The Eversource Checklist

Here's a running list of the outstanding items at Shelton Lakes that Eversource representatives told Trails Committee members they would address. We don't know if they still plan on addressing these items because our requests now go unanswered. Item are sorted by starting at Buddington Road and heading north past Constitution Drive to Derby Junction:

1. Nells Rock Trail steps.  The top three steps were going to be leveled up. The Committee was not consulted about the creation of these steps and did not ask for them. The Committee asked for the original slope to be restored, since the fill on top was only needed temporarily in order to remove the old towers. The top half of the steps have treads that slope downhill and are  hazard when wet. A detour around the steps may be pursued, but would require a bridge and some earthwork.

The Eversource Steps

2. Oak Valley Trail marker. A marked 4x4 post was never replaced near Shelton Ave. We cannot find the post. 

Junction with the Oak Valley Trail (red) is missing a sign post

3. Kiosk at Shelton Ave. The kiosk was reinstalled poorly and is now leaning badly, exposing the contents to rain.

The camera is level, the kiosk is not.

4. Utility road surface between Shelton Ave and Independence Drive: Course, loose gravel and cobblestone. This is used by many people as a walking/biking trail, and in some section is part of the Paugussett and Turkey Trot Trails. Before the project, Committee members made clear that cobblestones are annoying to walk at best (and can twist an ankle) and were reassured that Eversource contractors would use road material that compacts and wouldn't be a problem to walk on. It is. 

Loose gravel and cobbles

5. Bridge near Turkey Trot Trail. This bridge is used by the Gator and DR for mowing points north along the trails. Because the height of the utility road was increased, the approaches to the bridge are steep and abrupt, making it difficult to pull the DR. Committee members asked that the approaches be graded out or the bridge raised. 

Bridge near Turkey Trot Trail

6. Paugussett Trail drainage. Where the Paugussett Trail joins the utility road near the top of the hill between Shelton Ave. and Independence Drive, stormwater runoff now drains down the trail from areas uphill that were work sites. Eversource staff said they would look into putting in a water bar to divert water from going down the trail. 

Stormwater runoff now flows off the road and
onto the Paugussett here, eroding it

7. New tower site at south side of Wellington Ave.  The new tower that was constructed on top of the trail in a low area has been a morass and uneven to walk on. Prior to construction, this was never a problem to walk across and there was a smooth dirt access road and a turn-around for the gator and DR mower. The timber matting compressed the soil, causing water to collect, and the ground is uneven around the new tower. Eversource staff were going to look into whether the spot was a wetland and offered to spread some truckloads of fill if it was not to repair the gator road. No word back on that. The area has dried up somewhat since the spring, but is uneven and the gator got two flat tires trying to navigate it. 

Site of new tower on top of Paugussett

8. Constitution Blvd crossing marker.  The 4x4 Paugussett Trail marker was never replaced. 

We keep pulling the old 4x4 post
out of the weeds so it can be 
reinstalled

This checklist will be updated as we receive new information. 

Wasps! Because of Woodpeckers?

Hikers are given fair warning. The distant blazed tree on the left
was swarming with wasps.

Terry Gallagher was working on Shelton's 2024 hiking challenge when he stopped to marvel at a hillside covered with dying beech trees. He made a sweeping motion with his arm as he did so, and was promptly drilled by wasps. He made his escape by running down the Paugussett Trail towards the beach at Indian Well. 

Dozens of wasps were swarming. 
Note the sapsucker holes.

This usually means there's a nest alongside the trail, right? I made up some warning signs and set out to try and find the nest, inching down the trail looking for wasps, especially at ground level. Wasps often have a ground nest right next to a trail. Instead, I found a black birch tree swarming with wasps. This tree leans into the trail and is hard to avoid. Terry had walked right through a cloud of wasps. 

This family was alerted by the warning signs
and trying to decide what to do. 

I figured there must be a nest in the tree but couldn't figure out where the entrance was. We will go out at night and spray a nest if it's right next to a busy section of trail and people are getting stung, but you need to know what to spray. There was once a big nest of Bald Faced Hornets hanging over the Rec Path off Lane Street and the hornets were stinging anyone who just happened to walk down the path. We lugged in a ladder at night and sprayed the nest. For this tree, I needed to come back with some binoculars and leave the dog at home.  So I did that the next day. 

Bald Faced Hornet, yup

I hung around for about twenty minutes studying the waspy tree with binoculars. Mostly there were Yellow Jackets, but there were also a few Bald Faced Hornets. The tree was a Black Birch, also known as "Sweet Birch" due to it's copious sweet sap, and the trunk was full of holes made by Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. These are small black and white woodpeckers that create a line of holes in trees so that sap oozes out of the hole. They drink the sap, as do many insects, and will return to eat some of those insects and drink more sap. Most of the holes were old, but there were a couple spots with raw wounds oozing sap, and this is where the wasps were landing.  The larger Bald-Faced Hornets were greatly outnumbered by Yellow Jackets but were still monopolizing the oozy spots. The Yellow Jackets seemed pretty agitated about this and were zipping about the tree trying to get some sap. 

