2020-11-3, Hockanum River Trail, Vernon, Ellington, CT

 

On 2020-11-3, I walked on trails by the Hockanum River in northern Vernon and southern Ellington, CT.  Here's a link to the northern part of an interactive map I made on which I included location numbers to show where the pictures below were taken: http://arcg.is/0rLTXK0  .  Below is a screenshot of the northern part of the map.


1.   My route was partially on the route once used by a railroad and a trolley.  On my computer, I can right-click on any of the images in this blog, open the image in another tab, and magnify the image to see more detail.



1.  This bridge was a work of art.  It swayed as I walked on it.


2.  The Hockanum River.


3.  Much of the Hockanum that I walked along was surrounded by marshes.


4.  Here, the Hockanum made a turn.


5.


Near 5.


6.  I was on my way back south when I took this picture.  I saw many benches along the Hockanum River Trail.


7.  A goose pond.


8.  Apparently, some of the trails I walked on where not part of the official Hockanum River Trail trail system.  I talked to another hiker who said he has walked many times over the last two years on the trails in the area owned by the radio station.


1.  I am back to the suspension bridge.  These must have been highly skilled volunteers who had access to sophisticated equipment.


1.  The Hockanum from a bench near the suspension bridge.


I crossed over CT-74 and headed southerly on the Hockanum River Trail.  Here's a link to the southern part of my interactive map: http://arcg.is/19Oi500 .  Below is a screenshot of the southern part of my interactive map.





9.  A view of the Hockanum in land owned by the Vernon Filtration Plant.  The Filtration Plant treats sewage.


10.  I think that was a cottonwood tree in the foreground.


11.  The Hockanum was almost a lake here.


12.  The light was such that you could see the bottom of the river here.


13.  There was lots of evidence of a great deal of work that had been done to maintain the Hockanum River Trail.  Notice the wooden retaining wall holding up the trail.


14.  Theses orange blazes were on one of many black cherry trees I passed.


15.  I walked to the end of a dim trail.


15.  Looking upstream from the end of the dim trail.


16.  One of three informative signs here.




David Reik

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