Three Seasons of Fun in the White Cedar Woods

One great thing about the White Cedar Swamp is its year-round appeal, although the actual wetlands are pretty much only hikable in the winter when the swamp freezes over. 

The photo above isn’t even of the White Cedar Swamp reservation per se: the meadow in the foreground is town land to the west of the “official” swamp, but the land under the power lines and the woods on the left is owned by the Western Mass Electric Company. Thankfully, access to the WMECO pathways was granted in an easement to the town.

In fact, when I refer to “White Cedar Woods,” I tend to include the all the forests that stretch from Boston Road to Faculty Street, and some of that land is indeed private—for example, the woods owned by Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the Cedar Ridge housing development.

That is where my naiveté comes in. I hike on all this terrain, and I expect it to stay in its natural state: one contiguous swath of beautiful land. When I hear that Cedar Ridge plans to essentially divide the woodlands in half by driving a wedge of housing through it, I bum out. Still, I am a big boy, and I know the town let it happen in 2006 by approving the initial stage of this development. But when I hear that the town intends to sell ADDITIONAL land in this area to a developer—presumably Cedar Ridge—to build a total of nearly 200 housing units on both parcels, my blood begins to boil, because I had assumed that town land would be “protected.” I had assumed that the town would preserve this land because of its natural beauty. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE.

But let’s forget this outrage for a few minutes and have some fun in the woods through three seasons: the fall of 2012, the winter of 2012-2013, and the spring of 2013.

Fall 2012: The Woods Behind Faculty Street

Some of the views of the wetlands from these trails (above) show the swamp in its primeval state—it was never converted into farmland when much of Wilbraham was deforested for agriculture.

The microburst in June of 2011 felled many trees in this area and erased good paths, but the main trails have been cleared and they are maintained fairly well.

You never know whom you’ll meet on these trails. Smile!

I was puzzled by this black band around the tree until I got closer and discovered it was a wildlife camera (above). So someone has film of me checking the camera out. Smile! You’re on a wildlife camera!

The paths that originate at the Academy extend to the power lines, and if it has been dry for a while, you can usually hop over a stream to the Stony Hill Road side of the White Cedar Woods. But someone went to the trouble of chopping down a bunch of trees (pictured above) to block access to ATVs and motorcycles.

I climbed over, under, and through the blockage, but damn! The stream is as wide as hell! I could have tromped through the vegetation on my left with minimal soaking of my boots, but I said, “The hell with it,” turned around, and called it a day—but not before I found this deer skull:

You can access the Academy trails off Faculty Street: they’re to the right of the new football field beyond the tennis courts. Once you enter the field area, you’ll have to walk counter-clockwise on the right of the clearing and keep your eyes open, but if you’re alert, you’ll find a couple of trailheads.

Winter 2012-2013

On cross country skis I check out the large, signature pine grove on the Cedar Ridge land. It’s too bad the middle of this view, to the left of the pine trees, will be someday be ruined by buildings, so I’ll enjoy it while I can.

These woods are ideal for cross-country skiing, but when the snow gets incredibly deep—as it did this past winter—it’s always good when someone takes a snowmobile out after a heavy snowstorm to provide a decent skiing surface.

The funny thing about the winter of 2012-2013 was that there wasn’t really much snow until late in the season. And it took a while to get cold. I brought the snowshoes out in late December, but the swamp hadn’t frozen solid yet (above). Usually, by this time, the ice is thick enough to support my weight.

My son (face obscured) stands next to a  “Christmas Tree” with snow puff ornaments (above) and trudges on snowshoes on one of the swamp area’s rare hills (below).

I am partial to snowshoeing or cross country skiing late in the day, when the snowmobiles have already made their tracks.

Spring 2013

In the swamp woods, the fog comes on big bobcat paws. Above, the mist obscures the pine grove on the Cedar Ridge land. Yep, I’m going to repeat it again, ad nauseam: that’s where housing units are going to be built someday.

The foggy view from the McDonald Nature Preserve parking lot.

A remnant from the area’s agricultural past: an old tiller hides in the brush on the path that leads to the Wilbraham Middle School soccer fields.

These days you have to watch your step because there is plenty of horse riding on these trails, especially on Sundays.

No matter how often I hike here and think I know the woods like the back of my hand, I discover a new side-trail—or a deer stand. This one is off the Alton’s Way trail near the McDonald Nature Preserve.

I discovered several cellar ruins about two years ago. This one is a little off the Cedar Ridge land on the west side of the power lines on the south side of the clearing: a stairway to the old Oaks Farm past.

The other foundation (above and below) is on town land known as 68 Brainard Road—"Schedule C,” or better known as “68 V-C.” On April 11, the Board of Selectmen, in its infinite wisdom, decided to put an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant that may wreck the woods forever. A “yes” vote on May 13 would be in favor of the town of Wilbraham authorizing this "surplus” land for sale to Cedar Ridge or another developer. Such an ill-advised move would require a two-thirds vote by the town’s registered voters at the meeting. To paraphrase the famous saying of a former first-lady of the United States: JUST VOTE NO.

A separate informational meeting on the Cedar Ridge proposal to build on this property is tentatively scheduled for May 8 at the Wilbraham Middle School. Stay tuned, folks. This is YOUR land the town is trying to sell.