Belding Wildlife Nature Loop LbNA #22768
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 3, 2006 |
| Location: | Belding Wildlife Management Area |
| City: | Vernon |
| County: | Tolland |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 5 |
| Planted by: | Painterly and 46R  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | civilguy (5) |
| Last found: | Dec 12, 2021 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFOFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Sep 3, 2006 |
Clues
Boxes checked and updated March 8, 2012
Directions to Belding Wildlife Management Area
I-84 to Exit 67. At end of exit ramp turn south. (Follow Park and Ride signs) Make first right onto Reservoir Road. (no sign) You will pass a Park and Ride commuter lot. Pass the Reservoir. Continue on Reservoir Road. At the fork, (about one mile from the reservoir) stay left (Reservoir Road). Continue for about one half mile from the fork. You will find parking for several cars.
**CLUES REVISED March 8, 2012
Please be sure to bring a compass and ink and pen. NO inkpads in the boxes. There is one logbook at the end of the series. Be sure to bring along the clues to the Pileated Woodpecker. It is on the same loop.
Please rehide letterboxes completely and close the plastic bags. Please keep plastic bags INSIDE boxes, not on the outside! Do not leave the boxes exposed! Well hidden boxes tend to last much longer. Thanks!!
Hike is about 1.5 miles on gentle hills and flat trails.
Go onto the Blue over Yellow Trail. Very shortly come to a trail junction with the yellow trail going left. Remember this trail junction. It’s where you will return to at the end of the hike. For now, continue straight on trail at 300 degrees. Cross bridge over the Tankerhoosen River. Immediately after the bridge take the blue trail left at 250 degrees to Valley Falls. Find and read the “Floodplain Forest” description post describing Skunk Cabbage. Continue to the next foot bridge. At the west end of the bridge look at 0 degrees to a 5 – 6 foot stump. Walk to the stump. In very wet weather it you may have to cross a swampy stream, but that’s where skunk cabbage live. Look in the stump for the CONNECTICUT SKUNK CABBAGE box.
Return to the trail. Cross a third bridge, and see or cross a fourth bridge. Cross one more bridge (#5) Follow the blue trail when it turns to 270 degrees away from the stream. See a White Pine re-growth signpost at about ½ mile. Keep your eyes open for a post describing a Spring in the Woods. Standing at the Spring sign, you will see the well in the distance. Starting at the sign, walk back the way you came, 26 steps. You should be near a big pine tree on the right hand side of the trail. Look beyond the pine to a downed log covered in moss. WELL IN THE WOODS is on the backside of the log, behind a wooden door. Sign in, bag and rehide. Now continue on the trail past the well sign.
Stay on the trail and you will find the pond. (You may find a trail guide near the pond on the bulletin board) Cross the bridge over the old mill dam at the far end of the pond. Go straight ahead at 110 degrees to the double blue trail marker. At the intersection turn left following the blue trail. Stop at the post and read about the squirrel midden. The Squirrel Midden box is farther along on the trail. The squirrels must have moved!
Continue on the Blue trail. At the 4 way intersection turn right (staying on Blue) You will continue on Blue Trail and continue the direction you were going. You might find a Pileated Woodpecker! Read the nature plaques along the way about the Understory, Shagbark Hickory and Dry Upland Range. Soon you will come to an intersection with the Yellow Trail. Continue on the Blue Trail about another 150 feet until you approach a pretty waterfall. Just before the trail goes through a stone wall that extends to the right under the bottom of the falls, stop at the tree on the right with the blue trail marker on it. Turn left and walk 8 steps (each foot counts) through the wall on the left to a big yellow birch. Take a reading of 100 degrees and look up the hill along the stone wall to the first tree next to the wall. Your box, BELDING WATERFALL is at the foot of the tree next to the wall. Note it is not in the wall. No walls should be damaged hiding or retrieving letterboxes.
After you stamp in, return to the blue trail and go back the way you came to the Yellow Trail junction. Now follow the Yellow Trail up the hills. You will come to a three way junction, the yellow trail and an unmarked trail. In the middle of the intersection is a tree, the backside is marked double yellow. Look at 335 degrees and you will see a large, almost three foot high active squirrel midden at the base of the pine tree. Go to the midden and be amazed at all the pine cones taken apart! Look at about 340 degrees 8 steps away and see the root end of a downed tree. Behind the root end, under a moss sphere is the SQUIRREL MIDDEN box. Sign in and rehide.
If you follow the trail correctly you will come to another stream with lots of side trails and nature plaques describing the area. Explore the area but return to the Yellow Trail. When you get to the plaque about the Arrowwood Bush, stop and read the plaque. Now take 24 to 26 steps along the trail to the next big tree on the right with a yellow blaze. You should be standing on a bunch of tree roots. Walk 15 steps East to a triple trunked tree. The box ARROWWOOD is in the crotch of the tree. Here you will find the logbook to sign in! Rehide well!
