Is This Long Enough?

 Visit #1418, Saturday 8 April 23, 7:15-9:15AM, 4.2 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, rising to the 50s today, sunny and breezy.

I had a blog reader comment to me that last week's post was "kinda short".

Well, I understand how you can get addicted to the suspense and excitement I build in to every week's post, and how you can feel let down when instead you read something like last week's post about nothing but picking up litter on the banks of a brook.

Hopefully this week you'll find this week's post long enough, and be riveted to your seat as you follow this week's adventure.

My hands were damn near freezing when I started out this morning. I wore non-insulated leather gloves and they did nothing to keep my hands warm. I was counting on the sunrise and an uphill hike to warm me up and it couldn't come soon enough.

In March I reported finding two trees down across a certain trail at the north end of Hubbard Park. This week I would hike that trail and remove the two trees but first I would hike a parallel trail and inspect for other fallen trees, if any.

I planned well, for I DID find a fallen tree, which I removed with my chainsaw.

Near the top of this trail I found this tree tagged with pink tape. Assuming it was for a legitimate surveying purpose, I left it alone.

I was wrong.

As I hiked the original trail back down toward the two fallen trees, I continued to find these markers. It was then I knew something other than surveying was afoot, and I removed all the tape, which I found on trees spaced roughly every 100-200 feet.

I eventually reached the first of the two fallen trees on this trail.

Rather than develop their log-hopping skills, mountain bikers took the easy way out and built a log ramp over the fallen tree. POSEURS!

Well, I made it even easier and removed the tree altogether.

I never found the second tree. It will remain a mystery why someone removed one but not both trees.

Exiting the trails and walking the road back to my car, there was one thing left on my To Do List.

On the way in this morning I noticed a lot of new graffiti on the gate at the north end of the park. I was prepared to address it.

Just as I was packing up my graffiti removal kit, a frequent hiker in Hubbard Park stopped by for a chat and informed me one of the two resident snapping turtles in Merimere Reservoir had passed on. He escorted me to the funeral parlor where I paid my respects.

 All you ever need to know about Connecticut's snapping turtles can be found  HERE on the CT DEP's web site. Interesting stuff.

Here's wishing you a happier Easter than the turtle's.