CONNECTICUT Woodlands THE ART OF THE MOSEY ALSO: GYPSY MOTHS INVADE AGAIN The Magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association FALL 2016 Volume 81 No. 3 The ConnectiCuT ForesT & Park assoCiaTion, inC. OFFICERS PRESIDENT, ERIC LUKINGBEAL, Granby VICE-PRESIDENT, WILLIAM D. BRECK, Killingworth VICE-PRESIDENT, STARR SAYRES, East Haddam TREASURER, JAMES W. DOMBRAUSKAS, New Hartford SECRETARY, ERIC HAMMERLING, West Hartford FORESTER, THOMAS J. DEGNAN, East Haddam DIRECTORS STARLING W. CHILDS, Norfolk R. RICHARD CROCE, Killingworth RUTH CUTLER, Ashford CAROLINE DRISCOLL, New London PETER KNIGHT, Bloomfield MICHAEL LECOURS, Farmington SCOTT LIVINGSTON, Bolton JEFF LOUREIRO, Canton CHRISTINE WOODSIDE ANTONIO MAZZARA, Stamford LAUREN L. McGREGOR, ESQ., Hamden Carefully planted vegetation begins to protect the banks of Laurel Brook in Wadsworth Falls State JEFFREY O’DONNELL, Bristol Park. See page 8. DAVID PLATT, Chester RAYMOND RADIKAS, Glastonbury Annual Membership HONORARY DIRECTORS Connecting People to the Land GORDON L. ANDERSON, St. Johns, FL Individual $ 35 HARROL W. BAKER, JR., Bolton Our mission: The Connecticut Forest & Park Family $ 50 RICHARD A. BAUERFELD, Redding Association protects forests, parks, walking RUSSELL BRENNEMAN, Westport Supporting $ 100 GEORGE M. CAMP, Middletown trails and open spaces for future generations by ANN CUDDY, Ashland, OR connecting people to the land. CFPA directly Benefactor $ 250 SAMUEL G. DODD, North Andover, MA involves individuals and families, educators, ASTRID T. HANZALEK, Suffield community leaders and volunteers to enhance JOHN HIBBARD, Hebron Life Membership $ 2500 JOSEPH HICKEY, Wethersfield and defend Connecticut’s rich natural heritage. JEAN CRUM JONES, Shelton CFPA is a private, non-profit organization that EDWARD A. RICHARDSON, Glastonbury relies on members and supporters to carry out L.P. SPERRY, JR., Middlebury its mission. Corporate Membership SALLY L. TAYLOR, Mystic SIDNEY VAN ZANDT, Noank Our vision: We envision Connecticut as a Club / Non-profit $ 75 place of scenic beauty whose cities, suburbs, Sustaining $ 100 STAFF and villages are linked by a network of parks, Landmark $ 250 TRAILS STEWARDSHIP DIRECTOR, forests, and trails easily accessible for all people CLARE CAIN, Old Lyme FIELD COORDINATOR,TRAILS PROGRAM, to challenge the body and refresh the spirit. We Stewardship $ 500 COLIN CARROLL, New Haven picture a state where clean water, timber, farm MANAGER OF EVENTS AND VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT, Leadership $ 1000 ELIZABETH FOSSETT, Meriden fresh foods, and other products of the land make MEMBERSHIP & MARKETING DIRECTOR, a significant contribution to our economic and MARTY GOSSELIN, Durham cultural well-being. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ERIC HAMMERLING, West Hartford EDUCATION DIRECTOR, EMMA KRAVET, New Haven DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, JAMES W. LITTLE, Hebron Connecticut Woodlands DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR, KARA MURPHY, Guilford Published quarterly by the LAND CONSERVATION DIRECTOR, LINDSAY SUHR, North Haven Connecticut Forest & Park Association, FOREST & PROGRAM DIRECTOR, GOODWIN FOREST CENTER, 16 Meriden Road, BETH RHINES, Woodstock OFFICE MANAGER, TERESA PETERS, Durham Rockfall, CT 06481-2961 Indexed in the Connecticut Periodical Index, Printed on 60% Recycled, EDITOR, CHRISTINE WOODSIDE COPYEDITOR, ROBIN GOLD ISSN 00106257 FSC and Green-e Certified Paper GRAPHIC DESIGNER, KAREN WARD Telephone: 860-346-TREE Fax: 860-347-7463. E-mail address: [email protected] Web site: ctwoodlands.org 2 | CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS | FALL 2016 CONNECTICUT Woodlands The Magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association FALL 2016 Volume 81 No. 3 CONTENTS FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 6 THE ART OF THE MOSEY. 4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE. A tribute. A self-rescue: Memorable adventures By Laurie D. Morrissey. often are those that went wrong. By Eric Lukingbeal. 8 PROTECTING A MUCH BELOVED STREAM IN WADSWORTH FALLS 5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE. STATE PARK. Pokémon Go . Outside. A landscape designer meets By Eric Hammerling. Laurel Brook. By Kathleen Groll Connolly. 16 CFPA IN THE COMMUNITY. P Meet a new board member and 13 A GRIM SCENE AT THE PARKS. the new education director. Budget cuts close campgrounds and scale back lifeguards. 20 TRY THIS HIKE. By Christine Woodside. Cockaponset and North Pattaconk trails: 17 THEY ATE MY OAK TREES. An easy-to-moderate hike Gypsy moths returned in 2016: through a fascinating One man’s experience. hardwood forest. By James Little. By Diane Friend Edwards. 22 FROM THE LAND. 19 TOO LITTLE RAIN MEANS A comeback for Connecticut flowers. TOO MANY GYPSY MOTHS. By Jean Crum Jones. A look at gypsy moth outbreaks and predictions. 