Holiday Prep?

 

It was not as cold as it looks.

Visit #1570, Saturday 20 December 25, 7:25-10:05AM, 5.8 miles, 4.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, sunny.

Visit #1571, Sunday 21 December 25, 10:45AM-12:00PM, mileage and litter n/a.

Temps in the low 40s, partly sunny and breezy.

Rain along with windy conditions led me to suspect I might find tree damage if I hiked the trails so that's what I set out to do early Saturday morning. I wasn't disappointed. I will be able to remove everything in the next week or so, particularly with the extra holidays I will have off from work. Lotsa fun!

I barely started and found this fallen tree on the Soap Box Derby track.

I found Season of the Missing Glove 2025/26, Entries 7 and 8.

Rounding the corner at the north end of Merimere Reservoir I found this hoodie. It was frozen solid, indicating it wasn't placed there the same day by a runner, which I've experienced before. I had plans to wash it and take it to Goodwill but later inspection revealed what looks like bleach stains. This thing was so stiff it fought me when I tried to stuff it into my backpack. And of course since it was frozen that also meant is was wet, and heavy.

Further up the road I found this:

These were actually bifocals, although not prescription. I wear prescription bifocals; these did not work for me. 😖

The last time I found one of these painted pieces of gravel was last April.

Up one trail I began discovering fallen trees from Friday's blustery winds and rain.

Reaching West Peak, I addressed some graffiti after first cutting away the brush in front of it.

Hiking down the Blue Trail from West Peak, I hit the fallen tree jackpot again.

At the beehive fountain, I found a religious tract stuffed in to a gap in the stones. I have found similar tracts there in the past.

I also found another religious item further along the trail. Would the Virgin Mary approve of posting these publications on the trails? The second nail in the tree should tell you this is not the first time.

Down at the walkbridge over I-691, I found and removed the latest sticker additions.

Last time I found stickers posted here was in November.

Returning to the park, I see registration for the Tradition Run has begun. No need to be a runner to participate. Hmmm; maybe hikers will participate? 😊

But hiking the trails, it would take several weeks to canvas all the trails then return with a chainsaw to clear them. With Sunday temperatures climbing above 40, the weather would be perfect to recon many other trails efficiently on something other than feet. So on Sunday I rode my mountain bike to Hubbard Park.

I headed directly to Castle Craig because a park regular found a knife there Saturday and left it for me.

Alas, I arrived a day late and the knife was not there. However, as a consolation prize, I found this stainless waterbottle nearby, which I'll clean and take to Goodwill. The price tag was still on the bottom - $18.50!

I walked my bike down the steep, Blue Trail where my good decision to recon the other trails on my bike paid off.

This is a huge tree, but very manageable. Again, with the holiday schedule I will be able to restore this trail within a week.

Back down of flatter ground, I continue to find these foam stickers. Between Saturday and Sunday I must have found a dozen.

It was at this point I ran into the person who has been putting these stickers up, as well as painting all the rocks and hanging all the toys from trees, and creating a new trail. Suspecting something was up, I passed by on my mountain bike and picked up "his" trail from a location he would not see me.

He still thinks I'm a jerk for trying to keep the trails in a natural state which is common trail etiquette. I'll remove this later.

But the coup de grace was this:

I know it's blurry, so I'll tell you what it says: "If you remove I will paint your truck" (I own a truck).

Ooh, a threat! Intimidation! Of course I removed it! I love a challenge...

To end my ride I did find something I can take to Goodwill along with the waterbottle, a balaclava.

I can't wait for the short week so I can fire up my chainsaw.

Back to Back

 

The scene in my back yard Sunday morning. I made a wise decision to hike on Saturday.

Visit #1569, Saturday 13 December 25, 3:15-4:40PM, 4.0 miles, 5.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, darkly cloudy, with snow developing overnight.

Last week I performed an annual cleaning of the slope behind the playscape. Another annual cleaning I do is the slope below Castle Craig, where people strangely enough like to toss their cans, bottles, and whatnot. My Saturday schedule precluded my typical early morning jaunt so late afternoon, with dwindling daylight, would be all that was available. I also knew that if the forecast was accurate I wouldn't be able to see any litter on the slope if the snow stuck around so I had to take advantage of the ground while I could see it.

Down by Merimere Reservoir I found this jar.

What it says on the top is, "Take A Look- Leave a Remember (sic) Look In Gnome". What it says on the jar is, "Leave Me Something For Someone Else To Find".

Here are the contents.

The coupon was for a free taco from Taco Bell; The pink coin was for a free ice cream cone from Ryder's Ice Cream on West Main Street; the silver coin had the Ten Commandments printed on it, and the multi-colored thing on the upper left was the gnome.

I didn't collect much litter from the slope because I was pressed for daylight.

My keen eyes spotted a candy cane inked on a rock.

More of the endless stream of foam stickers mentioning me. This is just one of many removed today.

Season of the Missing Glove 2025/25, entry #6.

These religious tracts were protected from the impending snow and conveniently resting on a rock.

And I found not one, but TWO unopened cans of Mad Elf Ale. Sorry for the blurry photo. I wonder who they hire to design the can's artwork?

I returned to the parking lot at almost dark, and with the line of cars queueing up to view the Christmas lights extending quite far.

The Wr(e)ath of (Wo)Man

 Visit #1568, Sunday 7 December 25, 7:25-10:55AM, 3.7 miles, 77.0 lbs. of trash.

Temps in the low 30s to start and cloudy, rising quickly to the comfortable low 40s by end, sunny.

I love me a Jason Statham action movie, Wrath of Man being the most recent. He's coming out with a new movie in January 2026, Shelter. I'm in!

Wreath of (a) Woman - is slightly different.

I was contacted by a Hubbard Park visitor traumatized by the wreath on display above the fireplace at the bandshell. It nagged at her. She couldn't sleep because of it.

It didn't have a bow. Nothing. A plain wreath.

Well, leave Christmas decorations up to men and what do you expect?! You'll get beer cans for tree ornaments, a string of garland over the big screen TV, and a green and red condom in place of mistletoe.

She was afraid to freelance and put up a bow herself without permission. So I contacted the parks department overlord and was given the green light. I'm serious; the citizen was thrilled. She braved the cold rain earlier this week hoping to avoid scrutiny and completed her mission. I can report she is sleeping soundly now.

Today was my annual cleaning of the bank behind the playscape, adjacent to I-691.

I was surprised to find the state had taken a brush hog to the upper part of the bank making it easier to navigate and to pick up junk.

I worked left to right across the top, then dropped down and finished right to left.

Interesting finds:

I redacted the SSN number.

Bonus: The animal trap came complete with a dead animal!

I brought everything to the dumpster.

Almost forgot; I found Season of the Missing Glove 2025/26 Entries #3 and 4.

Finally, I'm a little late but I welcome new city councilors Diadette Hernandez, John Hauselt, Sarah Taylor, and Kirsten Misner to my blog. I hope I got their e-mail addresses right!