Posted By auntie on June 14, 2019

4.65 miles; Sprague, Hampton, and Voluntown, CT

Can’t really call them all hikes, and I didn’t even bother to record the gps track for one of them. But I got all my selfies [Ed. Note: not so much], so that makes 6 down, with 4 to go for the certificate, and 8 to go for the walking stick drawing! I hit Goodwin, Pachaug, and the new-to-me Salt Rock State Forest.

But before I get into the hikes, let me just say that I am probably as tired of apologizing for my late blog posts are you all are of reading those apologies. So even though, ONCE AGAIN, I’ve let a backlog accumulate, I’m not apologizing for it. It is what it is. Now back to our irregularly scheduled blog posts…

Hey! Remember the CT DEEP’s Sky’s the Limit Challenge? Me too. I decided to do a little group of three today and knock several off all at once.

First stop was one of my favorite Connecticut State Forests, the James L. Goodwin State Forest in Hampton.

Daisies

It was a lovely day for hiking, and the wildflowers are marching along through their seasons. Today was a day for daisies, partridge berries, and irises.

Turtle Eggs Plundered

I’m guessing from the size that these are snapping turtle eggs. Were. They obviously became someone’s dinner. I see this all the time, and it makes me wonder how snapping turtles ever manage to reproduce.

Partridge Berries Blooming

Partridge berries are cool because both of those flowers are required to make one berry. If you examine the resulting berries, you’ll notice they have two little “belly buttons,” not just one.

The Trail

I needed a selfie-shot of the Conservation Center at the park entrance, and one of Governor’s Island, so I decided to take the blue-and-white-blazed Pine Acres Pond Trail north from the parking area. I’d forgotten just how rocky this trail is. It was also pretty damp; we’d had some decent rain the day before.

Iris

The wild blue irises were in bloom along the trail to Governor’s Island. This is the wildflower we in the North Stonington Garden Club based our logo on.

Trail Art

I’m not usually a fan of trail art, but this really delighted me.

Next stop was the Salt Rock State Forest in Sprague. I’d never heard of this one, and it’s basically just a fishing campground. Still, pretty spot.

Tunnel Under the Railroad Tracks

This STL challenge wanted selfie-shots that included the river view from a bench or the picnic tables and the railroad tracks where trail crosses. Of course, I didn’t read this carefully enough the first time, and now I will have to go back and get the selfies. But I did get both shots. Just not me IN them. D’OH!

View of the Shetucket River

Third and final stop today was in the good old Pachaug State Forest. The selfie challenges for this park consisted of the bridge at base of the campground (start of blue-orange trail) and a view of  the island from the trail. Got ’em.

Blue-Orange Trail

Still a lot of Mountain Laurel in bloom.

Snake Skin

And just as I was taking this photo of some shed snake skin, I saw what was perhaps its original owner slither away under the rock. Looked like a water snake.

Goodwin Track (click to download)

Pachaug Track (click to download)

For details on the 2019 Sky’s the Limit Challenge, see the STL website. As always, click the images above for details about these hikes and to download the gps tracks.

Category: CFPA Trails, Connecticut, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 2–5 miles, CT, Hampton CT, Sprague CT, Voluntown CT

Posted By auntie on June 8, 2019

7.7 miles; Charlestown, RI

This was a great exploratory hike with my pals Bob and Mel of some of the many NEMBA-created mountain bike trails in the northern part of Burlingame State Park. They are really lovely trails, and well marked. We also saw a mysterious structure at North Camp on Wachaug Pond [Ed. Note: mystery solved, to some extent… see update below].

You’re probably asking, “Auntie, what the heck is a NEMBA?” Good question. NEMBA is the New England Mountain Bike Association, and I’ma be lazy now and outsource the description to their own website:

We are a recreational trails advocacy organization with 27 chapters throughout New England and over 7,000 members. Our mission is to promote the best that mountain biking has to offer, steward the trail systems where we recreate and preserve open space. We are an educational 501 (c) 3 non-profit.

We lead nearly a thousand mountain bike rides a season, put on various skills clinics and trail building schools, and advocate for mountain biking and recreational trails. We put on hundreds of trail building and maintenance events in scores of parks in the region, and donate over 8,000 hours of volunteerism to local parks.

We work with key leaders and land managers to protect our sport and allow our members to give back to the trails and to the sport they love.

And um, yeah, so that’s NEMBA. They’ve done a lot of work in the northern end of Burlingame State Park (as opposed to the wildlife management area of the same name), by clearing and blazing and maintaining some gorgeous trails. And that was part of our exploration.

Tree Balls

I met my friends at the old Bucky Beaver trailhead for the Vin Gormley Trail on Kings Factory Road in Charlestown, and couldn’t help myself when I saw these rather suggestive oak galls. I mean, you’re never too old to be immature, ammirite?

