RBW: Pea Schoup

I have been so consumed with work, the kids, and bike builds that I realized I hadn't been in the woods in over ten days. So I got some this morning; trail riding at Upper Paugussett and on one of my favorite bikes, the Iron Horse MKIII. Leaving the house, the fog was thick as pea soup but the moisture in the air made it ideal riding conditions. I have decided that my new standard loop is what you see in the map above which includes dirt roads, a little section of hard ball (asphalt), some forest roads, and the Upper Gussy Trail.

The Poly Brody forest road had a particular eerie feeling on it in the foggy conditions. Looks like there has been some more tree cutting in the areas that were logged out this spring. The trap rock that was laid down for the logging trucks is particularly bothersome. Now I understand why the Equestriennes aren't a fan of the forest road on the other side of the hill. I wonder what they think of this improved section? Personally, I think it stinks.

Looking at the start of the Mulikin Trail, just as eerie. It's like entering a foreboading realm in which something is lurking just beyond your periferal vision waiting to jump out of you. Good thing this is not East Hampton, CT, otherwise I would be really nervous! Just the thought of it made me turn white with fear (see picture below).

The Mulikin trail needs some cutting back. Just haven't had time to do anything because I have been so consumed with the Gussy Trail.

The run down to Pond Brook looks like it's getting a lot of traffic and the treadway is holding nicely.

Went down to the bypass I am building on the Pond Brook Connector to see if anyone decided to ignore my impromptu trail closure obstructions. The were no knobby tracks but there were hoof prints through there. Guess I now need to make it more obvious for our equestriennes friends.

This spot (below) just before third stream crossing, if you were headed north on the Gussy, needs to be rerouted again because it's just too wet here. I am going to have to bring the trail back up the incline, and bench, then run back down into the by pass. All-in-all it will actually break up this part of the trail and make it a lot more sustainable.

Sunrise at the big vernal pool, well it's not really one, it's actually a pond undergoing eutrophication. The farmers probably used it to water their sheep back in the day.