Call of Duty

 

Merimere Reservoir is invisible because of the high humidity.

Visit #1442, Saturday 9 September 23, 7:45-10:35AM, 5.8 miles, 4.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70s, humidity in the 80% range (as you can see from the photo above).

Normally I would alternate weeks of regular trail maintenance with my special project trimming the roadsides to East/West Peak. This was to be a trimming week. But last week I was informed of some fallen trees on other trails. Rather than let them linger for another week I changed my schedule to address these trails.

Also last week, I reported the bollard at the people gate to the road had been missing. I assumed it was stolen. I notified the parks department and received a reply it had been repaired.

Looks like it's the original bollard so maybe it wasn't stolen but merely maliciously removed. Back in July 2019 I had predicted that a bolted bollard would eventually be vandalized. I wish I could predict the winning lottery numbers!

I hiked up the road already dripping in sweat, and had collected enough litter to leave a bag at the water treatment plant. I expected a long hike carrying a chainsaw and I didn't need the extra burden.

Based on the descriptions I received last week, I never did find the fallen trees they mentioned nor did I find evidence someone else did the work. Perhaps I didn't understand their directions. I did however, find several downed trees today so maybe I found what they were talking about.

The first fallen tree was on the Orange blazed trail leading up to Castle Craig.

I hiked the Blue Trail along the Merimere Reservoir ridgeline and never found the trees the hiker mentioned. At the bottom I turned left to another trail leading back up toward Castle Craig and found a hemlock tree partially blocking the trail.

There was no such thing as sweat evaporation today; I was soaked.

At the top I hiked the Blue Trail down and removed yet another tree which I failed to photograph. But I wasn't done yet.

Nearing the parking lot, on a trail behind the Spring House, was one last tree.

In an August 2023 post I listed reasons why I decided to carry bear spray. Well, the bear spray arrived but while the carrying case has a belt loop, it needed a little modification to strap to my backpack. That is now complete and will be a constant companion on my hikes.

The humidity, combined with the long hike and carrying the chainsaw really had me knackered when I was done. I went home and made good use of my couch for a couple hours.

Power Tool Holiday

 

Visit #1439, Saturday 2 September 23, 7:25-10:10AM, 3.6 miles, 3.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70s, rising through the 80s, sunshine and moderate humidity.

Visit #1440, Sunday 3 September 23, 7:25-8:30AM, mileage n/a, 2.0 lbs. of litter.

Same weather as Saturday with slightly higher temps.

I was on the hunt for fallen trees this week, having seen them while hiking last week.

While hiking to the first tree, I found this microfiber cloth hanging from a branch.

In fact, I've found a lot of microfiber cloths in Hubbard Park.

Now let's get to that tree and have some fun!

That was what it looked like last week.

Thirty minute's work and the trail is clear.

While cutting up the tree I noticed this:

Someone drove nails into the tree in an attempt to foul my chainsaw. I can think of no other reason. Yeah; I have my haters in Hubbard Park.

Further up the trail was the second tree.

Next up was this branch which has been bugging me for a few years.

In this archival photo, you can see the branch has not broken away from the tree but hangs there. Throughout the past few years I would occasionally trim away some of the smaller branches supporting the branch from the ground.

Today I removed all but one, because it is too dangerous to cut the last support. I'm hoping the weight of the main branch will collapse all support and drop it to the ground. I also have another diabolical plan which will remain secret, but I may attempt it soon. For now, there's a safe path around it.

Down at Merimere Reservoir I started to trim around a No Trespassing Sign I discussed last week, to improve its visibility. I plan to trim more perhaps next week, and take better photos.

Before:

After:

Shortly after finishing this, I was approached by a hiker who noticed the other trail work I did today and was nice enough to tell me about more fallen trees on another trail in Hubbard Park. I told him I would remove them in the next couple weeks.

Then he proceeded to tell me ABOUT FALLEN TREES IN  GIUFFRIDA PARK, as if I should put them on my schedule! I kindly told him no thank you and kept my mouth shut.