Old holes and an ongoing tree wound oozing sap

I tested out my working theory that these wasps were just foraging and didn't have a nest there by putting on a thick protective layers of clothing in the 90 degree heat and spraying the tree with permethrin (the same stuff I use to treat my clothing for ticks). I started by hitting a pair of feeding Bald-Faced Hornets directly to take out the most dangerous players first, and after a minute or two all the wasps had disappeared. There was no nest. They wouldn't have left if there was a nest. 

I hoped the permethrin would keep them away, but a day later the wasps were back, with new sap oozing out over the areas that I had sprayed. I returned with some tree pruning sealer spray, but the sap gushed right over it (the dark areas on the tree are from that spray). It did help to show which areas were still active. 

Sapsucker holes oozing tasty sap for the wasps

During one of my checks, the guilty pair of Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers mocked me. Both were in the tree. Probably laughing. One was actively feeding from the tree wound near the blue blaze. 

A pair of Sapsuckers on the tree

The latest plan involved covering up the oozing spots with a layer of sticky Tanglefoot, then sticking some plastic sheeting to it like a bandaid, followed with more plastic sheeting with more Permethrin spray underneath. No idea if this will work. Will the woodpeckers try to peck through the plastic? 

At any rate, if you come upon the warning signs, keep your eyes open. If the wasps return and are swarming the tree, either slip by quickly and quietly, or head off-trail and keep your distance. They are mostly like the Yellow Jackets that pester us during a picnic, but all it takes is a few Bald Faced Hornets in the mix to liven things up. 

Sticky Tanglefoot over the tree wounds

Plastic over the sticky Tanglefoot

And more plastic

Update 7/10: So far, so good! No wasps today. 

Steamy Saturday at French's Hill

It was a busy, and steamy weekend.  The icky heat dome settling over most of the country, made conditions in Conn. , well, Icky.  That is the technical term.  Everything has been growing, we at jumping from open space to open space trying to keep the trails clear from the Spring and Summer growth, and today was our day to tackle French's Hill.

Fortunately, we had a wonderful, and hardy, group of Shelton volunteers who were undeterred by the weather and showed up to work.  Armed with lots of bug juice, water, and more water, we headed into the woods.

Helpful Trail Tip:  Don't open your mouth to talk to your co-workers immediately after you're sprayed your head and hat with OFF at the start of the work party.  It's really not the best flavor experience.

 

 

Ellen, Ann, and Val were whacking briars and such along the trail from the parking lot into the fields and powerlines.

 

Luis and some of the younger guys were working on the thick brush along the Red trail across the Eversource powerlines.  They then worked clockwise around the loop trail.

 

Hubbel Farm has been haying the fields at French's Hill.  Now that the hay crop is in, with the improvements to the trails, there is a nice opportunity to enjoy the views from the farm fields.

Jeff, Mike, and Terry were cutting barberry and other sharp, pointy and unwanted shrubbery along the trail going counterclockwise around the loop.

Bill Dyer tackled modifications to the boards on the bog walk.  We didn't expect him today, but he had a break from grandparent duties and came out to enjoy the humidity with the rest of us.   It was very steamy in the woods from last night's rains and thunderstorms.

 

Ellen & Co. did a good job cutting out briars along the White trail.

Hopefully we get a few more photos of everybody working.  One of the problems with the work parties is that we all get busy working and nobody has time to take photos.  That doesn't mean that everyone wasn't working.  We had a couple of coolers of beverages going around, and by the end of the work party much of those drinks were gone, and everyone was soaked, and filthy by the end.  It was a good day in the field.  Some days, you're not sure what you actually got done at work.  That was not the case today.

Thanks to Ann, Bill, Jevon, Val, Nolan, Ellen, Jeff, Jason, Michael, Terry, and Luis for coming out today.

And a big thanks to Mark Vallaro who came out yesterday and weedwhacked the entry drive and parking lot prior to the work party.

Next Up - TBD - probably Silent Waters and the RecPath.  Check back for updates.

Hiking with Umbrellas?

On the way out the door for a hike on Sunday the forecast was for "scattered showers".  I reached for a rain coat just in case.  My wife said I should take an umbrella instead.  I had one in the car, but I took the coat with me.  At the Turkey Trot Trail the sky didn't look that threatening so I took the umbrella and left the raincoat in the car, what the heck, give it a shot.  Out in the woods over by the powerlines it started to sprinkle, then got a little harder, then harder, then it started to rain.  About as far from the car and my rain coat as possible.

But, I had an umbrella, and it worked fine.  My wife is a genius.  Coming down the hill onto the RecPath by Silent Waters I came across another group of hikers with umbrellas.

They too were happily hiking in the rain without getting soaked.  Great minds think alike.

Further along there was a turtle by Silent Waters.  He or she had it's own built-on umbrella, but it didn't seem to mind getting wet.  

