Emergency Paugussett Trail Relo at the Indian Well Canyon

 

New trail location is in purple

The Paugussett Trail had to be moved up the hill once again as a rapidly eroding gully ("the Canyon") advances up the slope. There are sharp, unstable drop-off at the head of the gully, which has now bisected the entire state park and is moving into Shelton Land Trust property. This is located near the main trailhead parking area across the street from the beach entrance, above the flight of 50+ steps. 

Head of the gully a few years ago, bridge at the upper right

This is how deep the head of the gully was in 2018

The bridge was formerly located 100 feet down the hill, but was moved up the hill to escape the advancing gully maybe 20 years ago. The Canyon has been relentless, however, and is nearing the bridge once again. 

Part of the latest relocation

A few years back, we did an emergency relocation on the north side of the bridge after discovering the deep trench-like gully near the trail. The head of the gully was so narrow at that point in time that is resembled a 10-foot deep construction trench. It was so narrow that you couldn't even see it until you were nearly in it. This year, it was the same scenario, but on the south side of the bridge. 

Previous trail relocations

The Canyon is impressive, and anyone interested in surficial or glacial geology should check it out. It would be a great location for a geology class field trip. The sandy soil here was once the bottom of a glacial lake, so some interesting cross bedding and other features were exposed: