The Jericho Trail is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, rock climbing,^[3] and in the winter, snowshoeing.

Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for, cross-country skiing and geocaching. Site-specific activities enjoyed along the route include bird watching, hunting (very limited), fishing, horseback riding, bouldering and rock climbing (limited).

Trail route edit

The mainline trail is a rectangular/oval loop bounded by Route 262 on both the east and west (and by the Naugatuck River, rail road track and Route 8 a bit farther away but parallel to the western border).

The southern terminus and parking lot on Echo Lake Road is on the northern road shoulder across from a business's driveway. This trail head is less than a quarter mile to the east of another Echo Lake Road trail head and parking lot used primarily by hunters.

From the north it is also possible to connect to the Jericho Trail via the Mattatuck Trail (which can be found in Black Rock State Park), or to hike in using either of two unmarked paths (which include dirt road portions), one off of Park Road the other on (see the Mattatuck State Forest Letterbox web page for details on these last two options).^[4]

Several unmarked trails, dirt forest roads, seasonal streams and a power line also cut across the trail.

The trail is almost entirely on Mattatuck State Forest property.

Trail communities edit

This official Blue-Blazed Jericho Trail passes through land located within Watertown in Litchfield County.

From high points with unobscured views (e.g. in the winter) on the trail the white stone cliffs on the Mattatuck State Forest parcel across CT-262 ("Whitestone Cliffs" section) may be seen.

The Blue-Blazed Jericho Trail was created by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

Origin and name edit

The trail is named for Jericho Brook which the trail follows for a length of less than a mile in the upper northern half of the trail route.^[1]

Historic sites edit

Several rock formations found along the trail are called caves, though they are not strictly caves.

The one of these, the Watertown Leatherman's Cave, is a rock shelter which can be found on a feeder trail 1/4 mile west of the northern trail head at the Mattatuck Trail junction.

Folklore edit

The Leatherman was a nineteenth-century vagabond who traveled approximately ten miles a day in a thirty-four (34) day circular route between New York's Hudson River in the west and the Connecticut River in the east. His circuit was also bounded by Long Island Sound in the South and the Litchfield Hills in the north.^[4]

The Leatherman spent each night in a different 'cave' on his route where he had usually left a supply of firewood and tinder to start a fire soon after he arrived. The fire's heat would warm the stone sides of the 'cave' and allow it to stay warm throughout the night. Most of the cave's provided an opening for the fire's smoke to exit while still providing shelter from cold wind and rain. The Leatherman would accept food and drink (and occasional lodging and/or treatment when ill) from concerned charitable citizens along the route.

He was known as the "Leatherman" for the outfit he wore, which was made of roughly stitched together patches of leather.

He was found dead in March 1889 near Ossining, New York, in his Saw Mill Woods rock shelter (apparently of mouth cancer due to his use of tobacco) and is buried at the Sparta Cemetery, Route 9, Scarborough, New York. ^[5]

The mainline trail is blazed with blue rectangles. Trail descriptions are available from a number of commercial and non-commercial sources, and a complete guidebook is published by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in the Connecticut Walk Book west. A map of the Thomaston and Watertown sections of the trail is available from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at its website.^[6]

It is regularly maintained, and is considered easy hiking, with very few sections of rugged and moderately difficult hiking.

Much of the trail is close to public roads or state forest roads. There are no camping facilities along the trail and camping is generally prohibited in the areas along the trail.

Weather along the route is typical of Connecticut. Conditions on exposed ridge tops and summits may be harsher during cold or stormy weather.^[7] Lightning is a hazard on exposed summits and ledges during thunderstorms. Snow is common in the winter and may necessitate the use of snowshoes. Ice can form on exposed ledges and summits, making hiking dangerous without special equipment. ^[8]

Several sections of the trail are in low-lying areas or next to (or become) seasonal streams. Extensive flooding in ponds, puddles and streams may occur in the late winter or early spring, overflowing into the trail and causing very muddy conditions. In this case fairly high waterproof boots are recommended. Some parts of the trail follow forest roads which often contain a lot of loose stones or ruts from ATVs and four-wheel drive vehicles.

Biting insects can be bothersome during warm weather. Parasitic deer ticks (which are known to carry Lyme disease) are a potential hazard.^[8]

The trail is in Mattatuck State Forest where hunting and the use of firearms are permitted in season. Wearing bright orange clothing during the hunting season (Fall through December) is recommended.

• Blue-Blazed Trails
• Leatherman (vagabond)
• Mattatuck State Forest
• Naugatuck Railroad
• Naugatuck River
• Watertown

Books – Connecticut hiking [edit]

• Colson, Ann T. (2005). Connecticut Walk Book East (19 ed.). Rockfall, Connecticut: Connecticut Forest and Park Association. pp. 1–261. ISBN 0961905255.
• Colson, Ann T. (2006). Connecticut Walk Book West (19 ed.). Rockfall, Connecticut: Connecticut Forest and Park Association. pp. 1–353. ISBN 0961905263.
• Emblidge, David (1998). Hikes in southern New England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont (1 ed.). Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. pp. 1–304. ISBN 0-8117-2669-X.
• Keyarts, Eugene (2002). Pietrzyk, Cindi Dale (ed.). Short Nature Walks: Connecticut Guide Book (7 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon Publishing. pp. 1–192. ISBN 0-7627-2310-6.
• Laubach, Rene; Smith, Charles W. G. (2007). AMC's Best Day Hikes in Connecticut (1 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Appalachian Mountain Club Books. pp. 1–320. ISBN 1-934028-10-X.
• Ostertag, Rhonda; Ostertag, George (2002). Hiking Southern New England (2 ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon Publishing. pp. 1–336. ISBN 0-7627-2246-0.

Books – Connecticut history and geography [edit]

• De Forest, John (1853). History of the Indians of Connecticut from the earliest known period to 1850. Hartford, Connecticut: Wm. Jas. Hamersley. pp. 1–509.
• Hayward, John (1857). New England Gazetteer: Containing Descriptions of the States, Counties, Cities and Towns of New England (2 ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Otis Clapp. pp. 1–704.
• Trumbull, Benjamin (1797). A Complete History of Connecticut - Civil and Ecclesiastical. Vol. I (1818 printing ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Maltby, Goldsmith & Co. and Samuel Wadsworth. pp. 1–1166.
• Trumbull, Benjamin (1797). A Complete History of Connecticut - Civil and Ecclesiastical. Vol. II (1818 printing ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Maltby, Goldsmith & Co. and Samuel Wadsworth. pp. 1–1166.

Specific to this trail:

• CT Museum Quest Article on the Jericho Trail
• CT Museum Quest Article on the Whitestone-Jericho Connector

Government Links:

• State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection page for the Mattatuck State Forest, including a map
• State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Forestry Division Letterboxing Clues for Mattatuck State Forest
• Town of Watertown Website

Leatherman:

• The Legend of the Old Leatherman
• Cold Spots: The Legend of the Leatherman