Winter is the season when I can take time off from my regular Hubbard Park routine.
Visit #1515, Saturday 25 January 25, 12:00-1:50PM, 4.2 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the mid-20s, sunny and pleasant.
When snow covers the trails, activity on them is mostly limited to more enthusiastic hikers. I don't have to worry so much about litter and enjoy a hike without a To Do List-almost.
As you can see from the picture above, the trails still see a good deal of foot traffic despite the snow. Traction can be dicey from the daily melt/freeze cycles.
Well, as I reported last week, replacement studs for my ice cleats are nowhere to be found so I ordered new ice cleats and spare studs.
Same brand, different model. These are the Stabil Max Cleat, with a better stud attachment design so I'll hopefully lose fewer studs (which are replaceable), as you can see missing in the photo. I chose to use my older pair today and you can see I lost seven studs just from Saturday's hike.) Regardless, I still had the benefit of excellent grip on the trails.
I hiked toward the I-691 walkbridge.
Much to my amusement, I continue to find our park's sticker fanatic placing a sticker at this spot despite my frequent removal of them. Peculiar.
At the walkbridge, the same held true this Saturday where I routinely find stickers on this fence post and the same back and forth continues. I find it ironic they promote parks yet engage in activity which is the antithesis of hiking etiquette..
I have a hunch both are being done by the same person...
...as I believe this person also leaves these religious tracts which I routinely find.
So I didn't need a bag for this week's litter. It all fit into a pocket.
The radio towers however, never take a vacation. They work 24/7.
I walked on the road for a bit, then returned to snow covered trails back to the park.
Perhaps I'll get a chance to try out my new Max Cleats before winter is over. Here's hoping for more snow!
Was it gonna be a slippery Tradition Run? It sure was when I started.
Visit #1514, Sunday 19 January 25, 7:05-9:50AM, 5.8 miles, 9.3 lbs. of litter.
Temps flirting with freezing to start, partly sunny but clouding up in advance of 4-8" of snow predicted overnight.
I learned on Saturday the Tradition Run would be held the following day. I adjusted my trail plans so I could make sure the route up to Castle Craig would be clean for the runners.
At that early hour, a sheen of black ice made walking up the road a dicey proposition and I wondered whether temps would rise enough by the 10:30 start for there to be traction.
What I didn't wonder about was how I would handle conditions.
I had packed my Stabilicers for many weeks without needing them. Time to break out the big guns.
Here is where I'd launch into my annual recommendation of such icy conditions gear but after my hike I got on line to order a bag of the replacement studs you see on the soles (they tend to get lost) and discovered the studs, as well as this model ice cleat, have been discontinued.
In anticipation of needing these in the future, I ordered a replacement model and spare studs, which are of a different design.
Nevertheless, these would do the job just fine today.
First, I was asked by a park visitor to check out what may be an extension cord forgotten after the removal of the Christmas lights.
The cord plugs in to the top of the light pole and traverses left...
...to the tree to the right of my truck, with the end coiled around the base of the tree.
I'll plant a word just in case the cord was forgotten.
I barely passed the start line for the Tradition Run when I came upon Season of the Missing Glove #5, Pair Edition, found where you see 'em.
That wasn't the only entry into the Missing Glove collection. Numbers 6 and 7 joined the club today as well.
It was early in my hike and my trash bag was filling with bulky items so I left it at the water treatment plant and opened another bag.
I found one spectator of the event while I was heading up the hill.
'Tis a good thing I chose to follow the Tradition Run route up to Castle Craig. I found a couple leaning branches encroaching on the road. Nothing major to impede participants but removing them keeps a clean line hugging the left side of the road where I imagine most runners will travel.
I reached Castle Craig at 8:35; where's the finish line banner? How will the runners know when to stop? What if they keep running, right over the cliff?!
I followed the trails back to the park with one more task assigned.
Last week, I noticed some graffiti on the iron bridge over the brook east of the pool. I brought all the tools at my disposal to remove it, and quickly.
The beauty of this is, the iron will revert to its original patina and you'll never know I was there.
I started this morning arriving to an empty parking lot. From the look of things when I left, the Tradition Run was going to be a big hit. And temperature had risen by now that the black ice would not be a concern.
The coming snow is supposed to hit us big, too. Stay warm.
Visit #1513, Sunday 12 January 25, 7:25-935AM, 2.4 miles, 62.0 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the high 20s/low 30s, sunny and comfortable.
Once a year around this time I visit the hillside you see in the photo. People park along the fence and toss their trash over the fence. I clean it up. I picked up most of my mileage today traipsing back and forth to the dumpster to drop off the trash bags.
Along the fence line, inside the park, I found this boundary marker. I wonder why the state put it there and if there are others between Hubbard Park and I-691. I know one thing; it tells me the state is responsible for the fence!
