Chickatawbut 2022 Reports | Friends of the Blue Hills

Chickatawbut Section Trail Work Reports – 2022

Date	Name	Trail	Hours	Work	Volunteers	Remaining Work	Comments
2022-01-25	Bob Quinn	Bouncing Brook Path	1.5	Cut back fallen trees that were blocking 1/2 of trail.
2022-01-25	Bob Quinn	Laurel Path	0.5	Cleared one small fallen limb from the trail		3 large trees lie across the trail between #3130 and #3111. All require a chain saw to clear
2022-01-25	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	1.5	Cleared back three limbs that were encroaching upon trail
2022-03-01	Paul McPartland	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	1	1. At the very upper beginning of the trail (near 3090) there is a dead tree leaning right over the trail held up mainly by another dead tree which is still standing but may not be much longer. The leaner should probably be taken down for safety. I have photos; if they would be helpful just let me know where to email them. 2. Just beyond the leaner, the top of the trail is flooded as usual this time of year, though it was frozen over when I was there. You can see foot prints where people have had to go around the flooded area. As previously suggested, may want to consider relocating this section of the trail, or at least establish a preferred route for when the main trail is flooded. Photos are available. 3. I removed a dead 4" trunk from the trail just beyond the flooding, and also some recently live limbs that had fallen. 4. At the bottom of the trail (approaching 3131) there is a 20-foot long limbless trunk (photo) along the side of the trail. There is room alongside it, but I might try to roll it closer to the side once the snow melts, or it could be cut up and removed. (Photo). 5. I'll need to come back in April after the snow melts to check on the water bars.		Only question is whether to address the trail flooding mentioned above, and the log at the bottom.	Possible need to re-route as noted above. Please let me know if you want photos of the flooding. Signs were in place. Only tracks I saw in the snow were hiking boots, dogs and cross-country skis.
2022-03-01	Paul McPartland	Laurel Path	0.25	No work completed; noted work needed below.		Happened to walk this section while doing maintenance on other trails I adopted and noticed there are two 12-14" limbless trunks over the path between 3111 and 3130, about 100 feet apart. Both can be easily stepped over, but they are a bummer for the cross country skiers. I have photos; please let me know if you want me to email them.
2022-03-01	Paul McPartland	Sassaman Notch Path	1	Cleared two 6 inch blow downs on Sassaman Notch Trail a couple hundred yards south of Chickatawbut Road. A bit further up this path a dead, branchless 12 inch trunk is laying low on the path (have photo). Too big for me to remove but easy to step over.		May want to remove the 12" trunk lying over the path, noted above. Beyond my abilities. I'll check the trail again in April to see if the waterbars need clearing.	Nope.
2022-03-13	Bob Flagg	Slide Notch Path	2	Cleaned blockage from small brook that runs along the trail. Removed small branches from the trail. Conducted cleanup of trailhead parking area on Chickatawbut Road.
2022-03-26	Bob Flagg	Romari Trail	0.5	Walked trail removing branches from trail.
2022-03-26	Bob Flagg	Wood Path	0.75	Walked trail removing branches from the trail. Cut portion of huge branch on trail to open about a third of the trail for hikers and bikers.		Need to remove the rest of the tree from the trail. It is located about mid-point on the trail.
2022-03-26	Bob Flagg	Hemlock Path	0.75	Walked trail removing branches and small trees from the trail.		Several large trees across the trail most of the way along the trail toward Rt 128.
2022-03-26	Bob Flagg	Laurel Path	0.5	Walked trail removing branches from the trail.		There are about five large trees on the trail along the length of the trail.
