Runner's Aren't The Only Wussies

Who took my parking spot?

Visit #1177, Sunday 27 January 19, 11:00AM-1:10PM, 4.7miles, 4.0lbs. of trash.
Temps in the 40's, cloudy and very windy.

The Tradition Run, which is held every January regardless of weather, was scheduled for last Sunday. Well, apparently it was rescheduled to today, due to last Sunday's ice storm.

This only proves my claim that runners are a bunch of wussies that can't handle a touch of inclement weather.

I didn't get the memo on the reschedule, so when I arrived at Hubbard Park, all my parking spots were taken, and then some.

After last week's ice storm I expected to find downed branches and trees. My plan was to remove whatever I found.

I hiked up to the trail behind the water tank to find my first fallen branch.

Some cutting and dragging, and the trail was clear.

The trails were cleaner than expected, until I reached the steep trail up to Castle Craig.

The lightweight hand tools I brought with me weren't going to remove this. Prior to trekking out on this day, I had considered bringing my chainsaw but in fact, revealed myself to be a wussy as well because I didn't want to carry the weight and not find anything. Oh, the shame, to be lumped in with all those lycra-clad skinny people!

So this wussy moved on and decided to just make a note of all I found so I could return next week like a real man, with a chainsaw, and do business.

I didn't recon every trail; that will take a few weeks, but here's what I found on the Blue Trail high above Merimere Reservoir.

Some rock climbers had their ropes and gear spread out. Rock climbers that use ropes are wussies...

This funky little procession appeared to be the sweep vehicles for the Tradition Run. Yes, that van driver is NOT a wussy compared to his coworkers because he was the only vehicle driving IN REVERSE. The road was narrow, so he backed up until there was sufficient space pull a K-turn. Then he drove like a wussy back to the park.

Now back to our regularly scheduled fallen branches.

Finally reaching the road, I walked back to the park. Enroute I found the wreath at Echo Point was still up, in violation of all rational holiday decoration rules. I descended from Mt. Crumpit and removed it.

Back at the park, I deposited my trash for the week and vowed to redeem my wussy-self next week.

The New Metric

Visit #1176, Saturday 19 January 19, 8:40-10:45AM, 4.8 miles.
Temps in the high 20's, mostly sunny.

Last week I found 2 fallen trees across the Blue Trail heading up to West Peak, but I was only able to remove one of them by hand. This week I returned with the chainsaw to remove the remaining tree.

With the Tradition Run set for the following day in Hubbard Park, Sunday the 20th, you could bet the runners would be keeping track of their running metrics using all the tech available to athletes today.

Mileage, time, heart rate, elevation gain, calories burned; the list goes on.

I too, have metrics, which I post at the beginning of each blog entry; my hike duration and distance. I also catalog how many bags of litter I collect, in the form of photos.

Today I'm adding another metric.

I hiked a clockwise loop, up and over I-691 to the trail with the fallen tree.

I probably could have used a bow saw to cut the tree, but I was looking forward to a Power Tool Weekend®, so I brought my chainsaw and performed a drive-through tree removal.

Just as I finished, a mountain biker came by, pushing his bike up the hill, with his two dogs chasing. He thanked me for clearing the trail, which should be obvious, but anyway lets me know I'm doing something appreciated by others.

I turned around, and covered all the trails below Castle Craig, no longer looking for fallen trees but picking up litter.

Enroute, I found Season of the Missing Glove 2018-19, Entrant #6.

I returned to the parking lot and deposited my trash for the week.

Oh; that new metric I'll be adding to my blog-the weight of my trash. I suspect people look at my bag of litter with little comprehension of the magnitude of what's been collected. Well, no more.

I purchased a luggage scale to weigh my trash.

You'd be surprised at what some of these bags weigh, and I'm curious myself at times. This week's bag was clearly on the low side and I'm sure it will trend that way for the rest of the winter.

This week's bag was 4.2lbs.
FYI: My backpack, with no tools but my usual supply, weighs 10lbs.
Today with the chainsaw, associated accessories, and loppers, as you see it in the photo above, weighs 27lbs.

Keeping Ahead of Things, 2nd Edition

Winter teases Merimere Reservoir with a thin rim of ice.

Visit #1175, Sunday 13 January 19, 11:25AM-1:45PM, 5.0 miles.
Temps in the 20's, mostly sunny with a light breeze.

For the second consecutive week I walked the road around Merimere Reservoir, keeping tabs on clean it was and keeping it that way for next week's Tradition Run.

Except this week, I would hike it in reverse, descending the road from West Peak.

I headed west and over I-691 and up to the Blue Trail toward West Peak. Shortly after picking up that trail I came upon a hemlock across the trail.

The tree was much longer than the photo suggests and it took some wrangling to the pull it downslope and off the trail. Much like bringing your cat to the vet.

While I was successful (you can see the tree's roots in the left foreground of the photo), there was another hemlock immediately behind it, as seen in the background of the photo. It wouldn't budge, and will have to wait for a Power Tool Weekend for me to remove it.

I reached West Peak and cleaned up the area as well as the parking lot, then walked the road down and back to the parking lot.

Up at West Peak, it was surprisingly calm and warm in the sun. Remember; the days are getting longer and the sun's coming back north!

Next week: "The New Metric". Stay tuned.

Keeping Ahead of Things

The early morning start was slippery as there were spots of black ice on the road. But conditions improved as the morning went.

Visit #1174, Sunday 6 January 19, 7:35-10:10AM, 5.3 miles.
Temps in the 30's, cloudy to start, then increasing sun.

Every year in late January, Hubbard Park hosts the Tradition Run, which is held along the road from the park to Castle Craig. When weather aligns with my trail plans, I try to clean up the road from start to finish in advance of the event. This year I got a head start, several weeks in advance, on sprucing up the route.

Early on as I walked the road, I found some new graffiti, which wasn't there as recent as two weeks ago.

 

It took me a few hours to figure out the last one represents a cross-eyed face.

I moved on, pondering what to do about the graffiti.

At the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I checked on the gate and found the Meriden Parks Department had replaced the missing lock on the gate.

I walked all the way around Merimere Reservoir and up to Castle Craig, where I cleaned up the parking lot, then hiked the trails down.

Along the way I found Season of the Missing Glove entrant #5.

 Hiking the trails back to the park, I found Len is back in the park after a long absence, and placing wood across the trails again.

I removed everything, including some branches that fell on their own.

 Back at the park, I deposited my trash collection for the week.

But that graffiti; with some precipitation forecast for later in the week, and winter in general upon us, today's weather would be my best, guaranteed opportunity to do something about it.

So I returned later on Sunday, just after 3PM when it was slightly warmer and drier, to take care of business.

In 40 degree temps, the paint would dry slowly, but they were the best conditions available to me.

Only after painting over it did I realize how beneficial it would be for the Tradition Run, as well as day-to-day park users, that not only the route be free of litter but free of graffiti as well. Let's see if we can't continue to keep ahead of things in preparation for this year's event.