looking for the easier path up or down the slope. Thanks to Nick Shigo and all those who helped in another trail improvement!

Hazardous Condition on RecPath 10-31-10

2010-10-31T10:56:00.004-04:00

SAFETY ALERT: All RecPath users should be careful when using the RecPath in the vicinity of the White House on Nells Rock Road this weekend. A private contractor doing work for the City (work not associated with the RecPath) started to use some of the millings that were piled up in the parking lot, and stuck all his equipment directly in the middle of the RecPath yesterday. I went out to look at the Dog Park construction and was amazed to see how poorly safety in this work zone was being handled.

The Shelton Lakes Recreation Path gets hundreds of users per week and this has been a recurring problem at this site where every City project just dumps their junk there without considering all the other users of the Greenway.

If you are out riding bikes with kids or hiking on the trails please be careful to avoid this hazard so you or your family doesn't get hurt. This should be a temporary problem and hopefully the contractor will clear this up quickly in the next couple of days.

The Contractor should not of placed his equipment in the RecPath in the first place. We wouldn't put a screener and earthmoving machinery directly in the middle of the soccer fields at Capewell Park and expect the kids to play around it, would we?

Second, there are no advance signs to alert the public that they are entering an active construction area, or how to avoid the problem. Hopefully everybody uses common sense & goes around the area. The Dog Park is also under construction but you can walk up the driveway & around the fence & get back on the RecPath above the Dog Park.

There will be additional construction going on here in the near future. Nells Rock Road is going to be closed on Tuesday for construction of a culvert at Hope Lake. Construction of the Dog Park is on-going and the gates and parking lot will continue. New Construction of the Recreation Path will be starting here early in November (but with warning signs) and the public will need to avoid that construction if they want to use this section of the RecPath. Hopefully our RecPath Contractor will not be as sloppy as this guy & there won't be any safety issues.

Please be careful using the RecPath south of Shelton Avenue (Rt. 108) over the next couple of weeks.

Far Mill River Clean-up 10/30/10

2010-10-24T11:48:00.007-04:00

The Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Shelton Land Conservation Trust are joining forces to clean up trash along the Far Mill River on Saturday 10/30/10 at 9:00.

[EDIT by TERESA: There was confusion about the starting point because of out-dated info on the Trouts Unlimited webpage. The event will at Beard Sawmill Road (near Wells Hollow Farm) under the Route 8 bridge, NOT at Rt 110.]

They are meeting at Rt. 110 along the Stratford/Shelton border. Probably some people will go in at the Far Mill Trailhead behind ASF Sports (opposite the dump). While this isn't a trail work party, cleaning the river is a good cause & it's worth supporting these two organizations if you can help out.

They will meet where the Far Mill flows beneath rte. 110 near the Stratford / Shelton border. Bring gloves and insect repellent. We are in need of volunteers to pick up trash and debris.

The Shelton Land Trust has offered to join us on this clean-up effort and we look forward to working with them. For more information, contact rjmerly@yahoo.ca

Donated Tools

2010-10-23T23:09:00.005-04:00

We've had a lot of knuckleheads do a lot of stupid stuff lately; drive cars on boardwalks, ATV damage, stealing cameras, breaking kiosks, etc. But from time to time we also get some nice feedback and assistance that we were not expecting, and that is refreshing.

My wife's folks, the Clarks, moved out of state, and donated some tools to the Trails Committee that are very welcome.

A virtually new chainsaw with a small 12" bar. This will be very handy for clearing blow downs and other trail chores. The saw was just tuned up at Martinka's and it works well on smaller trees.

They also gave us a shovel and a mulch fork that will get used. Thank you Donna & Phil for your kind gifts. Anybody else that needs to clear out your garage of tools you no longer need feel free to give us a call.

Tahmore Hike

2010-10-18T22:00:00.011-04:00

We had a great day for a guided hike at Tahmore Place on Sunday, Oct. 17th. Almost 2 dozen folks showed up to enjoy a nice warm, sunny, and much less windy day than Saturday.

Lynn Reid goes over the pre-hike preamble and takes a head count. She doesn't need to bring all the same people out of the woods that she likes to lead in, but she likes to come out with the same number that she started with.

If you every see a hiker walking briskly with 3 dogs on the trails around town; say hi. Lynn is one of our most active Trails Committee leaders.

We had people of all ages and most of them had not been on Tahmore before. The property is owned by the Shelton Land Conservation Trust, a private charity, who generously allowed us to lead this public walk. The Tahmore Loop is about one mile long and joins up with the Paugussett Trail above Indian Well State Park.

There were nice views of the Housatonic River, cows, a small footbridge, and lots and lots of acorns. Thanks to the trails work party that blew off the trails yesterday morning. It made a big difference in the footing.

It was a nice hike for families. The trail is set up as a figure 8 pattern so you can do a short or longer walk, depending on your leg size.

One big hemlock came down across the trail after the work party. The wind was pretty wild yesterday & we had wind gusts of up to 45 mph at times. I spoke with Hank Lauriet, the overseerer of Land Trust Monitors who lives next door & he said that he didn't hear the tree crash down. I asked him benignly if he was in the woods at the time, and he said no. That's when I said "so, it's true, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, it doesn't make a sound". Hank muttered something and walked away, one of the few times that he was at a loss for words.

We had a great walk. Thanks to Rich Skudlarek for being the official trails photographer. The Shelton Land Trust is a private organization that is separate from the City of Shelton, and they take care of dozen's of properties like Tahmore. Consider becoming a member, it's tax deductible & you get to explore some hidden corners of Shelton.