10 Winter Workers on Oak Valley Trail

Getting it done

This February has had some erratic weather; cold, rain, cold, ice, warm, rain, cold.  Not much snow though.  Normally there's 6" to a foot of snow on the ground now preventing brush trimming along the trails (it's good to cut the stems close to the ground to avoid a lot of  "spears" sticking up.  But we took advantage of the nicer weather this weekend to clear out along Oak Valley Trail, and clean up some storm blow-downs.

Ten volunteers came out on a brisk Saturday morning at the powerlines along Rt. 108.  One group went in from the road and cleared out briars and other brush along the trail.  Cutting it now makes our job a lot easier in late Spring when everything is bursting out and it's hard to keep up with trail clearing. 

Owen using one of the brushcutters near the trail entrance along Shelton Avenue.  It was great to have help from someone on the cross country team that runs the trails regularly.

Another group went over to clear this multiple blowdown near Pine Street.  One dead pine tree fell over in a storm, knocked over a second, and the pair of them knocked over a maple, which shattered the top of another tree before getting hung up in a swamp.  It was a mess that people had to walk and bike around on one of Shelton's more popular trails.

The first step was clearing out some areas to work around the blowdown so we had a safe way to walk away when we had to.  Jim cleared out a stone ramp that some mountain bikers had built over an old fallen log next to where the trees had fallen.

Trail Tip:  Next time bring a crow bar when the ground is frozen.  The trail hoe worked pretty well though.  Or, wait till the ground thaws.

Terry and Jim remove one of the logs across Oak Valley Trail.

 
Mark & Jim cutting up the last of the fallen pine trees blocking the trail.  Mark had actually bought a longer bar and chain for his saw so it would be easier to cut the larger logs.  That worked out pretty good.  We were able to cut those from one side of the blowdown without having to go from side to side.  Which was a good thing because the trees moved and rolled some when they were cut free.

Three down and one to go.  We then had a long and thoughtful chat about how to cut the last tree that was hung up.  We were not sure how the tree would roll, slide or move when it was cut.   There was now room to get under the tree safely and it didn't appear to be going anywhere.  So after much debate we decided that discretion was the better part of valor and left that one up for now.  We may come back and try it again if it's a problem.

Oak Valley Trail is now open again.  Mind your head if your mountain biking.

The other members of the crew cleared out a lot of bush along the trail; particularly under the powerlines.  This is an area that grows fast in the spring and this should help with early summer trail maintaining.

Mike Flament did a lot of wire brushing on the bog bridge over the stream just west of the powerlines.  The bridge was growing slippery due to moss buildup.

We got a lot done.  It was great that we had a good turn out.  Thanks to Kristel, Owen, Graham, Luis, Ellen, Val, Mike, Mark, Jim & Terry for coming out to help.

Does anybody know why coyotes like to poop on rocks and logs?  This little tidbit was just in the woods near the bridge.  Does anybody know why they do this?

Balmy February Morning at Pine Lake

It was 65 degrees Fahrenheit in Antarctica today, and nowhere's near that in Shelton, CT.  A few brave and intrepid trails volunteers ventured out to take advantage of the snowless (so far) winter and cut briars along the RecPath behind Pine Lake today.  The wind was still kicking up from last night's storm.  The wind speeds hit records (80 MPH on Cape Cod) last night.

 It was very pretty, but the wind across Pine Lake along Rt. 108 was pretty ear-chilling this morning, so we decided to get into the pine trees and start cutting right away.

With a variety of saws, loppers, hedgetrimmers, weedwhackers, chainsaws, bow saws, and other instruments of destruction we attacked the briars, poison ivy, Japanese knotweed, burning bush, barberry, and other invasive species growing into the RecPath.  We wanted to do a pre-emptive strike before everything bloomed out and started growing this spring.

Once we got out of the wind, into the trees and started working it warmed right up.  The sun came up and the pines looked great in the early morning sunlight.

We split up into teams and worked our way up to Constitution Blvd.  (and Val went to Hope Lake), cutting briars and invasive species growing into the RecPath.  A lot of people were out using the trails; dogwalkers, joggers, mountain bikers, and one really hard core biker wearing shorts.  He must have a robust circulation system.

We got a lot done, but there's more to do.  We have another work party coming up in two weeks on Oak Valley Trail if people would like to enjoy a brisk outing in the morning.  Thanks to Graham, Luis, Bill, Val, Mike, Mark, Jim & Terry for helping out today.

