Trail crews need a quick way to explain where they mean, and when there are no place names to refer to, they make up new ones. Here are some (mostly) unofficial names that get used, many going back decades. It's interesting to see how place names are created on the fly. Many start out as jokes, some start out as landmark descriptions and get shortened, and a few are from old deeds. What's important is that they stick. Something about the name is memorable and people keep using them. Members sometimes forget that the names are crew slang and use them when communicating to the general public, so some of these have more widely known.
Rec Path: (locations are listed going south)
- The Missing Link: This is the unpaved section between the High School and the Intermediate School. The Rec Path was completed over many years in various phases. The paved portion was the first part completed, but it stopped at the junction with the school path, and the way ahead was a tangled mass of vegetation. To continue following the Rec Path, you had to detour onto the school paths for a bit. Committee members refer to that section as "the Missing Link" to this day.
- Great Ledge: This is the big ledge under the powerlines between Oak Valley Road and Wesley Drive. The name came from very old deeds and is now frequently used because it's catchy.
- Lizard Head Rock: This is the rock formation near the upper Wesley Drive crossing. In the 1990s, when the Huntington Woods development was first proposed (as 210 condos!) and the land was still wooded, Conservation & Trails representatives were scouting out the area trying to figure out where they could feasibly build the Rec Path. Someone mentioned that the landmark rock formation looked like Godzilla (that hit movie had recently come out). Ever since then, the rock has been referred to as "Lizard Head."
- Upper and Lower Wesley Crossings: The upper crossing is up on the hill (the north crossing) and the lower crossing is the one at the bottom of the hill.
Nells Rock Trail:
- Four Corners: This is the north trail junction between Nells Rock Trail and the Paugussett Trail. No one really remembers how it got this name, other than the junction is very open and at right angles.
- Gator Glide: This is the smooth ledge underfoot just before you arrive at the powerlines if going counterclockwise around the loop. Occasionally water will glide down the rock from the swamp up above. According to legend, Trails Committee member Bill Dyer once got the Trails Gator going a bit too fast and became briefly airborne when going down the glide. Hence "Gator Glide."
- Abby Wright parking area: This is the parking lot across from L'Hermitage Condos and Chordas Pond, one of four recreational parking areas along Nells Rock Road. Abby Wright was the former property owner, and the land was original acquired many decades ago to be used as a landfill. Conservation Commission members always referred to the property as the Abby Wright open space.
Oak Valley Trail
- The Sheep Pen Bridge: This is where a new bridge was constructed in 2024. Staff had noted the remains of a zig-zag fence parallel to a rock face, giving the spot the look of a livestock enclosure. Since sheep were common in the 1800s, it became known as the Sheep Pen. And the bridge became the Sheep Pen Bridge.
- Cranberry Swamp: OK, this one doesn't get used much, but its name goes back to the 1700's and 1800's from deeds. It's the vast swamp that Oak Valley Trail circles goes around. Maybe it once had cranberries?
Paugussett Trail South (Buddington Rd to RT 110) (locations are listed going north)
- "J" Pond: This is the tiny vernal pool located between Nells Rock Trail and Eklund Garden. A bridge crosses the pool. The name comes from the shape of the pond, which appears to be man-made. Salamanders are known to breed in the pond.
- Dyer Straits & Indy Link: This is the difficult wet stretch north of Independence Drive. Member Richard Skudlarek made up the name Dyer Straits in jest at one point (we don't remember the specifics, but it involved Bill Dyer) and it stuck for many years. More recently, this section has been named Indy Link, a name meant to be used with the general public. "Indy" is short for Independence Drive, a "Link" acknowledges that the section of trail is not meant to be a destination hike, but a way to get from one park to another.
- Northwest Passage: This name has pretty much died out, but will be included because it's referenced in old minutes and notes. It's the challenging section north of Shelton Lakes that had not yet been built. The term "Northwest Passage" means a fabled route that might turn out to be a pipe dream, so it was something of a joke. And it was also to the north and west of Shelton Lakes, so there's that.
- The Pin Oaks (at Wiacek Meadows): This is where an 85-foot bog walk was constructed in 2024. In between hayfield, there's a wooded section with some tall Pin Oaks, a tree that can handle wet feet. We don't often see a grove of Pin Oaks in the woods, so that name stuck.