2022-04-05	Bob Quinn	Savoy Path	0.5	raked out water bars
2022-04-05	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	0.75	raked out water bars
2022-04-05	Bob Quinn	Streamside Edge Path	0.5	cleared out inflow and outflow of culvert
2022-04-05	Bob Quinn	Branch Path	0.75	raked out water bar; cleared inflow and outflow of culvert
2022-04-05	Bob Quinn	Laurel Path	0.75	cleared out inflow and outflow of culvert at intersection #3121
2022-04-07	Bob Quinn	Squamaug Notch Trail	0.5	cleared out inflow and outflow of culvert at intersection # 3131
2022-04-04	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	3	Brushing as needed along 2+ miles of trail in this section, from #28 to Chickatawbut road (marker #4134). Trail in good shape.		Raking out of drainage near pipeline trail. I will go back and get to that shortly.
2022-04-08	Charlie Crosby	Carve Path	1	Brushing as needed		I need to go back and clean out a water bar.
2022-04-08	Charlie Crosby	Stowe Path	1	Brushing as needed.
2022-04-09	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	6	Dug out ditch to connect flooded and ponded trail area to existing outflow. Cleaned out the existing outflow, so as to facilitate the drainage. Cleared ponded trail area of debris.	Bob Flagg	Will need to observe impact of work on drainage area. Might need to further enhance outflow area to drain entire trail area.	Good start to fixing this longstanding problem area
2022-04-09	Charlie Crosby	Thayer Path (FBH)	1.5	Brushing as required
2022-04-09	Charlie Crosby	Great Dome Foot Path	2	Brushing as needed from Bouncing Brook to Skyline
2022-04-16	Bob Flagg	Savoy Path	3.25	Installed swale at the trailhead to divert water flowing from the road off the trail into the woods; removed poison ivy growing on the stone walls at the trailhead and removed trash from trailhead parking area.		The stone walls at the Pakomet Spring pullout could use some maintenance as some stones are loose and falling away from the wall. The walls at the other side of the pullout need even more attention.
2022-04-12	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	1	Raked out drainages near intersection with pipeline
2022-04-12	Charlie Crosby	Carve Path	1	Cleaned out 4 small water bars
2022-04-16	Charlie Crosby	Hemlock Bound Foot Path	1	Light brushing along length of trail as required.
2022-04-18	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	2	deepened drainage ditch created on 4/9
2022-04-18	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	0.5	cleared remains of dead stump that had fallen on trail
2022-04-10	Bob Quinn	Glover Path	0.5	cleared remains of tree that had. fallen on trail.		aintree still across. trail will return to. remove. it
2022-04-10	Bob Quinn	Braintree Pass Path	0.5	moved two large limbs off trail
2022-04-19	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	2	Raked out all leaves and muck from ponded area of trail. This will help the drainage of the trail into the drainage ditch which was created on 4/9. Also will enable us to determine what are the next steps, if any.
2022-04-24	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	5.5	Continued work to drain the ponding that has overtaken the trail. Also cleared by-pass trail on north side of trail.	Bob Flagg	Unlikely that even with all of the drainage work completed that the trail will be passable for the entire year. Thus by-pass trail should be maintained and signage showing the entry to by-pass should be placed on both ends.	Once the impact of work is fully shown, an assessment should be done as to whether a bridge or stepping stones would be beneficial to area.
2022-04-24	Bob Quinn	Glover Path	0.5	sawed branch that was across trail.	Bob Flagg	A large tree trunk lies across entire trail and should be removed. A chain saw is required
2022-04-25	Bob Flagg	Hawk Hill Path	4	Cleaned trailhead parking at Rt 28: cleaned up two huge bags of trash, clipped brush and removed poison ivy from stone walls.		Need to get someone to repair CCC stone walls at both turnouts on Rt 28.
2022-04-02	Skip Maysles	Skyline Trail	15	Skyline Tr from DCR HQ east to Route 28, AMC-SEM Adopted Trail: Spring cleaning, cleared water bars, removed rocks, cut back brush, cleaned stairs, 90% completed.	Chris Lay, Steve Scala, Grace Whouley, Pete Tierney	From Buck Hill down to Route 28, scheduled for April 23rd, Park Serve Day.
2022-04-23	Skip Maysles	Skyline Trail	9	AMC-SEM Adopted Skyline Trail: complete spring trail work on this trail, from Buck Hill down to Route 28. Cleaned rock stairs, removed rocks, cut back brush adjacent to Rte 28, cleared water bars.	Margaret Finn, Susan Stoll	None
2022-05-05	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	2	created and installed two directional signs so as to help hikers find bypass around ponded area.
