Narragansett Trail Section 2
Posted By auntie on May 21, 2017
3.5 miles; North Stonington, CT
This was the second section of the PCHC’s Narragansett Trail traverse (for some background on the trail, see my post about Section 1). We had an absolutely beautiful day, and I FOUND RAMPS! I was so excited and happy about this, but no, I’m not going to say exactly where they are, because the patch looked pretty sparse, and I didn’t even collect any for myself. I also found some primo fresh Reishi mushrooms (I did collect a few of these). And we also came across the elusive spur trail from Stewart Hill Preserve. An altogether great hike!
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Today was a fabulous day for spotting Spring ephemerals. We saw so much stuff.
Reishi Mushrooms (Ganoderma tsugae)
The reishi mushroom is renowned in Chinese medicine as an invigorating tonic, and also has been shown in some studies to inhibit breast cancer cells. You can’t really eat them—they’re super tough. But they can be sliced thinly and dried for making tea. Which is supposed to taste awful. Can’t wait.
Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
The native Swamp Azaleas are putting on an amazing show right now, as are the native dogwoods (Cornus florida).
Lady Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)
And these lovely ladies are putting in an appearance as well. First one I’ve seen this year.
Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
Even the cinnamon ferns are getting in on the act.
Trail from Stewart Hill Preserve
And ah-HA! Found this elusive spur trail at last. See my post about Stewart Hill to get the scoop on this.
See the website of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association for details on this and all the other many, many blue-blazed hiking trails through Connecticut. For the history of the Narragansett Trail, see this David Brierley page. And click on the image, above, for details and to download the gps track.
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