Turkey Trot Hike

The 2023 Turkey Trot Hike went off without a hitch.  A dedicated group left from Shelton Intermediate School to work off some of that holiday stuffing and gravy.

It was a brisk start, but we warmed up quickly.  We were able to do the outer loop on the Turkey Trot Trail now that Eversource was done with construction along the powerlines.

The oak leaves were a little slippery on some of the slopes, but it was a fine hike.  Wish I'd taken a few more pictures.  The route crossed the powerlines, out to Willoughby Road, and back over to Silent Waters and the school.  There were a lot of fellow walkers, hikers, and families out enjoying their post Thanksgiving outing.

Are Water Bars open during Covid?

Trail volunteers met on a foggy December morning to fix drainage problems on the Turkey Trot Trail.  A new water bar was constructed to control groundwater that was impacting the Recreation Path downhill.

The forecast for Saturday had been for rain, but it looked like we could squeeze in the work party during the morning.  The discussion about the weather let Trails Chairman Bill Dyer to quip "Given Covid, are water bar(s) still open?"  We assumed that the Governor's Covid restrictions did not apply to trails events and proceeded with face masks and foggy glasses to start digging.  Luckily, nobody hit their own foot, or their teammates foot, with a hoe, pick or shovel.

The groundwater had been breaking out on the Turkey Trot Trail, washing down the trail tread, causing erosion, and ponding on the Recreation Path below.  Earlier in the week Mark and Luis had cleaned out a relief drain and culvert along the RecPath controlling some of the runoff, but more was needed.

There were two other water bars on the slope along the Turkey Trot, but these were higher on the slope and ground water breaking out of the hillside.

The water bar is a shallow angled ditch that directs runoff off the trail before it can reach velocities that cause erosion.  Mark and Gino are grading the gentle berm on the downhill side of the water bar.  The trick is to construct something deep enough to control runoff, but shallow and smooth enough that it's good for walking or biking.  The water bar has to carry the runoff well beyond the limits of the trail.  There were a lot of tree roots to dig through on this one.

Here's the completed water bar with Betsey in the background.  A lot of people were out in the moody weather trying to get in a walk before the rain hit.  Bob & Mark were chatting with a lot of friends and neighbors as they passed the work party.

We also cleaned out two existing water bars, placed gravel in washed out spots, and fixed some of the split rail fence on the top of the dam along the RecPath.  More needs to be done but at that point the fog was turning to rain and we decided to pack it in.

Thanks to everyone who attended: Mary, Betsey, Val, Gino, Bill, Bob, Mark, and Terry.  It was muddy and foggy, but we hopefully fixed the drainage problem.  Time will tell.

The trails were in good shape and getting a lot of use on Sunday with the sunny 60 degree weather.  Everyone was out on the trails judging from the tracks in the new water bar.

So we can safely say that the water bars in Shelton are open during Covid, and Governor Lamont can check them out next time he's in town.

2019 Turkey Trot Hike

The 2019 Turkey Trot Hike was post-poned until December 8th due to inclement weather after Thanksgiving.  Today's weather was brisk and clear, which made for fine walking weather.

Sixteen well-bundled, but adventurous souls, left from Shelton Intermediate School on Constitution Boulevard North as part of the annual event.  There was no road race encountered while crossing the street to the kiosk at the trail.

We proceeded down the Recreation Path and turned right up the hill on the Turkey Trot Trail.  The footing was great due to all the maintenance activity done during the last couple of weeks.  Bob Wood was acting as Sweeper making sure we didn't loose anybody.

 Eversource and Iroquois Gas are getting ready to do some work along the powerlines near one of the streams that we crossed.  The footbridge was icy.  We were able to get up the newly re-routed section on the west side of the powerlines with no problem.

Walking along the trail we looped around the swamp out to Willoughby Road and came back parallel to Rt. 108.

Mark Vallaro lead the advance group as they pushed ahead trying to keep warm.  The trail along the powerlines and back along Rt. 108 was mostly clear of snow, but there were some icy patches.

A one point a plane above us seemed to be circling and searching for someone.   Possibly looking for Bob?

Nope they're not lost.  The remainder of the pack was coming up a little slower minding the icy patches.

Bill & Luis were leading the second group.  The air was crisp and invigorating - just keep moving along.  It was a good way to enjoy the open spaces after the holidays.  A lot of folks were out hiking, walking dogs, or enjoying a family event along the trails.

The bridge at Silent Waters was icy from all the earlier foot traffic packing down the snow.  Using the fence and railings was recommended.  Remember the micro-spikes for hiking later in the season.

Silent Waters is always picturesque.  Winter scenes are no exception.  Remember to stop and take it in when you're walking by.

Everyone heading back along the RecPath to Shelton Intermediate School and warm cars.  It was another fine event, and there were no traffic jams on Constitution Blvd..