2022-05-05	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	0.75	removed tree from trail
2022-05-05	Bob Quinn	Savoy Path	1.25	cleared debris, litter, bricks, stones, asphalt, boards, leaves from trailhead		cleanup of southern half of historic wall has not been completed.
2022-05-10	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	10	We picked up 99 dog poops from the trailhead of Braintree Pass Path to the skyline trail.	Paul Norris
2022-05-05	Judy Lehrer Jacobs	Braintree Pass Path	15	Raked side ditches with group from Liberty Mutual.	Dennis Wong, TJ LeClair, Rick Dunham, Erin White, Jessica Halpern	More raking and deepening the ditches.
2022-06-09	Bob Quinn	Savoy Path	0.5	Surveyed trail for current condition		Trailhead needs to be cleaned up by DCR. This trailhead is the first one entering the reservation from Rte 95 on Rte 28 north. IT IS A DUMP AND A DISGRACE. Destroyed playground set, old huge television, large contraction bags of trash have been left at this pull off. I cleaned this area a month ago, all for naught. SAD
2022-06-05	Bob Flagg	Slide Notch Path	0.5	Walked trail and removed branches from trail.		There was a fire recently on the trail and branches that were cut by the firefighters ended up in the small brook that runs aloing the trail. These need to be removed or water will be forced out on the trail when rains occur. There is also one grade reversal near Bouncing Brook that needs to be repaired after sone stones were knocked from the structure.
2022-06-05	Bob Flagg	Lee Path	0.75	Brushed trail of overhanging branches and removed several small trees growing over the trail.
2022-06-05	Bob Flagg	Braintree Pass Path	1	Several large trees with large branches feel on the trail just east of Lee Path. Removed smaller branches and trees to improve transit thru the site but some huge trees remain to be removed.		Several large trees need to be removed from the area east of Lee Path.
2022-06-14	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	2	Picked up dog poop for baseline data			62 dog poops removed from fragile ecological area
2022-06-19	Paul McPartland	Sassaman Notch Path	0.75	Trail was in good shape; just removed fairly minor fallen debris. There is a continuing 12-inch diameter dead tree laying across the trail about halfway between Chickatawbut Road and the top of the trail, but it is easily stepped over.		Just removal of the 12" downed tree mentioned above, but since it is easily stepped over it is not urgent. Would need a chainsaw.
2022-06-20	Bob Flagg	Tower Path (FBH)	1	Walked trail from Slide Notch Path to the tower removing branches and picking up small amount of trash. Cut up large tree crown blocking path and dragged it to block the bypass trail created by the downed crown.
2022-06-20	Bob Flagg	Bouncing Brook Path	0.75	Light brushing from 3130 to 3163.
2022-06-20	Bob Flagg	Squamaug Notch Trail	1	Performed minor brushing in the area that burned recently. Cleared half burned white pine trees just south of the Skyline Trail.
2022-06-19	Paul McPartland	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	0.75	Only minor cleanup needed. Loved the relocation of the top of the trail to avoid the long-standing problem of flooding; should work out well.		Near the bottom of the trail is a long-dead, 9" diameter, 15' long log lying in the path. Not really blocking anything but some day would be good to chainsaw it up and move it off. Just up the hill from that tree is another 12" dead log lying directly over the path about a foot off the ground. Can be stepped over, but should be removed eventually. At the top of the trail, visible from the 3090 marker, is a long, 6" diameter long laying across the trail, which can be easily stepped over.
2022-06-24	Charlie Crosby	Slide Hill Trail	0.5	Survey visit per trails status report/spreadsheet. Picked up a few sticks/branches. Trail is clear and in good condition.		Drainage ditch needs raking/cleaning near intersection with Bouncing Brook	Gently sloping trail is clear and in good condition. Naturally drains down onto Braintree Pass Path and again down onto Bouncing Brook via a drainage ditch. Erosion not a big problem for this trail at this time.
