Storm Isaias Cleanup, Week IV

Visit #1265, Sunday 30 August 20, 7:40-11:30AM, 4.4 miles, 11.0lbs. of litter.
Temps in the low 70's, sunny and dry.

This week I was flying solo; no assistant.

I was on-call too, and I risked venturing far from my van should I receive a service call. But there was still way too much Storm Isaias damage to clear...

I proceeded from the parking lot to the south end of Merimere Reservoir and took the main trail to the Halfway House. Enroute, I totally forgot about two fallen trees we found last week but had to skip because my chainsaw was empty of fuel by the time Paul and reached them.

Not this week.

Removing this was Easy-Peasey, and a warmup for what was next. You can see it in the background.

Now that my chainsaw and I were loose, we tackled bigger things.

That branch twisted as it was snapped from the tree, and continued to spin as I cut. I worked the twist to my advantage so it would twist away from me.

It's still attached to the tree, but clear of the trail.

Past the Halfway House, I took the Orange Trail up to Castle Craig. This was my objective this week, as a lot of people use this trail.

Near the bottom: I was half-finished cutting up this tree when I realized I forgot to take a Before picture.

I'm taking credit for the little stuff, too. Yes; I had to cut it with the chainsaw to free it from the roots.

Climbing higher. This fallen branch was longer than the picture depicts.

 

Just before reaching Castle Craig, I encountered the last storm damage I would be able to tackle today.

I cleaned up around the parking lot and around one picnic table at Castle Craig, and left a heavily laden trash bag for the parks department to pick up later.

Shortly after moving on from Castle Craig I received an after-hours service call and had to cut short my trail clearing.

I will return next week to continue plugging away at trail clearing.

 

Storm Isaias Cleanup, Week III

It was a hot and steamy day in Hubbard Park on Saturday. I thought for sure summer was over. I guess not.

Visit #1264, Saturday 22 August 20, 8:00-11:45AM, 4.5 miles, 4.2lbs. of litter.
Temps in the 80's, sunny with very high humidity.

It's week #3 of cleanup after Storm Isaias. Rather than think up creative names, I'm numbering the weeks of cleanup to give you dear reader, an idea of just how long it takes to recover from such wind damage.

Earlier this week I took a mountain bike ride through the trails I and my assistant would be tackling on Saturday, to prepare myself for the work ahead.

Paul and I parked outside the north end of Hubbard Park and hiked in to the first trail. While Paul cleared fallen branches in the background, I went to work.

The chainsaw bar got stuck in the tree once, but we managed to free it and finish the job.

The next tree was similar in size but easier to deal with.

You can see the stump changed angle considerably once the weight of the tree was removed.

One large branch was in the trail near the top.

We crossed the road you see in the background and immediately picked up the trail on the other side of the guardrail.

I'd been eyeballing this dead hemlock for years, wondering when it would finally fall. I had my answer. In this photo, I had already hacked off the portion of the tree top across the trail.

I completed the job with ease. You can see the guardrail on the right.

The trail quickly turns left and heads steeply downhill. The slope made it difficult to work. There was also a lot of damage on this trail as you can see where Paul is working in the foreground, as well as in the background.

Paul and I cut our way down.

Pretty good results.

Then we reached "The Monster".

That's not just two tree trunks; there's a THIRD one, as you'll see, all attached to the same root ball. Because of their size, length, the terrain, and where they fell, it took some brains and safety-conscious work. I eventually ran out of fuel here, but Paul and I managed to remove one of the trees. The remainder will have to wait for another week.

Paul and I parted ways at this point. I continued on, switching gears to litter patrol. At the Halfway House, I found this peculiar note inside a nip bottle.

If you can't read it, it says,

I saw Bob

He's very sick.

Kidneys shot.

Send him a card

Hubbard Park holds a lot of stories...if only it could talk...

I hiked down to Merimere Reservoir and walked the road back to my car, picking up litter along the way.

Storm Isaias Cleanup, Week II

Post-Storm Isaias cleanup continues.

Visit 1263, Saturday 15 August 20,  6:15-8:00AM, 10:45-11:45AM, 4.2 miles, 3.2lbs. of litter.
Temps in the low 80's, with reasonable humidity, and sunny.

I was supposed to meet my assistant Paul at 8AM to clear more storm damage from the trails, but since he no longer enjoys picking up litter, I started early by myself and hiked a loop to collect trash myself.

Knowing it would be a long work session, I planned on bringing a snack so I didn't bonk, but I forgot. It was going to get ugly if I ran out of energy...

Shortly after I started my clockwise loop, I stopped to clear some storm damage.

We had skipped by this mess last week because it was still passable. Time to chop it down.

The gods were surely watching over me because further up the trail, somebody's lost granola bar became the sustenance I forgot to bring with me today. Hey; the wrapper was unopened-that works for me!

I returned to the park and met Paul. Our plans changed; we would travel to his house and clean up storm damage there, then return to Hubbard Park.

Upon our return, we hiked up to the trail behind the water tank. Really; there's a trail through there somewhere...

We found it.

Just beyond that tree, with Merimere Reservoir in the background, was the last one for today.

That's all Paul and I had time for this week, so we parted ways.

On the return trip by myself to the parking lot, I stopped by the steep trail adjacent to the Soap Box Derby track to remove one last fallen branch.

Storm Isaias Cleanup, Week I

 Please be patient; trail cleanup will take a number of weeks. You can do your part by removing small branches from the trails as you hike.

In the aftermath of Storm Isaias, I rode the lower trails in Hubbard Park to assess trail damage. This enabled me to plan an efficient route when clearing the trails on Saturday.

Visit #1262, Saturday 8 August 20, 8:45-11:45AM, 3.0 miles, no litter pickup this week.

The trails in Hubbard Park  were a reflection of what you saw in  your hometowns; a lot of trees and branches down. I was fortunate to have the assistance of my friend Paul this week. With his help, we made more progress than I anticipated.

While I didn't photograph everything we removed from the trails, What you see will give you an idea of the damage, and our success. There are certainly many more weeks of trail clearing to be had.

 We started small:

Once our warmup was over, we began the real work.

After we crossed over I-691, and just beyond the wooden walkbridge, we encountered more damage.

Just beyond, there was another tree.

The first hikers to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

We caught a little break here as this didn't require much work.

That break was short, however.

Then it was back to the grind.

This next tree on the main trail presented a problem. The top half of the tree broke but was still attached. The weight of the broken top half was resting on the branches touching the ground. I chose to merely cut a tunnel through it all. In the photo below, Paul is in the middle of creating that tunnel. In time it will fall of its own accord, when it can be cleared.

Paul takes a breather.

This long, slender tree was on the main trail leading to the Halfway House.

A couple simple cuts and Paul was able to remove it from the trail.

The last tree of our day was on the Yellow Trail. Merimere Reservoir is in the background.

Shortly after this my chainsaw ran out of fuel. I'll continue next week.