Season's End

It's a little bit late in the season for this guy to be hanging around; don't they fly south for the winter? ;-)

Visit #1164, Sunday 28 October 18, 12:30-2:10PM, 4.1 miles.
Temps in the low 50's, cloudy and drying up after a day long rain on Saturday.

After the last two weeks of graffiti on the walkbridge over I-691, I was dying to see if this was going to be a trend. So I started my hike from the parking lot and headed straight for the walkbridge.

Good thing I headed in that direction. I found a newly fallen tree across the trail.

I wrestled it off the trail; no tools needed. That's my litter bag in the photo.

The foliage was in peak form, as you'll see. It's even better if you get out there and immerse yourself in it.

Good news; the bridge had no new graffiti. But next time it shows up, I've got a new trick up my sleeve to deal with it. I won't reveal the surprise until then.

I turned myself uphill, to the road near Castle Craig.

At the road, I took a trail down to Merimere Reservoir. I don't usually find much if any litter on this trail so I was just going to enjoy the leaves and the quiet.

It was pretty much like that all the way down. I could hear rain runoff from distant brooks discharging after all the rain we received last week, but that's about all the noise you'll hear on this trail.

At the trail's end, I found these bikes locked to a tree. A parent must have ridden with their children to the trail head to take a hike. What a great idea.

Now I would be walking the road around Merimere Reservoir to return to the parking lot. There was a CONSTANT stream of cars in both directions, which made the hike suck, period. The good thing is, this is the last weekend the road will be open to traffic for the season. And if the trees can hold their color until next weekend, it will be truly enjoyable for those who don't venture onto the trails.

In fact, I found most of the litter I collected today on that very stretch of road. With the road closed beginning next week, it will be a lot easier to keep clean.