Mother Natures Havoc

With last weeks ice storm came the near impassability (approx. 70%) of the East Side Trail system. For a closer look at the damage visit http://picasaweb.google.com/daringdo7. Now that winter is upon us it would be near impossible to get the trails fully useable anytime soon. We are looking into setting up several weekends in the early spring where people could help us restore the trails. Might even be a good time to take care of some of the perenially flooded wetland crossings as well. If you are interested in helping out please post in the comment section of this blog. We will post additional information as planning proceeds. In the interim please do your small part & remove any downed limbs that are easily moved from along the trail route. Thank you!

3 Hour Trail Loop

Feels good to be back on the local trails after gallavanting thru northern & western New England this past season. So off we went on Saturday afternoon for a 3± hour perimeter loop of Green Hill over a plethora of trails. Amazingly enough we saw nary a soul during the entire hike. Grey skies & 60° temps escorted us on our trek. Entering the trail system from Trinity Ave we passed thru the Coal Mine Brook area before heading south on the EST. Ducked in behind Worcester State Hospital to view the ongoing construction via an unofficial trail marked with small cairns. From there it was onto a portion of the Ledge Loop Trail & back on the EST going south. The Millstone Trail beckoned so we took the cue & took a short breather at the Knob. The Quarry was next on the list w/ a short detour to the Bell Pond overlook before heading back to the EST & over Lucy Lane into the core of the park. On the final section, in the wooded areas west of the golf course, the skies let loose with rain for the closing 1/2 mile of the hike. Enjoy your local trails - we did!

Great day for a hike!!! (:- >

Today a group of us gathered together at the bandshell at Christophoro Columbo Park (aka East Park) for the purpose of hiking the lower portion of the East Side Trail (EST). This was the 6th in a series of 8 hikes of trails and conservation areas in the Worcester area. The hikes are called the "2008 Worcester Start! Walking Series", and are sponsored by the City of Worcester, the American Heart Association, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and the Greater Worcester Land Trust.

For those interested, the next hike in this series is scheduled for Sunday November 16th, 2008 at 12 noon at the Parsons Cider Mill Conservation Area (meet at intersection of Apricot Street and Goddard Memorial Drive).

On this 6th hike we stopped a number of times to take in the view (trees are really starting to change color now) and discuss efforts being taken by various organizations and volunteer groups on improving the EST. Due to time constraints we only made to the north side of Bell Pond but all in all it was a very pleasant day to be out on the trail.

Asian Longhorned Beetles

Meeting tonight on the beetles at Quinsigamond Community College at 6:30pm.

The Trust is going to NEED volunteers to survey conservation lands for the beetles to help save our forest.

Like it says.... Contact Anne!

New Spur

The new spur - all 125' of it - off of the Ledge Loop is complete. It's blazed with orange flagging for now. Enjoy!

Spur Relo

During the past week, the westerly end of the Ballfield Spur Trail was relocated to circumvent large amounts of downed trees. In all, about 100'-150' was relocated and blazed. The old route has been blocked off and blazing has been removed. Another small spur project is also underway at the Ledge Loop Trail. A new connection off of the southerly end of the Ledge Loop will head east and intercept the existing spur at the wall crossing to the State Hospital cartpath. The new connection eliminates having to double back over the existing spur to reach the State Hospital cartpath.The route is passable now but has not been fully cut out or blazed as of this date.

EST Work

This past week the Worcester Parks & Recreation Summer Trails Crew, under the direction of GWLT VCRanger Bob Quevillon did a large scale access and erosion control project.

The slope up from Belmont Street as the trail runs north has always been steep.

The team of four Summer Trails Crew put in erosion control water bars that double as steps and a runner on the downslope of the trail to collect erosion and level off the trail over time.

The project took about three days of concerted effort.

Great job guys!

Downed Trees

I noticed a bit of damage from Tuesday night's storm.
There is a tree across the Skyline Drive entrance to the Parks HQ Spur (yellow). The tree, about 18" in diameter, is 5 feet in from the sidewalk and has made that entrance impassable.
Also, the newer section of the yellow spur near the Tech ball fields (11 on the map) is also blocked by large fallen limbs, blocking passage.
Both will require chainsaws to remove. I'll be happy to help drag wood if someone can supply the power equipment.

