My (Late) Christmas Gift To You

 Visit #1402, Monday 26 December 22, 10:45AM-1:25PM, 4.2 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 30s, sunny and comfortable.

Visit #1403, Saturday 31 December 22, 9:25-11:35AM, 1.0 miles, 51.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, very foggy with condensing humidity.

After finding a few fallen trees and branches across the trails during last week's Bomb Cyclone adventure, I decided I'd use my post-Christmas day off to trip through the trails with my chainsaw and clean up things.

I found a lot more than I encountered last week; good thing I decided to inspect ALL the trails below the peaks while I had the chainsaw with me.

So my first gift to you is to unwrap the trails from fallen trees and branches. Below you'll see the Before and After photos. 

Here you can see the Halfway House in the background.

Phew!

For my second gift, I chose to perform my annual cleaning of the slope between I-691 and the playscape. 

It really was that foggy, but comfortable. At least it wasn't raining-yet.

I collected all the trash in one spot and started to shuttle it to the dumpsters at the Parks and Rec building...

...then work beckoned.

I am the on-call tech for the holiday week and I received a call for service in New Haven. I hated to do this, but I had to leave the rest of the litter and go to work. If the weather cooperates on New Year's Day, I may be able to return to the park and finish the job before it becomes too much of an eyesore.

And now for my End of the Year Statistics.

Miles hiked: 216.7

Litter collected: 410.2 lbs.

Trees and branches removed from the trails by chainsaw: 35

And as I do every year end, I offer to remove you from my e-mail list, if I'm not already a permanent resident of your spam or junk folder. Just e-mail and request to be removed from my distribution list.

Happy 2023!

A Bomb Cyclone Christmas

 A Bomb Cyclone hit the U.S. Friday night, with temperatures dropping faster than cryptocurrency shares.

I hope Santa has heated seats on his sleigh tonight.

Visit #1401, Saturday 24 December 22, 12:35-3:10PM, 3.4 miles, 23.8lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low teens, sunny with light to moderate wind.

Early morning temps were in the single digits. Heck with early out the door; I waited until noon to squeeze all the heat out of the sun that I could manage.

But to tell the truth, once in the woods and on the trails, there was a wind break and conditions improved.

I spent my second consecutive week on the slopes below Castle Craig, cleaning up litter tossed over the wall. I am pleased to announce I completed both sides of the trail, a first for me.

Yeah, it's that steep.

Along the way I found Season of the Missing Glove 2022/23, entries #2 and #3.

The high winds of the Bomb Cyclone brought down hundreds of small branches, and a couple trees as well.

I was able to snap off enough branches to make it passable underneath.

There were more. I shall return in the near future with my chainsaw on a Power Tool Weekend® and clean things up.

Merry Christmas!

On The Slopes

Vermont and Maine already got hit with their first Nor'easter of the season.

The only snow we're seeing locally is man-made on the slopes of Mt. Southington and Powder Ridge in Middlefield.

This weekend, I was on a slope of a different kind.

Visit #1400, Sunday 18 December 22, 11:25AM-2:45PM, 2.5 miles, 17.8lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 30s, mostly sunny with a slight breeze.

Once a year, after the snakes all go into hibernation -wait; snakes don't hibernate- they brumate.

Anyway, when it's the time of year when it's unlikely I'll encounter any snakes, I take to the steep slope below Castle Craig and pick up all the cans and plastic bottles tossed over in the course of the year. It's treacherous stepping but the results are rewarding.

On the slope.

Little known fact: A U.S. Air Force plane once crashed in Hubbard Park. You can still find the wreckage.

And here's the first entry into Season of the Missing Glove 2022/23, the Been There A Long Time editon.

I'm not quite finished with this off-season project and plan to return in a week or so to complete my annual pilgrimage. That is, if the snow doesn't cover the slope.

The Official Start of the Christmas Season

 

The Christmas season ain't upon us until the tree is decorated.

Visit #1399, Saturday 10 December 22, 10:45AM-1:35PM, 4.9 miles, 5.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 40s, sunny with a crisp breeze.

A regular visitor to Hubbard Park alerted me to this annual occurrence; the decorating of the tree at Echo Point. I had to see it for myself.

I originally had other plans but I worked the two tasks together; pole saw trimming and tree inspection.

As I walked toward Merimere Reservoir I'd collected enough trash to leave a bag at the water treatment plant, and open another one.

Near the Christmas tree at Echo Point, a wreath hangs on the railing. Festive party mood; break out the eggnog! 

Done staring at all that yuletide jazz, I proceeded up the road and to the trails for some plaid-shirted activities.

Down on the trails below Castle Craig there is a tree with a large branch hanging from it. Storm damage from several years ago, it's supported on the ground by the ends of the branch. I'd trimmed it a few times to permit walking underneath but through time it has been drooping lower to the ground. I brought the pole saw this week to restore some of the clearance.

This was difficult work but a passing hiker aided me in making a couple crucial cuts, opening up the gap again.

Despite the warmth of the sun and the wind break in the woods, there were few people out hiking.

This hiking weather is not to be missed, and neither is the Echo Point Christmas tree.

Solitude and Suffering

 

Some rain, high winds; what a great day to be out in the woods.

Visit #1398, Saturday 3 December 22, 9:30-11:30AM, 4.2 miles, 9.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s with steady rain and high winds.

Every once in a while you just have to immerse yourself in nature. On Saturday I put on all my GoreTex and decided to suffer a little.

I figured with the way the winds were blowing I might find some downed trees on the trails in Hubbard Park. That was not the case, although I did find a number of smaller branches, which I removed from the trails, of course.

Nearing the Halfway House, I found a trail marker on the ground, which was unfortunately vandalized. Looks like stenciled trail markers are the only solution, as I've even seen the metal Blue Blazed Trail markers vandalized.

I hiked all the trails below the East and West Peak and crossed over I-691. On the return leg I learned Glenda loves Cocho. I also learned how well my new brass bristle brush works on rocks to remove graffiti.

Despite all my high tech clothing, my pants were still soaked at hike's end. It felt good to get home and into some dry clothing. But the suffering felt good, too.