Dan's Papers - June 6, 2008 - Take a hike with Ken Kindler

I walked these next 11 miles of the Paumanok Path (PP) with Tom Bentivegna, Tom's son, Tom Jr., and his fellow runners, Howie Bergesen and Dan Ingegno. Tom is planning to run the entire length of the approximately 130-mile trail non-stop as soon as next fall.

We met 1.5 miles north of Stephen Hands Path at the new parking area and kiosk on the east side of Route 114. I parked my car and we piled into Tom's van, heading north on CR 114. We cut across Sag Harbor using Jermain Ave., turned right on Noyac Road and followed it to Deerfield Road. Laurel Valley County Park is about 0.6 mile south of Noyac Road on Deerfield Road, opposite the entrance to the Northside Hills Community.

For 1.3 miles the PP runs along ridges, winding its way over knob and kettle, along a ravine and vernal wetlands. Much of the mountain laurel here is looking distressed. Soon there is a "T" intersection with a loop-trail marked by blue owl blazes. Turn right: this part of the loop takes us across the park. Pass a black owl trail branching to the left. A sign reading "Paumanok Path to Middle Line Highway" points you in the right direction. According to William Mulvihill, in his book "South Fork Place Names,"Middle Line Highway (MLH) takes its name from a surveyor's base line created in 1739, which forms the Great North and South Division on the South Fork known as "the middle line." Pass a wetland to the right and turn left onto a paved section of MLH. The next couple of miles are in real need of blazing. As you walk along the road, be alert for a trail marked with white and red dots and faded surveyor's ribbon cutting into the woods on the left side of the road. When a new trail is marked, some trees are sprayed with dots of paint to retain the trail in case the ribbons are removed. This pretty little section of trail cuts a diagonal between MLH and Millstone Brook Road. Exit the woods to the right of a driveway and turn left onto Millstone Brook Road. Pass the gate to the old racetrack on your right. The trail ducks into the woods along the road.

As you approach a guardrail, the trail turns right onto an unpaved section of Ruggs Path and after 100 yards it cuts into the woods to the left. Here the PP is marked with yellow blazes. When we built this segment of trail there was one mile of the PP in Laurel Valley and the next segment was in North Sea or the Long Pond Greenbelt. We were concerned that if someone found a trail painted white they would think it was contiguous with the rest of the PP. At the time we didn't know if or when the PP would connect with this segment of trail. Originally, the plan was for the PP to continue along Middle Line Highway, passing by a sand mine, but the trucks flying by in clouds of dust on the Highway, along with the noise of heavy machinery and the smell of huge quantities of chipped wood during the summer hardly made up for the panoramic view of Noyac Bay as seen from the edge of the sandpit. The PP is now contiguous so it's time to paint white over these yellow blazes. The mountain laurel here looks healthy and will bloom in profusion by mid-June. The trail becomes narrow and winds its way through the dense laurel. Oak caterpillars are beginning to rain down in abundance. To the right of the trail you can see the snow fence marking the edge of Golf on the Bridge, but most of the time it remains out of sight as we walk the long arc around its perimeter. You will pass a yellow owl trail that branches north to the loop around Trout Pond. A left turn takes you back onto the unpaved MLH for a short distance, then the trail runs to the left, around a sturdy fence and onto a driveway. The driveway is marked with a street sign reading MLH at the opening to Brick Kiln Road. (To be continued next week!)