Last week I was informed by someone of some graffiti up by Castle Craig, so I returned to Hubbard Park early Sunday morning in the hope of finding and removing it.

I had no luck finding the graffiti and will try again. While I was up at Castle Craig I picked up litter and did something crazy; I swept the inside of Castle Craig. I could have used stiffer bristles on my equipment, but I made do with what I had on hand.

Driving back down the road, I redeemed myself from not finding the graffiti I was in search of, and removed graffiti from a sign at the north end of Merimere Reservoir.

(Edit: I returned to Hubbard Park on Labor Day to discover the bollard at the gate across the road was missing. I reported this to the Meriden Parks Department. It was replaced the following week).

Now it's time to relax and enjoy my Labor Day. I hope do, too.

Well, That Sucks!

 

Saturday was turning out pretty nicely as the clouds moved away.

Visit #1438, Saturday 26 August 23, 6:45-10:10AM, 5.8 miles, 11.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70s, rising to the 80s; cloudy and foggy giving way to sun.

While conditions were similar to the oppressive weather a couple weeks ago, they were to a lesser degree. Hiking up to West Peak was not such a sweaty affair and it was easier to breathe.

As I started my hike I came upon one of two Finds of the Week.

This small tactical backpack had a pair of size 11 running shoes inside. I took everything home and tossed them in the wash thinking I could donate the backpack to Goodwill but on close examination I found it unserviceable and decided to toss it. It sucks that the owner lost it as I presume the backpack, and the shoes, were still serviceable to the owner.

A short jaunt up the trail and I met this obstacle:

I know this tree fell within the last week because I traveled this trail then.

A sucky inconvenience to hikers, but it will be short lived.

I plan to remove this from the trail next week. Please be patient!

Reaching West Peak and before I began my real work, I took in the views. 

My last view before leaving West Peak was some graffiti, which I removed.

I picked up where I left off two weeks ago, spending one hour trimming the trees around the parking lot at West Peak.

Look closely and you'll see the letters "AA" on the pavement. Each week I trimmed the roadside I would mark my finish point with a letter of the alphabet. Having run through A-Z, I continued the sequence starting with "AA". This week I finished with "AB", and so on.

I hiked down the road around Merimere Reservoir and as I reached the gate at the south end, I met a man with his two children, all on bicycles. The father was holding a fishing rod and it was obvious to me they were planning on fishing in the reservoir.

When I told the man fishing wasn't allowed in Merimere Reservoir he replied in a tone that implied I was lying to him and said, "There's no sign!"

And he was right. Sort of.

This sign is gone (I took this photo on Sunday. More on that later).

And the sign that used to be attached to the gate is gone.

In order to convince this father I wasn't bluffing, I walked him over to a tree which had an intact sign. Thank goodness ALL the signs weren't stolen otherwise I would have looked more like a fool than I already do!

Strangely enough, when I pointed him to the sign he asked me, "What does it say?" as if he couldn't read. I didn't read the sign to him but let him either read it silently or assume it said what I was telling him all along.

Then he thanked me. I quickly remembered fishing was allowed in Mirror Lake, gave them directions, and even gave them a map of the park. Problem solved!

I'll recommend to the Parks Department that they replace the missing signs, and I'll take it upon myself to trim around the two existing signs on trees to increase visibility. I probably saw half a dozen people fishing in Merimere Reservoir between Saturday and Sunday, not that signage was stopping anyone. Evidence of all the illegal fishing is this fishing rod which was part of the litter I collected on Saturday.

Leaving the fishing family I followed the road back to the park and just before reaching the gate found my second Find of the Week.

Now THAT REALLY SUCKS! Or rather, they probably didn't, which is why they were dumped behind the

I-691 bridge abutment.

Conveniently enough, it was minutes after 10AM and Parks Department worker Bob had just opened the gate and was driving up the road. I flagged him down and asked if he would load the two vacuums in his truck which he graciously did. My thanks to Bob and the Meriden Parks Department.

