Metacomet Trail

The path on Rattlesnake Mountain

The Metacomet Trail (from English trail "path, hiking trail") is a hiking trail that belongs to the system of Blue-Blazed Trails in Connecticut . The path runs 100 km along Metacomet Ridge and has been added to the newly established New England National Scenic Trail . Although it is easily accessible and runs close to heavily populated areas, it is considered downright romantic. The route connects a number of landmarks of great ecological, historical and geological interest. Notable scenery includes waterfalls, cliffs, woods, swamps, lakes, floodplains, farmland, historic sites, as well as the peaks of Talcott Mountain and the Hanging Hills . The Metacomet Trail is largely administered and maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association .

On March 30, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 , which established the New England National Scenic Trail and two other walking routes.

The combination of the Metacomet , Monadnock and Mattabesett Trail hiking trails is often also referred to as the 3-M , MMM or Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett Trail . The New England National Scenic Trail encompasses almost all of the MMM trails and also includes an extension from the south end of the Mattabesett Trail through Guilford to the coast of Long Island Sound .

geography

The Metacomet Trail extends south from the Connecticut- Massachusetts border through Hartford and northern New Haven . The southern end of the path is east of the Hanging Hills on US Route 5 , 6 km north of Meriden , in the metropolitan area of Berlin ; the north end is in the hamlet of Rising Corner , a hamlet of Suffield , seven miles southwest of Springfield . The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts and Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway in New Hampshire extend the trail north an additional 260 km (160 mi) into central New Hampshire. The Mattabesett Trail picks up where the Metacomet Trail ends in Berlin and continues south to Totoket Mountain , then northeast to the Connecticut River in Middletown . In between there are other networks with shorter trails, especially on Talcott Mountain , the Hanging Hills and Ragged Mountain . The trail is mainly used for hiking, picnicking, and skiing in winter. Individual sections can also be used for mountain biking and ski hiking. There are also opportunities for horse riding, boating, climbing and swimming in various places.

course

Tariffville Gorge as seen from Hatchet Hill .

The Metacomet Trail runs along the basalt Metacomet Ridge , which runs from Long Island Sound to the Massachusetts- Vermont border . Rising hundreds of feet over the Connecticut Rivers , Farmington Rivers, and Quinnipiac Rivers , this ridge is a feature of the landscape of central Connecticut. From south to north, the trail traverses the ridges of the Hanging Hills , Short Mountain , Ragged Mountain , Bradley Mountain , Pinnacle Rock , Rattlesnake Mountain , Farmington Mountain , Talcott Mountain , Hatchet Hill , Peak Mountain, and West Suffield Mountain . Steep cliffs with rubble heaps and spectacular viewpoints can be found everywhere. The Farmington River cuts the rock face between Hatchet Hill and Talcott Mountain in the Tariffville Gorge (east of Simsbury ). Historical places along the way include the Old Newgate Prison Museum and the East Granby Copper Mine ; Heublein Tower on Talcott Mountain with views of four states; the Hill Stead Museum in Farmington, famous for its collection of French Impressionist paintings and gardens; Hubbard Park on the Hanging Hills of Meriden, designed according to plans by the architect Frederick Law Olmsted with the small observation tower Castle Craig . The basalt ridges and scree slopes also provide habitat for various unique ecosystems , as well as important landmarks for the seasonal migrations of various birds of prey.

Communities along the way

The trail crosses areas of the following communities: Berlin , Meriden , Southington , New Britain , Plainville , Farmington , West Hartford , Avon , Bloomfield , Simsbury , East Granby and Suffield (Connecticut)

Landscape, geology and environment

The summit of Ragged Mountain.

The Metacomet Ridge was formed 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic . It consists of trap rock , a volcanic outflow rock. Basalt is dark in color, but the iron contained in the stone weathers to a rusty brown when exposed to the elements. Often the basalt also breaks down into characteristic polygonal columns. Large heaps of rubble arise along the cliffs. The ridge was formed from several massive streams of lava deep underground when North America was separated from Europe and Africa. The effusions occurred over a period of about 20 million years. The erosion that took place in between deposited thick layers of sediment between the lava flows, which later petrified.

Chestnut Oak

The resulting layers ("layer cake") unfolded and tilted towards the surface. Erosion started again and washed out the softer rock layers, revealing the edges of the basalt layers. The sediments of Metacomet Ridge are famous for their fossils, especially dinosaur tracks.

