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Letterboxing Northeast Local Letterboxes VI
The Quiet Corner Letterbox series is an epic 7½ or 8 mile hike with 5 letterboxes in Bigelow Hollow State Park and the Nipmuck State Forest of northeast Connecticut. Directions: from I-84 near the border with Sturbridge MA, take exit 74 and follow Rte. 190 North. Turn right on Rte. 171 East to find the park entrance on your left. Drive in (there are seasonal fees) and park at the Bigelow Pond Picnic Area and Trail Head Parking. Difficulty: this hike is generally level, but due to the rooty-rocky nature of the trail and its length, it is rated as difficult. And of course it wouldn't be New England without some steep climbing here and there. Figure about 5 hours of fairly rugged hiking time, plus whatever you allot to looking and lingering. It's an investment that is amply rewarded with world-class hiking in an exciting and isolated area with lots of wildlife and postcard-perfect scenery. The clues are intended to be clear and easy, and there are maps available at the trailhead. Bring binoculars, bug spray, water, and energy snacks. Plan on damp feet in season. Begin with a 1½ mile clockwise loop around Bigelow Pond following the yellow–blazed Bigelow Pond Trail. Leaving just inside the picnic area and turning left, south, keep the pond on your right. You'll pass a large deck and the fishing area before skirting the southwest corner of the pond along Rte. 171 and turning north-northeast up the pond. Halfway up the northern pond shore, the trail bends left, away from the water briefly, to cross a mossy-rocky seasonal stream. It then passes a needle-strewn point of evergreen hemlock trees on the right before regaining the ponds' edge. At an opening in the trees on shore here, with several beaver-gnawed stumps, you'll be just opposite the large deck bearing 120. Right behind you, about 20 feet steeply uphill through trees, is a big rock. The Bigelow Pond Letterbox is on the ground behind it. Continue northeast on the yellow trail to a bridge at the top of the pond. The yellow trail turns right over the bridge back to the parking area: we'll turn left, northwest. The trail here is the Mashapaug Pond View Trail, marked in a blue rectangle with a white bar. Follow it steeply uphill to a fork: we recommend the shorter right turn heading north for about a mile to the parking area by Mashapaug Pond. Continuing northwards with the blue-white blazes past the parking and the small dam, walk through a picnic area along the shore for about ½ mile. You'll finish with the picnic area and skirt a marshy area before eventually coming to a trail junction with portable bathrooms off to the left and a sign pointing back the way you came reading "to parking area." Turn right, northeast, on a clear but vaguely marked trail, and cross a bridge out to a point on the pond and a second picnic area with irritating warnings about swimming across to private ledges on the opposite shore. From the rocky outcrop at the waters' edge, head back 310 with mountain laurel on your right and under hemlock to walk up a faint path on a small hill to an open area on top. The Pond Point Letterbox is stashed by a largish thigh-high rock in the northeast corner of the mini clearing - just on your left as you step in. Zig zag left and right back over the bridge to the "to parking area" sign and intersection. Turn left and walk back the way you came, and this time take the paved park road 3/4 mile pleasantly back to your car at the trailhead. Crossing to the east side of the road, pick up the white-blazed East Ridge Trail behind the info board. Follow the East Ridge Trail 1.1 miles to the southern end of Breakneck Pond. It follows a dirt road but is really quite agreeable (and, you'll make good time). Early on it skirts the edge of the first of several beaver dams you'll either pass by or clamber over. When you come to a crossroad, turn left (due north) onto the Breakneck Pond View Trail (blue blaze with a white dot). Still a dirt road, this trail crosses over a beaver dam with fine views up Breakneck Pond. Watch for the trail to branch right onto single track along the shore, and begin a 2+ mile hike up the western shore of Breakneck Pond. The trail starts out strenuous and rocky with lots of trees downed by beaver. Enjoying the views, begin to pass by swampy little islands with beaver lodges. As at the first Bigelow Pond Letterbox, the trail turns left away from the pond briefly and then right sharply downhill again. When the trail dips down and sharply left, turn right (south) and out on a faint trail to an awesome little point with a fire pit. A few steps from the fire pit, to the north, look on the ground in the laurel behind a tree for the Western Point Letterbox. This site is our new all-time favorite letterbox location! Now continue north up the west side of Breakneck Pond, and pass a much more accessible fire-pit point. Cross over another dam and then pass a big island on the right which is worth wading a few steps over to explore (but no letterbox there yet). Climb steadily to views above the pond and begin passing erratic boulders first to the left and then the right. Come to the Ridge Trail junction, blazed in blue with an orange bar, but stay with your Pond View Trail (blue with white dot). Welcome to Massachusetts! There is a stream flowing northward: cross it on another beaver dam or by wading. The trail is now more substantial: it turns right, south-southwest, at a "T" and crosses the northern end of Breakneck Pond. At a granite state boundary marker, take about 20 steps up the hill on bearing 106, exactly in line with the south face of the monolith, to find the Breakneck Pond Letterbox in the hollow of an orange-banded tree growing right on the state border. At this marker, the white-blazed East Ridge Trail breaks left and uphill. Let it go: continue southwest on the shoreside Nipmuck Trail (blue blazes) back down the eastern shore of Breakneck Pond. This side is somewhat easier than the west, often following a peaceful, shady, needle-rich path that is delightfully level. After about 1 – 1½ miles, open up a point that looks southwest at a long, treed island, with those swampy beaver-lodge islands across to the west. There's a massive stratified rock with a fire pit here and the trail turns left, southeast, to a rocky stream crossing with another beaver dam on the left. From the fire pit rock, walk about 30 steps on 066 degrees, leaving Mountain Laurel shrubs to the left, to another similar big rock on your left. It has a big shaving of rock leaning against its southwest face and the Nipmuck Trail Letterbox is under that balanced shard. The fire pit rock has a nice chair-shaped notch on the southwest side just perfect for stamping in on your fifth find of the day. It's now less than a mile to the bottom of Breakneck Pond. Continue on the blue trail and, about even with the southern end of that long treed island, cross a fairly substantial stream (in season) that tumbles down a rocky course to your left. A short way farther to the southern end of the pond, zig right (northwest) on the Breakneck Pond View Trail again (blue blaze with white dot), letting the Nipmuck continue to the left, south, past where the white blazed East Ridge Trail rejoins. After this right turn, zag left (west) onto the white-blazed dirt road you came in on, 1.1 miles back to the trailhead and civilization. May the memory of this hike bring a secret smile to your face for a week afterwards.
