2021-2-26 Norbrook Farm Brewery Preserve, Colebrook, Norfolk, CT

 I actually visited Norbrook Farm Brewery four times, on February 17, 20, 23, 25 and 26 of 2021.  The brewery where beer (in many varieties) is made and sold, is surrounded by a nature preserve about a mile square that has maybe ten miles of trails.  I made an interactive map of the preserve using www.openstreetmap.org (which I updated) as my basemap.  I put in location letters to show where I took the pictures that appear below.  Here's a link to the interactive map: https://arcg.is/19j94G .  I'll put in a static screenshot of the interactive map.




A.  Near the brewery, I saw metal structures designed, I think, to support hops plants of different varieties.


B.  The preserve has lots of narrow trails designed for mountain bikes, but I actually snowshoed the bike trails.  I talked to a man who had just driven over the bike trails with a grooming machine.  He welcomed snowshoers on the bike trails.


C.  There were several large clearings in the preserve.  From here, you could see the brewery, the structures for growing hops, and two wind turbines two miles to the south.


140 feet northwest of C.  At many points throughout the preserve, these maps were posted. I found them to be quite accurate.  I did not find this map online anywhere.  I found a different "hiking map" on the Norbrook website that was not as accurate.


D.  There was lots of construction equipment around the preserve, and farm machinery.  I also saw several tree stands indicating that there had been hunting on the land that is now the preserve.  There must be some plan to put the quarried stones you see in this picture somewhere.


E.  There were many beech trees in the preserve, although I think the most common tree species was hemlock.  This is the husk of a beech nut.


F.  I climbed up this wooden observation tower.


F.  The view was to the east.



G.  I followed the private trail across the wetlands.  The trail led to a house.



75 feet southwest of G.  An abandoned camper trailer.



75 feet southwest of G.  There is a tradition of placing white "ghost bikes" near where bicyclists have died.  I don't know if this bike is part of that tradition.



H.  A nice, new bridge on the Lost Camp trail.  A lot of work has recently been done on this preserve, including the construction of bridges and bog bridges.



I.  I don't know if this placard was left up after the land changed hands, or if it is current.  Was what is now the preserve recently a designated hunting area?  That might explain the tree stands.


J.  Here, I was climbing a steep section on one of the woods roads.



K.  On 2021-2-26, most of the bike trails had been recently been groomed with a machine that made a snowmobile-like track.  The Flying Squirrel trail had not been groomed.  The trail made a nice snowshoe trail, but maybe it's been taken off the list of recommended bike trails.  It is not too steep, but its many tight turns on downhills could be a problem for bikers.



L.  Maybe this tree inspired the trail namer to name the trail I was on "Old Oak."


L  I guessed the tree was a scarlet or red oak.


L.  Are there some light vertical streaks on the upper branches that indicate this is a red oak?



112 feet north of M.  A woods road named "Steve's Way."  The preserve managers seem to call what I call woods roads "hiking trails."


M.  One of the many distinctive boulders in the preserve.


N.  This was a fallen tree that was blocking a thoroughfare that was not on the preserve mountain bike map, but was on the preserve hiking map.  I named the thoroughfare "Too Steep Trail."  I crawled up the trail in my snowshoes.



O,   Looking down the steep section of "Too Steep Trail."


Near O.  A view to the east through the trees.


P.  This is a picture of a section of one of the many maps displayed in the preserve.  I neglected to look for "Old Oak Climb" trail.  I see that the clearing is labelled "Range," more evidence that the preserve used to be a hunting area.



Q.  I forgot about my two pictures from 2021-2-25.  A sugar maple?


R.  The Sherpa trail ran through a field of boulders.






David Reik

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