I got up early this morning and was bright eyed and bushy tailed hoping to hit the trails before the mugginess and heat got too bad. I had just the place to go – back to the Sheldrick Forest Preserve in Wilton. This time I am in a little better shape and I thought I could hit the loop I missed the last time I was here.
I noticed a different trail than the one I had taken before jutting off the driveway to the parking lot. It seemed like the perfect place to start and the map on the bulletin board made it look super simple. I’d take the Swift Way Trail until the intersection and if I still felt like walking I’d head up the Charles Davisson Trail, swing round, bypass Margaret’s Meander (which I have already done) and take Helen’s Way back to the car. One big loop. Easy peasy.
Heading onto the trail it was a relatively cool 74 degrees and I was all set with my water bottle. I was happy to note this trail was simply crawling with salamanders. I couldn’t tell you why but I always love to see them and beyond the salamanders there was a pretty meadow before the path took me into the old growth woods.
This path seemed like it was less travelled than the one I had taken last time but it was just as quiet and far prettier. To either side, and sometimes to both, there were traditional New England rock walls which were covered in moss giving them a primordial look. I felt like Robin Hood and his Merry Men might be just around the corner here! It was gorgeous! And better still there were mushrooms of every variety scattered about. Some of them were quite colorful!
But then as I walked I noticed the trail was just going and going and going without the turn I had seen on the map. Surely, I must be close to it! This path was super obvious and I was still on it. But then I came to a point where it looked like a bunch of trees had been taken down and here on the path were two large piles of said trees blocking the way. Odd, but maybe a mud slide had taken them down and no one had cleaned them up? I could see where the ground was worn down where people had made their way around the obstruction.
I was starting to get edgy. I was still on an obvious path but the markers seemed… less professional. Instead of little yellow arrows pointing the way all I could see were ribbons on random trees which could have meant I was on a path or could just as likely meant those trees were being marked for removal. Still… I had seen this sort of thing before. Sometimes new trails are marked poorer. But then the trail abruptly dumped me onto what appeared to be a logging road. A truck with no owner in sight was parked here. AGAIN I had to wonder, am I going the right direction? I mean some paths do take roadways for a little bit but you would have thought that’d be on the map. Still I continued on because this road didn’t seem like a real proper road… but then it dumped me out onto Russel Hill Road – or at least that’s where the “Where am I?” button on my phone said I was. I was suddenly in a little village and as much as I felt this was wrong there were STILL ribbons on the trees. By now I could hear the traffic from the highway and wondered if I’d end up hitchhiking back to my car. This COULDN’T be right!
So I turned around. By now my mostly level little jaunt had turned into an uphill hike in 81 degree weather. I was sweating buckets, so sticky I could have crawled up a wall like a gecko. How did I get this far off course?! And where was the turn I missed?!
As I made my way back to the logging road I noticed a gap in the stone wall near the truck. Was that my turn?? I wandered into the woods but what looked like a path wasn’t. Back to the road. Not far from there was the downed trees which I could see from this side had all sorts of ribbons on them – this time blue. The end of a trail?? But this was supposed to be a loop! I crawled around them.
I seemed to walk forever when I finally came across a marker on a tree noting I was entering the Sheldrick Forest. Notice, the side of the tree facing the exit had no such sign which is why I had previously walked right out of it! I was SUPER agitated by this point. It’d be an extra HOUR of walking in peak heat and humidity before I finally found the turn I missed. It was insanely poorly marked – with a short wooden pole – the sort I’d seen every so often with numbers on them. After turning I went straight down hill and pleaded with god I was on the right track because I didn’t have it in me to backtrack up anymore hills!
By now the trail was marked again pretty well with yellow arrows but it’s obvious no one was taking this trail on the regular. Forest vegetation was taking over. There was barely a path left. I’d gone from loving this hike and having fun taking pictures to just wanting to be back to my car. By now I was suffering heat sickness and I knew if I didn’t remedy this I’d be in some serious trouble. I could feel heat emanating from my body like a radiator. I was getting dizzy.
I found a tree with smooth cool bark and stopped to take a break next to it. Realizing how cold it was I hugged the damn thing like a five year old. It helped a little. I continued on. Trudging. Finally I came to an intersection in the path with two markers pointing in different directions but no labels telling me which was which! I knew if I went up one I’d be taking a grueling hike uphill on Margaret’s Meander, an additional loop for no reason. OH FOR THE LOVE OF…. I chose one and walked a little ways where I finally found a sign post. I’d chosen the right path, thank god.
