Double Overtime?!

 

Who would want to work on a day like this, even if it meant double overtime?

Visit # 1428, Sunday 18 June 23, 6:40-10:00AM, 4.7 miles, 17.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 60s, sunny, dry, breezy, with a slight touch of mosquitos.

This was a week to continue trimming the roadside as I progress toward West Peak.

It was while trimming this section of road that a hiker came by and said "Double overtime; must be nice!"

It took me a few seconds to grasp the reference. When I informed him I didn't punch a clock for this, we both had a good laugh.

After trimming for an hour I packed up and headed toward West Peak. Along the way I found a discarded bag of trash. Too large to carry, I later returned in my vehicle to re-bag and retrieve it.

Hiking over the I-691 walkbridge on my way back to the parking lot, I came upon some new graffiti.

I laid out my tools and went to work removing it.

Here it is mid-removal.

A nice, clean finish.

Alas, I didn't have to walk much further before I encountered more.

Well, all MY homies hate graffiti. By the way, that letter "A" in the circle is the symbol for anarchism.

Not as clean a removal as the first one, but close enough. I was running out of cleaning fluid, and time.

It was not to be the end of the graffiti, however. I almost reached the end of the walkbridge.

I can assure you it won't "still" be there next weekend. I found more graffiti as I drove up to West Peak to pick up the bag of trash, which sorta firms up my hiking route for next weekend. Now, to go home and resupply...

Happy Father's Day!

Exchange of Gifts

 Visit #1427, Saturday 10 June 23, 6:45-8:45AM, 2.9 miles, 3.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny and pleasant.

I recently learned of a fallen tree across the steep trail near the Soap Box Derby track. It was oak and it was big. I gathered up my chainsaw and assorted tools early Saturday morning.

My gift to Hubbard Park would be a clear trail.

This tree measured forty-five feet long (I measured!) and 16-18" in diameter, longer than the bar on my saw.

I chose to first cut the section blocking the trail, cutting 16" lengths. This would give me a better chance of clearing the trail before I ran out of fuel, which eventually I did.

My plan worked!

The remaining trunk is not an issue so I'll leave it be.

I continued up the steep trail to the Halfway House, where I received MY gift.

Once a year I ask Chris Bourdon, Director of the Meriden Parks Department, to mow the grass around the Halfway House. It gives the public the impression it's not abandoned. I had planned on dropping my annual request in a week or so, but Chris and crew beat me to the punch and did a spectacular job of sprucing up the area. They even used a weed whacker around the perimeter. Now that's attention to detail!

My thanks (and I'm sure the thanks of the many hikers) to Chris Bourdon and the Meriden Parks Department crew, as I'm sure they're extremely busy this time of year.

I returned to the parking lot knowing you can give or receive gifts any time of the year.

National Trails Day 2023

 

I participated in my own way in National Trails Day. I hope you did, too.

Visit #1426, Saturday 3 June 23, 7:45-11:00AM, 5.7 miles, 6.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, cloudy, cool, breezy, and a chance of showers.

Honestly, I FORGOT about National Trails Day! But as I was returning to my car after today's hike, I met someone who reminded me of the day. Like back-dating a check, I gave myself credit for participating.

But this week's entry starts before National Trails Day.

During last weekend's hike I noticed some new graffiti carved into the posts at the Halfway House. So mid-week I took a mountain bike ride to the Halfway House to paint over it.

That was just one post, but I covered over all I found, using up the entire can of spray paint.

On Saturday as I walked around Merimere Resevoir and passed by Echo Point, I saw these strange, religious themed items posted on a couple trees.

I removed all of it, including the staples! You've got to wonder what kind of person would go to the effort to do this.

Further on up the road I met a new person, Casey. Casey was walking his four month old Beauceron, Jacob. I'd never heard of the breed so Casey gave me background.

For a four month old puppy, Jacob was already well trained, and calm. What was even more interesting was, Casey was training Jacob using commands spoken in Polish, not English! And since Casey didn't really speak Polish, he was using made-up words that sounded like Polish words he remembered from his youth! While it sounded like nonsense to me, Jacob clearly knew his commands!

What a cute puppy. That's redundant, isn't it?

As part of my National Trails Day activities, I continued trimming the roadsides to East/West Peaks, working toward West Peak. I made several hundred feet of progress which was much more than I expected.

After an hour of that fun, I picked up the trails again and proceeded to check out how the weed killer I applied at the Halfway House last week was doing.

And that was my contribution to National Trails Day.

Pro tip: With the warmer weather of summer comes mosquitos. Consider bringing insect repellent with you on your hikes. I know I will.

Yard Work

 Visit #1425, Saturday 27 May 23, 7:15-9:15AM, 4.6 miles, 1.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny and dry.

