Trampled Under Foot

 

Footprints from some intrepid people who crossed Merimere Reservoir.

Visit #1585, 15 February 26, 7:10-9:20AM, 4.8 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter. Temps in the upper 20s, mostly sunny.

The trails are still only under foot of the hardier hiker, or those equipped properly, and the paths they make are narrow, mostly following the footprints of those preceding them.

I'm reminded of the Led Zeppelin song, Trampled Under Foot. Few people know Zep's inspiration came from bluesman Robert Johnson and his song, Terraplane Blues. And why was it called Terraplane Blues you ask? Here's an explanation:

"Johnson used the car model Terraplane as a metaphor for sex. In the lyrical narrative, the car will not start and Johnson suspects that his girlfriend let another man drive it when he was gone. In describing the various mechanical problems with his Terraplane, Johnson creates a setting of thinly veiled sexual innuendo.

And here's the original recording.

Compare that to Led Zeppelin's interpretation. Lyrically they offer a similar message; musically, not so.

My idea of trampling today would be on snowshoes.

I hiked over I-691 and picked up the Blue Trail to West Peak. Along the way I found and removed another of the seemingly endless appearance of little foam stickers. Here it is in mid-removal.

Higher up the Blue Trail near West Peak I temporarily followed a trail of blood probably from some animal carrying their lunch.

I skipped stopping at West Peak and cut through the woods straight to a trail leading down toward the reservoir. Here I was trampling virgin snow all the way.

Back on asphalt, I walked the road around the reservoir to the park. A the south end of the reservoir I spotted that someone decided to trample on Hubbard Park, Merimere Reservoir, and the environment by tossing a couple bottles of Korean alcohol known as "soju" onto the ice. It has an alcohol content similar to wine. I treaded carefully onto the ice and retrieved them.

I Half-Chickened Out

 My tools of the trade Saturday.

Visit #1584, Saturday 7 February 26, 9:20-11:05AM, 5.0 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the single digits to low teens, overnight snow accumulating 2-3", ending midday. Cloudy with windchills putting temps around zero degrees.

I had a crazy idea; I was going to walk across Merimere Reservoir, south to north, on the ice.

At the same time, I received an e-mail from Mark, who rides his bike up to Castle Craig once a month year 'round as a celebration of life and longevity. Mark wanted to know the road conditions to the tower.

So after crossing Merimere Reservoir I would walk the road so I could provide him with a report.

Things went off the rails both during and after my hike.

About halfway across the reservoir, my pole hit slush beneath the snow; a good enough warning for me to abort my plan. Since I couldn't see where more solid ice was, I beelined for land.

Just past Echo Point, I found Season of the Missing Glove 2025/26 Entry #14.

Found as you see it, inside the glove was the frequently found in Hubbard Park religious tract. Go figure.

Even at 10AM under these snowy conditions, I wasn't the first one on the road. Another set of foot and pole prints preceded mine.

The very high winds and windchill diminished once in the shelter of the tree lined road.

The last steep pitch to Castle Craig was definitely not rideable by bike, but neither was the rest of the road.

After my hike, and e-mailing the road conditions to Mark, I got suspicious as he lives near enough to Meriden to know the weather wouldn't be conducive to bike riding. I discovered his original e-mail was not from his e-mail account but from a fraudulent e-mail account. Ooops.

(Update: Mark contacted me to confirm the suspect fraudulent e-mail was legitimate. Nothing to see here...) 

I followed the trails down, over the highway, and back to an almost empty Hubbard Park.

While dropping a piece of trash I found into the trash bin, I discovered a pair of snowshoes.

"Debbie" had written her name on both snowshoes. Sad that she abandoned them; I researched on line and found repair parts such as bindings are still available as are repair services. I guess that's just American consumer society.

And just like two weeks ago, it was so cold the water in my bottle froze.

Snow Days

 Visit #1582, Saturday 31 January 26, 12:30-2:35PM, 3.2 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 20s, sunny.

Visit #1583, Sunday 1 February 26, 1:45-3:30PM, 3.5 miles, 0.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 20s, sunny with a very cold windchill.

Last Sunday's 15" snowfall made the trails almost impassable  except for the hardiest of individuals.

I headed out on the trails Saturday with my chainsaw to remove the fallen tree I discovered last week.

Even with snowshoes the hike to the tree was a chore, and when I reached the site I had to remove them to maneuver around the tree as I cut.

Which I didn't finish because my chainsaw got stuck in the tree.

I spent the good part of an hour wrangling with the tree to free my saw. I was successful but out of time for the day. I would have to leave the job incomplete until Sunday, where there would be a rematch.

I have to tip my hat to pal Dave. While talking on the phone about his use of a chainsaw, I was inspired to retrofit my saw with the more aggressive cutting chain that he uses for trail maintenance. I can't say it would have prevented my bar from being pinched by the tree but it sure would speed up what work I did, considering the cold and the type of wood this dead tree was made of.

So Sunday I waited for peak temperatures and returned to do battle. This time it was like bringing a gun to a knife fight.

Finished, I had enough time to complete a clockwise loop of the trails and return to the park.