The Mountain Laurel were in full flower, and looked better with a little rain and some cloudy weather.

Silent Waters was really pretty this morning.  There were no crowds, and I found out that umbrellas can be a great hiking tool for summer walks.

Nicholdale June 2024 - Stuff is Growing: Holy #$?!!&

It's June - there's water, and sun, and it's warm, and everything is freaking growing.  At once. Everywhere.  It's the busy time of the trail year.  

The trails on the Shelton Land Trust's property at Nicholdale and the surrounding trails are no exception.  Luckily, we had some wonderful volunteers to show up on Saturday to brush back the summer vegetation.  on the Means Brook Greenway.

Bodie and Daniel did a great job weedwhacking the trails.  The sections in the open sun were out of control in places.

 

This was a "Before" photo of a one of the trails connecting the Nichols Trail with the Stockmal Trail on the north side of Rt. 110.

Here's the "After" photo.    Much clearer where to go.

Cooper and Jeff were working on the Nicholdale Connector.  The cleared sections of the trail and cut away brush so you can clearly see the trail signs and painted blazes.

 

It's a big improvement when you're trying to find your way.  The Shelton Land Trust mows the trails in the fields with a tractor and mower, but they have a tougher time working in the woods.

John and Jeff lead the group across Rt. 110 where they worked on clearing out Stockmal Trail over towards Means Brook.  The sections at the Iroquois Gas Pipeline, the swamp before the bridge, and the fern walk afterwards needed to be opened up.

 Daniel and Bodie were clearing out the trails around the junction.

Luis cleared out over to the Nicholdale sign along Rt 110, then worked down to The Stone Bridge.  The other's came back from the north side of Rt. 110, and then worked their way on the Nichols Trail and cleared out the Pearmain Path too.

 

The Stone Bridge had been hidden in hay and weeds.  But not now.

Nicholdale has a number of waypoint nature signs explaining various features of the property.  Now access to them is all cleared out.

 

Ellen Cramp was clearing out briars along the trails with the new electric hedgetrimer.  It's a new addition to our trail tools and seems to be quite useful.

It's a busy time of the year keeping up with all the new growth along the trails.  But, we had a fine crew of volunteers today and got a lot of trails in the White Hills cleared.  It was a really productive morning.  We didn't get pictures of everybody, but their work is still much appreciated.  Thanks to Joe Welsh from the Land Trust for helping out, thanks to Annie, Cooper, Daniel, Bodie, John, Jeff, Luis, Terry, Ellen, and Ted.  Hot work, but well done.  And thanks to Jeff for bringing all the water bottles.

If anyone is doing the 2024 Shelton Trails Challenge the trails around Nicholdale are much easier to walk after today.

The Shelton Land Conservation Trust has another work party scheduled next Saturday to remove invasive species.  From what I saw today there are a lot of targets to remove.  Check the Land Trust's website for additional information.

TRAIL CONDITIONS

May and June are when the vegetation grows faster than we can cut it. Here are some trail conditions as of June 5, 2024: 

These trails should be OK (the problems spots have been cut once): 
*Birchbank Mountain (all trails)
*Paugussett Trail (clear from Monroe border to Buddington Road; muddy spot south of Meadow St.)
*Woodsend Trail
*Indian Well S.P. & Tahmore Preserve

These trails are probably mostly OK:
*Shelton Lakes trails (expect a few shaggy spots)
*Boehm Pond (the connector out to Boehm Circle is likely overgrown
*Gristmill Trail
*Riverview Park (not sure of one spot at the basketball court)

These trails are normally very overgrown this time of year and will need clearing:
*Nicholdale/Stockmal (work party scheduled for June 8)
*French's Hill (work party scheduled for June 22)
*Little Pond Trail

Trails Day 2024 at Birchbank Mountain

Taking a break at the Birchbank overlook

We were gifted with absolutely perfect weather for Trails Day 2024. Some meteorologists were even calling it a "top ten" day, with temps in the 70s and low humidity. There weren't even hardly any bugs! On the agenda was one of the hikes listed in the 2024 Shelton Trails Marathon Challenge. 
 

Breaktime at the overlook

The crew broke into two groups, a moderate paced one in front and a more relaxed group bringing up the rear. Both groups enjoyed the moderate climb up Birchbank Trail along the scenic cascades of Upper White Hills Brook, passing Chimney Junction, and crossing the brook at the upper bridge. The groups then took a turn onto the blue-blazed Paugussett Trail to make the ascent up to the Birchbank Overlook. 

Coming down the rock steps from the overlook
(photo by Lisa Adriani)

A number of hikers were working on the 2024 hiking challenge, with some doing Level 1 and other doing Level 2. So after a nice break, the Level 2 hikers set out to explore the Burritt's Rocks loop (a Level 2 hike for the 2024 challenge) while the rest of the crew returned back to their cars (all downhill!)

The Level 2 hike through Burritt's Rocks
(Photo by Lisa Adriani)

A perfect day! Hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy it. 

Both groups made it back in one piece - a pair of fun hikes.