2022-06-30	Bob Quinn	Slide Notch Path	2.5	cleared out tree branches and stumps that had been placed in drainage ditch. along the east side of the trail
2022-07-03	Bob Flagg	Sassaman Notch Path	1.25	Boot-cleaned grade reversals from 3135 to 3090.
2022-07-03	Bob Flagg	Squamaug Notch Trail	0.5	Removed green briar near 3131.		There was a recent fire on the trail and it could use some brushing of burnt pine trees from 3131 to a bit past 3144.
2022-07-03	Bob Flagg	Hemlock Path	0.75	Removed medium sized tree blocking trail.
2022-07-12	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	1.5	Picked up 60 dog poops
2022-07-15	Charlie Crosby	Great Dome Foot Path	5	Heavy brushing from marker 3085/Bouncing Brook to the Skyline trail.			Good year for scrub oak!
2022-07-21	Charlie Crosby	Carve Path	3	Heavy Brushing			...and the scrub oak kept coming...
2022-07-25	Charlie Crosby	Thayer Path (FBH)	2	Moderate brushing along all parts of this trail system.		2 large blowdowns remain on section closest to water tank. Hikers currently going over, under, & around.
2022-07-26	Charlie Crosby	Hemlock Bound Foot Path	3	Moderate brushing
2022-07-23	Bob Flagg	Cochato Path (FBH)	2	Removed rotted cross members on the western side and collapsed plank across the Great Swamp outflow stream. Stabilized the remaining plank to allow safe passage across stream.		Will submit proposal to replace remaining structure with a new bridge before Fall.
2022-08-09	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	1.5	Picked up 64 dog poops
2022-08-10	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	2	Moderate brushing as required from intersection with Slide Notch to #3144		There is still a tree across the trail in this section. I will try to go back and clear with a helper.
2022-08-15	Charlie Crosby	Cochato Path (FBH)	4	Heavy brushing of trail in preparation for bridge repair project this fall. Removed several small trees and shrubs, and trimmed back many branches. Did not brush the bypass trail on the other side of route #93 fence.		There is a large blowdown at the western edge of the swampy part of the path, near the bypass trail. Limber hikers can go over/under, but this should be removed. Also need to clean up trash (+ tires) that has blown or rolled over/through the fence from #93.	Swampy section of trail is currently passable due to drought.
2022-08-17	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	3	Moderate brushing from #3144 to Chickatawbut Rd. Light brushing as required #3144 to Route #28		There are several crossable blowdowns along the length of the Skyline in this section. There is one blocking blowdown (previously reported) that I need to come back for with some help.
2022-08-31	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	1	Light brushing and cleared a couple downed limbs between Education center and Route #28
2022-08-31	Charlie Crosby	Hemlock Bound Foot Path	1	Moderate brushing
2022-08-31	Charlie Crosby	Great Dome Foot Path	1	Light brushing
2022-09-13	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	1	Picked up dog poop
2022-09-17	Bob Flagg	Cochato Path (FBH)	30	Removed remains of bridge structure at the outlet from the Great Swamp. Installed new cribwork and planks to replace old bridge. Planks are 3 x 16 x 20' made of redwood. Old bridge structure moved to the end of Laurel Path for removal by DCR.	Michael Platt, Jake Koster, Mike Prokosch, Robert Quinn, Julia Milot, Russ Parkman, Skip Maysles, Pete Tierney, Mark Buckles
2022-09-15	Charlie Crosby	Cochato Path (FBH)	3	Picked up 2+ bags of trash and did a little light brushing in conjunction with the bridge replacement project. Thanks to Bob F. and the bridge replacement team for hauling the trash out of there. The new bridge looks fantastic and the trail is in good shape other than a large blowdown by the fence.		Large blowdown.
