Graffiti Roundup

 

Sunday morning's humidity was so thick you could SEE it, and barely see the Halfway House.

Visit #1428x, Thursday 22 June 23, 6:00-700PM. Mileage n/a.

Visit #1429, Sunday 25 June 23, 7:00-9:25AM, 4.7 miles, 7.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the mid-70s, cloudy with brutal humidity.

In last week's blog post I reported finding more graffiti than I had time to address.

I had originally planned on cleaning all of it up in one day. But I suspected I might find more in places I had not been last week. Also, I had another issue to address. So on Thursday I rode my bike up to East/West Peak to see, and do, what I could.

During last week's roadside trimming I forgot to bring spray paint to mark the road where I left off.

So part of my ride up to West Peak was to do so.

"X" marks the spot. I use letters versus numbers so as not to confuse other road users it's a measurement of some sort.

As you can see from the one pannier on my bike, I was carrying equipment to tackle at least one piece of graffiti left over from last week. I left West Peak and rode over to the walkbridge over I-691.

I brushed off any debris and applied Goo Gone. The crappy brown stuff did not remove with a brushing.

I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for scrubbing. I could probably gotten away with a Scotchbrite pad.

A few minutes of work, and I finished off the area with some household cleaner.

While I was on the walkbridge I thought I'd check the rest of the walkbridge in case there was new graffiti or something I missed last week. There was.

This cleaned quickly; I was in a groove!

Cleaning the walkbridge on Thursday would save me some time on Sunday morning.

So on Sunday I quickly proceeded to the other location of graffiti I spied last week, the water treatment plant building.

While I started with the Goo Gone again, this was not cleaning off as fast as I would like.

So I brought my Atomic Graffiti Remover (in the blue can) and finished the job. It will evaporate and leave no trace.

I would have gotten things cleaner, quicker, and with more excitement, had I used Brighto! Alas, it hasn't been sold since 1937. (The youtube video is blocked; click on the "Brighto" link to view.)

I hiked over to West Peak and cleaned up some minor graffiti. It was a foggy, humid, non-view.

I retuned to the car and wondered, which Stooge do I most resemble?!

Double Overtime?!

 

Who would want to work on a day like this, even if it meant double overtime?

Visit # 1428, Sunday 18 June 23, 6:40-10:00AM, 4.7 miles, 17.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 60s, sunny, dry, breezy, with a slight touch of mosquitos.

This was a week to continue trimming the roadside as I progress toward West Peak.

It was while trimming this section of road that a hiker came by and said "Double overtime; must be nice!"

It took me a few seconds to grasp the reference. When I informed him I didn't punch a clock for this, we both had a good laugh.

After trimming for an hour I packed up and headed toward West Peak. Along the way I found a discarded bag of trash. Too large to carry, I later returned in my vehicle to re-bag and retrieve it.

Hiking over the I-691 walkbridge on my way back to the parking lot, I came upon some new graffiti.

I laid out my tools and went to work removing it.

Here it is mid-removal.

A nice, clean finish.

Alas, I didn't have to walk much further before I encountered more.

Well, all MY homies hate graffiti. By the way, that letter "A" in the circle is the symbol for anarchism.

Not as clean a removal as the first one, but close enough. I was running out of cleaning fluid, and time.

It was not to be the end of the graffiti, however. I almost reached the end of the walkbridge.

I can assure you it won't "still" be there next weekend. I found more graffiti as I drove up to West Peak to pick up the bag of trash, which sorta firms up my hiking route for next weekend. Now, to go home and resupply...

Happy Father's Day!

Exchange of Gifts

 Visit #1427, Saturday 10 June 23, 6:45-8:45AM, 2.9 miles, 3.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny and pleasant.

I recently learned of a fallen tree across the steep trail near the Soap Box Derby track. It was oak and it was big. I gathered up my chainsaw and assorted tools early Saturday morning.

My gift to Hubbard Park would be a clear trail.

This tree measured forty-five feet long (I measured!) and 16-18" in diameter, longer than the bar on my saw.

I chose to first cut the section blocking the trail, cutting 16" lengths. This would give me a better chance of clearing the trail before I ran out of fuel, which eventually I did.

My plan worked!

The remaining trunk is not an issue so I'll leave it be.

I continued up the steep trail to the Halfway House, where I received MY gift.

Once a year I ask Chris Bourdon, Director of the Meriden Parks Department, to mow the grass around the Halfway House. It gives the public the impression it's not abandoned. I had planned on dropping my annual request in a week or so, but Chris and crew beat me to the punch and did a spectacular job of sprucing up the area. They even used a weed whacker around the perimeter. Now that's attention to detail!

My thanks (and I'm sure the thanks of the many hikers) to Chris Bourdon and the Meriden Parks Department crew, as I'm sure they're extremely busy this time of year.

I returned to the parking lot knowing you can give or receive gifts any time of the year.

National Trails Day 2023

 

I participated in my own way in National Trails Day. I hope you did, too.

Visit #1426, Saturday 3 June 23, 7:45-11:00AM, 5.7 miles, 6.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, cloudy, cool, breezy, and a chance of showers.

Honestly, I FORGOT about National Trails Day! But as I was returning to my car after today's hike, I met someone who reminded me of the day. Like back-dating a check, I gave myself credit for participating.

But this week's entry starts before National Trails Day.

During last weekend's hike I noticed some new graffiti carved into the posts at the Halfway House. So mid-week I took a mountain bike ride to the Halfway House to paint over it.

That was just one post, but I covered over all I found, using up the entire can of spray paint.

On Saturday as I walked around Merimere Resevoir and passed by Echo Point, I saw these strange, religious themed items posted on a couple trees.

I removed all of it, including the staples! You've got to wonder what kind of person would go to the effort to do this.

Further on up the road I met a new person, Casey. Casey was walking his four month old Beauceron, Jacob. I'd never heard of the breed so Casey gave me background.

For a four month old puppy, Jacob was already well trained, and calm. What was even more interesting was, Casey was training Jacob using commands spoken in Polish, not English! And since Casey didn't really speak Polish, he was using made-up words that sounded like Polish words he remembered from his youth! While it sounded like nonsense to me, Jacob clearly knew his commands!

What a cute puppy. That's redundant, isn't it?

As part of my National Trails Day activities, I continued trimming the roadsides to East/West Peaks, working toward West Peak. I made several hundred feet of progress which was much more than I expected.

After an hour of that fun, I picked up the trails again and proceeded to check out how the weed killer I applied at the Halfway House last week was doing.

And that was my contribution to National Trails Day.

Pro tip: With the warmer weather of summer comes mosquitos. Consider bringing insect repellent with you on your hikes. I know I will.