The trailhead we initially planned turned out to be beyond a locked gate. Fortunately, the owners of Hatchet Hill Farm Sugar House allowed us to park in their parking area. Still, this added to our trail length as we had to hike Breakneck Road. At the end of the road, we went just a bit further than needed in order to reach the Massachusetts/Connecticut state line. Bushwhacking across from Breakneck Road to the Nipmuck Trail took a bit longer than expected.
As we were finishing lunch the first day, Troop 110 of Milbury arrived at what was their overnight camping spot. Their Scoutmaster, Scott Despres, took our picture.
As we neared the camp, we again had to cross the forest between trails. We camped overnight at Camp Pomperaug (see the map), which was new to us. Oronoque, the site where we camped had screened-in trail shelters which were more like little cabins; they even had beds! Thus, we did not use the tents we had packed in. The camped seemed pretty nice and in a quiet area.
We had two youth members and three adult leaders participating. The weather was great.
We hiked about 9.2 miles the first day and 7.7 miles the second day. View our actual trail (GPS data recorded by ASM Keith MacNeal):
This was our troop's fifty-fourth consecutive month with at least one overnight camping trip.
Narrative originally posted on Trimble Outdoors by Keith MacNeal:
Our Scout Troop's June outing took us to Bigelow Hollow State Park and Camp Pomperaug (a Boy Scout camp in the Connecticut Yankee Council. Camping is also available in Bigelow Hollow by permit. Link to info on Bigelow Hollow (no longer available). Link to info on Camp Popmeraug (link no longer available).
The trails are well marked and the park trail maps are accurate. There is no parking at the north end of the Nipmuck Trail. We parked at the end of Carion Road with the permission of the owners of Hatchet Hill Sugar House. There is a gate at the end of Carion Road. According to Google Maps, Carion Road becomes Breakneck Road. On the Bigelow Hollow Trail map, this corresponds to Corbin Road which then connects to Hatchet Road. We hiked north on this dirt road to the Massachusetts border. There is a concrete marker on the state line. We then bushwacked west through the woods to the Nipmuck Trail (blue blazes).
We hiked south down the Nipmuck Trail along the shoreline of Breakneck Pond. We stopped for lunch at the East Shelter. As we were getting ready to leave, a Scout Troop from Milbury, MA was hiking in to spend the night. We continued on the Nipmuck to the East Ridge Trail (white blazes) and then to the Mashapaug Pond View Trail (Blue/White Bar blazes), heading north along the shoreline. Near the Mashapaug Pond overlook, we bushwhacked through the woods to Ferry Tavern Road. We followed Ferry Tavern Rd. to the end and went South on Rt 171 to Camp Pomperaug.
This was a great time of year to hike. The mountain laurel was in full bloom and temperatures were comfortable. Recent rains left large puddles on the forest roads.
On the return hike, we left the Nipmuck Trail at the south end of Breakneck Pond and took Snow Sled Road and the cutoff to Hatchet Road. This saved about a mile and a half and did not involve bushwhacking.
Page updated 9/26/20
J. Froimson
