All Work And No Play

 

I got mine; did you get yours?

Visit #1503, Sunday 10 November 24, 6:40-8:40AM, 3.7 miles, 2.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 30s, sunny and dry.

On Saturday I participated in the Three Peaks Challenge, hosted by the Meriden Parks and Recreation Department. Nine miles, encompassing West Peak, East Peak, and South Peak.

It was truly a day of fun and A LOT of hiking!

The event organizers included Kathy Matula, the Parks and Rec Recreation Coordinator; Dave Cooley our official photographer, Gal Friday Rhaelene Hastings for snack food resupply and sag wagon driving, Steve Bradley and Brian Lamphier for mapping and planning, and Marcus Ramirez for checking us in and out; you all were da' bomb, at sign-in, setting up, providing support, and fetching the pizzas!

I intended to do no trail maintenance or litter pickup on this hike so as not to impose my activities on others but after Kathy picked up the first piece of litter I knew I was in like-minded company and broke out a bag.

Kathy: I returned the the park on Sunday and picked up the Dunkin' Donuts cup we passed before you changed my mind about picking up the litter!

The bunch quickly separated into compatible groups but we collected at West Peak where we reassembled for a photo. (Photo courtesy of Dave Cooley).

On the final leg of the hike on the road around Merimere Reservoir, we stopped so I could show our group a marker delineating the border between Berlin and Meriden. Hidden in the brush was a set of Honda wheel covers. We each grabbed one and carried them back to the park, but the idea of a group hub cap photo died in committee.

Besides the patch, as a bonus Kathy gave several of us extra leftover pizza. After that hike I didn't feel like cooking anyway!

It was during our hike the subject came up of; why are the animals chewing up the trail markers put up by the Parks and Recreation Department?

Is it the paint? Is it the material?

It is neither.

Turns out squirrels' teeth do not fall out or regenerate; they grow constantly. Left unchecked, they will eventually grow so long as to cause various squirrel problems, so squirrels grind them down to keep them a proper length, and the trail markers just so happen to be the right material for the job.

Alright; the Three Peaks Challenge was my Play, which is why it's not part of my tally of park visits above. Sunday it was back to Work.

Of course, even though I didn't bring my usual tools for trail maintenance, trash pickup, or graffiti, doesn't mean I wasn't keeping an eye out for work. Which is the reason I returned to Hubbard Park Sunday morning.

We had to step over this tree during the hike. It wasn't movable then. 

I made it so.

I picked up a seldom used trail which would lead to the Halfway House, and found a few more trees which needed removal.

No "After" photo on this one:

You can almost pick out the roof of the Halfway House in the background.

At the Halfway House I tended to some graffiti I spotted during the hike. There was more than I photographed, but you get the idea.

This heart, which I'd covered over a couple weeks ago, apparently is a fixation for Bella and her mom.

Next week it will be my fixation.

Last week I reported finding a tree falling into the trail which did a number on the fence separating the park from I-691. This was the primary reason I packed the chainsaw.

There wasn't much length to be cut to remove it from the trail, but I did so anyway.

I made a couple more cuts on the remaining length just to see if it would remove pressure from the fence. No.

The rest will have to be left for history.

As I returned to the park I cleaned up the dirt parking lot at the northwest corner of Mirror Lake and found this traffic cone which didn't seem to serve a purpose. I returned it to the parks operations building, putting it in a spot where I'm sure it will be found. 😉

Remember the recent two brush fires in Hubbard Park? Last week I found one of them and showed you photos.

While walking back to the parking lot, I found the second one, by the Spring House.

I had NO IDEA this brush fire was WITHIN the park proper.

Care to bet how that one started? I'll give it a shot...

The parks crew will certainly be busy for the next couple weeks putting up the holiday lights so cut them some slack if you plan to file any complaints with the parks department.

I Found It

 

If you forgot to set your clocks back, you missed this morning's sunrise. It was a toasty one.

Visit #1502, Sunday 3 November 24, 6:45-9:05AM, 5.4 miles, 4.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 30s and sunny. Warming up nicely if you were hiking, especially uphill!

Last week, in my haste to paint over some graffiti on the gate at the north end of Merimere Reservoir, I knowingly used the wrong color paint. I returned this week with a better match.

While the start of my hike was certainly chilly, once I reached the open, north end of the reservoir, the sun warmed me up just enough to take the sting off my hands.

Here's what caused me sleepless nights all last week.

I partially redeemed myself, which hopefully leads to better sleep. I will return to the scene to see if it needs improvement.

This week I was going to try and follow a virtually unknown, unused trail which I'd previously spotted, and expected would lead me to the radio towers at West Peak.

I left the road at the gate to the Maloney Canal. I was surprised to find the lock securing the gate had been cut. This is the second time I've discovered the lock cut or missing, the first time being in November 2021. I will send an e-mail to the water department, along with photos. Read on and I'll guess who cut the lock.

I started up the trail and found not one, but TWO of the painted hearts on trees. If you recall, I found one painted on a rock far removed from the two I found this week. Another serial graffiti vandal, perhaps?

Since I had spray paint with me, I covered over both of them.

Note the "cat's butt" graffiti tag in the first photo. That's the 13th time I've found this tag since November 2016.

Remember the brush fires in Hubbard Park last week? I didn't make a concerted effort to find them then, but it just happened as I picked up the trail I chanced upon the remains of one of them.

Note the yellow ribbon on one tree, probably to mark the site by the fire department.

So that leads me to think it was the fire department who removed the lock from the gate at the Maloney Canal.

I picked up this mysterious trail I hoped would lead me up to the radio towers at West Peak. If I died out there I doubt I'd be found until my bones were picked clean. It was interesting and fun to say the least not to mention a change of scenery.

Being such a seldom traveled trail but obviously used by SOMEONE, I found no litter, except THIS.

So I'm on a VERY seldom used trail and find this VERY NEW wrapper. Here's my theory: Hiker starts near the radio towers and follows the trail down. They light up, and these cigars can last 20-30 minutes, roughly the time it would take to descend this trail to the bottom, where they flick the butt with their right hand off to the right, where it eventually starts the fire.

That's my theory, anyway.

I reached the radio towers and followed the Blue Trail down to the Main Trail where I chanced upon another find, as you see it.

Either a random ATVer broke off the mirror on their machine while joy riding through Hubbard Park, or a firefighting crew used an ATV to reach a fire elscwhere in Hubbard Park from the fire mentioned above, and broke off the mirror on their vehicle. (Note there were two separate brush fires reported in Hubbard Park.)

Crossing the highway and walking the trail back to the park, I discovered a newly fallen tree which, while not blocking the trail, is close enough that I'll remove it.

The tree did a number on the fence separating Hubbard Park from I-691 but that story is for another week.