Wadsworth Falls (Graciously adopted in November 2007 by our wonderful friend Rubaduc).
Difficulty: a single letterbox on an easy one mile loop with a couple of short, steep sections. Great views! The black bear (and other local wildlife including turkey, beaver, and coyotes) is making a resurgence in this area. While bears can be a nuisance when they come down into the suburbs, in the woods they tend to be quite shy and will avoid hikers, usually disappearing long before being seen. This classic singletrack makes great hiking and technical mountain biking. Directions: hike on the Mattabesett Trail and an unblazed path in Durham, CT. From the junction of Routes 17, 77, and 79 in oh-so-scenic Durham, take Rte. 79 south and immediately turn left onto Higganum Rd. At the next stop sign, zig right on Bear Rock Rd and then zag left onto Harvey Rd, which turns to well maintained, level dirt. About 0.4 miles down, watch carefully for the blue blazes on the left and pull off in the small unmarked parking area. Located close to the Coginchaugs' Cave letterbox, but not well connected by trail (it's better to drive between them). The Hike: from the pull-off, head north and uphill on the blue-blazed Mattabesset Trail. Near Bear Rock the trail forks: the left fork follows a steep rocky scramble to the top, while the right fork bends around more gently up the backside. From the smooth summit, enjoy the views with the Hanging Hills of Meriden, the ski slopes of Powder Ridge, and the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail to the northwest across the valley. The Bears' Rock Letterbox is hidden away from the sometimes-busy summit: work north and downhill to a lower rocky overlook. At a point with similar western views and lots of white quartz sticking out of the west side of the rock, look in the western crevasse under a four-foot large flake of stone. From the main overlook, this spot is about 75 small steps down north along the path of least resistance. Now either return back the way you came or continue on for a loop trail passing some great rock formations. From the overlook the trail continues north to a rocky crest and views to the east. Walking down a steep slope through a rocky section, pass a picturesque rock formation. Hike to a spring, wetlands, and more rocky outcrops, to a junction with an unmarked trail. The Mattabesett Trail continues straight ahead, west: we'll turn right on the new trail and travel southerly past another spring and more wetlands with a vernal pond, back to the road. Turn right a short way to your car.
Difficulty: an easy mile and a half out-and-back hike on the Mattabesett Trail in Durham, CT, with one short mildly steep section that can be slippery when wet. Located close to the Bears' Rock letterbox, but not well connected by trail (it's better to drive between them). Directions: In Durham, CT, from the junction of Routes 17, 77, and 79, take Rte. 79 south about 1 mile to Old Blue Hill Rd. Turn left and follow the blue blazes of the Mattabesett Trail along the telephone poles about 0.7 miles to the level hill top, and park on the side of the road where the trail cuts right into the woods. Routing: Follow the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail south and generally east from the road for 3/4 mile to Coginchaugs' Cave, which is more an overhang than a true cave. Enjoy the view of a valley with mountain ash and white oak, and feel the weight of the rock behind you. Continuing on the trail past the cave, cross a small seasonal spring and then bear right with the trail at a "T" intersection. Skirt another cliff on your left and hop over some boulders in the path, and in an open area find a sitting rock. From here, the cave is at 305 degrees and the views are open to the southwest. On your right is a flat stone on the ground with treasure beneath. To return, retrace your steps along the Mattabesett Trail.
Difficulty: We love these New England traprock ridges because they are steep and difficult! Guaranteed to raise a sweat, they're also sure to reward your efforts with magnificent views. This hike on the Mattabesett Trail in Guilford covers 2 miles with an intensely steep beginning. It is otherwise lovely, with expansive vistas and a multitude of wildflowers. Directions: From I-95 in Guilford, take exit 58 and travel north on Rte. 77 8.5 miles to an unmarked parking area on the left side of the road after a pond with vacation homes on your right. There is a blue oval Mattabesett Trail sign, but it's more visible to southbound drivers. From Durham in the north, drive south on Rte. 77 4.3 miles, passing the rampart-like Totoket Mountain to the unmarked parking lot after the trail sign, on your right. The big climb: Follow the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail steeply uphill to the north and vast overlooks. Pass up the loop trail on your left, blazed with an orange dot on the blue rectangle. Enjoy the views with Myer Hubbard Pond to the left, and then follow the ridge line north to climb another steep section. At the second top, with the pond directly below and Broomstick Bluff and the Mica Ledges across, look way south for Long Island. This overlook, near an orange-colored watershed warning sign, is the likely spot for a letterbox, but gets too crowded in summer and fall. Continue north on the trail, going downhill again: when the trail breaks left (west-northwest) down a valley, look to the right in an old stump on the edge. Now continue along farther along the ridge if you'd like, or turn back here to regain the orange-dot-on-blue-rectangle loop trail. Turn right here and have a pleasant, much less steep ride home, passing a small historic cemetery.
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