 

We didn't get a lot of good action shots of people working.  For some reason everyone just kept moving.  Val did get a picture of putting stuff away after the work party.  Thanks to everybody who came out. See you in a couple of weeks.

Birchbank Mtn. Work Party, or Why Do I Keep Hearing Bells?

There have been a lot of trees and branches knocked down in recent storms.  The trails at Birchbank Mountain had not gotten a full clean up in a while so on a crisp Saturday morning a work party was scheduled to clear up a number of blowdowns across the trails.

We had a great turn out of 15 volunteers to tackle the trails in the park.  When we met at the trailhead next to the railroad on Indian Well Road we were greeted by flashing lights and clanging bells at the railroad crossing, but no train.  Everyone stopped, looked for the train, then crossed the tracks to the parking area and walked back.  Still no train, the signal apparently was malfunctioning.

So while the railroad signal kept clanging away we signed everyone in, enjoyed some doughnuts from Royal Bakery, and headed off into the woods to the sound of  bells.

There was a number of trees down across the trail.  Some small, some quite large.

We split up into 3 groups with multiple chainsaw teams and worked along the White trail.  Helpful Trail Tip #1: A sharp chainsaw cuts much better than a dull chainsaw.  Sharpen your saws on Friday night.

Helpful Trail Tip #2:  A fresh chain cuts better than a dull chain, but only if you put it on the bar with the teeth facing forward.  

The teams then proceeded along Birchbank Trail, then up along the brook to the Paugussett Trail, up above the stone chimney, and then worked their way back down the hill.  Meanwhile, another team was tackling some large blowdowns at the bottom of the hill.

One big tulip was too high to get over easily, and a decision made to notch out a step thru the tree instead.  Here's Mark Vallero with Jim, Luis, and Graham notching out the tree.

Then, with the help of several wedges, and some persistence they were able to wedge out the block of wood.  Actually, it was a lot of persistence, various wedging tries, more sawing, with some prying and hauling.  But they're a stubborn lot and eventually they got it out of there.

Success!  The trail is much easier to walk now.  The log also acts as a barrier to keep vehicles and  ATVs from damaging the trails.

Other blowdowns and tree tops were removed from the trails.

The clearing made it easier to follow the trails without having to zig zag around all the blowdowns.  The trails were pretty busy too.  We had multiple residents and hikers walking past or around us as we worked.

The trails are much clearer now due to all the work.  There was also a lot of brush along the trails that was cut, and fallen branches and logs hauled away.

It really does help to have a big crew when there's this much work to be done.  Thanks to Clay, Gary, Ryan, Vince, James, Tommy, Bill, Bob, Val, Graham, Jim, Luis, Mike, Mark, and Terry. 

When we were got back to the trailhead about 3 hours later, the railroad bells were still going off at the crossing signal.  We phoned Housatonic Railroad to let them know and they said that they had already gotten calls.  A very pleasant woman said she was trying to get someone down to look at it, but everybody was in Mass. and since it was Saturday they didn't have many people working.  Hopefully the signal has been fixed by now and the bells have stopped ringing.

Helpful Safety Tip #1: Remember to look both ways before you cross the tracks on the way to the trails.

Helpful Safety Tip #2: Yield to oncoming traffic when leaving Birchbank going South toward Indian Well State Park.  The road is rather curvy and there are some tight bends where only one car can pass at a time.

RecPath Fences Repaired

We walked the route of the CT Trails Day Hike the week before and everything was fine.  On Trails Day, 6/1/19 when we came to the bridge at Silent Waters we found this:

Some jerks went through, snapped fence post and knocked down fences on top of the dam along the RecPath.  The fences protected people from falling off the face of the historic dams along Silent Waters, so this wasn't just your stupid run-of-the-mill vandalism, this was public safety vandalism. 

The Trails Day hike went fine and no one was injured or harmed, but this had to get fixed.

Unfortunately, this occurred at the end of the City's fiscal year, and I won't get into the ugly details,  but it's challenging to get things purchased at this time of the year in Shelton.  The Trails Committee is also pretty strapped with mowing and brushcutting chores right now because everything is growing wildly on 28 miles of trails across town.

So the Mayor authorized some overtime for D&D Landscaping; a local contractor who has helped us out in the past.  Bill Dyer, Trails Committee Chairman, went over to Home Depot, and personally bought 40 fence rails (with his 10% Veteran's discount), and Terry Gallagher picked up 8 locust fence posts at Orange Fence Co. on Sat. and carried them up to the broken sections.

Long story short, Dan & Dave did a great job with Bill in pulling out the broken posts, cutting brush, resetting rails, and making the fence solid, safe and tight so the RecPath was safe for you, the public,  again.

