Trail markers help hikers

#Middlebury #TrailMarkers

Kent Sullivan-Wiley and his dog Gatsby pause on the Crest Trail in Middlebury to look at one of the trail markers that indicate the direction of the trail. These markers can be found on trails in many of the Middlebury Land Trust properties. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

The leaves are falling, the poison ivy is dormant, and views are again becoming long through the trees. The colder weather means ticks are no longer as active (although the little buggers have been known to rouse on a warm day) and that leads us into prime hiking season.

Here in Middlebury, Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) properties offer several long and short hikes that are easily accessed. Before you head out on the trails, here are some tips on the trail markers intended to keep you on the right trail, along with information on some of the hikes.

Many MLT trails are marked with colored tags and/or paint. Trail markings indicate where a trail starts and ends, where there is a turn, where there is an intersection of two trails or where a loop rejoins the mail trail. Markings may be paint or plastic. The MLT’s most recently used markers are diamond-shaped, plastic ones.

Trail markers help hikers.

However, the shape of a marker doesn’t matter; it’s the configuration of the markers that indicates the start and the direction of the trail (straight, which way to turn). Generally, the main MLT trails are marked with blue, and subsidiary trails with red or yellow. Occasionally a major through trail is marked with white (as in the Sperry preserve). The graphic at the right shows the meaning of the different configurations. A good website to learn more about trail markers and blazing is at tinyurl.com/4pud8uak. Once you know your markers, head out on one of the following easily accessed MLT trails.

The most frequently hiked trail may be the loop around Lake Elise in the John A. Largay Memorial Preserve. Enter from Long Meadow Road across from the Lake Elise cemetery, parking on the road. This is a relatively short trail that can be completed in 30 minutes, but may take longer if you are accommodating a sniffing dog. The trail is heavily crossed by tree roots, especially on the east side. It offers views of the lake along most of its length, no hills, and several benches where one can sit and rest.

Another short walk is found on trails in the Crest Preserve. The entrance is on Crest Road, just north of and across from the library, where parking is available. The blue trail forms a large reverse “P,” edged by old stone walls near the beginning. The longer loop of the blue trail goes through some wet areas that can be avoided by taking the yellow trail, making a smaller reversed “P.” It is short and has no huge hills, so it can be enjoyed by a family with young children.

The Sperry/Juniper Hill Preserve has several trails that intersect and provide a varied hiking experience starting at the broad entrance trail (marked with white), which goes from Sperry House (parking available there, at 312 Park Road Ext, dirt driveway) and then along Sperry Pond to its terminus at Straits Turnpike/Route 63. The parking at that end is dicey and involves crossing Route 63, so hikers are strongly encouraged to start at the other end.

There also is a blue trail (which extends for miles, but one can hike just the sections in this preserve) and a yellow trail that makes an interesting loop up and down hills, through a small wetland, and connects to the white and blue trails. This selection of trails varies from quite level and easy (the white trail, a former carriage road) to the more challenging blue and yellow trails.

The Clark/Griffith trail is the longest of these suggestions. It is best reached from the end of the trail in Flanders’ Hetzel Preserve where the two land trusts abut and the MLT trail begins. It offers a main and several subsidiary trails that you can wander for two hours. Park by the red barn on Breakneck Hill Road.

You can contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com, visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Happy hiking!