- The Tunnel (at Wiacek Meadows): Heading north, just before coming out onto Meadow Street, the trail goes through a narrow strip of trees. This marks where a developer began earthwork to create a new cul-de-sac (the work stopped abruptly when the Mayor seized the land via eminent domain). The disturbed ground could no longer be hayed, and was taken over by gray birch and Autumn Olive. For a time, it was very tunnel-like. It still sort of is, but the trees are maturing and it seems more like a wooded strip. The name has stuck, however.
- The Ruins (Housatonic Woods): These are the ruins of an old barn foundation located below Mayflower Lane and above Housatonic Rise. The barn is believed to be connected to an old farm based along Meadow Street.
Paugussett Trail - Indian Well to Birchbank (locations are listed going north)
- The Ruins (Indian Well): Located between Rt 110 and the falls, these ruins are circa the 1930's. We've been told it was an old Park Ranger office.
- The Stairs: There are stairs, and then there "THE STAIRS." This is the flight of over 50 steps heading up from the beach area on the white-blazed access trail. The Stair are rotting rapidly, so we're not sure how long this name will work.
- Three Doe Plateau: This is the flat area north of The Stairs. Teresa kept seeing three deer on the plateau.
- Blowdown Brook: Heading north on the Paugussett, you cross a series of seasonal brooks, then half a mile after The Stairs, you arrive at a year-round brook just before the trail starts to head uphill. This is called Blowdown Brook because every year after Team Gallagher were appointed CFPA Trail Managers, a giant tree would fall across the trail. The first two years these tree also blocked the brook crossing.
- Hickory Hill: "The hill near Hickory Lane" was shortened to "Hickory Hill." This is the long climb immediately after Blowdown Brook as the trail heads uphill to avoid the worst of Burritt's Rocks.
- Birch-Well: The rugged south end of Birchbank Mountain and north end of Indian Well, infested with Burritt's Rocks (see below).
- Burritt's Rocks: Very old deeds for the north part of Indian Well and south part of Birchbank reference these locations as "a place called Burritts Rocks." We like to think the name started out as a joke on Mr. Burritt. So. Many. Rocks.
- Border Brook: Fun Fact - No one knows exactly where the property line between Indian Well State Park and Birchbank Mountain is located. Old deeds have no good description. The CT DEEP has no idea, and hours were spent searching old deeds. We do know it's a line just south of a brook, so obviously we call that "Border Brook." Practically speaking, we use the brook as the property line.
- The Boulders or Boulder Scramble: This could mean so many things, but for us it means the stretch where you need to use your hands to climb over boulders. It's critical if you're carrying chainsaw gear to know whether a blowdown is on the north side or south side of "the Boulders" so you know which way to come in. No one wants to try to scramble over the boulders with all that gear.
- Benchmark Brook: This is the brook located near the junctions with the blue/green and the blue/white trails before you get to the overlook (northbound). It started out as "that brook where Mark cut that giant log" and then "Marks Brook." But it's also the same brook that crosses Birchbank Trail down below, next to a Scout bench, where it was dubbed "the brook at the bench" or the "bench brook." Combining the two names, it became "Bench/Mark's Brook", so obviously Benchmark Brook it had to be. Benchmark also means landmark, which it is, so there you go.
- The Charcoal Mound: Beyond the overlook, just before Paugussett joins up with Birchbank Trail, are the remnants to an old charcoal-making spot right on the edge of the trail. There's a bit of a broad mound, and bits of charcoal. This was probably from the 1800s, used to manufacture brass and copper.
Woodsend Trail: This is a new trail, but there are still a few landmarks that get referenced:
- Tangerine Squeezer: Heading south, this is where the cliffs begin. The trail squeezes between a large tree and a rock face, with a sharp drop off close by.
- The Barberry Hellscape: This is the southern section of the trail where it passes through an almost impenetrable thicket of tall, thorny Japanese Barberry. The trail was a real challenge to route and build through here, and that's where the name came from. Even the wildlife prefers to walk down the trail rather fight the Barberry, according to tracks in the snow.
Usage Examples:
"Hey Terry, there's a new blowdown at Indian Well between Three Doe Plateau and Blowdown Brook. Sharpen up the saw!"
"Gator Glide is pretty slick today. I'd take the crews up the glide but not down it."
"The blowdown is at Birchbank, but just south of The Boulders, so I'd go in through Indian Well."
"That section between the Tunnel and the Pin Oaks is really overgrown."
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