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.