I'm On Vacation

 

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!