After the hike, starting near the Jolly Woodsman, crossing the road, heading toward Willoughby Rd. and the mug, back along Rt. 108 & around Silent Waters, then back to SIS by the Woodsman.  Another successful hike and no one lost.

Take a Trot

It's beautiful weather for this late in the Fall - so get outside.

This family was one of many out enjoying the Nells Loop Trail this morning. It's a little muddy in spots but most of the blow downs have been cleared.

The Trails Committee was out yesterday blowing off the Turkey Trot Trail & clearing some remaining blow downs in preparation for this afternoon's guided hike. Join us at 1:00 on Constitution Boulevard North near the High School Driveway.

Chilly Briar & Rock Party

We had a productive, if somewhat chilly, work party yesterday. A smaller crew of Jim, Lynn, Luis, Sheri, Emma, Ryan, & Terry cleared briars, moved stone, and reset bridges on a frosty March morning.

The ground was too frozen to cut in waterbars on the Turkey Trot Trail by the RecPath, so we shifted over to the powerlines. Jim was cutting back the nasty, nasty briars before they start growing into the trail this spring. The foot bridge held up great through the flood, but portions of the trail washed out. We placed some rocks in the washed out sections but will have to wait until things warm up a bit to cover it with gravel.

Ryan, Luis & Lynn filled in the washout with rocks. Sheri & Emma reset the other partially washed out bridge by the gas pipeline. We had a lot of people out using the trails with some walkers, runners, and couple of groups of mountain bikers.

It's great to see everybody enjoying the trails on a Saturday morning. Now all we need is a few more people to realize that they can get some exercise maintaining the trails also. And it can be fun too when you bring a few friends.

And here's the "after" shot showing all the briars that Jim & Co. removed. Remember this when you're not getting scratched up along this stretch of the Turkey Trot this summer. Enjoy.

Spring has Sprung ... a Leak

It has been a wet & wooly winter & there's a lot of drainage issues on the trails. Join us for one of our first spring work parties this Saturday at 8:30 on the Turkey Trot Trail. Meet at the trailhead kiosk on Constitution Boulevard North opposite the Intermediate School.

Here's Bill watching Rich work (Bill's good that way). Rich was trying to rake the water off the RecPath by the dam a couple of weeks ago; no matter how hard Rich raked the water kept slipping thru the tines. Tomorrow we're going to dig out a couple of water bars uphill to correct drainage and hopefully fix some washouts. Bring your mud clothes, boots, shovels, pick axes, crow bars, and gloves. If you don't have anything tools then don't worry - bring yourself - we'll have some extra tools.

Bridge Replacement on the Turkey Trot

Well, we lucked out with the weather Saturday. What was predicted to be a raw, rainy morning turned out to be pretty nice for our work party. We replaced a footbridge on the Turkey Trot Trail along the powerlines north of Rt. 108. The former bridge was an old machine pallet that was well beyond it's life. Here's a picture of the rickety old bridge in it's tunnel of briars.

We had a good turn out so we were able to tackle different tasks; While we removed the old bridge Sheri & Luis started clearing briars at the stream, Lynn and Carol cleared out the trail down to the bridge, Nick & I started playing in the mud building the foundations, and Bill, Rich & Jim brought in the bridge materials with the Gator & started building the bridge.

Here's the start. The pictures don't do justice to the nasty, nasty briars that had to come out. I think Luis needs to get a new pair of gloves after this one.

The briars were trapping debris in the stream, which caused the water to build up and wash out the old bridge in storms. So we built the new bridge to be above the high flows and be more stable.
And here's Carol, Luis & Sheri with the "after" picture and the new abutments.

And here's Nick when he wasn't using one of our new used pickaxes to clear out the area for the bridge abutments. Nick is going to be replacing the "J-pond" bridge on the Dominick Trail latter this year as part of an upcoming Eagle Scout project.

The Gator not only is useful to haul in material, but it also makes a pretty fair workbench. We used pressure treated lumber for the new bridge so it should have a long life. Just have to remember to buy more driver bits - Jim & Rich are tough on equipment.

Bill & Jim walked the bridge down into position. The new bridge is 8 ft. x 2 ft.

As part of the Shelton Trails Committee Quality Control program we make the guy who built the bridge be the first to cross it. The public will be happy to know that Jim pronounced it fit & sturdy. He did go and get our new bridge all muddy though.

Almost right on cue we had our first customers. The passage was a success & we didn't even charge them a toll. Lynn reported that a number of other hikers and bikers were using it later that afternoon.


Here's the finished bridge with stone ramps built up on either end for mountain bikers. Our work force was all hikers so we tried to make the ramps nice and solid, but if anybody feels more stone is needed please feel free to do some additional work. Or work on the trails - the briars are tough to control in this area.

Happy Thanksgiving from your friendly neighborhood Shelton Trails Volunteers. Rich, Nick, Sheri, Bill, Lynn, Carol, Luis & Jim are shown here testing out the completed bridge. You'll be happy to know that it's sturdy. Happy hiking & dry feet.