The Eversource Steps of Nells Rock Trail

The Eversource Steps

Once the trails reopened at Shelton Lakes, people on Nells Rock Trail discovered a new set of steep rock steps. These steps have been a point of contention between the Shelton Trails Committee and Eversource, and we're now looking at the possibility of bypassing the stairs entirely. 

Looking down the steps

The steps aren't bad if you're not a mountain biker and you're going uphill. But if you're going downhill, especially if it's wet or snowy, the top half of the stairs are treacherous. The treads are not level as they should be, but instead slant downhill and off to the side. If you do slip, you could have a pretty good fall because the steps are so steep. As for mountain bikers, they probably need get off their bikes and carry. 

Before construction. The trail went up the slope on the left

Prior to the Eversource project, the trail followed the old utility road up the natural slope. It was always rocky and you needed to watch your step going downhill if it was wet, but it wasn't as steep. 

Eversource brought in fill to build a construction pad

But then Eversource placed a lot of fill at the top of the slope in order to create broad, level construction pads around the old towers so that these towers could be taken down with modern equipment. This resulted in a steep embankment where the trail used to head up the previously moderate slope. 

An embankment was constructed on the trail

The only reason the construction pad was built across the trail was so that the old towers could be removed. The new towers were built in a slightly different location, so the construction pad was no longer needed and could have been removed from the trail. During a site walk with Eversource representatives, we asked for the company to pull the fill material back off of the trail. Instead, their contractor built the stairs we have now without consulting the City, then promptly removed their temporary access haul road so they could no longer get heavy equipment to the site. We never had a chance to comment on the steps. Eversource did subsequently offer to straighten up the top two or three steps, but we really wanted the area restored. 

The temporary haul road bridged a swamp

One of our Trails Committee members recently slipped on the steps and scraped up his leg pretty good. Unhappy with the steps but unable to force Eversource to rectify the problem they created, the Trails Committee is now looking at the possibility of bypassing the steps with a trail reroute. This would take advantage of the disturbance created by Eversource's temporary haul road across a narrow marshy area.  The company had chipped away some of the cliff face that rises up from the swamp, allowing for pathway up from the water's edge.  A bridge would be needed, but it looks feasible. Approaches to the bridge location have been cleared out because it's so much easier to do before everything starts growing back. This new route should be much better for bikes as well as hikers. 

Looking north across the swamp. Red marks the potential trail.

If you are doing the Nells Rock loop clockwise, you would come out of the forest at the edge of the construction pad (now grassy) and instead of going straight across the pad towards the steps, you would keep to the right and re-enter the woods briefly to zig then zag down the slope. That will bring you to the edge of the swamp where a bridge would be needed. The swamp narrows in this spot. After crossing, the trail would angle up the slope, which is now a jumble of loose rubble that can be worked (this was under the temporary Eversource bridge).  Nells Rock Trail is close by off to the left.  There is also the possibility of someday rerouting Nells Rock Trail away from the powerlines by going to the right into the woods instead of to the left after crossing the swamp. 

View from the north side of the swamp showing the potential trail route.