Pearmain "Little Knoll" Reroute

The New & Improved Pearmain Path
(Click to enlarge)

The new & improved Pearmain Path at Nicholdale Farm is complete.  The original Pearmain Path was a straight (boring) access path to Pearmain Road from the Land Trust's Scout Camp. It closely followed the gas pipeline per a grant contract with the State of Connecticut. But everyone wants a loop.  

So with the kind permission of landowners Guy Beardsley and the Jones family, a new loop route was planned in 2019. The east half of the loop mostly follows an old woods road and the Trails Committee cleared it out quickly. The more difficult routing for the west half was marked with survey tape and reserved for an independent project that ultimately fell through. So in November 2020, the west route was cleared out. (See the full trail map - not yet updated to reflect the 2020 reroute)

It's a much prettier walk than the old path along the gas pipeline. Check it out:

"Little Knoll" 

Heading south from the Scout camp, the new trail crosses the pipeline and then quickly comes to "Little Knoll," which looks down across water company land. This property was recently transferred from the Jones Family to the Shelton Land Trust. 

"Abner Brook"

The trail then comes to so-called "Abner Brook," an unofficial name that Guy Beardsley and Terry Jones use. This is an interesting spot because the trail follows the top of a long section of ledge that forces Abner Brook to do a U-turn on it's way down the hill. The brook is on both sides of the trail. On the left it's next to the trail and flowing straight ahead, and on the right it's down at the bottom of the ledge flowing in the opposite direction. The brook finally breaks through the ledge and cascades down it in a little waterfall just below where the trail crosses the brook. 

"Beardsley Brook"

Very quickly after crossing Abner Brook the trail comes to "Beardsley Brook" (another unofficial name) but does not cross it. Instead, the trail curves left to follow the stream a bit, then left again to gradually climb a hill and head into a beautiful stand of hemlocks. 

Beardsley Brook overlook

At the top of a rocky knoll under the hemlocks, hikers get one last look at Beardsley brook before heading back towards the gas pipeline. On the other side is the junction with the existing trail (as completed in 2019), now with new signage. 

Junction with the 2019 reroute 

Finally, the yellow square blazes were all converted to standard 2x6" blazes, except for the short access section leading to Pearmain Road. Hikers can now make a really nice 1.9-mile loop by combining the Pearmain Path (yellow) with Nichols Trail (blazed dark blue). Note that there is firearm hunting near the trail in late November and throughout December, so hikers should definitely wear bright colors, or visit on a Sunday. The middle of the day is usually free of hunting as well (around lunch time). 

Enjoy!