An Icy Stare

The trails were treacherously icy, which explained the dearth of hikers I saw on Saturday.

Visit #1226, Saturday 21 December 19, 11:45AM-1:45PM, 2.2miles, 5.8lbs. of litter.
Temps in the low 30's, sunny.

I expected ice on the trails and had the foresight to wear my Kahtoola Microspikes. I pretty much laughed at what the trails threw at me.


I was on-call for the second consecutive week which limited my range, so I stuck to the same route as last week.

Last week I found a small tree leaning over the trail near the I-691 walkbridge. For just a single, small diameter tree, I didn't think my chainsaw was called for, so I brought a simple limbing saw instead.

Dumb move.

It took me an hour to cut that tree down by hand. Then I had to get it unstuck from the branches above, and swing it off the trail.

I'll lean closer to my screen so you can give me a dope slap.

At least all that effort kept me warm.

Done with that nonsense, I returned to the park with an hour left to spend. As I suggested last week,
I decided to scour areas of the park I missed last week, in search of litter.

It amazes me the ducks don't get frozen butt cheeks paddling in that water.

The squirrels are missing out on this smorgasbord.

The ice glaze limited what I would find, but I fulfilled my promise and dropped off my bag of trash at the playscape.

Just after I dropped off my bag of trash, I looked left...

... and found THE THIRD HAT in as many weeks, as well as the gloves, as you see them. The hats I found the two prior weeks I dropped off at Goodwill yesterday. This hat will join it's siblings soon.  Should I start a Season of the Missing Hat?

As for the gloves, I can't add them to the Season of the Missing Glove 2019 because they were a complete pair and not an orphan glove. Not in good enough condition to send to Goodwill, I will see if I can find a use for them at home.

I also noticed the trail map board adjacent to the playscape has received a full-color refresh. Problem is, THE MAP IS UPSIDE DOWN! Somebody's been drinking at the trough of Holiday Cheer.