I'm Done With Them

 

7AM on New Year's Day-where is everyone?

Visit #1574, 1 January 26, 7:10-9:15AM, 5.8 miles, no litter.

Temps in the 20s, sun developing.

Visit #1575, Saturday 3 January 26, 7:10-9:50AM, 4.5 miles, 2.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 20s, sunny.

I want to start by telling you of an interesting person I met in Hubbard Park on Saturday.

I was done with my hike and returned to my truck. Parked next to me was someone who just arrived and was waiting for their hiking partner. He asked what the trail conditions were like so I gave him a detailed report. He said he was familiar with the trails so he understood when I told him the what and where. Besides being from Milford, he then told me his doctor had cleared him to resume hiking - he has Stage 4 stomach cancer and is scheduled to have his stomach removed later this month. Yet here he was, excited to get out and hike.

Pause for a minute and think about that.

I was still inspecting some trails for damage after recent high winds so I hiked around Merimere Reservoir until I picked up the trail.

It was worthwhile as hiking up this trail I did find some fallen branches which I was able to move.

At the top I found this small fallen hemlock. I purposely brought the pruning saw you see in the second photo, which I've had for years, thinking it would be easy to use in this case. I've never had an easy time with this saw as it would bind whenever any depth was achieved and I just made it this time.

Then later on, it met its match with this tree.

I'm done with this saw. I disassembled it and recycled the blade. This tree is not worthy of my chainsaw, so stay tuned and see what I've got in store for it, and its ilk.

Another thing I'm done with is my ice cleats.

Every year I promote these as the cat's pajamas for hiking in Hubbard Park. That hasn't changed. These are the Stabilicer Maxx 2. What apparently has changed is their sizing. My previous pair fit perfectly for these boots and similar, so when a new version was introduced I trusted their sizing chart. Purchased over a year ago, and I can't recall even using them last year, it seems they are not true to size and these are way too large. Below is their sizing chart.

• XSmall: Men's 5-6 or Women's 6.5 - 8
• Small: Men's 6.5-7.5 or Women's 8.5-10
• Medium: Men's 8-10 or Women's 11+
• Large: Men's 10.5-12
• XL: Men's 12.5-14
• XXL: Men's 15-16

My boots are size 10 so the pair you see above are size Medium. I am going to try to size-down.

My recommendation is if you are ordering online, is to buy two sizes and return that which doesn't fit. It's worth the cost and aggravation. In fact, on many web sites if you meet a minimum order amount you'll get free shipping, which will more than cover the cost of returning the ill-fitting pair. FYI.

Anyway, Saturday's hike involved inspecting one last trail and while I did find some fallen trees, they will wait for my new, diabolical, tool of tree destruction to arrive.

Enjoy a few views I took in between New Year's Day and Saturday:

Returning to the parking lot I picked up this folding step stool (broken) which I've seen used to assist dogs getting in/out of vehicles, and a nice, knit hat with a synthetic, wicking liner. The stool goes in the trash; the hat will go to Goodwill.

And a parting note: On the drive home along I-691 East, I was surprised to see an advertisement on an electronic billboard for the upcoming Tradition Run!

Oh boy, if that doesn't draw out the hordes!