"Next Time We Should Bring a Rope"

One of the unique pleasures of hiking the Paugussett Trail are getting views of the Housatonic River Valley.  You put that effort into hiking the hills, so you should get a payoff with some nice views.  Trouble is, unlike some of the nice tall trap rock ridges in the center of the state with spectacular views from sharp cliffs, we have these hills covered with these things called trees; which tend to grow and obstruct some of the views.

This is the "Before" picture from the Overlook at Birchbank Mountain.  Some of the trees below this knob had been cleared decades before, but over time things grown. Not much of a view.

So a group of volunteers continued some enhancement clearing of the Overlook on Saturday.  Rain and possibly snow had been forecast but we decided to go ahead with the work party.  Luckily the weather was overcast, but it stayed dry.

Cleared brush was removed off the steep hillside with a conveyor belt of teamwork.  Jim had a excellent idea: "Next time we should bring a rope." This would've been impossible to do if the rocks were wet.

Anthony and Luke were working like mountain goats on the slope below the Overlook.

 

We also cleaned up blowdowns below the Overlook on the Paugussett Trail.  This red oak log is at a stream crossing where multiple work parties are taking place this Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday during School Break (see the Events Page if you want to help).  Later in the week the City's Tree Warden and volunteers will be taking down some larger trees to help with the enhancements.

Here's the "After" picture.  There's more to do, but now you can say " Hey, I can see the Housatonic River".  Now there's a reward for hiking up to the top of Birchbank Mountain.  We even ended up with the same number of volunteers that we started with, so it was a success.  Thanks to Anthony, Dan, John, Luke, Rich, Jim, and Terry.  

Upcoming Riverview Park Work Party

There were some good things that were done this weekend.  A Fall Clean Up work party was held at the Eklund Native Species Garden on Oak Valley Road.  Five volunteers got the place in good shape for the winter.  It's amazing what can be accomplished in a short amount of time with the right folks.  Visit the Eklund Garden Blog at the above link to see the before and after photos.

There was also a work party at the Soundview Community Garden.

And there were a couple of dedicated volunteers out cleaning and flagging the Basil Brook Bypass Trail.  Meanwhile there was a little graffiti removal and map restocking at some of trail kiosks going on.

Next Saturday there will be a work party on The Bluff Walk at Riverview Party.  See the work party page for more details.

We'll be clearing leaves, brush, etc.  Bring your non-slip boots to prevent rolling down the hill on all the acorns.

A lot of families were out enjoying the kiddie playground at the park on a nice Fall Sunday afternoon.  The Bluff Walk goes from one end of Riverview Park to the other, and has some nice views of the Housatonic River.  Hope to see you there.

Rollin' on the River

Late Saturday morning the sky was clear, the tide was still coming in, and a group of eager paddlers, organized by the Shelton Trails Committee, set out to explore the Shelton section of the Housatonic River, starting at the ramp behind Sunnyside School, with the intention of paddling upstream to downtown Shelton and the old riverside factories below the Ousatonic Dam. The heat of the day was tempered by a challenging breeze.

Hearty seafarers Emma, Richard, Sheri, Terry, Ken and John
make preparations for getting under way.

Leader of the pack Terry attempts to catch up with the eager voyagers.

Once away from the launch area, the river provided a surprising
departure from the cityscape, into a serene, almost rural atmosphere.

A lone gull, perched on the remains of a long-abandoned dock,
observes the passing seafarers.

O'Sullivan's Island (shown on some maps as Hog Island) appears ahead, with the Naugatuck River and railroad bridge just to the right. The fleet, however, chose to stay on the left and stick with the Housatonic.

One of the problems facing waterways all over the country is the proliferation of this invasive plant, Purple Loosestrife.

Rich and Emma take in the sights along the way. We saw a lot of waterfowl; ducks, egrets, cormorants, and even a crane.

No, it's not a Sandhill crane! But it is interesting how most of the industrial and municipal yards along the river manage to keep out of sight for the most part.

A view of the Route 8, "Commodore Hull" bridge that only fish and boaters get to see.

Trees growing out of retaining wall built many years ago.

Several tunnels were built under the factories to provide water for power

The last lock of the old canal the carried boats from above the Ousatonic Dam to the river below.

The orange line is the GPS trace of the paddle route, starting at the bottom from the Sunnyside ramp, up to the canal locks, and return to Sunnyside. (Click on map to enlarge)

The threat of oppressive heat undoubtedly discouraged more folks from joining us, but those that did agreed that it was a fun and entertaining paddle. Check our blog and the local news for future activities, as well as planned work parties.

Tahmore Loop Hike

We had a great hike on the Tahmore Loop Trail yesterday afternoon on the Shelton Land Conservation Trust's property overlooking the Housatonic River. I was really surprised about the turnout when we came to the end of Tahmore Place. About 30 people with 8 or so dogs were mulling around the cul-de-sac and parked part way down both sides of the road. (And there weren't any problems - nobody's driveway was blocked, no neighboring children were harmed, and some of the neighbors and their families came out and enjoyed the walk with us)

Here we are starting off with the Land Trust folks; the Liddel family, with Joe Welsh and his kids. The Liddels are the monitors of the Tahmore property and live next to the Trail. Joe is the president of the Land Trust.

Here's Bill Dyer from the Trails Committee leading the first leg of the hike. The trail is a nice figure 8 so you can do the whole loop, or cut it short on the red trail if you only want to do half. The Trail is marked with a blue blaze with a yellow dot.

After a short while we joined with the Paugussett Trail (blazed solid blue) and walked south to the overlook of the Housatonic River. We could see down to downtown Shelton, Indian Well State Park, Osborndale State Park, Derby, and The Maples.

Everybody enjoyed the views of the Housatonic River. It would improve the view at the overlook if a few trees were removed, but we could see OK now that the leaves have fallen.

We worked our way backon the Paugussett Trail from the overlook to the Red Trail so we could complete the figure 8.

We looped back to the Tahmore Loop & went back toward the trailhead in case anyone had to leave, but pretty much everybody was having a good time & kept going.

We crossed a small ravine over a nice bridge built by the scouts. We crossed into some old field habitat and looped back along some cow pastures. The kids had fun calling out to the cows.

Young or old everybody had a great day. Joe's son had a particularly good time riding dad near the end. The total hike was about 1 1/4 miles, and took about 1 - 1.5 hours. Thanks to the Shelton Land Conservation Trust for maintaining the property & helping sponsor this hike. They are a very nice local charity, and if people want to support a good cause they should consider becoming a member - just click on the link above to access their website.

Housatonic River Paddling at Sunnyside

This Saturday started cool then turned warmer in the afternoon - perfect weather for paddling. I happened to see these two guys launching their boats into the Housatonic River behind Sunnyside School. They were going for a trip downstream past Ayer's Marina.

They looked like they were going to have a good time. I particularly liked the contractor's boom box stapped on the back of the one kayak. You don't have to have all the highest tech gear to have an enjoyable afternoon on the Housatonic River.

Sunnyside Park has a small park along the river at the boat ramp that most people don't know about. Just take the drive on the south side of the school past the Little League ballfields and down to the bottom of the hill. It's one of Shelton's little gems along the Housatonic Greenway. The picnic area can get busy in the summer, but early Fall is also a great time to enjoy the river. Stop in at the little Polish deli across River Road & have lunch in the Valley.