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Sunday, December 7, 2014

Walt Whitman Trails - Toad Pond

 This week I had the pleasure of walking two of my favorite trails. They go by many names usually with "Whitman" as part of them. My family moved to South Huntington when I was 14, the claim to fame around here was the birth place of the poet Walt Whitman.


As a teenager I came here with friends and walked to the top of Jayne's hill. At 401 feet it's the highest point on Long Island. I was always interested in exploring the other trails but nervous to do so on my own. I brought my daughters here often and many times we walked down the trail marked Toad Pond but never found the pond. It wasn't until I walked here with the Long Island Greenbelt group that I learned how to read the markers and finally found the pond.


The Toad Pond trail is a great one for beginning hikers. It's a little over a mile long and the terrain is rough enough that kids would feel like they're really hiking in the woods. Take care, the paths are deeply rutted in places. I wear hiking boots here that support my ankles. 

To begin with, don't enter by the fence with the sign that say's "Toad Pond", that's why we never found the pond. Instead look forward to where the road ends. See the red fire hydrant?  Continue along that way under the pine tree down a short drive and into a larger clearing. 



In the large clearing is a dilapidated shack and a broken swing set, you'll see several trails leading off but you want to look for the second red fire hydrant and head that way. Walking in the fall and winter can be a little tricky, without the undergrowth, it's hard to distinguish where the trail is going. No fear though, I'm going to teach you a few tricks.


This is not a post with lots of beautiful photos but hopefully it offers important information. Trail markers are on the trees, this trail is well marked with white squares. Do you see them? That's where you enter.


If you are walking a new (to you) trail, you don't want to go too fast. You need to be alert, watch your feet and look forward for the next marker. Many times trails bisect other trails and you can easily end up in somebody's back yard instead of hiking the park. The beginning of this hike has some very steep slopes.

This part of Long Island is horse country, the trails are cut deeply in places and yes, shit happens. After this walk I promised myself to bring a plastic bag and a change of shoes for future drives home. There's nothing quite like the smell of the car heater blowing on manure covered boots. 


Single dots mark the forward parts of the trail but when you see double dots like this it's time to stop and look around. Double dots are telling you that the trail is making a turn. The higher dot tells you the direction you are to go, in this case you are making a right turn. 


This trail is well maintained, which is a very good thing. When you see an area like this with logs placed in the trail, you should walk on them. The ground here was like a bog, the logs are to keep your feet somewhat dry.




Off to your left you'll finally see Toad Pond and you'll understand why my daughters and I never found it. It's tiny! Well, in reality maybe 20 feet wide and a few hundred feet long. I've been there in the summer and found ducks in the pond, hopefully there's some toads too but this time it was empty. 


There's something about moss that just grabs my eye. I find the emerald green color riveting. Combined with the rich browns in the fallen leaves, moss is just breathtakingly beautiful.


My botany skills are pretty good but I was stumped by these little green plants. I don't know if they're a fern, they only grew near the boggy pond. If you know what they are, please drop me a line.



Again, more moss and the wonderful blue sky reflecting in the water. I wish I could have taken some prettier photos but trust me, it was a beautiful walk.



Leaving the pond the trail is hard to follow. If you don't see any white dots ahead stop. Look around, you can always back track a little or walk slowly ahead looking in all directions. Sure enough I saw another dot and off I went up a hill. After a few turns I arrived back out on the paved road near the park entrance. Turn right and walk down the road to return to your car.



This is the sign at the entrance to the park. It's at the top of the hill, the end of Reservoir Road which is off West Hills Road. The Toad Pond Trail is the smaller loop at the top of this map. I also hiked the larger loop, it's truly beautiful and I will share those photos with you later this week. If you are going to do both trails it's roughly 4 miles. Don't forget to bring water and a snack for a trail that long.

melanie

4 comments:

  1. Lovely photos. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.

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  2. Club moss is common in the woods around Long Island.

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  3. The white blazes mark the Walt Whitman Trial of LIGTC. It starts at the Walt Whitman Birthplace at Rt100 and ends in Mannetto Hills Park. It T-bones into the Blue Dot Trail. Either way goes to the Nassau - Suffolk Trail of LIGTC. Turn north to go to Cold Spring Harbor or turn south to go to Merrick Rd on the Massapequa Preserve.

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  4. That mystery plant could be Lycopodium. I know that they are rare here in Lithuania. But I saw some of them.

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