2020 recap, Part I: Trails

As 2020 winds down, I'm submitting a multi-part year-end recap. Each segment will cover some element of my year in running. The first of these is about trails - specifically, the trails I've started building around here. This post is almost certainly irrelevant to anyone but me, but isn't that what a blog is for? Anyway, you're here in the first place because you're procrastinating doing something more important, so why not stay for a few minutes? 

I grew up in a place with hundreds of miles of trails, nearly all of which were contained within the bounds of two large preserves. Access to those trails always required a drive -- a brief drive, but a drive nonetheless. Upon arriving in Rhode Island, I discovered a very different situation. Here. there are no preserves of the size or with the volume of trails of those in my hometown. Instead, there are many dozens of small trail systems scattered around the state. After some initial disappointment, I have since come to appreciate the variety of runs this has enabled. 

It has also led to fun route planning brain teasers in which I try map a run that includes as many trail systems as possible in a single run while minimizing time on pavement. This sometimes results in interesting runs but more often leads to me wishing there were trails in places where they do not exist. I now spend many of my runs examining the surrounding woods and thinking about where I'd put a trail if I had the ability to. 

During 2020, I finally decided to satisfy this craving by creating some short trails that I will describe in more detail below. Before I get to that, I would like to spend a few sentences on my own personal trail building code of conduct, since I suppose this discreet habit could be frowned upon, and I've tried to do this in as "right" a way as possible.

Rule #1: No Trespassing on any individual's property. In other words, I'm not going to cut a trail through your backyard. 

Rule #2: Don't build a trail just for the sake of building a trail; the trail should have a purpose. For instance, it connects two trails/properties together that otherwise wouldn't connect, or it adds meaningfully to the trail system it is part of. 

Rule #3: It should be benefit someone other than me. Every trail I build, of course, is a most selfish pursuit. However, I will not build a trail that only benefits me. Each trail should enhance the experience of at least one other person. This also means these trails are not meant to be secrets; they should be available and known to all.

The following sections describe the new trails and include labeled Strava heat maps to point of the locations of these trails, which are, of course, missing from more traditional maps.

Potter Wood SW loop

The nearest trails, a mere 200 yards from where I'm sitting right now, are in Potter Wood. This small preserve contains a labyrinth of trails concentrated around the main path - at one time a narrow paved road connecting South Road with Biscuit City. Given the volume of trails in there, I'd assumed all available space had been used, until one day, while looking at a parcel map of South Kingstown, I saw that the southwest corner of the property was entirely empty. On a scouting mission, I found this area to be quite nice, crisscrossed with stone walls, and with a magnificent glacial erratic sitting at its core. A couple months later, I'd cleared a trail covering most of the empty section of the woods, with a swing by the erratic, and connected it in three places to existing trails. For some time, I had the trail to myself, but this didn't last long. As part of the improvement work to the preserve, I'd received word that a new trail would be constructed. It wasn't until I ran on "my" trail again that I discovered the new trail would follow, almost exactly, its course. My trail would be legitimized! It was fun to watch the trail's usage increase and know that I'd helped create something that others would enjoy. 

Future option? 

I'd really like to make a short connection from the new trail over to the path that bridges Ventura Circle to the Biscuit City road network. This would greatly reduce the amount of pavement required to get from my house to the trails described in the next section. It's not totally self-serving, though. It would also give better access to the Potter Wood trails to people who live off those roads, as well as those over in the large development of Tefft Hill. I've already charted and mostly cleared this one, so it's just a matter of some finishing touches.

Kingston Water District loop / Tefft Historical Park

There is a small network of trails, mostly on private property but also spanning SKLT land, that connect White Horn and Berry Hill to the bike path. These trails careen down a small hill and weave through the ruins of the Tefft family homestead, which dates back to the 1600s and includes the possible grave site of the infamous Joshua Tefft. There isn't much room to add to the trails in here, but I was intrigued by a map I'd found of the Tefft Historical Park, which showed where many of the ancient features are located. There was one section of the land with some of those features on the SKLT property that had not been traversed, so I made a short path through it. Unfortunately, two large trees fell across the new trail earlier this year, so any hope I'd had of improving it have diminished.

Directly across the bike path from this area is land owned by the water district, which includes an old access road and what I believe to be the corridor once cleared for the water supply pipe. I explored that corridor and found it to be flanked, and in some cases completely enveloped, by large, lush rhododendrons. Earlier this year, I biked over there with a handsaw and cut back the growth to make a narrow passage from the bike path to the access road that exits on Ministerial. 

On the other side of the property is a nice, open woodland bordered by one of the many swamps in the area. Best of all, there are few briars, so it took just a single outing to make a simple loop trail along its perimeter. Combined with the other trails in the area, both new and existing, there are now enough to make for an interesting excursion off the bike path without the need for any repetition, which any self-respecting trail runner knows is simply unacceptable.

Future option?

A large portion of the SKLT property, to the east/southeast of the main trail, is without anything more than a small path that connects to a dirt road (but only if you're willing to cross through a gauntlet of warning / no trespassing signs). I'm interested in putting in at least on more trail in there and connecting it down to another small path that ultimately empties out onto the bike path. There were so many briars in there when I checked it out that I haven't had the ambition to go back yet. Still, I think it has potential for an interesting and varied trail or two.

Browning - South Shore connector

It was six or seven years ago, but I can still recall the amazement of stumbling upon a network of hidden dirt bike / ATV trails off Sand Plain Rd. on the western edge of South Kingstown. This was topped only by the excitement of realizing I could connect to these trails from Browning Woods. Fast forward to 2020, and the South Shore Village retirement community has since been placed directly on top of this area, completely reshaping it and messing with my sense of direction. Once I got the area sorted out in my head, I was pleased to see that instead of demolishing the old trails, the ownership decided to incorporate some of them into the community's recreational offerings, even improving the footing, which had been horrid before. I attempted to find the old connector to Browning, but it was overgrown and unrunnable in places. Rather than reestablishing this trail, I searched for another route, eventually finding the remains of an old farm/woods path with a small berm built on the wetlands between the two sets of trails. It was a perfect route for its simplicity and brevity and now gives easy access (albeit with a short, steep climb) to Browning from the South Shore trails. I don't think anyone I haven't told about it has used it yet, but I hope it can make for a better option for South Shore residents who would otherwise need to walk on Shannock Rd. to reach the Browning trails.

Some other possible future options

Peckham - Biscuit connector

Long before there was the URI bike path extension, cutting along the edge of Peckham Farm, I envisioned a path from the Biscuit City preserve over to the fields and dirt roads of Peckham, which I'd dreamed of being a haven for soft-footed workout. The new bike path has changed this to an extent, but I'd still like to see this one through, if for no other reason than it would create an interesting loop option for anyone using the Biscuit City trails. However, there are two big obstacles here. The first is water. A wide stream (White Horn Brook) flows directly through the area I'd need to cross. My initial exploration hasn't revealed any easy route across, so doing so will require some creativity. Then, once you're over (going from Peckham toward Biscuit City), the next section is very wet to the point of being impassable. Even if I were to conquer those, there's the matter of the second obstacle: the briars. They are absolutely everywhere, as if there were a maximum security prison in the vicinity. I am undeterred, though. I will find a route through it this year.

CCMS woods

Finally, I would really love to add to the small set of trails at Curtis Corner. Just look at all that empty space! The only deterrent here is that the land is surrounded by houses of people who might not be as excited about new trails as I am. I think this is probably the least likely to happen of all the trails floating around my mind at the moment.