Ten Thousand Steps

 

I got my ten thousand steps in. Can I put my feet up for the rest of the day?

Visit #1463, Sunday 28 January 24, 7:45-9:50AM, 5.2 miles, 2.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 30s, rain or wet snow with no accumulation.

Where did the 10,000 Step Program originate? I'm currently reading Beyond Measure- the Hidden History of Measurement, from Cubits to Quantum Constants, by James Vincent.

From the book, here's the answer.

"When I think about what measurement means in today's society, how it's used and misused and how we internalize its logic, I often end up thinking about a single figure: 10,000 steps. It's a metric you've probably seen before, which is often cited as an ideal daily target for activity and built into countless tracking apps, gadgets, and fitness programs. Walk 10,000 steps a day, we're told, and health and happiness will be your reward. It's presented with such authority and ubiquity that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was the result of scientific inquiry, the distilled wisdom of numerous tests and trials. But no. Its origins are instead to be found in a marketing campaign by a Japanese company called Yamasa Clock, In 1965, the company was promoting a then novel, gadget, a digital pedometer, and needed a snappy name for their new product. They settled on manpo-kei or '10,000 steps meter', the first instance of this metric being used to promote health. But why was this number chosen? Because the kanji  for 10,000 and hence the first character in the product's Japanese name, 万歩計, looks like a figure striding forward with confidence.

If the 10,000 steps are an illusion, though, they are a useful one. Research into how many steps a day we should pursue offers more finely graded targets, yes. They say 10,000 steps is too low for children but daunting for older adults, and sometimes puts them off exercise altogether. Studies show that for older women, hitting as few as 4,400 steps a day significantly lowers mortality rates, but that no additional benefits accrue after 7,500 daily steps. Despite this, it's abundantly clear that any increased activity is good for us, and that people who do pursue a daily target of 10,000 steps have fewer signs of depression, stress, and anxiety, regardless of whether or not they actually hit this goal."

On Sunday those 10,000 steps would get me cold and wet.

I arrived at Hubbard Park to an empty parking lot.

I hiked up to West Peak, where there REALLY was nothing to see.

Hiking down to Merimere Reservoir, I see there has been some highly scientific ice thickness testing being performed.

My goal today was to see if the Christmas Wreath at Echo Point had been removed yet. It's about time it was, no?

Well, today I made it my job to put away the decorations.

The Maloney Canal was flowing like nobody's business as were all the brooks and streams I saw today.

I returned to a still empty parking lot having reached the ten thousand step benchmark and secure knowing I could spend the rest of the day on the couch drying out and warming up.

Remember the child car seat I found two weeks ago? I finished washing it and have it listed on craigslist.

If you know someone or agency in need of a child car seat, point them to the ad. Thanks!

The Bernie Jurale Tradition Run 2024 Preview

 

Planning on running tomorrow? That's what you're in for.

Visit #1462, Saturday 20 January 24, 11:50AM-1:35PM, 4.7 miles, negligible litter.

Temps in the teens; wicked cold joined by a wicked cold wind.

I know this report won't reach many participants soon enough, but it doesn't hurt to try. I deliberately used the event name in the title hoping it will result in more search results. Otherwise I was going to title this blog entry "Nonsense" as in, running in this cold weather would be nonsense!, and for another reason which you shall read later.

I started this weekend's hike later than usual in an attempt to squeeze some warmth out of the sky. Didn't work much.

Apparent from the empty parking lot, most people stayed home in this weather.

Even the start banner looked cold.

Bernie's been composting for a few decades now, but the event lives on.

The first stretch up to the south end of Merimere Reservoir is deceiving. The thin layer of snow and visible pavement leads you to a false sense of security.

As you can see, the drilling rig is still in place.

Immediately conditions change, and drastically. But hey; that's what you nutballs running tomorrow live for, right?!

Well, enjoy it!

While I didn't put on my ice cleats, I did bring walking poles for a measure of security. While trudging along I did find Season of the Missing Glove 2023/24, entry #4.

Up at Echo Point, the Christmas Tree decorations have been removed but the wreath has not been taken down. That may be my job next week.

You know it's cold when the reservoir freezes over.

It's snow covered all the way to Castle Craig, with hidden icy spots. No, it's not just spots; the entire road is out to get you. I don't believe they can sand the road because of road salt leeching into the reservoir.

Part of the reason I hiked this route today was so I could check on the I-691 walkbridge and the sudden appearance of padlocks on the fencing.

I could not figure out the reasoning for their recent presence. Thank goodness for astute follower of this blog, Mike G. (ham radio call sign KN4PRR) who informed me it is part of the trend called 

"love locks". You can click on the link and go down your own rabbit hole. I wanted to check on the fence this week to see if this nonsense has continued for the "X" consecutive week. No. I'll keep an eye, and some bolt cutters, on it.

