To All Springtime Enthusiasts,
 
This Saturday, April 16th we will have the first hike on our newest trail --  the Homestead Trail which starts on Cook Road in Essex and connects the Boquet Mountain Trail to the Beaver Flow Trail.  Everyone is welcome!  The trail may be wet so please plan accordingly. 
 
We will meet at 9 am at the trailhead (Directions below) and be done by noon.  This will be mostly a hike with a bit of sprucing up the trail along the way.  So, please come out for a walk in the woods that will improve the trail for others.  On the attached map of the CATS trails with GPS points, you can see where the Homestead Trail is located.
 
The Homestead Trail goes south from Cook Road along an old stone wall for about 100 feet, crosses a small brook, and then follows an abandoned road down a gentle slope through an attractive "working" forest.  We'll go off the trail to look at an old homestead which still has an intact root cellar, which is fairly unusual.  Then we will follow the trail as it crosses a small brook (maybe not so small with all the snowmelt and rain), and passes through some brookside woods before meeting the Beaver Flow Trail.  We'll hike on this trail back to Cook Road, which we'll follow west to where we started.
 
CATS is grateful to Shirley Forest, Inc. for generously allowing this trail to be on its property.
 

Directions:  From the Whallonsburg Grange, take Cook Road which begins on the west side of Route 22 directly across from the Grange.  Go about 2.6 miles to the trailhead. 

 ♫♫ Happy Trails ♫♫