Grin and Bear It

 

I didn't see a soul today, must be the humid weather.

Visit #1489, Sunday 28 July 24, 6:30-9:30AM, 5.7 miles, 6.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70's,  cool for the most part but the humidity made for a sweaty hike.

CT Insider published a story this week about bears in Connecticut.

Several of the trails I hike in Hubbard Park see few others even though these trails are well established. I've always thought if I were attacked by a bear, my body might not be found for a day or more. Is that morbid or what?

I have taken some precautions; My backpack is equipped with an emergency whistle which hopefully will scare away bears, and I carry bear spray.

This week I would hike on one of those trails to remove a fallen tree, and I thought about the article, and bears, while out today.

I wasn't too thrilled to have to carry my chainsaw so far for just one tree, but the nature gods shined on me and I found two more trees worthy of removal.

The first tree, or pair of trees, which I unexpectedly found was on the trail behind the water tank.

On another, unmarked trail I found a sapling bent over so I removed it. This sapling didn't merit an After photo.

I hiked up to the road to West Peak and along the way spotted this painted rock spotlighted by the morning sun. Perhaps that's why it was smiling.

Once on the trail I had to hike quite a distance to reach the fallen tree I'd discovered last week.

Then I found a bonus tree, and that made three. Mountain bikers wasted no time building a ramp over it.

I wasted less time removing it.

At the bottom of the trail, still a couple hundred feet from the road, I came upon my Find of the Week.

I'd love to know how and when it got there. Fitting it in my trash bag was going to be a problem. When I attempted to fold the hose it promptly snapped, giving me the idea to try and snap it into manageable pieces. Problem solved.

As I walked around the gate leading back to the road, I found some graffiti which needed removal and was happy to oblige.

Approaching the gate to the closed road back at the park, I was reminded of this wreath I saw the past two weeks; I took it away.

This wreath would have come in handy had I been eaten by a bear. Fortunately it was not needed.