2022-09-01	Bob Quinn	Savoy Path	0.5	Cleared down limbs across trail
2022-09-01	Bob Quinn	Pakomet Path (FBH)	0.5	cleared path at intersection with Hawk Hill. Intersection has been blocked by downed tree across path
2022-09-01	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	0.5	Cut down pine tree that was encroaching on trail path.
2022-09-29	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	1.5	Cleared blow-down between Education center and Slide Notch.
2022-10-09	Bob Flagg	Cochato Path (FBH)	2	Visited bridge completed last month to add 2 x 3 boards to underside of bridge to provide additional strength to prevent from sagging under foot traffic.	Mike Prokosch
2022-10-11	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	2	Removed 88 dog poops from trail.
2022-11-08	Jennifer Brodbeck	Braintree Pass Path	2	Cleaned up dog poop	Judy Jacobs
2022-11-12	Bob Flagg	Squamaug Notch Trail	1.5	Cleaned up parking area at trailhead, walked trail removing branches from recent windstorm, removed green briar just east of 3141 and dug out two grade reversals east of 3144.		Large tree crossing the trail just east of Skyline Trail needs to be removed with chainsaw.
2022-11-12	Bob Flagg	Bouncing Brook Path	0.5	Walked trail removing branches from trail, boot cleaned two grade reversals near 3085.
2022-11-18	Ruth Bigio	Squamaug Notch Trail	10	Brushing, cutting back burned white pines, low-hanging branches, starting from the trail head (marker #3104) to intersection with Curve Path and Squamaug Notch at marker #3143.	Jim Briand, Arlene Simon, Sue Bisaillon	This was a monthly trail maintenance event for me. Will resume next Spring.	We noticed two freshly completed water bars along the way. Very welcome, as part of this trail is eroded and rough.
2022-11-26	Bob Flagg	Bouncing Brook Path	3	Performed regular maintenance on trail from 2189 to 3085. Cleaned up trash at trailhead. Removed huge tree (16") down across trail near 3042. Log had been cut 90% thru so only needed to do last 1". Two hikers passing by helped drag two large pieces off the trail.
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Wampatuck Path	0.25	cleared water bars
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Wood Path	0.5	Cleared inflow and outflow of culvert
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Romari Trail	0.5	Removed car tire and wheel from trail to trailhead on Wood Road		need to take wheel and tire to DCR work yard
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Squamaug Notch Trail	0.25	#3163 to #3160: surveyed trail, removed some fallen branches, trail in good shape
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Hemlock Path	0.25	Surveyed trail. Trail is in good shape.		Fallen limbs across trail toward southerly end of trail. They do not block trail completely. They can be removed with handsaw and two strong backs. Will do this at some point.
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Laurel Path	0.75	Cleared inflow and outflow of culvert at. #3121. Cleared inflows and outflows of several culverts feeding the Great Cedar Swamp.		I did not clear out culvert closest to #3130
2022-11-30	Bob Quinn	Curve Path	0.5	Cleared inflow and outflow of culvert
2022-12-01	Charlie Crosby	Thayer Path (FBH)	0.5	Cleaned drainage adjacent to trail that was causing some minor flooding
2022-12-01	Charlie Crosby	Hemlock Bound Foot Path	1	Cleared a couple mid-sized blowdowns near intersection with Bouncing Brook path.
2022-12-05	Bob Quinn	Squamaug Notch Trail	1.25	Cleared inflow and outflow of culvert at #313; Inflow was backed up. Cleared the two water diverters closest to #3143; Cleared debris and branches from tree down at southern tip of triangular intersection #3143; cleared debris and branches from downed tree that had been removed earlier.		Culvert at #3131 needs to be cleaned out. Tree that recently fell across trail at # 3143 needs a chain saw to remove. tree across 2/3 of trail near #3160 needs chain saw
2022-12-05	Bob Quinn	Ridge Path	0.5	raked out two water diverters		Both water diverters are indeed of refurbishment. Both are needed in this area, but both have not been maintained and are now not effective. Both need a scouring to reestablish them as diverters
2022-12-05	Bob Quinn	Bouncing Brook Path	0.5	Between # 3151 and #3130 cleaned out two water diverters and picked up some litter.
