Blue Trail

The Blue Trail is close to the “Hampton Area” clearing. It is completely forested and sheltered behind a dramatic slope. Along the path, a wooden bridge crosses over a creek. Silent water striders cross the stream’s surface, and water pours from a variety of surfaces. Some waterfalls are uninhibited, splashing on pebbles, and others are enclosed with layers of twigs and leaves (the sound resonates in the small spaces created.) There is little undergrowth aside from sparsely distributed Christmas fern, and dried leaves scatter with the occasional breeze. The land has been shaped by the flow of water, and the decay of fallen trees. Mounds and dips in the surface create a varying texture. Rotten snags of peeling yellow birch stand near the water, a habitat for many insects. Hemlocks of varying sizes offer a sound buffer all year, retaining their needles through the winter months. A short distance from the creek bed, mature red oaks hold an abundance of acorns, which fall periodically with resounding thuds. Five feet from the bridge, an outcropping of basalt columns adds a hard surface, with trees growing among the rocks.