AUGUST 2006 SCHEDULE
Tuesday, August 1, 8:30am, LH, Roaring Brook Nature Center, Canton Note time
Meet at the Center's parking lot on Gracey Rd. Go N on Lawton Rd. (opposite Rt. 177) off Rt. 44, L on Gracey at the Nature Center sign. About 2+ hrs. with some moderately steep hills. Specific trails tbd. Water essential and snacks suggested. L: Len Berton
Sunday, August 6, 9am, PSF, Tree Identification Walk
Learn how to use tree identification keys, which will be available to each person on the hike. Explore the growing conditions preferred by each type of tree and its past and present uses. Meet at Matthies Grove (main picnic area) at Peoples State Forest. Bring water and insect spray. 2 hour program with 1-mile walk. Heavy rain cancels. L: Walt Landgraf
Tuesday, August 8, 8:30am, LH, Along the Farmington & Pequabuck Rivers
Meet at Farmington's Tunxis Meade Recreation area on Tunxis Meade Drive. From New Britain Ave., heading east on Red Oak Hill, the Meade Rec area is the 3rd left (counting the bike trail as the first and Penfield as the 2nd). There's a large green Town sign with gold letters and a flying Canada goose on it. (There's an obvious reason for that goose at that location....) Park near first baseball fields (on the right and left as the entrance road takes a sharp left turn). Flat walk (est. 2 - 3 miles) along rivers and vegetable gardens. Return to cars approximately 10:30AM Bring lots of water, snacks and $, as the near-by farm stand may be open! L: Diana Meyer
Sunday, August 13, 9am, PSF, Camp White (CCC camp) and the Henry Buck Trail in American Legion State Forest
Explore the remains of the CCC camp and see how it looked in the 1930s through old pictures. The hike up the Buck Trail will explore old growth forest, mill, and charcoal sites, visit the Buck Memorial and a beautiful lookout. The trail has steep up and down sections with uneven ground. You may elect to visit just Camp White or take the full hike. Meet at Matthies Grove (main picnic area) at Peoples State Forest. Bring water and insect spray. 3 hour program with 2.5 mile walk at an easy pace. Heavy rain cancels. L: Walt Landgraf
Thursday, August 17, 8:30am, LH, Quinnipiac Trail - Cheshire
2.8 miles on the northern Quinnipiac to Roaring Brook Falls (and back). We might consider continuing north or south on the Q Trail to make it a longer hike if the humidity and heat are comfortable enough. Bring lunch, snacks and wear boots or shoes with good ankle support. There's a short section with jumbled rocks ("difficult footing"). Meet @ 8:30AM @ Tunxis Community College (just south of the junction of Rt. 6 and 177 in Farmington). Far (south) end of parking lot. We will carpool from there. Return time depends on final distance we go. Estimate latest to be around 2PM L: Diana Meyer
Tuesday, August 22, 8:30am, LH, Cathles Trail, Simsbury
Meet at Borders Books parking lot in the Simsbury Commons at Rt. 44/167. We will carpool from there. Water essential and snacks suggested. Return by about noon. L: Diana Meyer
Sunday, Aug. 27, 9 am - noon, PSF, (Rescheduled) National Trails Day Hike, Lighthouse Community
Explore old home sites, cemetery, charcoal hearths, mill sites, and farmlands of this 1790 to 1850 Native American/African American community. Other attractions of the area are: a vernal pool, site of People's Forest Dedication, wild flowers and early forest campground. Learn about the lives of the early people and the legends that have developed around them. Meet at Matthies Grove (main picnic area) at People's State Forest. Bring water and insect spray. Heavy rain cancels. We will be walking about 2 miles of varied terrain, uneven ground, with sections of off trail hiking. Very relaxed pace, and estimated time is 3 hours. L: Walt Landgraf
Tuesday, August 29,
Wed, Aug. 30, 8:30am, LH,
Peoples State Forest, Barkhamsted rescheduled due to
weather
Meet at Marandino's parking lot (opposite Satan's Kingdom, Rt. 44, New
Hartford) to carpool to Peoples. We will start at the Stone Museum and do
a loop including the beautiful overlooks on the Jesse Gerard trail. Bring
lunch, snacks, water. Estimated return between noon and 1pm. L: Len
Berton