2021-12-21, Farmington River Turnpike in New Hartford to the Top of Breezy Hill in Canton, CT.

 On 2021-12-21, I walked from Farmington River Turnpike in New Hartford to the top of Breezy Hill in Canton, CT, and back.  Here's a link to an interactive map of my route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38220438 .  My route took the Tunxis Trail to an unblazed path to a bushwhack to Canton Land Trust trails that led to the top of Breezy Hill, 1,091 feet in elevation.  I parked on Farmington River Turnpike at 343 feet elevation.  From the interactive map, you can download my GPS track and load it onto your own device.  Here's a non-interactive screenshot of the map.


Paul Rabenold is the long-time Connecticut Forest and Park Association trail maintainer for the section of the Tunxis Trail I walked on.  He has been using an axe to cut fallen trees that are lying across the trail.  This was at mile 0.85, on my way out.



Mile 1.96, on my way out.  The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection promotes the cutting down of trees.  The Department justifies the tree cutting by saying that many species prefer a habitat other than established forests.  I think we get enough tree killing to provide varied habitats without CT-DEEP doing more tree killing.  I 'd like to believe that, in 500 years, there will be some 500-year-old forests.



Mile 2.22, at the top of Breezy Hill.



Mile 2.86, on my way back.  There are lots of these piles of rocks on the Canton Land Trust Breezy Hill preserves.  I think, at some point maybe around 1820, people were trying to grow crops on this land while the land was getting more rocky due to the absence of trees.  The farmers gathered the rocks into piles in an attempt to keep the ground tillable.



Mile 3.31 on the way back.  This thoroughfare is unblazed but someone seems to be keeping the trail clear.  It could be that ATV riders are keeping the trail open.



Mile 4.2 on the way back.  The Tunxis Trail runs almost perpendicular to a steep slope here.



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