Maybe our lovers should stick their tongues on the bridge to show their devotion to each other...Tee hee!

My Find of the Week was this frozen solid towel. I can always use another shop rag.

Truth be told I was pretty warm as I was dressed appropriately, and kept moving. That should be the theme for particpants in tomorrow's event. Be careful and have fun; I'll be having hot chocolate...

Back On The Slopes

 

Different slope, different week.

Visit #1461, Sunday 14 January 24, 8:25-11:00AM, 3.3 miles, 7.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, sunny and comfortable except for the biting wind. Much colder temperatures are expected in the week ahead.

Last week I cleaned up the slope adjacent to I-691 and the playscape. Gotta do it before snow covers everything. This week I did the same on the steep slope below Castle Craig, where people have a habit of tossing over anything and everything. I found mostly bottles and cans, with a couple hats.

During the hike up, I noticed there is work going on at the south end of Merimere Reservoir such that they left the gate unlocked and open.

They also left tools lying around as if they were forgotten.

That's exactly where I found it.

I cleaned up both sides of the Orange Trail leading up to Castle Craig, in roughly an hour and a half. 

Hiking back to the park via the I-691 walkbridge, I found yet another padlock on the fencing. Now I KNOW someone is playing a game. I'm going to win, and it's going to cost them a lot of padlocks, unless they're stealing them.

Back at the park, I inspected to see if the parks department removed the stray ornament left in the tree.

Yes they did, but they left some wiring.

But that's not the only straggler. Seems they left all the lights on a Christmas Tree.

It's the tree across from the new beehive fountain.

And speaking of things that were left, while driving to Hubbard Park this morning I noticed someone had dumped a child seat at the small parking area across from Belmont Avenue. So after finishing my work in the park, I drove over to the spot and retrieved the child seat. From the date code it is not expired yet, and seems intact. I have already thrown the pad in the washing machine with detergent and Pine-Sol. I will give the frame a cleaning as well, then see if I can find a place to donate it.

Don't Say I Never Gave You Anything

 Visit #1460, Saturday 6 January 24, 7:10-10:30AM, 4.8 miles, 49.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 20s to start, rising to the comfortable 30s, cloudy, with Connecticut's first snowstorm of the season predicted for tonight and into Sunday, with 6" predicted.

During last week's hike, I noticed a padlock on the I-691 walkbridge fencing which I apparently had missed during my recent purge. Was it there during my initial cleansing or a new addition? Could this be a new game? Well, before I proceeded to this weekend's main objective, I hiked over to the walkbridge to remove the supposed straggler.

That was a thirty minute round trip for five seconds work. I inspected the fencing much more closely this time to eliminate the possibility of padlock hallucinations in the future.

Now on to the main event.

Once a year I police the hillside behind the playscape, the hillside that abuts I-691. It can be an eyesore to park goers partially because of large debris tossed from the highway, but also because people park adjacent to the fence line in Hubbard Park and toss their mostly bottles, cans, and litter over the fence. With the impending snowstorm I wanted to complete the task before winter arrived.

Included in the items recovered from the hillside were these two cast off traffic cones which ahem, now no longer belong to the state of Connecticut but to Meriden, courtesy of me!

During my session, at precisely 7:58AM by my watch which is 19 seconds off from NIST time 😉 a truck traveling east on I-691 either hit the guardrail or hit a car, judging by the nasty metal scraping I heard. I fully expected the truck to tumble down the hillside and crush me (which would make for a more interesting blog if I lived!) but I could see the truck stopped on the eastern overpass. State Police, Meriden Fire, and an ambulance arrived in quick order. I also could see the trooper looking down the slope and no doubt seeing me. I didn't want to complicate things by climbing the slope to pick up litter and have the trooper ask what I was doing, so I stalled for the roughly 90 minutes until the scene was clear. I tried to find a a report of the incident from state police blotters but came up empty handed.

Done for this year.

Find of the Week was this watch cap, which I'll wash and take to Goodwill. Watch caps certainly aren't needed in Puerto Rico, since the average low temp is a mere 70 degrees.

I wasn't going to leave all that litter there, so I made multiple trips to the dumpster at the parks facility.

Along the way I noticed this bird feeder just begging for renovation and a refill. If I were a bird I'd be disappointed for sure!

And, where to put those traffic cones...

I don't know if that's an active office building. We'll find out soon enough!

On the last trip to the pile to pick up trash bags, I looked up to see this-

Look closely and you'll see, of all the Christmas light displays in Hubbard Park, which were promptly removed after the holidays, one straggler remains. Any bets on how long until it's discovered and removed?