24 BOOK REVIEW. By Christine Woodside. P Stephen Long explains why the 1938 hurricane remains one of the worst in history. P Adam Moore, former CFPA executive director, follows the seasons and family on Martha’s Vineyard. Reviewed by David K. Leff. P Maple sugaring is like an obsession or a disease, David K. Leff writes, just as the required hard work to boil sap into this unique sweetness takes over those who make it. Reviewed by Elissa Ely. On the Cover: Trails Day hikers mosey along 26 OBITUARY. on the Highlawn Forest Trails Pat Wasserman. in Middlefield. 27 ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE. PHOTO BY JAMES LITTLE Russell Brenneman receives award. FALL 2016 | CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS | 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE bug, with snow drifted up to the windows. A self-rescue: Memorable adventures We got in, started it up, and turned on the so- called heater. But we had no shovel and could not push our way out of the deep snow. The often are those that went wrong graduate students and the high school stu- dents we’d been hiking with all had parked in BY ERIC LUKINGBEAL Saturday morning dawned gray and cold, a different lot, which they thought had been with a few flakes of snow. The caretaker said plowed. We never saw them again. he hikes we re- that a weather report would come in at 8 We started walking, hoping to hitch a ride. member best are a.m. We decided not to wait for the fore- Our luck now turned. The first to come by those where things cast and headed down the trail. More snow was a pickup truck, driven by the owner of T went wrong. We began to fall as we descended. The wind the Boulder Motor Court in the town of do not think so much kicked up too, and before we had gone half Twin Mountain. He had a room for us, with of the times with good a mile, we realized we were in blizzard condi- a kitchenette. We relayed our adventure, weather, no accidents, tions. The white blazes on the trees began to and he took us to a grocery store, where we no black flies, no get- be obscured by blowing, wet snow. We had stocked up on Dorito chips, cheese dip, beer, ting lost, and easy ter- both hiked the trail several times, but only in and brownies—real food. We spent the night, rain. At least, I don’t. What was miserable the summer, when trails are easier to follow. and the next morning dug out the VW with or painful or dangerous at the time becomes We kept going. Eventually we found that a shovel our rescuer provided. quite pleasant when I think of it years later. I we were no longer on the trail. We discussed What had gone wrong? We were unpre- enjoy talking about these hikes with my com- and rejected the idea of turning back. It was pared for the conditions. The storm, which panions. Is it because we made it through snowing so hard, nearly horizontally in the broke the existing New Hampshire 24-hour some difficulties and feel accomplished, or wind, that we had trouble seeing our own snowfall record by accumulating more than that we were just lucky? tracks. We decided to follow the fall line 32 inches, had surprised the forecasters. Even Vergil made the same observation in the straight downhill until we reached a stream, had we waited for the weather forecast at the Aeneid, in what is recognized as the most which would take us roughly parallel to the hut, we would have heard that only a foot famous quote. Shipwrecked on the shores of woods road we had come in on and eventually Carthage, Aeneas says to his remaining men, back to our car. When we found the stream, was predicted with light winds. So we prob- “Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.” The we met up with two high-school-age hikers ably would have started off anyway. We both right translation is a bit disputed, but this one from the hut. They too had lost the trail and feel lucky we did not end up in the highly is generally accepted: “Perhaps, this too will had adopted the same find-and-follow-the- embarrassing “Accidents” section in the be a pleasure to look back on one day.” The stream strategy we had. One had fallen in up Appalachian Mountain Club journal Appa- key word is perhaps. Perhaps, it will not be so to his waist and was quite cold. We decided lachia. I always read that section first. It is pleasant. My experience has been that Aeneas to keep going as a group of four. The wind the one feature in which I never want my was right. Most of the time, a terrible time on was getting stronger, and the snow deeper. name to appear. the trail is remembered as a grand adventure. Our progress was very slow. Vergil’s Aeneas had it right. We tell this My most memorable hike took place in When we found the woods road, our relief story now and then, and feel good about it. December 1981. My wife-to-be and I decided was extreme but short-lived. The snow was When we set off on a hike, no matter where to do a quick two-day hike to Zealand Falls so deep—up to our knees—and heavy that it that hike is, we cannot know whether it will Hut in the White Mountains of New Hamp- took quite an effort to push through it.