New posts were installed, rails replaced, fence rails moved around and existing posts were tightened up.

A lot of lower fence rails were replaced, and the fences were straightened in a number of places. 

There's more to do, but the immediate crisis was fixed, and fixed well by D&D Landscaping and Trails volunteers.  This should make things safer for RecPath users. 

There's a lot of beautiful corners of Shelton along these trails.  If you're interested in seeing other portions of the Shelton Lakes Greenway join us Saturday, 6/22/19 at 8:30 on Constitution Blvd North for clearing along the Paugussett Trail.  See the trails work parties page for more info.

Don't Jump Over the Chainsaw

It seems that since National Trails Day is this Saturday, all the trees are committing hare-kari (or Harry Caray if you're a Chicago fan).  The trees are all falling over.  One such case was reported by Val Gossett along the RecPath near Oak Valley Road.

Not too bad if you're flexible and don't mind a bit of Limbo when you hike or bike.  As it so happens Jim and Bill were able to go out Wednesday and clear it during the week to make everyone's Trails Day walks a little smoother.

It took a little while but they were able to get the tree down as it was raining,  Here's Jim checking out some of the other trees that were leaning along the RecPath.  Jim made a keen decision that these were posing no imminent public harm, and did not have to be cut down in the rain.

No sooner had Jim stopped sawing.  A trail runner came thru and "hopped over the chainsaws" which were still hot and streaming (and hopefully with the chain stopped), and kept running thru the work zone.  Now, you can come to a couple of observations: 1.) This runner was really lucky and should buy a lottery ticket, or 2.) The runner should stop next time and ask if it's OK to proceed, or 3.) We should close off the trail before doing any work and make people run out in the road or bushwack.  We would suggest Door #2 because we like our trail users and want them to keep coming back.

Helpful Trail Safety Tip:  If you hear someone chainsawing on the trail ahead don't just run by them without checking first because they or you could get seriously hurt.  Don't assume that trail volunteers can see or hear you just because you can see us.  Someone, possibly you, could be crushed by falling trees or cut with power equipment.  Nobody wants that to happen.  Work with us to make sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable time on the trails.

So on a cheerier note; come on out Saturday to one of the Trails Day Hikes in Shelton, or elsewhere, and enjoy the trails. It should be fun, particularly for families with smaller children.  See the Hikes and Special Events page for more information. 

Boehm Pond Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers were on the loose along the Boehm Pond Trail in Shelton yesterday.  The Farmill Open Space has a number of downed trees and some of them make great habitat for woodpeckers.  Signs of woodpeckers were everywhere.

The Conn DEEP has a good fact sheet on local woodpeckers.  Apparently we have 7 different species in Connecticut, and when they're not twacking on the side of our house at dawn they do a good job of helping recycle trees that have blown down in storms.  We may have discovered an 8th species of woodpecker yesterday:

A pair of Picoides volunteerus (Scruffy Volunteer Woodpeckers) were creating loud noises and sawdust along Boehm Pond Brook clearing a multiple blow down that had lodged itself across the Yellow Trail.

An oak tree had fallen in a storm, hit another tree, that then toppled a twin tree, which hit another tree which split the twin tree like a wishbone after Thanksgiving Dinner.  Nature can be messy in surprising creative ways at times.

After a while, and some side trips for extra gas, files for dull chains, and a backup chain saw, the mess was cleared and the trail restored.  You can see where the Picoides volunteerus have been at work as you hike the trail.

Meanwhile Jimmy, Val, Anthony, and Mike were clearing the rest of the White and Yellow trails to make the footing easier and clearer.  (They also made it easier for the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to find the covered acorns).  The woods were bustling with wildlife after they finished.

The White Trail crosses Boehm Pond Brook at this rippling cascade (mind your footing) before crossing Winthrop Woods Road to get to the Pond.

Boehm Pond is tucked away in the woods and is a secluded fishing spot.  If you're quiet you may see some wildlife.  There were 4 deer who were hanging out at mid-day in the swamp near the pond.

Stop and look around in this park and you may see some interesting things, like this little wildflower along the trail.  There are some great locations where it's surprising quiet (when there's not a trails work party going on), and you can enjoy the birds, wildlife, babbling brooks, huckleberries, and maybe even catch a fish for dinner.  Take some time to explore the Boehm Pond Trail as part of the 2016 Shelton Trails Marathon.  You may be happy that you did.  Thanks to all our volunteers that took time on a beautiful Saturday to help with Spring Cleaning.



  




 

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.