Current Trail Conditions/Observations

Not having had the opportunity as of late to enjoy our local trails it would be great to get feedback from those who have recently been on them. Please post your comments & keep us abreast of current trail conditions & observations (wildlife; deadfall; etc.) you may have noted while hiking on the trails.

Call For Trail Stewards

Now that it is prime hiking season we still are looking to bring stewards on board for trail maintenance of the remaining "unclaimed" trail portions. If you would like to become a trail steward click on the stewardship map at lower right & choose a section that is available. Please use the contact info listed on this page & we will add you to the list of stewards. Thank you.

EST Hike!

Yesterday the East Side Trail hosted hikers from all over Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Land Trust Conference was held at the Worcester Technical High School (right in between the Millstone Trail and the Ghost Trail (East of Skyline Drive) of the East Side Trail system.)

Approximately 28 folks headed out from the Worc Tech, circled around back to the vernal pools and hiked the trail up to the large field. We returned via the cart paths along DMH.

The trail was surprisingly dry. There were a few puddles and an occasional wet spot, but on the whole the footing was really good.

The trail crew consisted of Cristy Barnes, Naturalist MassAudubon Society, Russ Adams of Worcester Tech, then the GWLT contingent of Gene Tivnan (aka grandfather of the trail), Bob Quevillon (trail warhorse extraordinaire), and Colin Novick.

It was sunny, with a breeze, and not quite over freezing, but a pretty darned good spring day for a hike.

Reviews of the hike were outstandingly positive!

Triple Treat

Easter Sunday yielded a pleasant surprise. The 1st sighting of 6 deer on the 8th fairway of the golf course was at 5:45a.m. A loop around Greenhill Pond & back to the front nine and lo & behold the 6 deer were back, this time on the 1st fairway about a half-hour after the previous sighting. They scampered off into the woods along the trail that follows the westerly periphery of Green Hill Park. Following the trail & noting that the deer were out in front, the best was yet to come. A trailside staredown of approximately 10-12 seconds in duration with the 6 deer no more than 40' away. It doesn't get any better than this living in the city with wildlife being this close to home!

Spring comes to the East Side Trail

On this first day of spring, there are signs that the long winter is nearly over. Green leaves are popping up all over the trail. Along the Ledge Loop trail, I noticed the ground cover was disturbed in many places. I saw a lot of acorns that had been unearthed and eaten, presumably by foraging deer or squirrels who did not store enough food for such a long winter!

Trail Etiquette

The mud season of spring is upon us. Please stay on the established trails & refrain from diverting to either side of the trail to avoid damp feet. A 2' wide path is more desirable than a 4' wide path. Obviously those areas in need of a wetland crossing may leave no choice but to stray from the established trail due to deep water - use your discretion.

Rubbing my eyes in disbelief

After several weeks of staying off the trails, due to all the recent snow and rain storms, I hiked the lower portion of the EST and did a little bit of stewardship activity. The trail is actually in pretty good shape at this time. I picked up what little trash I found and moved to the side of the trail what little dead wood had fallen.

While hiking up the portion of the trail that goes from Elliot Street to the top of Chandler Hill I heard some rustling sounds about 75 feet to my right that I at first perceived to be other hikers that were going up the same hill but off the trail. As I turned in the direction of the sound I caught sight of a herd of five full size deer and I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not imagining what I saw. Sure enough the deer were there and had spotted me about the same time that I spotted them. As a group they started moving away from me and started traveling at a measured and deliberate pace though the woods towards Bell Pond.

I had a camera in my pocket that I pulled out and was hopeful that I could get some photos to share with you all. Unfortunately, none of the photos came out. On, other occassions I've spotted several deer together in this same general local, but didn't consider it significant enough to comment upon. I am now determined to document this abundance of wildlife so I'll be staking out the area and will post photos as soon as they become available.



In the meantime enjoy the photo (below) of some other wildlife (a swan) that was spotted at Bell Pond on another occasion.





Regards
Trailblazer

Millstone Trail Gate at Skyline Drive to be Unlocked!

