STL#2—Cockaponset SF
Posted By auntie on July 13, 2018
4.2 miles; Guilford, CT
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve decided to try to do the CT DEEP’s Sky’s the Challenge all alone this year :-(. To make the process a little faster, I’ve grouped them together and will do several at once. The first group I picked to do is Group 3 and includes this long hike in the Cockaponset SF.
Excellent Signage
This property is also known as the Westwood Trails, and I’ve hiked here before about 4 years ago. There is some very cool stuff on this trail system, and I wish I had enjoyed it more, but it was hot and buggy and muggy and I just didn’t.
Long Bog Bridge
The route that was laid out by the DEEP for the challenge started from the Peddlar’s Road trailhead and basically followed the white-dot trail all the way. The white dot starts out at this northern end with a long, long, long bog bridge.
Backlit Rock Ferns
This is also a pretty rugged system. Lots and lots of bouldery ridges to climb up and down. I think the DEEP is trying to kill me this year. Just sayin.
Slime Mold!
I love me some good slime mold. I think this one is Fuligo septica, the “dog vomit” slime mold. I’ll say this for slime molds… they have great names.
Amanita Mushroom
It was a pretty good day for mushrooms, too, although I didn’t see anything particularly edible.
See What I Mean? They Want Me Dead, I’m Tellin’ Ya
So the white dot trail went through this… squeezy place in the rocks (technical term). There was an alternate path, and I almost took it, but decided at the last minute not to be such a baby.
End of Squeezy Place
Glad I did. It wasn’t so bad.
Orange Slime Mold
This might also be the “dog vomit” variety… It apparently changes color from yellow to orange. Then again, I’m no slime mold expert (blog appearances to the contrary).
You can find out all about the Westwoods Trails from their website, which includes links to maps and detailed trail descriptions. For details on the 2018 Sky’s the Limit Challenge, see the STL website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
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