Cool Ramp on Sammy C’s

We quickly headed off the Vin Gormley and onto Sammy C’s trail, which led us on a wonderful odyssey through ledges and dense forest which made us feel, at times, very far from Rhode Island. I really can’t emphasize enough how great these trails are. Good luck, though, finding a decent map. I was unsuccessful.

Excellent Signage

The signage is excellent, though. All these trails have names, and they’re all blazed. The School House Pond Trail (which does not, by the way, go to School House Pond) is an old blue-blazed trail that I tried to follow once like, 5 years ago, and at that time it was a mess, with lots of deadfall and missing blazes. Well no more!

Lunch Break at North Camp and a mystery…

So for our lunch break, we meandered back across the Vin Gormley, and down to the beach at North Camp. Where we discovered lots of clearing, and forbidding-looking “No Trespassing” signs and this structure. We didn’t even dare explore it, as the signs talked about multiple video cameras watching our every move! We kind of speculated that maybe the state is thinking about re-opening the old North Camp as a primitive, hike-in-hike-out campground, but the signs, while quite verbose about watching us and warning us, gave us no hints when it came to the purpose of all this stuff. Mysterious indeed!

[To resolve this mystery, all that was needed was time. This article appeared in the Westerly Sun on June 28th, written by my pal Cynthia Drummond, no less: ‘Demo campsite’ built for DEM raises alarms in Charlestown. Briefly, it was a demonstration area created by the company that manages the big Burlingame Campground and the actual administrator of the DEM, which oversees Burlingame, didn’t even know about it. It has since been removed.]

Track (click for details)

You can find out more about NEMBA from their website, linked above, and more about Burlingame State Park from this State of RI website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Category: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 7–10 miles, Charlestown RI, RI

Posted By auntie on June 3, 2019

2 miles; Preston, Griswold, and North Stonington, CT

Today was a garden club hike on a lovely day, led by a member of Avalonia (there is some overlap between members of my garden club and members of Avalonia) and a very knowledgeable guide, who was able to identify bird calls and plants. Plus, I got to see a couple of short trails I’d yet to have explored.

Yellow Star Grass

There’s still a lot blooming in the woods. We saw tons of this Yellow Star Grass, Cinquefoil, Wild Geraniums, and that old bane of conservationists everywhere, Multiflora Rose.

Main Foundation

We took a side trail to visit an old colonial-era foundation that was the home of one of the Main clan. Main is still a prominent family in this area. This is a very fine example of an old central hearth cellar hole, with openings both at ground level and in the basement.

‘Shrooms!!!

Spring Polypores

We found some very fresh turkey tail and a couple spring polypores. It’s mushroom season again, yay!

Track (click for details)

You can find out more about the TriTown Forest Preserve from this Avalonia web page. It’s soon going to be another addition to my “Favorite Local Hikes” page. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Category: Connecticut, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 2–5 miles, CT, Griswold CT, North Stonington CT, Preston CT

Posted By auntie on June 2, 2019

6.5 miles; Franklin, Bellingham, Blackstone, MA

I have a list. It’s in the form of a spreadsheet, because OF COURSE IT IS, geek that I am. But still, there’s this list, and it’s a list of all the hikes I’ve found out about that I want to do someday. So when I committed to a family dinner in North Smithfield, RI, I of course went to my list to see what was in the area that I could knock off before dinner.

Lo and behold, I’ve always wanted to complete the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (it says so on my list). I’m pretty familiar with this rails-to-trails trail on its western end, starting in Thompson, CT, and through Douglas State Forest. But I was, until today, completely new to its start in Franklin State Forest. And hey, Blackstone is only, like, 15 minutes from North Smithfield…

Trailhead

Mile Marker 0

I parked at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Blackstone and summoned a Lyft ride to get to the trailhead. It took quite while to get there, and I began to question my Google Maps calculations that the distance was only about 6 1/4 miles, and that I could get back to my car in  time to make it for my dinner, but at this point I was kind of committed (spoiler: I made it with 10 minutes to spare, and that included changing out of my hiking clothes at the Dunkin’ Donuts after I got back).

The Good

The trail surface through here was very nicely maintained and graded processed material, like the kind of stuff you’d make a driveway from. Very easy walking. And it got even better (after a little hiccup of a road-crossing) where it was even paved for a stretch. But my overall impression of this section was that it was WILDLY uneven.

The Bad and the Ugly

Inexplicably, the surface went from immaculately maintained flat and level to, uh, this. Mucky, and lumpy, and just plain yuck. Stretches of it reminded me of the Trestle Trail in Sterling (I was listening for banjos). There were the usual wales from dirt bikes and ATVs, puddles, downed trees… This first section was downright schitzo.

Nice View

Also, I was reminded why I’m not such a huge fan of rails-to-trails hikes. They can be awfully boring, and this hike was kind of boring in places, although there were occasionally some very pretty views.

