Our first hike of 2014  is scheduled for  Friday, April 25  at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Located in Pound Ridge, NY, this is a 4000 acre park with 42 miles of trails over varied terrain. We will select a trail approximately 4 to 5 miles in length and the hike should take  about 2 ½ to 3 hours.

The trails are well maintained and somewhat less difficult than those at  Mianus River Gorge, which we hiked last October. The hike will be followed by lunch (optional). Spouses, significant others, friends and guests are welcome to join the hike.

No entrance fee is charged of seniors during the week in the off-season and there is plenty of parking available. We plan to assemble at 10.00 am at the parking lot near the entrance of the park (where the ticket booth is located). There are restrooms here. At 10.10 am we will  proceed as a group by car to the trailhead which is a short distance past the ticket booth on Michigan Road.

This hike is led by Sunil Saksena who can be reached at  203-561-8601(cell) or ssaksena44@gmail.com

Directions:

• Take exit 35 off the Merritt Parkway and proceed north on High Ridge Road( Rt 137 N).
• Continue on Rt 137 North for approx 8.5 miles and bear left at the fork towards Pound Ridge onto Stone Hill Road which is still Rt 137N.
• Continue till the T-junction at the  end of Rt 137 N and then make a right turn towards Cross River onto Old Post Road (Rt 121 N) . After about 2.9 miles make a right turn just past the Baptist Church located at 1789 Old Post Road.. This right turn is clearly marked as the entrance to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
• Proceed on this road (Reservation Road) till you reach the ticket booth.

( The distance from Exit 35 on the Merritt to the ticket booth is just under 14 miles and  will take about 30 min depending on traffic).

Official address of the Park is 4 Reservation Road, Cross River, NY 10518

The newly organized Hiking Group led by Scott Hutchason had their initial outing on Oct.25 with a hike on the Mianus River Gorge Trail.

Sixteen people came for the first outing in ideal weather. The group hiked the entire trail to the final point with a view of the Mianus Reservoir. Side trips to see the old Hobby Hill quarry site, the gorge overlook, and the Havemeyer Falls (without water) amounted to a total distance traveled of about five miles. No laggards and no injuries from tripping over rocks and tree roots in the trail.

Before parting, the group went to lunch together at the Lakeside Diner.

Another hike is planned for November. Watch for time and place to be announced.

Benefits of being out in Nature

Aristotle believed that the outdoors clarified the mind. Darwin and Einstein claimed that a walk in the woods helped them think. John Muir felt that we should fight the tendency to become “ tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people of the city”, and Walt Whitman warned of the city’s “pestiferous little gratifications in the absence of nature.” And now neuroscientists are showing that nature makes us happier, healthier and more creative.

It is the mission of the hiking group to help you derive not only these benefits but to also have fun doing so and develop lasting friendships with your fellow DMA members.

Hikes are usually between 3-5 miles, last 2-3 hours and are followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant. The lunch has become as important an activity as the hike itself. Spouses and significant others are welcome and some have become regulars.

We select trails which are no more than 30-35 minutes driving distance from Darien and they vary in difficulty from what could be described as a walk in the park to more challenging trails.

Hikes will be announced two weeks in advance at the regular DMA meetings on Wednesday. Details will be posted on our website under “Hiking Posts” and, during the week of the hike, will also be included in the weekly eblast entitled “ This Week at the DMA” which goes out on Mondays.

Trail Masters: Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

We will have our first hike Friday, October 25, at the Mianus River Gorge. The Gorge is a 750-acre preserve of old-growth forest that was established sixty years ago as the first land project of The Nature Conservancy.

The trails roughly parallel the river at a higher elevation. Among the interesting features is an abandoned quarry where mica, quartz, and feldspar were mined in the 19th century. For more details see www.mianus.org/visit-the-gorge/planning-your-visit/.

The Mianus River Gorge is located nearby in Bedford, NY, not far from the Stamford border. To reach it:

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• Take Exit 34 from the Merritt Parkway.
• Drive North on Route 104 (Long Ridge Road) towards Bedford for 7.5 miles.
• Turn left onto Miller’s Mill Road. If you hit Route 172 and the Mobil gas station, you’ve gone too far.
• Left on Mianus River Road after crossing the bridge.
• Drive about ½ mile on dirt road. Entrance to the parking lot is on the left – just across the street from 167 Mianus River Road.

Be cautious! It is easy to miss Miller’s Mill Road. Check your odometer when you exit the Merritt so you will know when you have traveled 7.5 miles. A helpful landmark on the right is Twin Lakes Drive, which comes just before Miller’s Mill Road.

The hike is about 4½ miles, and will take us 2½ – 3 hours to walk it.

We will meet at the Gorge parking lot at 9:50 and begin the hike at 10:00. Afterwards there will be an optional lunch at the Lakeside Diner in Stamford.

For more information contact Scott Hutchason at 203-322-5025 or shutchason@sbcglobal.net.

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