2022-12-05	Bob Quinn	Laurel Path	0.75	cleared inflow and outflow at first culvert west of #3130		Culvert is half filled with debris. Needs to be cleaned out
2022-12-05	Bob Quinn	Slide Notch Path	1.5	Cleared water diverters on south side of ridge between #3073 and Skyline trail.		two more water diverters need to be cleared on south side of ridge closest to Skyline. Also all water diverters on North side of ridge need to be cleared
2022-12-08	Charlie Crosby	Squamaug Notch Trail	1	Cut and cleared a blow down between #3143 & #3144
2022-12-11	Chris Mullin	Stokes Foot Path	0.25	Brushing
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Savoy Path	1	Litter at trailhead picked a full trash barrel of litter. Cleared out water bars	Dave P,
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	1	Cleared water bars (8+/-).	Dave P
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Branch Path	1	cleared water drain across trail as well as inflow and outflow. cleared inflow and outflow of culvert Culvert is clean.	Dave P
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Streamside Edge Path	1	cleared inflow and outflow of culvert	Dave P	At least 3 trees need to be removed and they require a chain saw.
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	1	cleared drainage ditch at are that usually ponds up. Hopefully this will allow for minimal ponding. Raked out water bars	Dave P
2022-12-03	Bob Quinn	Pakomet Path (FBH)	0.5	survey only no work required at this time except as noted below	Dave P,	chain saw required for tree across trail at intersection with Hawk Hill and also another tree down path 100 yards from Hawk Hill
2022-12-13	Bob Quinn	Glover Path	0.75	Cleared all water bars and side drainage areas		2 trees across trail. 1 needs chain saw. the second one I think I can handle with hand saw
2022-12-13	Bob Quinn	Slide Hill Trail	0.75	Cleared outflow of culvert at intersection with Bouncing Brook Trail. Cleared water bar at intersection with Bouncing Brook Trail.		Culvert at Bouncing Brook Trail did not. appear to be functioning. Inflow to culvert and drainage ditch leading to the culvert need to be cleared
2022-12-15	Fred Taylor	Laurel Path	0.75	Hiked trail looking for problems but found none. No downed trees or encroaching limbs and the culverts were running free.
2022-12-15	Fred Taylor	Great Dome Foot Path	0.75	Hiked trail looking for problems. Found one tree down across trail, maybe 12 inches in diameter. Could be same tree I have reported on in previous years. Otherwise no obstructions.
2022-12-15	Charlie Crosby	Thayer Path (FBH)	7	Thanks to Bob, his saw, and Ruth, we cut and cleared 2 trees, one of which was quite large, off of the trail 100 yards from the Pipeline.	Bob Vogel, Ruth Bigio	There is still a large blow down 100 yards above the water tank to get another time.
2022-12-15	Bob Quinn	Glover Path	0.75	Removed tree that was across trail with handsaw		another tree across the trail requires a chain saw to remove
2022-12-15	Bob Quinn	Streamside Edge Path	0.75	removed tree across trail with handsaw		another tree across the trail requires a chain saw to remove
2022-12-20	Bob Quinn	Hawk Hill Path	0.5	removed tree that was across trail with handsaw
2022-12-20	Bob Quinn	Barberry Bush Spring Trail	0.5	survey hike to see how ponding was doing 3 days after major rain storm
2022-12-20	Bob Quinn	Slide Notch Path	0.75	raked out 4 water bars as well as side ditch
2022-12-20	Bob Quinn	Skyline Trail	0.75	survey hike to view condition of steps and abandoned fence posts
2022-12-19	Charlie Crosby	Braintree Pass Path	0.5	Picked up a bag of trash at the trailhead. Left in front of the gate.
2022-12-26	Bob Quinn	Glover Path	1	removed two fallen tree limbs across trail
2022-12-26	Charlie Crosby	Skyline Trail	2	Cleared several large branches and a blowdown between #28/Randolph Ave and Chickatawbut Rd. Also boot cleaned a couple drainages.