After you stamp in, go back to the yellow trail and continue the way you were going. You will get back to the intersection with the blue trail. Turn right to return to your car.
Boxes checked and updated March 8, 2012
Directions to Belding Wildlife Management Area
I-84 to Exit 67. At end of exit ramp turn south. (Follow Park and Ride signs) Make first right onto Reservoir Road. (no sign) You will pass a Park and Ride commuter lot. Pass the Reservoir. Continue on Reservoir Road. At the fork, (about one mile from the reservoir) stay left (Reservoir Road). Continue for about one half mile from the fork. You will find parking for several cars.
**CLUES REVISED March 8, 2012
Please be sure to bring a compass and ink and pen. NO inkpads in the boxes. There is one logbook at the end of the series. Be sure to bring along the clues to the Pileated Woodpecker. It is on the same loop.
Please rehide letterboxes completely and close the plastic bags. Please keep plastic bags INSIDE boxes, not on the outside! Do not leave the boxes exposed! Well hidden boxes tend to last much longer. Thanks!!
Hike is about 1.5 miles on gentle hills and flat trails.
Go onto the Blue over Yellow Trail. Very shortly come to a trail junction with the yellow trail going left. Remember this trail junction. It’s where you will return to at the end of the hike. For now, continue straight on trail at 300 degrees. Cross bridge over the Tankerhoosen River. Immediately after the bridge take the blue trail left at 250 degrees to Valley Falls. Find and read the “Floodplain Forest” description post describing Skunk Cabbage. Continue to the next foot bridge. At the west end of the bridge look at 0 degrees to a 5 – 6 foot stump. Walk to the stump. In very wet weather it you may have to cross a swampy stream, but that’s where skunk cabbage live. Look in the stump for the CONNECTICUT SKUNK CABBAGE box.
Return to the trail. Cross a third bridge, and see or cross a fourth bridge. Cross one more bridge (#5) Follow the blue trail when it turns to 270 degrees away from the stream. See a White Pine re-growth signpost at about ½ mile. Keep your eyes open for a post describing a Spring in the Woods. Standing at the Spring sign, you will see the well in the distance. Starting at the sign, walk back the way you came, 26 steps. You should be near a big pine tree on the right hand side of the trail. Look beyond the pine to a downed log covered in moss. WELL IN THE WOODS is on the backside of the log, behind a wooden door. Sign in, bag and rehide. Now continue on the trail past the well sign.
Stay on the trail and you will find the pond. (You may find a trail guide near the pond on the bulletin board) Cross the bridge over the old mill dam at the far end of the pond. Go straight ahead at 110 degrees to the double blue trail marker. At the intersection turn left following the blue trail. Stop at the post and read about the squirrel midden. The Squirrel Midden box is farther along on the trail. The squirrels must have moved!
Continue on the Blue trail. At the 4 way intersection turn right (staying on Blue) You will continue on Blue Trail and continue the direction you were going. You might find a Pileated Woodpecker! Read the nature plaques along the way about the Understory, Shagbark Hickory and Dry Upland Range. Soon you will come to an intersection with the Yellow Trail. Continue on the Blue Trail about another 150 feet until you approach a pretty waterfall. Just before the trail goes through a stone wall that extends to the right under the bottom of the falls, stop at the tree on the right with the blue trail marker on it. Turn left and walk 8 steps (each foot counts) through the wall on the left to a big yellow birch. Take a reading of 100 degrees and look up the hill along the stone wall to the first tree next to the wall. Your box, BELDING WATERFALL is at the foot of the tree next to the wall. Note it is not in the wall. No walls should be damaged hiding or retrieving letterboxes.
After you stamp in, return to the blue trail and go back the way you came to the Yellow Trail junction. Now follow the Yellow Trail up the hills. You will come to a three way junction, the yellow trail and an unmarked trail. In the middle of the intersection is a tree, the backside is marked double yellow. Look at 335 degrees and you will see a large, almost three foot high active squirrel midden at the base of the pine tree. Go to the midden and be amazed at all the pine cones taken apart! Look at about 340 degrees 8 steps away and see the root end of a downed tree. Behind the root end, under a moss sphere is the SQUIRREL MIDDEN box. Sign in and rehide.
If you follow the trail correctly you will come to another stream with lots of side trails and nature plaques describing the area. Explore the area but return to the Yellow Trail. When you get to the plaque about the Arrowwood Bush, stop and read the plaque. Now take 24 to 26 steps along the trail to the next big tree on the right with a yellow blaze. You should be standing on a bunch of tree roots. Walk 15 steps East to a triple trunked tree. The box ARROWWOOD is in the crotch of the tree. Here you will find the logbook to sign in! Rehide well!
After you stamp in, go back to the yellow trail and continue the way you were going. You will get back to the intersection with the blue trail. Turn right to return to your car.