With A Little Help From My Friends

 

I'm not a fan of The Beatles, nor of the song, but the title is appropriate for this week.

Visit #1558, Saturday 25 October 25, 7:20-9:20AM, 3.1 miles, no litter.

Temps in the upper 30s, partly sunny.

Visit #1559, Sunday 26 October 25, 7:20-10:20AM, 

As I reported two weeks ago, my chainsaw crapped out. I brought it to the repair shop where it sits to this day. Without it I can't clean up the storm damage in Hubbard Park or worse, prepare the trails for the upcoming Three Peaks Challenge. I was fretting about this until I told myself to just relax, there's always next week, and it's not the end of the world. It'll get done sooner or later.

We live in an Amazon Prime world (I am NOT a member!) and we've forgotten how to exercise patience. I would exercise patience. I could have asked any of my chainsaw owning friends if I could borrow their saw but maybe it was pride,  maybe it was my pro-patience stance, but I was going to let it be.

Until that is, after hearing my tale of first world woe, my coworker insisted I borrow her husband's chainsaw. In the interest of being sociable, and burying my pride, I accepted.

I'm glad I did.

See, I own a professional level saw. It's bigger and heavier duty than homeowner level saws. Borrowing such a saw would allow me to compare the two to see what how they compare.

I'm pleased to say the Stihl MS 170 performed very well. It's clearly lighter than my Stihl 026 Pro so it's easier to carry in my backpack, it's a bit more difficult to start (the procedure is different and it takes more force) but once you become familiar with those tasks, you're on your way to a good experience as I was.

So now with a saw in hand/backpack and with the calendar creeping toward the Three Peaks Challenge, I wanted to finish clearing the neglected trail.

I arose Saturday and drove to the north end of Hubbard Park.

I hiked the South Mountain trail directly to the tree where my chainsaw failed.

It was while removing this tree that an early morning hiker passed by and exclaimed, "But I LIKE HAVING TREES ACROSS THE TRAIL; I GET EXERCISE CLIMBING OVER THEM!"

I literally told him to walk faster. Geez; I can't please everyone.

Well, I'm not going to show you the rest of the trees I removed from the South Mountain trail which was about half a dozen. I will show you one other large tree.

This homeowner saw was punching above its weight.

So on Sunday I decided to return to the trails I hiked last week to remove the fallen trees I found, with my borrowed saw. Use 'em if you got 'em!

I arrived at Hubbard Park Sunday morning to discover there were TWO events being held; a Soap Box Derby race and a running race.

Walking around Merimere Reservoir I discovered all the speed bumps have been removed. I wonder whether this was the result of my reporting their poor state? Seems pretty early to be prepping for snow.

Up the trail I went in search of the fallen trees. I was disappointed.

Someone had removed all the other, much smaller fallen trees on this trail. Truth be told they only needed to be pulled off the trail, a deed handled by another kind hiker.

Up at West Peak I spied some new graffiti that needed removal.

Descending the Blue Trail from West Peak I began to tackle a large fallen tree when a hiker named Paul passed by. He's a Meriden resident who usually gets his exercise at the YMCA on West Main Street. He assisted me in moving these heavy logs out of the way after I cut them up.

There's also no excuse for placing stickers on public property.

Below the sticker was #17 in the series of cat graffiti since November 2016.

On the walkbridge was some new graffiti. I was surprised at how easy this was to remove. Also, from the writing it looks like they're coming from New York to tag things.

The last tree my borrowed saw was to tackle contained a surprise.

So what's with the nail?

Well, while cutting up the tree I noticed a piece of paper off in the brush. I retrieved it. It obviously was at one time nailed to the tree.

Who is Keith? (I ahem, know who the painter is...😉), and who knew democrats don't pay taxes?

Which reminds me to remind you; don't forget to vote on November 4th.

A note of thanks to Kristen and Steve for insisting I borrow their chainsaw; they had a hand this week in keeping Hubbard Park's trails clear.

