A new cross trail and re-routing of two sections of the Red Rectangle Trail are on the work list today. Our property steward Gina Keifer will have flagged the new locations in advance, so all we’ll need to do is post blazing and trim a few branches, as necessary. If time and energy permit, we may remove the decaying bench […]
Please join GLCT president Spencer Meyer and CT DEEP state forester Alex Amendola for a late-season tour of some of the less common ecological features in Westwoods. We'll look at pitch pine, scrub oak, and other imperiled/rare plant communities, as well as winter plant and tree identification and other ecology. Expect 3-4 miles of hiking, and perhaps a little off-trail […]
This work party is delayed until the afternoon so people can first attend the Forest Ecology Tour, which starts at 9AM (See below). But once done, we’ll be heading over to the Red Rectangle Trail just south of the Eversource right-of-way to explore alternative routes to the extremely steep section of trail just after the wetland crossing. We plan to […]
With the expectation of new blaze materials having arrived, we’re planning on changing the blaze colors of the cross-trail north of the Greenwood Lane entrance, as well as blaze color to the road. If you’d like to help, a small tool belt with places for nails, a hammer and a stockpile of blazes is recommended. Plan to meet at the […]
A work party in November cut down a number of red cedars on the Sunset Creek meadow. The branches were all trimmed from the trunks, but many branches and all the trunks need to be removed from the field. This morning we’ll be hauling branches to a chipping pile near the street, and transporting all the trunks over to our […]
This month's Westwoods Trails Committee meeting will be December 18th at the Guilford Community Center (32 Church St) in the Alexander Lounge. We will have a Zoom set up so those who want to attend virtually can do so. The Zoom connection will be hosted by John Goldin. The link to join is below. If you have any problems connecting, […]
The new blaze materials have arrived, and on the ‘eve of Christmas eve’ work party we expect to change over this cross trail to the new White Rectangle designation, and post ‘Trail Closed, signs on the section of cross trail we’re now abandoning. If time and interest permit, we’ll get a jump on next weekend’s work party exploring the re-routing […]
The Red Rectangle Trail just south of the Eversource right-of-way has an extremely steep section of trail just after the wetland crossing, which we’d like to improve, and plan to bushwhack north and south of the current trail location in the expectation of identifying a more gradual route for this challenging trail. Given we find a good alternate path, we […]
The hike through hardwood forest on Guilford's western shore includes a view of a rock split by a tree, glacial boulders and the Lost Lake Overlook. This hike is family friendly, so children are welcome. If you are not the parent of a child you plan to bring, please contact the leader regarding requirements. We will meet at 11 for […]
We can't find a commercial source for special cross-trail blazes, so today we'll be getting together to fabricate those needed in Westwoods. We’ll have all the materials we need, as well as a paper cutter and glue to generate the needed multicolored cross-trail blazes. We've not yet figured out the best place to do the work, so if you're interested […]
Our assembly line crew fabricated all the WW cross-trail blazes at last weekend’s work party, and today we’ll be installing them on their trails. We’ll be starting on the southern end of the trails and working north. Paul has all the plastic blazes and aluminum nails. If you'd like to be part of this event bring along your favorite hammer, […]
Any clearing work we didn’t complete on the 30th will be completed first, then we’ll go through and install the Red Rectangle blazes. Paul will have a chainsaw if it’s needed, but hand tools such as loppers of a hand saw will be useful, as will a small tool belt with places for nails, a hammer and a stockpile of […]