Itinerary

Springwater Fieldtrip S

Dallas Abbott and Bill Menke

February 2, 2019

10 AM, Leave Tappan New York.

11:30 AM, Stop at the Wheels CITGO gas station and convenience store (61 Danbury Rd, New Milford Connecticut, just east of Route 7), for gas and a snack.

12 Noon, Bulls Bridge, Kent Connecticut. View the Housatonic River from the covered bridge.

12:15 PM, Drive Schaghticoke Road northward along the west bank of the Housatonic River. Stop to view a waterfall on a rocky cliff about 500 meters north of Bulls Bridge.

1 PM, Park on the east side Skiff Mountain Road (Kent, Connecticut) at a pull-out about 2 km north of the River Road intersection, where Choggam Brook crosses the road. Bushwhack 100 meters to a wetland along Choggam Brook immediately west of the pull-out.

1:05 PM, Walk Skiff Mountain Road about 1 km south (downhill) to the Appalachian Trail (AT, blazed in white) crossing. Walk the AT north (actually east) about a kilometer, to the outflow rivulet of a small wetland. About six inches of snow lies on the ground. Bushwhack along the rivulet about 100 meters north to a small wetland consisting of bushes growing amid frozen water beneath deciduous trees. Walk clockwise around the wetland.

1:30 PM, Spring 1 (Site 111), a seep along the northern (uphill) edge of the wetland. The seep is recognizable by having open water (whereas most of the wetland is frozen) and by having melted nearby snow.

2:45 PM, Continue clockwise traverse of the periphery of the wetland, rejoining the AT and hiking it back to Skiff Mountain Road.

3:00 PM, Spring 2 (Site 112), spring along a woods road about 50 meters west of Skiff Mountain Road. The spring consists of a 2-inch steel pipe out of which water flows and a small concrete basin. The outflow joins Choggam Brook, which is 30 meters to the west. The guard rail along Skiff Mountain Road is marked with poles wrapped in orange flagging and may have a pull-out (now snow-covered). An informal trail connects Skiff Mountain Road and the woods road. A sign reading “Pond Mountain Natural Area” is on the woods road near the spring.

3:30 PM, Park on the east side of Skiff Mountain Road at a pull-out just south of the River Road intersection and opposite outcrops of schist with a steeply-dipping, northward-striking foliation. The section of River Road north of the intersection is marked by sign that reads “Appalachian National Scenic Trail”. Walk River Road northward for about one kilometer, past a US Geological Survey Gauging Station, to a point opposite a set of mid-river islands. The road, which had been following the west bank of the Housatonic River closely, veers to the west a little, with a low terrace between road and river. Bushwhack east 50 meters.

4:00 PM, Spring 3 (Site 113), a seep about midway between the road and the river, with a wide outflow stream. Retrace our route back towards the car.

4:30 PM, Spring 4 (Site 114), a seep on a steep hillside west of River Road, about 30 meters uphill from River Road at a point 100 meters north of the Skiff Mountain Road intersection, and about 10 meters north of a small stream. Bushwhack uphill along the stream to where it crosses under Skiff Mountain Road, and then follow the road back to the car.

6:30 PM, Arrive Tappan New York.