Snowshoeing after the big storm

It is so nice to have a forest and cool trails on my property - especially after a huge snowstorm where I can snowshoe!

From my front yard, looking westward on Hopewell....

Flooding (July 2023)

I was up in Vernon today at Lynch's Toyota and decided to check out the flooding in the river behind the dealership.

Hockanum River - Vernon

I hiked here on the Oakland Trail back in 2022. After the storms we just had (torrential rain in the Hudson Valley and Vermont) this area looked a lot wetter!

After this skunk appeared, I quickly turned around!

Glastonbury Boat House

I took a look at the Connecticut River at the boat house and it has submerged the lower walkways!

At the South Glastonbury Ferry

Next I stopped at the ferry and it was a watery mess as well!

Cotton Hollow

Lastly, I ventured into the Cotton Hollow Preserve and walked to the vestiges of the old dam behind the Grange pool.

Mucho agua!

Showshoes - Backyard Trails

Finally  a bit of snow! (4+ inches). It was gray and cloudy but still nice for a snowshoe trek in my backyard trails...

Power Line Hike

I told myself for the last couple of weeks that I should hike the power line road nearby on a cloudy day. Well today was cloudy so I did it!

This kept me going! :-)

Oops - I assumed there would be a bridge or sensible way across this stream but no! The overgrowth on each side of the pseudo road was thick and 4 plus feet tall so I had to wade thru over 2 1/2 feet of water... Yikes!

Bur I was rewarded once I crossed the stream. Instead of heading straight to Coldbrook Road as intended - I found a new trail off to the right which eventually led along the stream - it was very picturesque :-)

I think this is where It is possible to cross the stream without getting your feet wet :-)

Oops - a dead end!! Oh well... I turned around a backtracked - this time GPSing the trail

Once I re-emerged onto the powerline trail clearing, I had a nice glimpse of the descent I had taken earlier...

Next time I will check out the section south of Coldbrook Road!

From whence I came!

Yikes! Where are the trails?

Today's hike was a disaster! I don't whether to curse or bless AllTrails (the mapping system I use for hiking). I'll curse AllTrails because I thought these trails on their maps would exist (or at least be semi-decent!) but bless AllTrails because I wandered around in 3ft plus undergrowth and had to use GPS tracing and their maps to find my way back! It was crazy!

The hike started off OK and the first stretch was kinda nice...

But then I descended this seemingly abandoned gully section of the trail and encountered deadfall blockage. It should have been a warning to turn around and go home!

Yikes!

I was able to get around it but...

Looking back

..things got worse. The trails no longer existed  - just lots of wet 2-4ft plants every which way!

Finally when I got to a spot where the plants were over 4ft high I turned around and struggled to find my way back....

Where I gave up

Retracing where I had come wasn't always easy - but I finally made it out of there disappointed, soaking wet but at least intact!

Maybe I will come back in the late fall when the plants are gone but for now its a "no go"...