Along the Metacomet Ridge there are very different ecotopes in a small space that are otherwise rare in New England. Dry, hot cliff roofs with oak savannas , which are often formed by chestnut oak and a number of grasses and ferns, are also represented, as are open rock surfaces in which Eastern red cedar , a drought-loving species, claws into the crevices. Even opuntia have been spotted on the southern slopes of Ragged Mountain. The plant communities on the rear (north, west) slopes are similar to the plant communities of northern hardwood forests and oak-hickory forests . Canadian hemlocks populate the narrow canyons, where they block sunlight and create moist, cooler growing conditions. Debris heaps are particularly rich in nutrients and provide habitat for lime-loving plants that are rare in Massachusetts. Many ponds, ponds and reservoirs are wedged between columnar basalt walls, which shows how important these mountain ranges are as aquifers and wetlands. For these reasons, the Metacomet Ridge is home to many plants and animals that are endangered in the state or even nationwide. The Traprock Wilderness Recovery Strategy was invented as early as 1991 as an early attempt to protect the rock ridges from overgrowth. This project won the Connecticut Governor's Green Circle Award but was ignored by authorities in Southington, Berlin, New Britain and Meriden. Much of the original landscape has since been lost, especially in the Southington area. The City of Southington has also acquired the Crescent Lake Compartment and has plans to clear the area (2014) regardless of its ecological significance. In the southern sections of the Metacomet Trail, along the Westfield and Connecticut Rivers, one can also find northern riverine forests with tree species such as willow , American elm and sycamore .

History and folklore

Metacom drawn by Paul Revere

Origin and name

In the late 19th century, New England became interested in mountains and recreational trails. During this time, the Appalachian Mountain Club , the Green Mountain Club , and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association were all established. The Green Mountain Club first pioneered the creation of Vermont's Long Trail in 1918 . The Connecticut Forest and Park Association created the 23 mile (37 km) Quinnipiac Trail along the Metacomet Ridge in southern Connecticut in 1928 under the direction of Edgar Laing Heermance and soon expanded it to include the Metacomet Trail. Over 700 mi (1,100 km) of blue blaze trails were designated in Connecticut by the end of the 20th century.

The name " Metacomet " goes back to the sachem of the same name by the Wampanoag from the 17th century who led his people in King Philip's War in southern New England. Legend has it that Metacomet, also called "King Phillip" by the English settlers, watched the destruction of Simsbury in 1676 from a grotto on Talcott Mountain. The grotto is now known as King Phillip's Cave . A branch leads there from the Metacomet Trail. It is also reported that Joseph Wadsworth stopped at the grotto after securing the Charter of Connecticut from the king's envoy.

Historic sites

Hubbard Park on the Hanging Hills

Old Newgate Prison , below Peak Mountain, was originally a copper mine that opened in 1705. When copper mining was no longer profitable, the Colony of Connecticut converted the site and named the new prison after Newgate Prison in London . The first inmate, John Hinson, was jailed for theft in 1773. During the American Revolutionary War , loyalists were interned while there. In 1790 it became a state prison, the first in the United States. After the prison was closed, mining was revived for some time in 1827, but it has been primarily a tourist attraction since the 1860s. In 1972 the Old Newgate Prison was declared a National Historic Landmark .

The Hubbard Park to the Hanging Hills was established by Walter Hubbard, a local businessman and president of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company . Most of the land was donated by him to the city of Meriden with the stipulation that all facilities in connection with the park should be made available to the citizens of Meriden free of charge. No commercial outlets were allowed. Hubbard secured the collaboration of the eminent landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted . In 1900 the park was completed. It covers approximately 7.3 km² (1800 acres) with manicured forest areas, streams, romantic cliffs , flower gardens and the James Barry bandshell (orchestra shell ) and picnic areas. Castle Craig , a lookout tower also to the East Peak and Mirror Lake , which is wedged between the high cliffs of East Peak and South Mountain , are particularly worth seeing.

Heublein Tower , 50 m (165 ft) high and 317 m (1040 ft) above sea level , was built in 1914 for Gilbert F. Heublein on the summit of Talcott Mountain as a summer resort and was constructed to be able to wind itself at 160 km / h (100 mph ) to withstand. In 1960 the tower was advertised for sale and covered with slate shingles. It became part of Talcott Mountain State Park in 1965 when various charities, the State of Connecticut, and the federal government campaigned for its conservation. Today the tower houses a museum with contemporary exhibits and furniture.

Hill-Stead Museum

Hill-Stead was established as the country estate of industrialist Alfred Atmore Pope on an area of 1 km² (250 acres) on Farmington Mountain. Theodate Pope Riddle, the daughter of Alfred Pope, created the designs in 1901. Theodate inherited the house after the death of her parents. In her own will of 1946, she decreed that the house should be set up as a museum in honor of her parents. Today the park covers 0.62 km² (152 acres). The buildings include the Pope-Riddle House in the colonial-revival style as well as farm buildings from the 18th century, a carriage shed with an art gallery and a barn and other farm buildings. The house is well decorated with furniture, pictures and works of art. Works by Édouard Manet , Claude Monet , James McNeill Whistler , Albrecht Dürer and postcards with correspondence from Mary Cassatt , Henry James and James McNeill Whistler are on display.

