Roaring Brook Nature Center

When you're browsing at the shopping mall in Canton with the busy traffic flying by on Route 44, it's hard to believe that a mere four minutes away is a tranquil setting in the woods with five miles of trails to explore.

Roaring Brook Nature Center is a wildlife center and outdoor classroom, with seasonal exhibits, gardens, educational programs and concerts. It would be fun to explore the area further, but our objective was a hike in the woods.

We began on Werner Pond Trail, crossing over Jim Brook Stream.

We continued on to the Quarry and Plantation Trails and came to a clearing where we could see Heublein Tower in the distance.

After completing Plantation Trail we turned right onto Orchard Trail and then took another right to rejoin Quarry Trail. This was prettiest trail yet, taking us along the southern section of Jim Brook Stream.

We then went on to the Dutch Mill Pond Trail which featured a lovely waterfall.

After returning to the parking lot, a couple of us decided to cross the road onto Ridge Trail. It was there that four deer went running through the woods. The buck stopped and watched us as we made our way across.

Our devotional today was based on 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

The writer tells of a time when his friend had made the mistake of wearing textured cotton socks the week before their hike, and he was paying for his poor decision with a nickel-sized blister. In spite of the pain, he didn't let his blunder keep him from the trail.

Many of us start our Christian journey with the blisters of poor decisions made before we met Christ. God doctors the blistered areas of our hearts with the salve of His forgiveness and covers our wounded hearts with His grace.  If there's friction between us and others have offended us, we are told to forgive them. God's Word directs us to take off the rough garments of envy, gossip, and other blister-producing material. Once removed, He places the robe of His righteousness around us. (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman http://store.steveandanniechapman.com/products/with-god-on-the-hiking-trail.)

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Address: 70 Gracey Road, Canton, CT

Trail Map: http://www.roaringbrook.org/publications/trailmap.pdf

Length: 2.85 miles

Duration: 2 hours

Calories burned: 523

Difficulty level: easy/moderate

Mica Ledges Trail

"Yea though I walk through the valley of death . . . " Okay, I'm exaggerating. While it wasn't actually a valley of death, we did have our concerns. Because I'm new to hiking, I'm constantly learning, and today I learned that wet leaves and steep descents make things a bit dicey!

We went west on the blue trail to make our way to Pyamid Rock, a large boulder that was displaced from the ridge by glaciers. It's hard to imagine anything could move a rock that size. The process is interesting, and is described at the end of this post.

After passing the rock the trail splits, with the blue Mattabesett trail continuing on and the orange trail turning to the left behind Pyramid Rock. We chose the orange trail, which gave us a nice climb. So far, so good. Then we came to a steep descent, which was a bit treacherous for us. I imagine the trail is easier when it isn't covered with leaves, but it is rather steep. We made our way down slipping and sliding.

While our total climb was not that steep, there were steep places along the way.

When we were one mile in, we came to a spot where we couldn't see a blaze, and we couldn't see the leaf-covered trail.

We wandered around in this area, unable to find a blaze.

Finally, one of our eagle-eyed women spied a far-off blaze. We were back on the trail! We continued on, making our way to the southern end, and stopped here to have our devotions. When I read the scripture, we all chuckled.  

Psalm 23:3-4 “He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” 

For ages, writers have documented moments of peace in nature, but few have followed the path of serenity into dark valleys like David did. Why did he trace the path of righteousness into the valley of death? The psalmist knew that even when we walk closely with God, sometimes the trails of this life lead into places filled with despair. But even in those situations David responded with a declaration of confident peace; “I will fear no evil.” 

Sometimes following the path of righteousness leads us to where we don’t want to go. Our ultimate goal is not to find the path of least resistance, but to follow the path of God. Good times and hard times on the hiking trail go hand in hand. And in the same way, both the bitter and sweet times in life are on the same path. Thankfully, we know where this trail ends: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6). (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail by Nathan Chapman.)

We had just been through a valley. It most definitely was not a "valley of death" and we weren't even close to a state of despair, but it wasn't a piece of cake :)

We could have finished the loop at this point, but we decided to continue on to the next trail. We followed the orange blazes and came to an outcrop where the orange trail meets the blue Mattabesett. I went ahead and checked the trail to the left. There was no way I was going to do this trail, as there was a drop off. Then I went to the right. Same thing. Even on a clear dry path, this trail was not for me! So we turned around and made our way back. The orange trail took us by Whitney Pond, where we admired the tranquility.

After this the trail became easy. It was nice and flat and we were glad. Although the hike was only 2.5 miles, due to the precariousness, it felt longer. It was a gray, cloudy day, so the great views that were promised weren't visible. Perhaps this is a trail that's better suited to a clear, sunny, dry day. But, all in all, everyone had a good time. It's always good to walk in the woods and be surrounded by nature!

Directions: Cream Pot Road in Durham. Drive to the dead end. Keep going when it becomes one lane, parking is on the left.

Trail Map: http://www.madisonlandtrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mica-Ledges.pdf

Length: 2.5 mile

Duration: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Calories burned: 582

Difficulty Level: Difficult

A glacier moves rocks by "plucking." As a glacier moves over the landscape, water melts below the glacier and seeps into cracks within the underlying bedrock. This water freezes and melts, weakening the bonds holding pieces of bedrock in place. These pieces of rock can now be picked up or plucked from their rocky base and carried along with the moving glacier. If you ever put an ice cube on your finger and felt the skin on your finger stick to the ice cube, then you have a fairly good idea of how plucking works. 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/glacial-erosion-definition-processes-features.html