By now I came across a little brook and decided dipping my hands in shouldn’t hurt. I would never drink from a little gully like this – the water is far too slow moving and is likely to have all sorts of pathogens – but I didn’t see the harm in using it to cool down. Kneeling I put both my hands in and it was ICE COLD. It felt AMAZING. It made me feel instantly better. I splashed around and dipped my arms in for a little bit before getting up.
I didn’t remember Helen’s Way having hills but it did… Now I know why the last time I was here there was an Asian couple muttering forebodingly, “WE MADE IT!” while looking half dead. Had they also taken the same path and gotten lost like I did??
You have no idea how happy I was to see the parking lot and my car, now cuddled up to a second hiker’s car. I opened the doors, scrambled for my keys and turned on the AC while I waited for the heat to come belching out of the open doors. I texted, “I MADE IT TO THE CAR!” And then I drove off… and went straight home even though I’d planned to do more exploring in the area.
Had I not gotten lost this would have been a very pleasurable and totally manageable trail to take. But seeing how easy it was to just walk right off of it and still think I was on it… I seriously don’t suggest it unless you’re really paying attention!! If you have made it to the downed trees TURN BACK, you’ve gone way too far!! I’ve marked on the map here my trek… including where I wandered off…
I have been awaiting the release of Loving Vincent for over a year. It’s a full length feature film that was animated by 63,000 oil paintings in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, and not surprisingly, it is about his life. An ambitious project, I was concerned no one near here would be showing it, but I was happily surprised! A half an hour away there was an adorable tiny theater attached to the town hall of Wilton NH. They were charging an admirable $7 admission. I knew I had to go. I was planning on going alone, though I can’t say I was thrilled at that prospect (this seemed like an experience I wanted to share with someone.) So when I ended up with a friend that day we went together. I didn’t know what to expect of the theater or the film. This could be either amazing or horrible.
It was a very easy place to find, though there was no parking. I found a spot across the street but I guess there is municipal parking nearby. The theater was marked with two sandwich boards on the street. I opened the large church-like doors and was greeted by a large staircase and a couple bathrooms, marked by a large sign reading,”Gentlemen to the left, because ladies are always right.” No ticket booth or consignment stand? No people? It seemed awfully quiet but if there was going to be anything going on it’d be up those gorgeous stairs. Up I went!
At the top there was a tiny consignment counter also selling tickets. The smell of fresh buttered popcorn wafted in the air. I paid the sweet old man at the counter for my ticket and asked to see Loving Vincent as there were two movies running tonight – the other being Victoria and Abdul. How excited I was to find somewhere that played British films!! I always get to hear about all these cool British films but never get to see any because American cinemas don’t play them. I pondered if this place ever played French films… That’d make me absolutely giddy… but back to the story. The ticket taker told us we’d love the film, I smiled and said I hoped so! To my left I found the screening, it was so adorably old timey in appearance, a small theater screen in the front complete with curtains. 100-150 simple chairs were set up. There were perhaps 30 people here. I chose a seat in the middle and settled in.
When the movie started it didn’t take me long to adjust to the unusual animation method. I almost immediately recognized some of the actors from watching too much BBC… It started out rather rough with a somewhat unlikable character, the son of the postman who was given a letter from Vincent to his brother to deliver a year after Vincent’s death. He’s harsh and angry at this task, especially after finding out Vincent’s brother had died six months after Vincent did, and now he had to find someone else to give the letter to. What followed was interviews with half the town, an impromptu three day investigation, that was absolutely heart wrenching. Although the investigation was fascinating, full of twists, turns, half-truths, and missing information, the characters gave something so much more… the emotional devastation wrought by the suicide of a man who clearly left a very big impact on everyone he met. Every character added more depth, more layers, more sorrow. I do not cry at movies but this had me on the verge for over an hour and did manage to make my friend cry. It ended with a revelation that was such a gut-wrenching twist that I also felt a bit nauseous at it all by the time I left but having said this all I can say is WOW. This was probably the best movie I have ever seen – so artfully done it tackled some hard subject matter with such tenderness! If you’re someone who likes art, drama, or sad movies, you must see this. It is a masterpiece! And I will be back to the Wilton Theater, no doubt, to see what else it has to offer.