Archive - August 2015

On the Island the Nature Conservancy has set aside a 15 acre parcel to learn and teach the effects of fire on a habitat.

Trail as recorded by gps

There is a 3/4 mile trail that runs through this parcel of property covered in scrub oak, low bush blueberries, sweet ferns and other low growing brush and surprisingly some larger (still short comparatively) oaks.

The trail does a good job of demonstrating a savannah habitat an how fire plays a crucial role in maintaining those habitats. The interesting part is how settlement of the island by non-natives affected the frequency of fire and natural restoration.

The signs I posted pictures of are at the beginning of the trail. There are several more throughout the trail that build on those at the beginning. 

I don’t know how much foot traffic the trail sees. There were some very strong and thick spider webs!
In the following picture there is a white stripe vertically, that is one of the several webs we ran into. This one was strong enough to hold onto the stick we used to clear it so I grabbed a quick video.

I love a nice walk in the woods where I can learn something and having a modest understanding of backfires from my conversations with Peter, my stepfather who was a smoke jumper and long time firefighter, it was interesting to see a spot where they were put into practice.

  Arthur Dawley, Leighs grandfather and Billy’s great-grandfather, was a man of the earth, an old potato farmer from Connecticut and a wonderful man. I mention him because the shelter I chose to take Leigh to for her first overnight  in a backpacking shelter (lean-to) was named Dawley Pond Shelter. The name is, to the best of my knowledge, a coincidence and not related but I still thought it would be nice to celebrate his memory at the same time.

The day was brilliant, bright and the temperature was comfortable. The light was perfect to high lite the surroundings without being oppressively hot.

Leigh Cora, Billy and I headed out to Voluntown, CT, Pachaug Forest. We were on our way to one of  the several shelters and campsites provided by the state for backpackers.

The shelters name is Dawley Pond shelter and it is located on Great Meadow Pond which is fed by Great Meadow Brook which leads to Dawley pond later down the brook.

The shelter is on the Pachaug Trail and, with close by parking, makes a great overnight spot for parking and exploring the area, especially if you like to fish for bass and other shallow pond fish.

We started our day with a short hike from the car to the shelter and got ourselves set up.

There is a nice fire pit at the shelter so we gathered firewood to have a nice fire that night and then we went for a walk out to Porter Pond Road and Porter Pond then back to camp with a brief fishing trip. Then it was time for a fire and relaxing.

The first of August Leigh, Billy and I went to stroll around Purgatory chasm in Sutton, Massachusetts.
The weather that day was fantastic. The trails are great. Combine the two and you have a great day to walk some beautiful trails.

The trails at Purgatory chasm are short in distance but the boulders and the chasm itself make for some fantastic scenery and, while short, it makes for a great walk around the park. The trails are mostly flat and relatively easy to traverse.

Personally, I had a blast climbing and crawling around the rocks, walking the edges above the chasm and strolling along the stream.

There is about 3.25 miles of trails so on a nice day it may be very crowded but there are nice spots for a picnic so you can get off the trail and just enjoy the surroundings too.

Leigh and I have been busy but not much to post about. The past few weeks have taken us on a couple small camping trips and we have gotten a couple pieces of gear (I will post about them later) but aside from a somewhat ‘uncomfortable’ stay at the Pachaug forest Mt Misery campground, there are no real stories and certainly not any pictures.

The Mount Misery campsite is one of two public land campsites in the Pachaug forest and, if any of you know, it is the least private of the two with barely a bush between sites. It feels as though you are virtually on top of each other. This is not always a bad thing, especially when there is a family camping and they desire closeness but if said closeness leads to fighting at 3am, it can be a bit bothersome for all those surrounding the sites involved.

Bad nights sleep left behind, the day and night was not a wash. Leigh, Cora and i walked a bit around the Rhododendron Trail and some of the dirt roads. We stumbled upon two, what appear to be, storage sheds made of heavy timbers and galvanized corrugated steel and one of the two had a 1/4 inch plate steel door that was backed by heavy timber with a two equally strong hinges fastened by 1/2 inch carriage bolts. Maybe they are remnants of when this was a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) Camp? Camp Lonergan, I believe, around 1933.

All in all, that is the extent of what we have done lately, walking till we are tired and then

Cora and I play Go Fish until bed! A good time was had by all!.