Among the many finds was this grocery list. Coincidentally, I was going grocery shopping after leaving Hubbard Park. Let's compare our grocery lists!
I ran out of milk so I couldn't make oatmeal (Substitute water?- yuk!), and without jam my PB&Js were boring.
I also didn't know there was such a thing as Cookie Butter; I was ready to call it out as a misspelling for cookie BATTER until I went grocery shopping and found some.
And it's Season of the Missing Glove 2024/25, Entry #5.
Should I start a Season of the Missing Shoe?
Done, it was time to move the collected bags to the dumpster at the parks maintenance area.
During the multiple trips I noticed the birdfeeder, which I reported being in a state of disrepair last year, has been removed. Again a coincidence since I first noticed it while cleaning the hillside last year. Is a replacement forthcoming? We'll have to keep an eye on this.
Passing by the caretaker's residence I spied something I hadn't noticed before- a mailbox.
Since the house hasn't been occupied in decades, I wonder whether there was any leftover mail in the box.
I guess I got my answer!
And finally, take note of the evergreen tree in the photo.
In January 2024 I reported finding Christmas lights still on the tree after all other Hubbard Park decorations were taken down.
Visit #1512, Sunday 5 January 25, 7:05-10:10AM, 5.8 miles, 5.3 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the high 20s, partly sunny and breezy.
Above was just one of many pages I filled with numbers this week while trying to solve a problem in Hubbard Park. Read on.
Enroute to the walkbridge over I-691, I encountered this type of sticker which continues to reappear on this tree despite my weekly removal.
I didn't expect to find our current park vandal-in-residence's pink paint before I crossed the highway, but I did. Rest assured, I addressed all that I found this week, on both sides of the highway, so I won't bore you with After photos.
At the walkbridge, I have concluded there is one dedicated vandal who routinely posts politically and socially referenced stickers on this particular fence post. I continue to remove them.
Once beyond the walkbridge, I began to follow the pink trail of graffiti and cover it.
In addition, I found a number of signs and whatnot, which of course I removed.
But what I was REALLY after this week were trees where our vandal has been painting marks on the trees too high for me to reach.
There were more. I like a good challenge! It took me a while to scheme up my diabolical solution, and unfortunately I can't show it to you for concern our enemy will get their own ideas. But yes, I managed to reach them all, to taunt and torment our vandal. I may have been a french soldier in a previous life!
Done with that task, I hiked up toward Castle Craig and was surprised to find...
...new guardrails! They weren't just here, but further up the road toward Castle Craig, and much lower down the road near Merimere Reservoir. I see the work is not completed.
The installers were even carting away the old, cabled guardrails. This was decades overdue and quite an improvement which I'm sure will last a long time. My only complaint is, they don't match the landscape-the vintage park vs. the modern guardrails.
What I had in mind is what is commonly called "coreten" (a brand name), or "weathering rust rail". However, I wasn't the only one thinking of aesthetics, and after reading THIS STUDY, it seems to me that the galvanized steel guardrail the city selected was the best choice for longevity and cost, with the only option being to apply a colored stain to the galvanized guardrail, which would have increased cost anyway.
The company has not completed the work so look for more new guardrail to be installed. I talked to a passing hiker and asked their opinion. They thought the road now looked "narrower" (I'm sure the road width has not changed) to which I replied that might be a good thing if it results in drivers slowing down as a result.
I also found Season of the Missing Glove 2024/25, Entry #4.
But what about my other diabolical plan for today and what do all those numbers on the paper at the top of the blog mean?
I tried reaching out directly to the Meriden Water Department. No response.
I put the issue to several people within the city structure, via this blog. Whether they contacted the water department or not I don't know. What I do know is the lock still hasn't been replaced yet. ATVers could easily remove the barrier or someone could steal the bar and sell it for scrap.
My diabolical plan was to replace the lock myself. Getting it off would be the water department's problem and maybe that would motivate them to replace it.
What I had was a padlock I hadn't used in YEARS. It's been so long I forgot the combination which would not be a problem for me but, the lock was closed.
(A replica of the lock in question.)
Well, what do Americans do when they want to learn how to do something?
Open a book? Are you kidding; only educated people open books. The rest of us WATCH YOUTUBE!
I must have watched, and tried, a dozen different methods of picking a Master Lock, such as this one:
I spent HOURS trying different methods and writing down numbers. Nothing worked. So I decided to pool YouTube with my prison skills 😉. Lo and behold...
I couldn't believe it-I almost pooped a battleship! Like Wile E. Coyote, I am a Super Genius!
And no; I didn't write down the combination and I wasn't about to retry my method to find out! This padlock was on a one-way trip to the Maloney Canal.
I'm sure the water department owns a pair of boltcutters which they can put to use when they finally decide to re-install their own lock. Otherwise, they can borrow my pair!
I dropped off my trash for the day and this Super Genius went home.
