Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor
Posted By auntie on January 5, 2015
3.25 miles; ledyard, ct
you won’t for a minute feel like you’re in the wilderness while hiking this avalonia land conservancy property, but that doesn’t really take too much away from the experience. there’s an amazing mix of trail types here, from old woods roads to picturesque brookside trails to boulder-filled swamps (the name should have been the tip-off for that one), and even power line roads. so, like the weather in new england, if you’re unhappy with where you are, just hike a minute—it’ll change.
two views
you can see what i meant by my first comment in the above picture. the left side is the forward view, and the right side is what’s behind. you spend a lot of time going through what feels like people’s back yards.
swamp
and it sure is swampy in places. there are a lot of bodies of water all through this preserve, even in the power line cut. on the other hand, there were more than a few nice boardwalks and bridges. i didn’t see a lot of pine trees, though.
mysterious thing
i found myself perplexed by this thing. it was a great iron post sticking out of the ground with the roman numeral 4 in solder on its top, about 18″ high. survey marker? if so, it’s an usual one. didn’t seem to be hollow, so it wasn’t a pipe i don’t think. i dunno. unless i get some help from my commentariat i’ll have to remain stumped.
the whole property was well-blazed, with maps at trail intersections, with the exception of the red trail. i tried to follow it, but between it being entirely boulder-strewn and intermittently-blazed, i gave up and turned around. it was an “out-and-back,” might have added almost a mile to the hike.
beautiful steps
in this one spot on the blue-dot loop trail there were some lovingly-crafted steps complete with cedar hand rails. nice view from the top, too.
i have added this hike to the hikefinder. the map i have linked to both here and on the hikefinder page is from avalonia. i may or may not do an “auntie map.” i thought the avalonia map would have been more helpful if they had noted the power line cuts. trailhead, trail map
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