Oki at Seven Falls LbNA #62608 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 22, 2012 |
| Location: | Seven Falls |
| City: | Middletown |
| County: | Middlesex |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Spandrel  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Happy Fam |
| Last found: | Jun 3, 2020 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFaaa |
| Last edited: | Nov 10, 2015 |
Oki at Seven Falls requires a hike of less than a mile in from the road along the Seven Falls Loop Trail.
ARRIVING: Seven Falls is in the far south-east part of Middletown, accessed along Saybrook Rd / Route 154, which you might easily reach by bearing right off Exit 10 ramp from Route 9 (works from either direction). There are two places to park: (1) There's a marked spot to pull over at shoulder of road (left side of road, if driving southeast as from Rt 9). If you'd like to see a map for "MATTABESSETT TRAIL Seven Falls" (also a QR-code to get clean copy of map on mobile devices etc), park there, or pause there first. Map link (not clues) appears here too. (2) Just downhill (East/south-east) you'll find a larger shaded parking lot with access to picnic area along brook.
ORIENTING: Two different paths run through this area: (1) the Mattabessett itself (blazed light blue), and (2) the Seven Falls Loop trail (blazed yellow under blue) -- which is not itself a loop, but allows for a loop connection with the Mattabessett. There aren't really seven waterfalls, but there is one major and one minor brook, both of which move through some rocky terrain with splashy drops.
SETTING OUT: Get yourself to the upstream end of the Bible Rock brook's boulder field, and onto North (far) side of brook. Uphill from where road-shoulder parking was, there's one more street sign for the Mattabesset trail, and that's a fine place to start too. Not far from the place where the brook flows in from under the road, look for the yellow and blue blazes of the Loop trail branching off the Mattabessett. The trail begins by going uphill (northwest) away from the Mattabessett, and soon crosses a clearing under huge power-line towers. (If you can't find the initial trailhead for Loop trail, look at the map, and/or try crossing in toward power line clearing and scanning for blazes as you go up.)
FINDING THE BOX: On the far side of the power line, the trail moves through the woods, occasionally passing interesting boulder formations. You'll cross an old double-track trail a couple times along the way, and soon will be on a very subtle rocky ridge. There's an offer of an "overlook" and suggested "lunch spot" at the top of the ridge, but the trail itself passes to the left of the ridge and soon encounters a brook. Don't cross the brook! Follow around the huge boulder just past where a tree grows its curved truck seemingly out of the rock itself. You'll see a long-ago rift in the boulder, a great spot for young climbers (with spotting). From the stream side of the rift in the giant boulder, look as low as possible -- reaching in about arm's length -- for the medium-sized box, which is tucked and concealed under the rock that wedges the halves of the boulder apart.
ABOUT THE BOX: This box is our first, carefully assembled in honor of a dear dog whose life ended recently. The picture in the top of the box is of Oki and my daughter, taken at that very location less than a year before. The stamp, of course, is an image of the dog Oki. We look forward to celebrating his memory with people who visit Seven Falls and add their stamps or comments to the guest book.
RETURN: Retrace your steps back along the same trail, or continue across the stream on the loop trail to meet up eventually with the Mattabessett plain-blue blazes, which allow for return. (The Mattabessett return route will take longer, with lots of convoluted switchbacks and changes of terrain. I'd recommend having the trail map and/or compass handy for that route, just in case.)
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE WAY:
Berries: At the power line clearing, in late July, enjoy some black raspberries in the scrubby meadow area -- if you can brave the thorny brambles!
Cardinal Flowers: In early August at low-water-time, just upstream of the box location, some gorgeous bright red flowers blooming in the mud flats.
Water-worn hole in rock: Along the south side of the main Bible Rock Brook (upstream from picnic area), there's a deep bowl or funnel formed by a spinning stone within a whirlpool.
ARRIVING: Seven Falls is in the far south-east part of Middletown, accessed along Saybrook Rd / Route 154, which you might easily reach by bearing right off Exit 10 ramp from Route 9 (works from either direction). There are two places to park: (1) There's a marked spot to pull over at shoulder of road (left side of road, if driving southeast as from Rt 9). If you'd like to see a map for "MATTABESSETT TRAIL Seven Falls" (also a QR-code to get clean copy of map on mobile devices etc), park there, or pause there first. Map link (not clues) appears here too. (2) Just downhill (East/south-east) you'll find a larger shaded parking lot with access to picnic area along brook.
ORIENTING: Two different paths run through this area: (1) the Mattabessett itself (blazed light blue), and (2) the Seven Falls Loop trail (blazed yellow under blue) -- which is not itself a loop, but allows for a loop connection with the Mattabessett. There aren't really seven waterfalls, but there is one major and one minor brook, both of which move through some rocky terrain with splashy drops.
SETTING OUT: Get yourself to the upstream end of the Bible Rock brook's boulder field, and onto North (far) side of brook. Uphill from where road-shoulder parking was, there's one more street sign for the Mattabesset trail, and that's a fine place to start too. Not far from the place where the brook flows in from under the road, look for the yellow and blue blazes of the Loop trail branching off the Mattabessett. The trail begins by going uphill (northwest) away from the Mattabessett, and soon crosses a clearing under huge power-line towers. (If you can't find the initial trailhead for Loop trail, look at the map, and/or try crossing in toward power line clearing and scanning for blazes as you go up.)
FINDING THE BOX: On the far side of the power line, the trail moves through the woods, occasionally passing interesting boulder formations. You'll cross an old double-track trail a couple times along the way, and soon will be on a very subtle rocky ridge. There's an offer of an "overlook" and suggested "lunch spot" at the top of the ridge, but the trail itself passes to the left of the ridge and soon encounters a brook. Don't cross the brook! Follow around the huge boulder just past where a tree grows its curved truck seemingly out of the rock itself. You'll see a long-ago rift in the boulder, a great spot for young climbers (with spotting). From the stream side of the rift in the giant boulder, look as low as possible -- reaching in about arm's length -- for the medium-sized box, which is tucked and concealed under the rock that wedges the halves of the boulder apart.
ABOUT THE BOX: This box is our first, carefully assembled in honor of a dear dog whose life ended recently. The picture in the top of the box is of Oki and my daughter, taken at that very location less than a year before. The stamp, of course, is an image of the dog Oki. We look forward to celebrating his memory with people who visit Seven Falls and add their stamps or comments to the guest book.
RETURN: Retrace your steps back along the same trail, or continue across the stream on the loop trail to meet up eventually with the Mattabessett plain-blue blazes, which allow for return. (The Mattabessett return route will take longer, with lots of convoluted switchbacks and changes of terrain. I'd recommend having the trail map and/or compass handy for that route, just in case.)
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE WAY:
Berries: At the power line clearing, in late July, enjoy some black raspberries in the scrubby meadow area -- if you can brave the thorny brambles!
Cardinal Flowers: In early August at low-water-time, just upstream of the box location, some gorgeous bright red flowers blooming in the mud flats.
Water-worn hole in rock: Along the south side of the main Bible Rock Brook (upstream from picnic area), there's a deep bowl or funnel formed by a spinning stone within a whirlpool.