folklore

Will Warren's Den, a rock grotto on the west side of Rattlesnake Mountain is a Historic Monument of the Farmington Township. A plaque announces that after a Will Warren was flogged for refusing to attend church, he tried to set fire to the town of Farmington. Afterwards he was pursued into the mountains and only with the help of some Indian women could he hide in the grotto. The person of Will Warren could never be proven historically. The grotto can be reached from the Metacomet Trail. The Hanging Hills are said to be haunted again and again by the "Black Dog of the Hanging Hills"; According to local legends, this dog has been around since the early 19th century. The black dog is a small black dog, often very trusting, that leaves no traces and makes no noise. Those who see him for the first time are in luck; whoever sees him the second time will suffer misfortune; and the third encounter brings death to the wanderer. At least six deaths are attributed to the encounter with the Black Dog .

hike

The path is marked with blue rectangles. It is maintained regularly and is considered an easy hiking trail with difficult sections. As the crow flies, the Metacomet Trail is never more than a mile from a public road. However, cliffs and steep terrain make access difficult in some places. There are no camping facilities along the way and camping is generally prohibited. Directions are available from various organizations and publishers, and a complete walking guide is published by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association .

The climate along the way corresponds to typical Connecticut weather. On the weather-exposed stretches, lightning is a particular danger. Blood-sucking insects can become a nuisance during the warm seasons. Deer ticks (deer tick) can Lyme disease transmitted. The Northern Copperhead Snake is very rare but can be found along Connecticut's Metacomet Ridge. Poison ivy is native to the area and common in some areas.

Conservation and conservation

Prickly Pear Cactus, an endangered plant species along Metacomet Ridge in Connecticut

The Metacomet Trail runs through public land (state parks, town parks, and water protection areas - municipal watershed areas), as well as land that is managed by non-profit organizations and private land under protection status, but also non-protected private land, with the permission of Owner. Major threats to the quality of his leisure time include mining and urban sprawl .

The footpath is maintained by volunteers, most of whom are organized by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association . There are many other sponsors: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection , The Metropolitan District (especially on Talcott Mountain), Suffield Land Conservancy , East Granby Land Trust , Farmington Land Trust , Meriden Land Trust , Berlin Land Trust , Simsbury Land Trust , Ragged Mountain Foundation and Avon Land Trust .

In 2000, the Metacomet Trail was included in a National Park Service study of whether it could be included in a new National Scenic Trail . In 2009 the New England National Scenic Trail was established together with the Mattabesett Trail and the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail .

souvenir

The Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA) offers a badge as an incentive for hikers, which can be purchased from the CFPA for a small fee after completing the hike.

Web links

Commons : Metacomet Trail - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Connecticut Walk Book: A Trail Guide to the Connecticut Outdoors. 17th edition. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. Undated.

↑ The Traprock Wilderness Recovery Strategy. Cited Dec. 13, 2007 ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ The Washington Post: Obama Signs Major Land Conservation Law
↑ Map ( memento of the original from September 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ ^a ^b The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail Guide. 9th edition. The Appalachian Mountain Club. Amherst, Massachusetts, 1999
↑ Hardy, David. Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Guide 4th ed. Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Concord, New Hampshire, 1994.
↑ ^a ^b Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection .
^ Hubbard Park. PDF Brochure ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . South Central Regional Council of Governments. @1@ 2

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Farnsworth, Elizabeth J. "Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Natural Resource Assessment." ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 2004. PDF file. @1@ 2

↑ DeLorme Topo 6.0. Mapping software. DeLorme, Yarmouth, Maine

^ ^A ^b Raymo, Chet and Maureen E. Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States. Globe Pequot, Chester, Connecticut, 1989.

↑ The National Park Service has extensively investigated these peculiarities as part of the New England National Scenic Trail Study ( Memento of the original of August 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2

↑ Kricher, John. A Field Guide to Eastern Forests Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, 1998.

↑ Homepage

^ Green Mountain Club

↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ Green Mountain Club.
↑ Connecticut Forest and Park Association ( Memento of the original from September 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cited. Dec. 23, 2007 @1@ 2

^ WH Gocher. "Wadsworth, or the Charter Oak" ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Hartford, 1904. @1@ 2

^ Charles W. Snell (January 4, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Old Newgate Prison and Copper Mine" (PDF). National Park Service and Accompanying 6 photos, exterior and interior, from 1971. Accompanying 6 photos, exterior and interior, from 1971.

↑ City of Meriden ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2

^ Friends of Heublein Tower.

^ Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection

^ Hill-Stead Museum .

↑ "Said Warren, according to legend, after being flogged for not going to church, tried to burn the village of Farmington. He was pursued into the mountains, where some Indian squaws hid him in this cave."

^ Connecticut Windows on the Natural World .

↑ NOAA

41.776111111111 -72.798888888889Coordinates: 41 ° 46 ′ 34 " N , 72 ° 47 ′ 56" W.

[C-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Connecticut Walk Book: A Trail Guide to the Connecticut Outdoors. 17th edition. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. Undated.