Good To Be Back

After a week away from my girlfriend, it felt good to see her again.

Visit #1557, Sunday 19 October 25, 7:00-9:15AM, 4.9 miles, 12.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60s, partly sunny.

A week away from Hubbard Park really renewed my enjoyment of hiking there. Maybe there was some voodoo or karma involved as my chainsaw went belly up during that little diversion on South Mountain. It's currently at the repair shop being assessed and hopefully it can be resuscitated as you'll see I truly need it.

I initially had planned on hiking a clockwise loop up to West Peak and back but, arriving at Hubbard Park I noticed they were setting up for what was going to be a fundraising run for Footprints On Our Hearts.

A clockwise route would put my timing in conflict with the runners; I'd be walking on the route in the midst of the event. So instead I walked counterclockwise around Merimere Reservoir and made sure the road was clean of litter for them.

One thing I did notice while walking on the road is that the speed bumps, barely six months old, are coming loose from the pavement whether intentionally or not. I think it's time to go to Plan B or        Rev. 2.0.

I moved this rumble strip out of the way to make it easier to spot.

Every speed bump is affected in one way or another. Time to rethink this; it's a good idea that needs to be developed.

At the north end of Merimere Reservoir I was mooned by a gaggle of Canada Geese. The nerve!

I considered giving them the finger but what would be the point-they wouldn't see it anyway.

So I hit the first trail and expecting to find storm damage. You may recall we had some rain and winds in the 30 mph range last week. I wasn't disappointed.

The trees may look small, but they aren't moving and a chainsaw is the best way to deal with the volume of work.

At West Peak I found what I'm guessing would be the belongings of a homeless person camping in the woods. I had to transfer everything into a 33 gallon trash bag because of the sleeping bag, clothing, and unopened convenience foods and energy drinks. Carrying this heavy load put a halt to most other litter patrol I had in mind today.

But all was not negative at West Peak. The view as I descended the Blue Trail was great.

Hiking the trail heading back to the park, I encountered the largest fallen tree which needs to be removed. Getting my chainsaw back can't happen soon enough for me or all the people that want to enjoy the colors of autumn in Hubbard Park without having to go over or around this.

If I get my chainsaw back this coming week I may do a double session during the weekend, preparing South Mountain for the Three Peaks Challenge and doing some clean up in Hubbard Park.

Out of Bounds

 

Not my usual stomping grounds.

Visit #1555, Saturday 11 October 25, 7:15-10:05AM, 4.1 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter. Temps in the 50s, sunny and pleasant.

Visit #1556, Sunday 12 October 25, 7:15-9:50AM, 3.8 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter. Temps in the 50s, overcast with rain developing later in the day.

As I mentioned in a Early September post, the Meriden Parks Department is hosting a long range hike in Hubbard Park, in November. It will encompass East Peak, West Peak, and adjacent to Hubbard Park, South Mountain. I attended the hike for the first time last year and have signed up for this year's event. I figured it wouldn't hurt to perform some trail maintenance on South Mountain in preparation for the Three Peaks Challenge since I never go there the rest of the year and I have no idea if anyone else maintains it.

On Saturday I brought only hand tools - loppers, hedge clippers, a pruning saw, and a bag for litter.

I trimmed using what I had on hand and took note of what would need a chainsaw.

The land on South Mountain is comprised of three donated parcels, if I interpret the signage correctly.

The graffiti on the back of one sign is not welcome, and I removed it.

I completed the loop in three hours with a good plan to remove the large fallen trees with the chainsaw.

I returned Sunday morning with just my chainsaw to address the dozen or so spots which needed attention.  I will only show you one example.

I was making quick progress, UNTIL I DIDN'T.

First, my chainsaw got stuck in this tree.

It took a good twenty minutes of wrestling with this until I freed the bar.

Then, no matter how hard I tried, my saw would not run. It would start albeit with difficulty, but when I squeezed the throttle it would die.

I will have to quickly make repairs if I'm to complete the trail maintenance on South Mountain before November's event.