Posted By auntie on November 17, 2012

3.94 miles   ★★★★½

this is a very pretty park, with nicely blazed and well-maintained trails. of course, this is a park, not a wildlife management area like pachaug, so no multi-use trails and no motorized vehicles and no hunting. i did hear gunshots off in the distance, but nothing in the park. the main trail system is atop a ridge, and you have to climb up a pretty steep grade to get to it from the parking lot. also, the “wolf den” is part-way back down another very steep grade. this hike was a workout!

the “wolf den”

according to the convenient plaque affixed to the rocks here, this is the place where israel putnam shot the last wolf in connecticut. he must have been so proud. of course, this was back in the 1742, when a wolf could threaten your family’s livelihood, but still, it seems kind of sad.

view

here is the view from the wolf den, or approximately there… don’t remember exactly. as you can see, it continues to march down the hill. this was a pretty steep descent, and i was really glad i made and followed my new rule about always taking the hiking poles with me on unknown trails. they came in very handy through here.

chokeberry seedling with christmas fern

this red chokeberry seedling looked wonderful contrasted with the green of the christmas ferns it was growing up through.

you can find out more information and get a trail map of the mashamoquet brook state park from the connecticut dep website. i recommend you do the loop i did (yellow-blazed to blue-blazed to red-blue-blazed to red-blazed and back) in that order… the climb UP from the “indian chair” to the “wolf den” would have killed me. and i know all you mountain hikers are laughing at me. well, that’s okay. go ahead. maybe someday i’ll be up to your level, and i’ll be in my 60’s by then, so laugh away!

Categories: Connecticut, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 2–5 miles, CT, Pomfret CT