I returned to Hubbard Park on my mountain bike on Sunday to photograph the Public Water Supply signs, and followed the trails.

I was surprised to find yet another fallen tree, which means Labor Day Weekend will be a Power Tool Weekend®!

Better Late Than Never

 

The hands of a working man.

Visit #1437, Sunday 20 August 23, 5:00-6:10PM, 2.9 miles, 4.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 80s, sunny with moderate humidity.

I had to work all day Saturday and Sunday at my regular job so my typical early morning hikes in Hubbard Park weren't going to happen. I was concerned I wouldn't have enough gas in the tank after Sunday's nine hour work session to pull off a hike. Well, better late than never...

In my regular job I install and service two-way radio equipment. Invariably at this time of year the school bus companies call in a panic desperate to have radios installed or serviced so their fleets are ready for the new school year. This never ceases to amaze me as they have all summer to get the work done. I suppose it's better late than never here too, and I make some extra money in the process.

So after nine hours installing radios in Waterbury I drove directly to Hubbard Park for a short hike and to see what goodies I could find.

How about someone's er, retirement fund?

I also found what is either a dog harness or a piece of bondage gear. Or perhaps both?

If it's bondage gear, I wouldn't know how to put it on-would you? 😉

I returned to the parking lot and photographed my bag of litter. Now I know what you're wondering-where's his backpack-it's not in the photo!

That's because there were yellow jackets all around and I wasn't wasting any time posing for photos!

I didn't even have a few safe seconds to properly position my trash bag.

I leave you with this apropos comic from For Better or Worse.

A Bear of a Day

 

I was surprised to see the number of people hiking in Hubbard Park this morning despite the very high humidity, warm temps, and THE MOSQUITOS!

Visit #1436, Sunday 13 August 23, 8:15-11:15AM, 4.7 miles, 4.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 70s/low 80s, hazy sun with humidity at >90%.

No; I didn't see a bear today, nor did I receive any reports of sightings.

There were 67 reports of bears entering Connecticut homes in 2022. The previous record was 45 in 2020. In July of this year, a Litchfield homeowner was bitten by a bear when the bear attacked the owner's dog and the homeowner tried to intervene. A woman in Avon was attacked by a bear this year while walking her dog. There were two bear attacks in 2022. There have been 23 bear sightings in Meriden so far this year according to the State Department of Environmental Protection.

Only once, in 2016, did I receive a report of a bear sighting in Hubbard Park.

With the bear population in Connecticut increasing and the fact I often hike remote trails in Hubbard Park, I concluded it was time to take some precautions. The rescue whistle on my backpack might be sufficient to scare off a bear but I rarely remember the whistle is available.

I also read a recent article in the 17 July 23 New Yorker about bears, bear attacks, and defense against bears.

The article is behind a paywall so you may have to check it out at your local library.

So I decided to order bear spray. I'll post a photo when it arrives.

Anyway, on to more mundane stuff.

I woke up at 6AM to the sound of rain. Guessing it was probably a passing shower, I merely went back to sleep for an hour, which accounts for my late, warm, steamy start on Sunday.

The humidity displaced all the oxygen and I was sucking some serious wind hiking up to West Peak. I had to take a number of breaks, and slowed down my pace considerably.

Finding this flashlight was a good excuse to stop, retrieve it, and discover it works!

At West Peak, I continued trimming branches overhanging the parking lot. The oppressive conditions put a damper on my effort. I slowed down and stopped early, progressing a mere fifty feet or so.

When I finished that brief session, I hiked down and over to the Halfway House.

See that hanging strap? It's been hanging from the rafters of the Halfway House for at least 13 years based on my photo library. I had tried a few times to reach it and pull it down without success. BUT TODAY, I realized I had the pole saw with me and victory was now within reach!

All in all it was a productive albeit sweaty, exhausting, mosquito bitten, but bear-free day.