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HIKING DEVIL’S DEN PRESERVE

WESTON, CT

MONDAY OCTOBER 25, 2021

    10:00 AM

The Devil’s Den Preserve’s original 1,400 acres  was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 1966 using funds donated by Katherine Ordway, a local philanthropist. Today it encompasses over 1,700 acres and is the largest preserve in SW Connecticut. The history of the property goes back to 1767 when it was first used as a sawmill during the Revolution. Forestry was the principal use of the property until the 1930s but the many stone walls on the land indicate its use for agriculture as well. For about 80 years during that time span, charcoal was produced at over 30 sites on the property. There are woodlands, wetlands, ponds and streams on the acreage.

We will be hiking a trail of about 4 miles which we rate as easy to moderate. The trails are mostly wide and well maintained but often have rocks and roots as you would expect. There are no serious ups and downs but there is a fair degree of elevation change. We estimate the hike will take 2 ½ to 3 hours.

There will be no lunch after this hike.

As usual we welcome friends, spouses and others to join us. These hikes are a great way to meet new members and to have a chance to converse in an outdoor environment. NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED AT DEVIL’S DEN.

Devil’s Den is accessed off of Exit 42 on the Merritt Parkway. The address is 30 Pent Road, Weston but Google Maps and Waze recognize Devil’s Den as a destination.

Contacts: Dave McCollum  and Bob Plunkett 

Not deterred by an overnight rain which left the trails a bit wet, a hardy group of
10 DMAers hiked about 5 miles in three hours over the Perry, Godfrey and
Aspetuck trails at the 1700 acre Devil’s Den Preserve in Weston. The damp ground
was offset by very mild and occasionally sunny weather. The trail markings and
signage at DD re very good and we navigated the course with nary a wrong turn.
Oh, wait a minute, the navigation excellence was actually more the result of
various hiker’s backwoods savvy and a nose for the correct direction!
The Preserve’s ownership by The Nature Conservancy dates to 1966 but the
property records go back to 1767. While forestry and agriculture were the
principal uses of the land, for eight decades the property was chiefly used to
produce charcoal. The accompanying photo shows one relic of that period. Again
on this hike, as was the case at Trout Valley last month, we saw very few humans
and only a worm and a toad for wildlife. These animals, which surely reside in
preserves like DD, must somehow know we are coming and spend the day in
hiding.
The next hike is scheduled for The Zofnass Family Preserve in Pound Ridge, NY on
Thursday November 18.
As of now, we plan to resume the optional lunch after this hike.
Spouses, friends and any others are encouraged to join us and dogs on a leash are
allowed at Zofnass.
Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

 TROUT BROOK VALLEY HIKE

      WESTON, CT

          SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

                10:00 AM

On our first hike of the fall, we will return to the Trout Brook Valley Conservation area in Weston, an 1100 acre preserve that is part of the Aspetuck Land Trust, where we last hiked in 2019. Trout Brook Valley classifies their trails  as hard, medium and easy and your DMA hiking team discovered  that on our pre-hike where we tested a “hard” trail and found the description very accurate! We will not be using that trail for our hike of about 3 miles over easy and medium terrain. The preserve is still quite lush and green in September so it will be mostly shady. The trails are well maintained and the trail markings are excellent. There is some traversing of mostly flat rocky areas. This hike should be a great way to start off our fall season!

As always, friends, spouses, etc are welcome to join us. Dogs on a leash are permitted. There will be no lunch after the hike.

We will be using the Bradley Road entrance to the preserve in Weston. On Google maps or Waze enter Trout Brook Valley Preserve or 18 Bradley Road, Weston. The parking lot is not large so car pooling would be a good idea. If you let either of us know you will be joining us, we can arrange pools. The drive takes about 25 minutes from Darien.

Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

A small but enthusiastic group of seven spent a delightful two hours hiking the Green and Orange Trails at Trout Brook Preserve this morning, a cool and invigorating day to be in such beautiful woods. 

The 730 acre Trout Brook Preserve was purchased in 1999 by the Aspetuck Land Trust from the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company which was planning to sell it to a developer who wanted to construct over one hundred luxury homes and a golf course. The $11.3 million purchase price was raised jointly by the State of Connecticut and Aspetuck. Actor Paul Newman was among the contributors.

The trails we hiked were well maintained and of variable difficulty but nothing our group could not handle. We pretty much had the whole Preserve to ourselves as we saw very few other hikers which contributed to the quiet attractiveness of the trails. We crossed three brooks, one of which must have been Trout Brook, but saw no trout or other fauna other than a worm or two. So much for wild kingdom!

As usual on our hikes, the opportunity to talk to each other was a highlight. 

We hope a larger group of DMAers will join us on our next hike at Devil’s Den in Weston on Monday October 25.

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett