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Peter Marteka
Nature's Path & Way To Go
June 18, 2010
During my journeys throughout the state, I've seen deer bounding
through the woods, grazing at the edges of meadows and foraging in
wetlands. Never has a deer stopped and struck a pose — until a recent
journey to Ethel Walker Woods.
While walking through part of the 330-acre Woods, I startled a doe that
looked like a cross between Bambi's mother and Rudolph's girlfriend
Clarice. The doe bounded through the woods briefly before stopping
abruptly and, well, posing for me as I snapped a few photos before it
was startled by the noise and disappeared into the forest.
That is what a trip to the Ethel Walker Woods is like. From the moment
you enter the woods — crossing a wooden bridge over Stratton Brook –
you are immediately swallowed up in a natural world of towering white
pines and old hemlocks. A variety of marked trails — blue, yellow,
purple, red, green and orange — take visitors several miles through
deep forests, along clear streams to the edge of a vast marsh, and
around pastures and meadows.
On this trip, I start on the orange and green trail along the banks of
Stratton Brook, formed by the confluence of several streams, including
one from Town Forest Pond. The pond has a swimming area with a concrete
lifeguard stand that is a must-see. Upon entering the woods, the bright
afternoon sun is dimmed by the evergreen canopy and the warm late
spring day feels about 5 or 6 degrees cooler.
Most of the trails through the woods are relatively flat and covered
with pine needles. The earthy smells here are incredible, created by
the scent of evergreens mixing with the aroma of boggy water from the
vast wetlands within the woods.
After making my way along the purple trail, I came to Wegner Meadow and
a pasture where several horses, their tails swishing, peacefully
chomped their way through the high grass. A paved road takes you to the
top of Cluett Hill, or Bushy Hill, to the Niels and Willem van Gemeren
Observatory. Here there are views of the school in the valley and the
surrounding hills, along with the ever-watchful Heublein Tower atop
Talcott Mountain.
From here I journeyed back into the woods, eventually hooking up with
my favorite path — the yellow trail — as it winds its way along the
western edges of the woods along a vast marsh with views of the
surrounding hillsides. Be on the lookout for unmarked secondary trails
that take visitors even deeper into the woods.
Old signs rot away on the trunks of evergreens noting "responsible use
of this land for horseback riding, ski touring, walking, fishing and
nature study is permitted." It also urges visitors to "protect the
environment of this land" and to take only pictures and leave only
footprints. And it helps when the local wildlife poses for those
pictures.
Route 167 (Bushy Hill Road) to a parking area at the intersection
with Stratton Brook Road. Visitors can also follow Stratton Brook to
Town Forest Road and park at Town Forest Park.
For a map of the area, visit www.keepthewoods.org.
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and suggestions are welcome. Peter Marteka can be reached
by phone at 860-647-5365; by mail at The Courant, 200 Adams St.,
Manchester, CT. 06040; and by e-mail at pmarteka@courant.com.
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