Wicked Windy Weather this Weekend

Sunday was wild on the trails.  The sky was clearing from the storm, the wind was whipping the trees about, the leaves were wet and slippery, and the temperature was dropping as the front came thru.  Occasionally branches were heard crashing down.  Not ideal hiking weather you would say.

Then you would be wrong.

Shelton's trails were almost mobbed Sunday and residents were out taking advantage of the weather.  I started at Buddington Road to finish up Hike #12 of the Lollipop Series to earn my hiking tag, and thought I would be the only one in the woods.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

The "stick" of this lollipop hike started at the kiosk on Buddington Road at the powerlines.  The trail then crossed on of our many bridges built by scouts and volunteers.

This was Josh's bridge.  And the vernal pool was full today so the bridge was really appreciated.  The trees were thrashing about as I continued thru the trails.  Care to guess how many bridges you'll cross if you do Lollipop Hike #12?

There were several residents and neighbors out using the trails.  Despite the wind's best efforts the oaks hadn't dropped all their leaves yet and some of the beeches were still holding onto the bright golden color of early Fall.

The hike contained scenic views of some of the rock ridges and stone walls that were now clearly visible without leafy shrubs blocking them.

Eklund Garden had been mowed and put to bed for the season awaiting next seasons wildflowers.

Some residents were out using the RecPath along Oak Valley Road.  The RecPath is going to get a lot more sunlight here following UI's clearing of all the trees along the overhead wires.  The City might have to rename Oak Valley Road something else, like Cordwood Road.

And as I said, a number of Shelton residents were out enjoying the trails.  Here's Crash taking his human out for a walk on the RecPath.  Crash was a little shy, but a nice hiker, and was probably the 5th four legged resident that I passed.  They were all making sure their 2 footed friends got out for some fresh air.  That was in addition to all the joggers, bikers, strollers, and others who were out using the trails.

Even with the wild weather there were a lot of great scenes along the trails; like this wetland pocket with the red Winterberry's growing around the edges.  It's surprising what you can see, even on a blustery Fall day, once you start walking about on Shelton's trails.

Visit the Event's page for the upcoming Thanksgiving Hike on the Turkey Trot Trail, and see some of the trails for yourself.

It Was Walk Your Dog Day on the RecPath

It was a brisk, clear Saturday when we met at Wesley Drive today to begin the Spring Clean Up along the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.  We warmed up though as we started working.  Apparently everyone else thought it was a great morning to get out too, and we had dozens of people passing us thanking us for our work; mountain bikers, strollers, joggers, but also a lot of dogs out walking their owners.  We had big dogs, small dogs, medium dogs, long dogs, you name it.  Including this puppy in the sweater:

She just didn't want to get her picture taken.  But her and her owner were having a good time out walking the RecPath.

We were working on the section from Huntington Woods going north toward the powerlines and Great Ledge.  We had 3 High School students getting in their community service hours.  Some of the tasks that we were doing were cutting back the brush on both sides of the RecPath so that when is starts to grow it won't encroach on the Path.

Terrance had Anthony, Luke, and Jimmy start off with brush cutting.

Jimmy, Anthony and Luke were cutting back the Sweet Pepperbush, Tulip saplings, briars and other assorted brush at Wesley Drive. It won't be long before everything starts leafing out and growing out into the Path.

Val and Rich were raking and leaf-blowing the Path ahead of the cutting crew.  Bill & Jim also took off with leaf blowers ahead and behind the work crews clearing off leaves from the side of the trail.  The leaves and brush had reduced our 8'to 10' wide path to about 5'.

 Val had the muscle job of lifting wet leaves fro the runoff ditches bordering the rec path.

Some of the Joggers thanked the cutting crew as they ran by, as did all the other Path users.  The cutting crew turned into the leaf raking and ditch clearing crew after a while.

A series of small culverts and drains under the path had to be cleared so they will drain properly and not erode the RecPath.  Maintenance is never as much fun as building a new trail but it has to be done.

Luke, Anthony, and Jimmy are working at Basil Brook when these residents came by.

Just two of many neighbors and friends out enjoying the open spaces.

The Shelton Highways and Bridges Department had recently rolled the new processed stone surface that was put down over the winter.   Thanks to the City crews for fitting that in before pothole season starts up.  The walking surface was really improved and we got a lot of favorable comments from all the RecPath users.

And thanks to all the volunteers who came out to help today including Val, Anthony, Luke, Jimmy, Bill, Jim, Rich and Terry.  Many hands makes light work.  See you on the Trails. 

Ahh Choo! Trails in Bloom

The woods are in full bloom the Spring - at least that's what the pollen count says.

The wild pink azaleas were out in full force by the J Pond during our work party Saturday. A crack crew from the Trails Committee were out clearing brush along the Bridge to Bridge route in anticipation of National Trails Day.

There were a number of wildflowers out along the trails. The Eklund Native Species Garden on Oak Valley Road had a number of plants in bloom.

We also had our Mutt March Guided Hike on Sunday. A lot of people were put off by the impending rain, but the weather held out & it made for a very moody stroll. Here's the view of Silent Waters from the bridge on top of the dam.

It was a great walk for dogs. Slightly cool and foggy. The puppies had a good time.

The dogwoods were blooming. I don't know if the trees will still be blooming for Trails Day, but they look good right now, so enjoy the views along the trails while you can this Spring.