Al’s Trail: Yearlong Path To Completion

By Dottie Evans

In good weather and bad, Newtown residents of all ages with an interest in hiking and nature contributed hundreds of hours during 2004, blazing and improving Newtown’s longest continuous hiking trail through town known as Al’s Trail.

Volunteers showed up rain or shine along all sections of the trail –– from Pond Brook in the Paugussett State Forest to the McLaughlin Vineyard, through public utility and Nature Conservancy lands to Rocky Glen State Park, along Deep Brook in Fairfield Hills, and finally into the last portion known as the Sherman Mile that brings the trail to its southern terminus behind the Reed Intermediate School.

After measurement with a surveyor’s wheel, the length of Al’s Trail is estimated at ten miles.

Volunteers moved rocks and dug holes for tree planting. They built wooden bridges and stepping stone crossings over streams. They blazed new sections of trail, removed invasive species, and tacked up the trail markers.

All activity along the trail has been under the direction of organizer and inspirational leader Pat Barkman, who is a longstanding member of the town’s Open Space Committee. Ms Barkman mustered a small army of individuals and community groups. These included Trout Unlimited, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Lions Club, and the Newtown Hikers Club.

In March, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal announced that $49,413.87 from the Iroquois Gas Transmission Company’s Land Preservation and Enhancement Program (LPEP) was allocated to  Al’s Trail. The grant money was used to fund a variety of projects along the trail route.

Also in March, a dedication ceremony for a planned gazebo and trail kickoff pancake breakfast was held and hosted by the Newtown Lions Club at the United Methodist Church. The event was also held to honor the memory of Newtown mapmaker and trail blazer Al Goodrich, who died in January 2004 and for whom the trail is named.

In April and May, work parties spent several weekends improving the Rocky Glen section of the trail. In June, work was begun on the under-highway crossing including planning for a 600-foot- long chain link fence to separate hikers from I-84 at the request of the Department of Transportation. The fence was installed in September with LPEP funds.

In August and September, a massive tree-planting effort funded by LPEP funds, the Newtown Tree Project, and Trout Unlimited, was undertaken along the Deep Brook/Fairfield Hills section of the trail to protect the stream’s natural trout fishery. The last mile of the trail south of the Old Farm Road bridge in Fairfield Hills was blazed in early November.

Plans are underway for the placement of permanent markers describing sites of historic interest, for the building of several more bridges, and certain easements have yet to be obtained before a complete trail map is published.

Ms Barkman hopes that Al’s Trail can be dedicated by the summer of 2005 during Newtown’s Tercentennial Year celebration.