Crazy Ideas

 

Visit #1578, Saturday 17 January 26, 8:50-10:50AM, 4.2 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, light snow with accumulation of a couple inches.

Visit #1579, Sunday 18 January 26, 10:30AM-12:30PM, 5.5 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.

Last week I was e-mailed by a park regular. Those pesky stickers which keep appearing, some of which disparage me specifically well, they found one on the iron bench at Castle Craig. They tried picking it off but were unsuccessful due to the cold. In our e-mail exchange when I mentioned using heat, they said "use a hair dryer; there's even an electrical outlet nearby!"

Not being one to do something halfway, I brought my Arnold Schwarzenegger of hair dryers AND an extension cord.

Do NOT even THINK of using this on your hair!

Well, I arrived only to discover that electrical outlet was inside Castle Craig and out of reach. That crazy idea wasn't going to work.

Fortunately, I brought Plan B, a thermos of hot water. Mission accomplished.

While at Castle Craig I also removed some graffiti.

All the other stickers I found on Saturday were easier to remove, even those that called me nasty names.

Saturday was a good day to follow this vandal's illegally built trail and see what else I would find.

And their threats addressed to me continue unabated. It feels good to be recognized. 😉

Don't worry; I removed everything.

This bug had a crazy idea, out in the cold and snow without a hat on.

But hey; my weekend didn't end there.

Sunday was the 56th Tradition Run. Because light snow was forecast to add to Saturday's accumulation, I thought it would be a fun event considering the adverse conditions. I was not alone.

Kudos to the Meriden Parks Department; the event was free but they asked for donations of winter wear and food for the Meriden Soup Kitchen. I hope many ponied up for this free event.

But I had another crazy idea; rather than follow the road up to Castle Craig, I deviated and picked up a trail which paralleled the road.

After finishing at Castle Craig, I followed the Blue Trail down, stopping to use my new tool on a fallen tree. I didn't finish.

Returning to the parks maintenance building/event registration, I received the last patch available.

There's still a whole winter of trail adventure ahead in Hubbard Park. Get crazy and get some!

Tools

 

Visit #1576, Saturday 10 January 26, 0945-1205hrs, 5.0 miles, 5.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 40s, cloudy with rain forecast for later in the day and overnight.

Visit #1577, Sunday 11 January 26, 3.1 miles, 3.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 40s, cloudy but clearing from overnight rain.

All men love tools. Some men "are" tools, as "tool" is defined in my brand new, 12th Edition Merriam - Webster's Collegiate Dictionary as informal: a foolish or unlikable person: JERK < "Before you compete on a reality TV show, you basically sign away your right to protect yourself from looking like a total tool in front of an international viewing audience." - Steve Tilley>

I could be both.

Last week I was stymied by a fallen tree which refused to yield to my pruning saw. As far as I was concerned, it was the saw's fault and I vowed never to use it again. But being male, and a tool lover, I sought out a new trail tool of destruct- 'er, I mean maintenance. It arrived. Oh goody!

I started my hike Saturday at the gate and ran into Season of the Missing Glove 2025/26, entries 11, 12, and 13, just as you see them.

Up the road I picked up Painted Face on Gravel #5 Since January 2025.

On the Blue Trail, I found this Turtle Fur branded hat. Expensive stuff. I'll wash it and drop it off at Goodwill.

Higher up the Blue Trail I removed my first fallen tree but it required no tools, just muscle.

Here was my first opportunity to use my new tool, but you don't get to see it yet; gotta build suspense!

Down at the bottom of the Orange trail, below Castle Craig, I found this dead opposum which I find unusual considering it was smack dab on the trail.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was not able to debut my new tool on that stubborn tree on Saturday. So I returned to Hubbard Park early Sunday morning to the scene of my torment.

And here it is, my new tool, at work.

It's a Gerber Bushcraft Hatchet. Lightweight, just the right length to use either one or two-handed, and be discreetly carried in my backpack. Of course, still being both male and tool lover I had to buy something to keep it sharp so I also picked up a Hults Bruk Grinding Stone.

The hatchet fits the bill when the tree is small, it's a onesy-twosey tree day, and the tree is not too large. I found it a good little shoulder and aerobic workout as well.

Done with that, I headed down toward Merimere Reservoir and while trudging through the woods discovered someone was piling up branches for an unknown reason.

Rounding the gate at the south end of the reservoir, I saw and removed Cat Graffiti #18 since November 2016.

But all the preceeding is not the REAL news in Hubbard Park.

For while hiking the Blue Trail high above Merimere Reservoir on Saturday I spotted THIS on Mine Island.

That's a blue tarp AND a tent on Mine Island. From a photo I took of the island on 3 January 26, the campsite was not there at that time. With the warm temps and melting ice I wasn't about to head out to the island to investigate so that will have to wait until colder weather returns.

 

Whoever got the idea to set up a camp there is a REAL tool. 

Here's a closer photo of the tent, from Sunday morning.

It wouldn't be the first time I found some homeless person trying to make a home in Hubbard Park. And I wouldn't be surprised if I find a frozen body out there...

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!