No run today, so I'll fill this entry with some additional material from after Friday's run.  On my way home from McLean and Holcomb Farm, I drove along Day Road in Granby to take another look at the Dewey Oak (Granby Oak).  This is an awesome tree, over 450 years old!

The Moon was huge last night and early this morning.  Looking a bit more into it, I read that "...when the "Full Cold Moon" rises on Sunday night (Dec. 3) it will also mark the first (and last) "supermoon" of 2017."

Supermoons happen when a full moon approximately coincides with the moon's perigee, or a point in its orbit at which it is closest to Earth. This makes the moon appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual. 

The Full Cold Moon setting in the west over the Connecticut River, from Volunteer Park.

Today was on the damp and grey side, but still in the mid-thirties.  Journeyed to DAR to explore the Lah-Zee Trail I spotted a week ago.  I also wanted to re-check the "Boy Scout" Trail, which I haven't traveled in five or six years.

Lah-Zee is very nice, just a bit rocky in spots.  Connects to the upper portion of the Bobcat Trail, so that is an important addition for me to get in my head.  The Boy Scout Trail was as I remembered it, I'll need to re-visit the trails south of Wing Hill Road near Rogers Brook and Merritts Hill.  It's been a long time since I ran through there, and the path connects to some Williamsburg Woodland Trails and Snowmobile Corridor trails.

Finally, on my way towards wrapping the run up, while near Ludwig Road Branch, I jumped off the road onto another single-track section, which after a few minutes split north and south.  I chose south and intersected the lower portion of the Bobcat Trail, and then retraced and continued north until I exited the woods at the bottom of Moore Hill Road.  Good finds today, with a total of 5.5-miles on my legs.

Stand of White Pine along the Lah-Zee Trail

White Pine along the Lah-Zee Trail

Stonewall Crossing along the Lah-Zee or Bobcat Trails

Feeder Stream into Chapel Brook, with remnants of a dam

Feeder Stream into Chapel Brook, with remnants of a dam

Feeder Stream into Chapel Brook, with remnants of a dam

A mid-morning run through Whitiker Woods and the McCann Family Farm trails with K2 & Wuzzam.  Considering it is December 2nd, the weather was pretty much outstanding (sunny and mid-forties).

We attempted to run the most "outside" trails, which usually meant taking a "left" at any intersection we came upon.  It worked out fairly well, and we ended the day with 5.7-miles on our legs.

At the top of Hill 621', with Bald Mountain in the distance to the northeast

One of my favorite stonewalls, shortly after descending 621'

I had to go back to McLean and verify the connection to Holcomb.  I realize it exist for me on a map, and with data, but I need to feel these paths with my feet and heart.  The mind is another matter.

So, today, everything was right where it was supposed to be.  I did a big loop of the "Red" trail in Holcomb, which I think they refer to as the "Laurel Loop", which now cements two routes to get to the "Orange" McLean Connector.

3.6-miles of easy running, with a day in the high forties.  Not too bad for December 1st.  As a bonus, at the bottom of the rise just before the boundary of the two properties, I jumped six-deer.  They split into two groups of three each, and were magnificent creatures to witness moving through the woods.

Top of the rise at the McLean/Holcomb boundary, looking south at both Barndoor Hills.

 

Along the small parking area at Canton Road for McLean Reservation, there is a stand of Pitch Pine, as well as some White Pine.  Wuzzam learned the difference prior to our run Sunday, namely Pitch Pine has three-needles and White Pine has five-needles.

Pitch Pine Needles in the right, White Pine Needles in the left

Pitch Pine at McLean Game Refuge

White Pine at McLean Game Refuge

After leaving Florida on Sunday, I stopped off at the "Hail to the Sunrise" statue in Charlemont.

During the drive back from Adams Sunday, we stopped off at our property in Florida Mountain to put the canoes away for the winter, and set up my Pop's tree-stand.  It was also a good time to check my Pop's progress on his cabin.

My Mom and her buddy Otis

The Cabin

 Pop showing us the marks from a young bear climbing this apple tree

Rambled out to McLean with the Wuzzam.  There were a series of waterfalls that he hasn't seen, as well as a pretty incredible ledge worth noticing.  We wanted to get in a longish run, so I thought the thing to do would be to connect McLean with Holcomb Farm Trails for a big loop.

The section on the eastern side of Holcomb Farm, with the Mclean Game Refuge connection available, is often tricky and in the past, slightly grown-in.  I figured I would navigate it well enough, after all, I've done it before, the last time being October 10th, 2016.

The run to that point was awesome, including the following:

• Northgate Falls
• Westledge Falls
• Carpenter Falls
• Two "Perched" Rocks
• The extensive stonewall work along Weed Hill
• Diamond Ledge (which blew Wuzzam's mind)
• The quality of the trails that McLean and Holcomb offer 

On the east-side of Holcomb, we lost our way.  We ended up following a trail that eventually was swallowed up in briars.. so I knocked on a door to ask if there happened to be a trail through the field and woods in front of us that would get us in the vicinity of McLean. There is, and the home-owner told us to point toward a corner of the field and the trail lead through their conservation easement.  It got us to Barn Door Hills Road, about a half-mile from the entrance to McLean, right where we should have ended up if I kept on the correct path.

The map shows where we made our mistake, circled in bright green;  the section between it and the pink circle is the trail we should have stayed on.  The red line is today's route, and the yellow line is from a year ago.  I plan on going back in the next couple weeks to verify the route still works in real life.

Once finished, we totaled up 13.5-miles of running and exploring.

Northgate Falls

Westledge Falls

Westledge Falls with Wuzzam under the ledge

First "Perched" Boulder

Second "Perched" Boulder

Carpenter Falls

Wuzzam at Carpenter Falls plaque

Diamond Ledge

Wuzzam at Diamond Ledge

Wuzzam at Diamond Ledge

Holcomb Farm

Stopped off at DAR once again, on my way to the Folks.  Ran through the forest for 7.2-miles, along the Ashfield Chapel Brook Trail, the Moose Run, the Hootenanny, the Long Trail, and the Twining Brook Pond Trail.

After lunch, my parents and I drove to Florida Mountain to put our canoes in the barn, and check out my Pop's progress on the cabin.  I drove the Mohawk Trail (Route 2) back to Connecticut, and stopped at the Hail to the Sunrise Memorial for a visit.  I'll post photographs of these during the upcoming week.

Beaver Dam and Pond, Ashfield Chapel Brook Trail

Hemlock and it's rock

Bent Tree in front of large boulders

Large Turtle Effigy

Birch on it's rock

Large Boulders with adjacent stonewall, small cave underneath

View through small "Cave"

Twining Pond and Camping Area