After some routing around in the "machine" we have managed to solve the mystery of the recently locked gate on the Millstone Trail.

It is to be unlocked shortly resuming trail access along the easternmost edge of the site!

The trail is reopening.

What's Up for 2008

It will be tough to top the accomplisments of 2007. Last year the entire EST trail system was restored and upgraded with the formal addition of the Ghost & Millstone Trails. The EST was sponsored for National Trails Day last June and with a very successful turnout. And finally in November access at Trinity Avenue finally became reality. So then what is on the agenda for 2008? One goal is to commit the entire system to stewardship - it's half way there now. Without question the ultimate goal is to push the trail forward to it's terminus at Lake Q but that will require the gracious permission of private property owners. Don't get too eager to push onward over new trail yet (patience is a virtue) but it is at the top of the "To Do" list. Minor improvements to areas in need along the trails will continue. Guided evening hikes during the summer months which were done in years past may very well be repeated on some intermittent basis. Possibly add another loop (it exists mostly but is unblazed) down the steep slope (the "cliff") & coniferous woods behind Worc. State Hospital in the area of Conservation Restriction

Trinity Ave Spur

For those who may be unaware - the Trinity Avenue spur is now open. Volunteeer efforts helped establish this link over the '07 Thanksgiving weekend. This provides critical access to to N'ly end of the East Side Trail system. Please stay next to the golf course fence when entering / exiting the trail system at this location.

Ever get to wondering ...

Ever get to wondering when that darn old East Side Trail is going to finally make it all the way to the lake? Just curious.

Trail Stewards

A trail stewardship effort is getting underway for the East Side Trail system. Currently almost 50% of the 5 miles of blazed trails shown on the image at left (thumbnail only) are committed to stewardship. We are working on making a PDF file of the Stewardship map available for anyone interested in becoming a Trail Steward. The trail system has been broken into manageable segments of varying length. For the overly ambitious, please feel free to take on as many segments as desired. As we continue to develop this program additional information will be posted.

Documenting EST system flood prone locations

This last weekend the Father of the Trail (Gene T.) and myself explored the EST trail system to document and measure locations that are prone to flooding. We found three (3) such locations as denoted by the following GPS coordinates and associated photographs:

Location 1: Millstone Brook Trail near "the knob"

N 42 degrees 16.683 minutes

W 71 degrees 46.519 minutes

length of flooded trail: 50 feet














Location 2: Ghost/Millstone Trail near the water tower

N 42 degrees 16.806 minutes

W 71 degrees 46.487 minutes

length of flooded trail : 60 feet






















Location 3: East Side Trail near golf course

N 42 degrees 16.860 minutes

W 71 degrees 46.443 minutes

length of flooded trail: 55 feet













We wanted to document the flood prone locations at this time as there have been recent rains and a bit of a thaw in the February weather. When conditions are warmer and drier certain trail improvements (e.g. bridge, boardwalk, etc.) can be made to make the trail more navitagable.


If anyone reading this blog has ideas on the design or appropriateness of such improvements please feel free to submit your comments.

Regards

Trailblazer on a mission

Quarry View

The view from the high point (760'±) on the East Side Trail (OK technically it's the Ghost/Millstone Trail) at the quarry (pictured above at top of page) next to the twin water tanks is being improved. Several small sapling trees that threatened to obscure the view have been removed. Additional minor improvements at this vista will be done in time for the spring hiking season. Fellow hikers - Do you want to see the quarry vista opened up further and expose more of the summit?

WET CROSSING

Snowpack on the East Side Trail ranges from none to several inches. Be wary of the 6o foot stretch of flooded trail just south of the blue water tank on the Ghost Trail. Plans for a wetland crossing at this location are in the preliminary stages

The deadfall spanning the GhostTrail/Millstone Trail at the water tank has been removed. Please note that the gate on the Millstone Trail south of the Tech School is now chained & locked severing trail access.

East Side Trail Conditions

Currently it is snowing on top of the frozen snow and ice.
While only 0.5" is expected visibility will be seriously impaired at times.
Worst visibility is expected on hill and ridge tops.