Nature Conservancy

Walking the Pike Preserve Trails

by taohobo

A preview of the April Pancake Breakfast Walk.

Don’t let the moving time dismay you. When I’m on the Pike Preserve trails I constantly stop look, listen… It’s a nature walk and the nature, regardless of the season grabs me.

While there are few hikers or walkers on these trails there are several stables that take advantage of the contingent trails. It does help to keep the inner trails well trodden and identifiable year round. The entry and exit trails for walkers and hikers are well blazed but you need to keep a check on them since these trails meander frequently.

Two unique features that keep children of all ages interested are the ‘Castle Rocks’ at the Northwest turn around and the spring pool at the Northeast side trail.

Castle Rocks…

Past and upcoming…

by taohobo

Saturday was a perfect day to walk the Pike-Marshall preserve in Ledyard… Except no one showed up. If you’d like to see what you missed you can check out an earlier hike that I recorded in AllTrails (R) (click here). Check the sidebar for walks coming up on New Year’s Day & a short Pancake Breakfast on Saturday the 4th of January 2020.

Anemome quinquefolia

So easy…

by taohobo

To put off the things you enjoy doing for the things that appear urgent, not necessarily important, and to be detoured by little things like the weather. After all why couldn’t, wouldn’t you hike in the rain. Well maybe not in 50º temps and 20 knot winds. But, you must get my drift. Yes, I’m talking about this blog and walks and hikes in and about Ledyard, SE Connecticut, and further afield.

So there’s a walk scheduled for December 7th. I hope to see you there.

Spring is here, so…

by taohobo

Spring is here, so we’re probably all busy getting yards and gardens cleaned up and ready for the year. Here I’m busy making over my gardening and yardening after taking the UConn Cooperative Extension Service Master Gardener course last year. Layered on top of that is all that I’m learning from volunteering at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s Giving Garden at Coogan Farm in Mystic about no-till-no-dig and bionutrient intensive farming.

So instead of cutting back on other activities, like this blog, I’m going to be ramping up my use of social media. Specifically, LedyardWalks will become more outdoors, nature oriented. As that happens there may some format changes as this evolves.

The walks will not change, my Pancake Breakfast Walk on the 1st Saturday of every month will continue. I’ll also be doing additional walks in Southeastern Connecticut, and nearby Rhode Island.

If you have a particular walk, or topic, you’d like to see covered in LedyardWalks let me know through the comments.

And, thanks for wayfaring

Early spring, Common Merganser male.

with me.

Saturday’s Pancake Breakfast Walk…

by taohobo

While there may be rain overnight Friday into Saturday we’re still walking the trail at Poquetanuck Cove Preserve. This Nature Conservancy property offers an interesting variety of terrain, habitat, geology. The trail is an out and back with a terminal loop before the return.

You can preview the hike here: White Blaze Trail

Its an easy to moderate walk of just under 2 miles. We should be able to complete it at just about 1 hour. Wear sturdy shoes since this can be a rocky, root infested terrain at times. We’ll also have a fairly steep narrow trail around the mid-point of the walk, and this section of trail can prove slippery after a rain fall… Or, during a rain fall. So have your foul weather gear ready as well.

We’ll meet and leave from the Ledyard Congregational Church Pancake Breakfast at 9:30 sharp. There is limited parking at the preserve so we’ll be carpooling from the breakfast. It’s a free breakfast of more than just pancakes and coffee (NO Facilities on the hike!!) although a free will donation won’t be refused.

If this is your first walk with me please make sure you read and understand the guidelines and the assumption of responsibility and release of liability (Before We Hike, Safety Guidelines).