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Werner's Woods LbNA #12312

Owner:The Bird Stamper Contact
Plant date:Nov 19, 2004
Location: Roaring Brook NC
City:Canton
County:Hartford
State:Connecticut
Boxes:1
Found by: Nairon
Last found:Nov 18, 2023
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFOFFFFF
Last edited:Nov 19, 2004
Werner’s Woods

Location: Werner’s Woods, Canton, Hartford Co., Connecticut.

Planted: 11/19/2004 by The Bird Stamper.
Letterboxes: 1.
Time: 3/4 hour, plus time to visit the nature center.
Length: 1 mile round trip.
Difficulty: Average ups and downs. Some stream crossings.

Description:
Roaring Brook Nature Center has nature displays, a live animal center, a Native American long house, and a gift shop. They have many educational programs for children and adults. They are open Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday 1 to 5 PM. During July and August they are also open Monday from 10 to 4. There is a nominal admission charge.

Adjacent to the center is Werner’s Woods, a state-owned wildlife sanctuary with 165 acres of forests and fields and over six miles of trails. The nature center serves as steward of the sanctuary. A trail map and a guide book are available in the gift shop. Numbered posts on the trails correspond to paragraph numbers in the guide book.

Directions:
Go to the traffic light at the intersection of routes 44/202, and 177 in Canton, about 12 miles west of Hartford. If you are coming from the east, turn right onto Lawton Rd. If you are coming from the west, take the second left at the light to get onto Lawton Rd. At the first stop sign, bear left to continue on Lawton Rd. At the second stop sign, bear right then left to get onto Gracey Rd. Ahead on the left is Roaring Brook Nature Center at 70 Gracey Rd.

The Clues:
Go around the nature center on the right and go behind the building. The flight cages contain injured birds that can’t be released into the wild. On the other side of the cages enter the woods on the Werner Pond trail, blazed in red. You will go by Jim Brook as it widens into Werner Pond. At the end of the pond is the flood control dam. Cross over it on the trail.

At the other end of the dam, take the Quarry Trail, blazed in yellow. It is at 195 degrees. A few steps further, two other trails branch off. Stay on the yellow trail at 195 degrees. The trail crosses Bahre Corner Rd. Take care as the drivers go fast through here, and they don’t know there may be people on the trail. Reenter the woods on the other side of the road.

At post number 3, go to the left to take the loop trail. The trail will follow Jim Brook again. At post number 8 a small stream joins the brook. The yellow trail turns right to go up hill. The trail will cross two water channels. Use the logs or stepping stones to get across.

After passing some downed trees, you will enter the quarry area. The ground is littered with stones. This quarry provided stones for building the Collinsville dam in the 1860’s. At post 10 the trail divides to go through or around the quarry. The right path is safer in winter.

At post 12 the paths rejoin and you come to a stone wall. You will see the green blazed Orchard Trail going to the left. Take a bearing of 260 degrees at the post and you will find a Hemlock on the north side of the wall. Three feet to the west of the tree, on the north, uphill, side of the wall, look for a brown and white speckled rock. Behind it you will find the Quarry Trail letterbox.

When you are done, proceed on the yellow trail at 40 degrees. Be careful of some slippery areas in winter. Climb over a large fallen tree. Notice the spiral grain in the tree. The best explanation I have heard of this is that the tree had prevailing winds on one side twisting it while it was growing.

Cross over two seasonal streams where stepping stones are handy. Reach the end of the loop at post 3. Turn left to return to the nature center. Take care crossing Bahre Corner Rd. again.

I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Special permission for this letterbox was granted by the manager of this preserve. Others wishing to plant here should contact me and I will find out if permission can be extended.