Yard work; what I saw a lot of people engaged in as I rode my bike this Memorial Day weekend.

I did a little bit of "yard work" myself this weekend in Hubbard Park.

I hadn't hiked by the Halfway House in a number of weeks and as has been my experience, the grass starts to get high and the weeds grow like crazy around May/June.

To keep them under control, I brought some weed killer this week and sprayed it liberally around the Halfway House.

Sometime in June I'll put in a request to the Meriden Parks Department asking them to give the area its annual crew cut. In the meantime I'll report to you on the progress of the weed killer.

Besides the weed killer I used my loppers liberally to trim low hanging branches, and hedge clippers to push back the thorn bushes.

Now it's time to enjoy the rest of the Memorial Day weekend, and pause to remember those who died serving our country.

In The Nick Of Time

 

Rain's a comin'.

Visit #1424, Saturday 20 May 23, 8:00-9:50AM, 1.7 miles, 4.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 50s/low 60s, cloudy with rain forecasted.

Today I was ready to finish trimming the roadside to Castle Craig. In anticipation of the rain I hoped to time my finishing before it started.

I made it! After reaching this interim goal, I stopped for a bit and picked up litter around the parking lot and Castle Craig.

With my remaining allotted time for today, I started trimming the roadside toward West Peak. Just when it was time to pack up and leave, it started to rain.

I look forward to the second half of my long term project, trimming the roadside to West Peak. With luck I may finish this year!

Happy Anniversary!

 

Happy 10th Anniversary to the blog! The blog actually existed for five years prior to that by direct e-mail postings to select individuals, for security reasons. There's no telling whether I'll make it to the 20th anniversary!

Visit #1423, Sunday 14 May 23, 6:45-9:20AM, 5.6 miles, 2.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s to low 60s, sunny with a light breeze.

My chainsaw was fueled from some unrelated work on Saturday and I didn't want to drain the fuel tank, so I decided to schlep it into Hubbard Park on Sunday to remove a fallen tree which I discovered in April.

I walked around Merimere Reservoir and just before reaching the trail head I found this hall pass.

I sent Mr. Migliaro, from the Security Team at Norwalk High School, an e-mail asking him to talk to Gabe about littering! I'll be curious to see if I get a response.

Removing the fallen tree was going to be easy.

I packed up the chainsaw and proceeded up the trail. Along the way I kept finding these pink ribbons tied around trees, just as I did in April.

Today I found 13 of 'em. And as in April, I removed all of them.

Let's see if this trend repeats itself.

I continued hiking over to West Peak where I cleaned up the parking area and the trail to the peak.

I also found some new graffiti.

Out came the tools and I scrubbed away.

Returning to the park, I stopped to admire my recent work replacing a broken plank on the wooden walkbridge. With a week's dirt and footprints, it's blending in nicely with the existing planks.

After returning to the parking lot and heading toward my car I found a quarter!

I figured it must be my 10th Anniversary present but alas, the U.S. quarter has no tin or aluminum in it. A quarter is actually composed of nickel and copper.

I'm not fussy; I'll take it!

Back On Track

 

It was a postcard perfect day in Hubbard Park. A week late considering the rained out Daffodil Festival.

My solution to the what the organizers might have you believe is a frequent Daffodil Festival problem (rain)-tear out the daffodils, plant flowers that bloom in May and change the name of the festival!

Which is why no one asks my opinion ever and James J. Barry, who brought daffodils to Hubbard Park, is giving me the stink-eye from the grave.

Visit #1422, Saturday 6 May 23, 6:45-10:00AM, 5.3 miles, 1.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny.

Visit #1423, Sunday 7 May 23, 7:00-7:30AM, mileage and litter n/a.

I've been waiting all spring for the right conditions to return to trimming the roadsides to East/West Peak.

This week was it.

All the rain which washed out the Daffodil Festival and the rain we received last week resulted in Merimere Reservoir's strong flow.

Reaching the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I found this memorial card perched on a large rock where many people sit to enjoy the view.

I've redacted the particulars but I will tell you she was originally from North Stonington CT and resided in Florida when passing. None of her family members were from the local area so I don't know what the association with Hubbard Park is, perhaps a friend.

Up near Castle Craig I resumed roadside trimming where I left off last fall.

Done with this session, I hiked the Blue Trail down to the north end of Merimere Reservoir and followed the road back to the the park.

But I wasn't done for this week.

Leaving the trail and walking the road back to the park Saturday, I spied some new graffiti on the jersey barrier at the north end of Merimere Reservoir.

Knowing I could address this with minimal time investment, I returned to the spot early Sunday morning.

While cleaning up, I saw mom and pop with their future turd factory progeny.

All in all, a wonderful weekend.