Dewberries

Black Locust

Summer is in full swing now, and the flowering tree and shrub scents in the air are almost intoxicating. I smelled muliflora rose (an evil invasive, but so sweet-smelling) and honeysuckle, though I didn’t get photos.

Track (click for details)

You can find out more about the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) and download maps from this website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Category: Massachusetts, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 5–7 miles, Bellingham MA, Blackstone MA, Franklin MA, MA

Posted By auntie on June 1, 2019

2 miles; Providence, RI

Back in the day (early to mid 70s), the staff and families of Channel 36 in Providence used to come up here for their summer picnics. It’s been that long since I was here. And I must say I’ve never met a more welcoming group than the Neutaconkanut Hill Conservancy, who sponsored this hike. Very nice folks and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend you join them on at least one of their First Saturday hikes (see their website, link below, for details).

Excellent Signage

To begin with, there is excellent signage, and the blazing is also very complete. And there is a nice system of trails here.

Hay Scented Ferns

Early summer is in full swing, and the woods are alive and lush.

Carcases. Get it? CARcases?

We were told by our hike leader that these were (probably stolen) Camaros. M-kay. Couldn’t prove it by me. He said it was just too expensive to remove them. I kind of like the idea of them rotting in place.

Wild Geraniums

The wild geraniums were in full bloom, and there were spots where they were abundant.

Exploded Boulder

This was a glacial erratic boulder that was supposedly threatening to tumble down on a couple of local businesses, and (this was back in the 40s) they decided to remove the threat by exploding it. Pretty cool.

View from the Meadow

Naturally the views from the top of this hill, the highest point in Providence, are somewhat obscured by the summer foliage, but we are told that in winter you can see for many miles. Even with the trees in full leaf this view was pretty impressive.

WPA Legacy

There is a cement walkway and an extensive stone stairway here that is the legacy of the Works Progress Administration. Over 80 years later and we’re still using their handiwork.

Track (click for details)

You can find out more about this urban gem of a park and download a trail map from the website of the Neutaconkanut Hill Conservancy. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Category: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 2–5 miles, Providence RI, RI

Posted By auntie on May 18, 2019

5.4 miles; Cornwall, UK

Today’s third and final hike was from Boscastle to Tintagel. And for those members of my readership who are familiar with the Arthurian Legend, you can understand my excitement. It was ultimately kind of disappointing, as most things eagerly anticipated are in life. But I hiked there, so I’m feeling pretty good about the whole experience

Another Day Another Breathtaking Image

I honestly cannot begin to describe the beauty of this coastline, and my photos are poor substitute for being there. Trust me. It’s awesome.

Wild Foxgloves

And more wildflowers. These are wild foxgloves.

Wall Pennywort, Umbilicus rupestris

I was fascinated by these small succulent plants that grew in the many rockwalls along our hike. They’re Wall Pennywort, and they are, apparently, edible.

Beautiful Rock Walls

And speaking of the rock walls, they all looked like this—kind of a tweedy-looking pattern of flat stones laid diagonally. Miles and miles of them.

Black-faced Sheeps

These may or may not be Scottish Black-faced Sheep. I am not a sheepologist, so your mileage may vary. They did have black faces, though.

Just Another Gorgeous View

The hiking was, if anything, more strenuous than anything we had yet encountered, and that’s saying a lot. But after a day of taking it easy, plus the fact that this was “only” a 5-mile section, I was pretty comfortable and [Ed. just barely] able to handle the ascents and descents. I was not breaking any land speed records, but then, I never do.

The Ladies Windows

We stopped for photos at this interesting feature. We couldn’t resist. And one of us has an Instagram account (hint: it ain’t me).

Rocky Valley (duh)

I think this was the longest steepest ascent/descent we encountered. It seemed to go on forever. Rocky Valley indeed.

Moar Wildlife!

We saw so much livestock, but aside from some rabbit holes and the occasional bit of fox poop, no wildlife. Oh, but snails. There were an awful lot of snails.

Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle is a legendary site in the Southwest of England. It is said to be the place where King Arthur was conceived. On the eve of a great battle in medieval Cornwall, Uther Pendragon, high king, sought the magical aid of Merlin the Enchanter to sate his lust for the beautiful Ygraine, Duchess of Cornwall, whose husband was away for the evening.

Detail of a miniature of King Uther Pendragon (left) conversing with Merlin, while, in the background, Igraine looks on from her castle; from Peter Langtoft, Chronicle of England, England, c. 1307-c. 1327

As fate would have it, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, was killed in the battle as Uther conceived a son on his Duchess. That son would become King Arthur. Gives me chills to type those words. Gave me chills to see the castle ruin, even from a distance. Unfortunately we couldn’t tour the castle because the National Trust is rebuilding the bridge from the mainland.

Track (click for details)

In all, it was a fitting end to a legendary hike. For more information about the Southwest Coast path, visit here. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Category: Overseas Hikes, UK, Walks and Hikes | No Comments »
Tags: 5–7 miles, Cornwall UK, UK