Walden Preserve’s inspiring resurrection

The Pine Swamp Wildlife Corridor in Ledyard, Ravine Trail in Lyme, Candlewood Ridge Trail in Groton, Mount Archer Loop in Old Lyme, Rhododendron Sanctuary Trail in Voluntown — so many southeastern Connecticut hiking paths describe distinctive natural features. Then there is Salem’s Pierce Arrow Trail. As our small group veered onto this narrow track not far from the Laurel and Knife Edge trails at the Walden Preserve last week, I wondered if we would come upon the remnants of a Native American settlement.

But no: It turns out that this Pierce Arrow, situated in the heart of the 400-acre preserve, is the rusted hulk of a century-old automobile, resting on its side. Pierce Arrows, manufactured in Buffalo, N.Y., from 1901 to 1938, were considered among the most luxurious vehicles of the era, so much so that in 1909, President William Howard Taft ordered two to be used for state occasions as part of the first White House fleet.

In a way, it’s whimsically fitting that this manmade vestige remains on the property, which contains other faint scars of past human intrusion. Once a beef ranch in the mid1900s, the land then was bulldozed 50 years ago by a sand-and-gravel company. Then in the 1980s, the parcel off Hagen Road, just north of the Salem Roundabout on Route 85, nearly became a 300-lot housing subdivision. You can still see a perc-test pipe to determine its suitability for a septic system stuck in the ground.

Today, the Walden Preserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by the Salem Land Trust, is a stunningly beautiful refuge of meadows, woodlands and beaver ponds, bisected by two pristine waterways and containing six miles of gentle, wellmarked, public hiking trails.

“It’s amazing how it’s recovered,” remarked David Bingham, who roamed the property as a boy while growing up on a nearby family compound.

The gravel operation had “left the land looking the way it must have looked after the glaciers scraped it clean” nearly 15,000 years ago, he added. Yet today, there are lush meadows, healthy forests and verdant coverings of moss and lichen.

Bingham, a grandson of Hiram Bingham III — an academic-explorer and later Connecticut governor and senator who is credited with the modern discovery of Machu Picchu during a 1911 expedition to Peru — has long been active in conservation. David Bingham and his wife, Annie, helped raise money for the purchase and permanent protection of the Walden Preserve; he is a past president

of the Salem Land Trust, which oversees nine other protected parcels in town.

“We manage the trails, the mowing of the meadows, and try to control the invasive species,” said Linda Schroeder, the trust’s current president.

Like Bingham, she is most impressed with the Walden Preserve’s recovery.

“There was never any restoration of the land. It is an interesting example of what happens without restoration; the Eightmile River and Harris Brook seem to have done just fine, as have the wildlife,” she said.

The preserve’s value is especially significant now that the Eightmile watershed has been federally designated as a Wild and Scenic River. One of the Walden Preserve’s most appealing paths, the Knife Edge Trail, follows a stretch of the Eightmile’s East Branch, near its confluence with Harris Brook.

“This is my favorite section,” said Maggie Jones, director emeritus of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, who has been leading our “coronavirus hikes” for the past month. Our small band of four to five hikers have been exploring less-traveled trails in nature preserves and land trust properties to avoid crowds that have forced the state to close several popular parks in recent weeks.

With spring finally upon us, Maggie pointed out assorted ephemerals — some now in bloom, others about to pop, including sweet white violets, Quaker lilies (also called bluets), trout lilies, trilliums, marsh marigolds and jack-in-the-pulpits.

Meanwhile, various avian species flitted through the trees and meadows: a tufted titmouse, Louisiana waterthrush, bluegray gnatcatcher, along with chickadees, field sparrows, turkey vultures and crows.

All their cheeping, squawking and chirping make up “nature’s orchestra,” Maggie said.

We were the first group on the property in mid-morning, but by the time we left a few hours later, about a dozen other hikers arrived — a small enough number to allow for social distancing.

Once again, here’s a list of land trusts in the region that offer public hiking trails, all worthy alternatives to crowded beaches and parks. Check their websites or Facebook pages for directions and regulations:

Avalonia Land Conservancy,

Connecticut Forest and Park Association, East Lyme & Niantic Land Conservation Trust, Friends of Oswegatchie Nature Preserve in East Lyme, Groton Open Space Association, Lyme Land Conservation Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Old Lyme Land Trust, Old Lyme Open Space Committee, North Stonington Citizens Land Alliance, Salem Land Trust, Stonington Land Trust and Waterford Land Trust (originally West Farms Land Trust).

I can’t commend too often the generosity and far-sightedness of those who donated time and money to set aside open space for the enjoyment of future generations. We need natural sanctuaries, not just during a pandemic, but always, as reminders of the restorative power of nature.

I’m also grateful to readers who have been suggesting wonderful places to hike. I hope to visit as many as I can.

If you have a favorite destination, leave an online comment on this column or email me at s.fagin@theday.com.

Thanks, stay healthy, stay active and hike responsibly. Oh, and a friend also reminded me: Check for ticks. As if we needed one more thing to worry about.