 Just north of Shaw Road, on Shaw Brook, beaver have over the years constructed a series of six dams that have flooded some 15 to 20 acres of low ground. A picture-book pond it's not, filled as it is with skeletal timber and littered with other trees brought down by a high water table. Although only a stone's throw from Shaw
Road, the pond remains effectively hidden behind the road's tall
embankment. It appears on no Notchview map. It was never easy reaching the pond on skis, but one could manage it by bushwhacking downhill from the point where Minor and Windsor Trails meet. Given a stretch of cold weather one could even cautiously venture out onto the ice, following the tracks of wildlife crisscrossing the surface, wondering what animals left them. But no need to bushwhack any longer. A new trail, marked by DayGlo flags, leads to the pond from Judges Hill Trail. Eventually the trail will circle the pond; for now, on skis at least, it's best to keep to the pond's western side. The skiing will be marginal and ungroomed but skiing isn't the purpose; hoping to see sign of beaver is. No tree, apparently, is too big for these Shaw Brook beaver to tackle. Among the tangle of old felled trees up from the water's edge is an aspen with a diameter of more than 17 inches. A second beaver pond of more recent vintage is easier to reach from the Visitor Center; skis not required. It lies just across Route 9, down the Hume Brook Trail a short distance to Hume Brook. An underwater sluice has been installed to keep the bridge over the brook over the brook despite the beavers' best efforts to flood it. |
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