The Kindness of Others Part II

Winter sunrise from the Halfway House.

Visit #845, Saturday 18 January 14, 2:20-4:40PM, 4.9 miles.
Temps in the high 30's, sporadic snow showers, no accumulation.

Visit #846, Monday 20 January 14, 7:15-8:30AM, 2.75 miles.
Temps in the mid-30's, mostly cloudy.

Last week's route took me down hill from West Peak, where I discovered a small tree had fallen across the trail. It was still rooted to the ground and try as I may I couldn't break the bond.

This week's fun would take me back to the spot to finish the job.

The tree in question, and the tool of choice.

Five minutes of manual labor and the trail was good again.

Once up at West Peak, I walked the road toward Castle Craig. It would be my final session to make the area surrounding the Castle look nice in advance of the Tradition Run.

Since it was snowing lightly, when I discovered these ATV tracks, I knew they were recent. I wondered whether I would encounter any ATVs. Hmmm...

I took care of business at Castle Craig then walked the trail down. No sooner did I reach level ground when my wondering whether I'd see any ATVs was answered.

They were heading west on the Main Trail toward Southington. They must have ridden a loop because the gate at the south end of Merimere Reservoir was securely locked.

No matter how many times I'd walked past the Halfway House, I failed to see these tubes which I presume were left over from fireworks launching. I didn't have enough room to carry them all back to the park so I left three in plain sight, planning to return on Monday to retrieve the remainder.

Reaching Merimere Reservoir, I came upon Interesting Find of the Week #1:

So we know they vacationed at Disney Land/World but did they camp/shower in Hubbard Park?

It didn't take long before Interesting Find of the Week #1 was upstaged by #2!

I reached the park and dropped off my er, booty.

I returned early Monday morning, Martin Luther King Day, to retrieve the remainder of the black tubes.  Upon reaching the Halfway House, I discovered they were gone. Perhaps the work of another kind person who hikes in Hubbard Park. With that off the agenda, I walked down to the reservoir and back via the Soap Box Derby Track. With the extra time I decided to check something else off my To-Do list.

This large piece of highway debris has been lying around for years. I weighs probably 150 lbs. and was an eyesore.

I dragged it back to the park adjacent to the gate. I planned on notifying the Meriden Parks Department to pick it up.

But that same afternoon around 3:30PM as I routed my way through the park on my bike, I discovered the junk was gone. Work of another kind person, perhaps?

Interesting Find of the Week #3 was this unopened can of Crazy Stallion beer.

What made this find interesting was there were TWO cans in the bag and one was empty; beer drinkers don't usually toss their suds. I can only imagine the drinker discovered Crazy Stallion beer is otherwise known as Canned Bathwater. From the reviews I read online, it's pretty close.

I added the can to the mix and dropped off my last bag of the week.