Sunday, June 12, 2005

Two tick bites and a dose of Doxycycline


Found a really great trail (green) that follows along the banks of the Dinglebrook, crosses over the main trail that connects Burr Farm to the NFA lands and then winds its way back to the trail (yellow) I found the first time but decided it wasn't going to lead to anything good.

If you want to ride these trails, I would recommend parking at either Pond Brook Boat Ramp located off Hanover Rd in Newtown or the Burr Farm openspace park. If you park at Pond Ramp, take a right when leaving the parking area (onto Hanover Rd) and take the first left, prior to a hill. This is Pond Brook Road. After crossing the brook whence the road's name comes from, the road turns to dirt. Immediately after the next bridge, approximately half a mile down the road you will cross the brook again. On the West side of the bridge, turn right.

Follow the trail as it follows the course of the stream and it will gradually move inland. At the point where the trail turns a sharp right and goes through a stone wall you see two dead trees about 10 feet apart. Proceed straight through, keeping the stone wall on your right and follow the stone wall until you see a big oak tree on the other side of a stream bed (dry now, but wetter in fall and early spring). Other side of the oak tree is the green trail. Best route on this trail is to ride it counter clockwise, unless you like to hike your bike.

If you want to ride the Burr Farm Open Space loop, I would recommend riding it clockwise. The climb from the bench at Dinglebrook on the ride is really gradual.

When I got back to my house after riding I found two ticks attached me. I thought they were deer ticks but I could be mistaken. After removing them, I took them to the town health department where they will get tested for Lyme Disease. The health department gave me a cool frisbee for doing this. Later that day, I went to the doctors office for a dose of Doxycyclene - I am not taking any chances.

No comments: