HIKING WARD POUND RESERVATION

    MONDAY MAY 24, 2021

  10:00 AM

Ward Pound Reservation is a 4,315 acre park located in Cross River, New York with more than 35 miles of hiking trails over varied terrain. We plan to cover only a fraction of that, about 3 miles, with some moderate climbing and descending on the Leatherman’s Loop section. The reward for the climb is a spectacular view of the Cross River Reservoir and surrounding territory. The trails are wide (except for the up and down to the Loop), well maintained and clearly marked. For the adventurous, a short but steep side trip to see Leatherman’s Cave is an option! 

Guests and dogs on a leash are welcome and there will be no lunch after the hike which should take us about 2 hours.

We will assemble in the parking lot at the ticket booth (no fee) at 10:00 AM sharp and then drive our cars about a mile to a large parking lot at the trailhead (where there are porta pottys). DON’T BE LATE!

DIRECTIONS;

Address—6 Reservation Road, Cross River, NY 10518.

Reservation Road is Rte 121 and the entrance is just south of the intersection of 121 and Rte 35. Take either 124 up through New Canaan or the Merritt to exit 35 and then north on 137 to Inn at Pound Ridge. Past the Inn bear left on 137 to the end then right on 121 for 2.9 miles to the entrance.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum and/or Bob Plunkett

Hike recap:

On a refreshing cool morning after the heat of the weekend, a hearty group of 12 (plus one dog) spent a delightful two hours exploring a tiny section of the mammoth 4,300 acre reservation in Cross River, NY. The park offers not only hiking over miles of trails but also camping, picnicking and horseback riding. Ever on the lookout for fauna, we spotted a fat worm and a tiny frog—wild kingdom! 

As on past hikes here we opted for the Leatherman’s Loop trail which climbs steeply to a scenic overlook of the Cross River Reservoir. Once on top we paused to admire the view and take some photos. As we descended from the viewpoint over a narrow but navigable trail we stopped again for a side trip up to Leatherman’s Cave, one of the many caves frequented by the legendary “Leatherman” who roamed the northeast around the mid 1800s. Four of our group hiked up the very steep rock path to the cave. Alas, he was not in residence.

We returned to the main trail to continue our 3 mile circuit back to the parking lot. A very pleasant hike in a beautiful and rugged park.

This was the final hike of the 20-21 DMA year. Since September of 2020,  we have been on 7 hikes or almost one a month, giving our hikers a chance to get outside to walk and talk to fellow DMAers despite the pandemic. We will resume our hiking program in September along with resuming the optional lunches.

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Trailmaster: Dave McCollum

Greenwich Audubon Center in Greenwich, CT at 10:00 AM on Thursday April 22.

Greenwich Audubon Center is a 285 acre sanctuary which opened its doors in 1943 as Audubon’s first nature education center in the country. Located on land donated by Eleanor Clovis Reese and H Hall Clovis the center includes over 7 miles of trails through a rich diversity of hardwood forest, meadows, lakes, streams and vernal ponds. Also on the property are an expansive Nature Education Center, an old apple orchard and original New England homestead buildings.

We plan to meet in the main parking lot at 10 AM and hike for about two hours over varied terrain including one steep climb and several sections of rocky trail. We rate this as a hike of moderate plus difficulty. The footing on our pre-hike was very good. The scenery is spectacular particularly at this time of year before the leaves are out.

The Center is located at 613 Riversville Road in Greenwich on the north side of the Merritt Parkway. Exit at Round Hill Road and use GPS to get you to the center. As always, guests and spouses are welcome but no dogs on the property please! There will be no  lunch after this hike.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum and Bob  Plunkett

Hike recap. On an unseasonably cold and windy April morning, twelve DMAers and guests hiked 2.8 miles in under two hours over spectacular terrain at the 285 acre property which also serves as the education center for Greenwich Audubon.
Located on land donated by the Clovis family the center’s trails traverse meadows, hardwood forests, lakes and some awesome rocks and ravines. Despite the heavy downpour yesterday, the trails were largely dry or just damp. With the
leaves still not out, the varied topography of the center was in full view. What was not in view was wildlife! We saw a grand total of one robin and a chipmunk! All hikers were totally up to the steep (160 vertical feet) path from the lake area
to the parking lot. This is a property that should be on our regular hiking rotation.