A strong, late winter sun shines down on the Halfway House and Hubbard Park beyond.
Visit #851, Saturday 22 February 14, 9:10-11:15AM, 4.8 miles.
Temps in the low 40's, sunny.
With deep snow still covering the trails, I would stick to the road as I did last week, only I would head toward Castle Craig instead of West Peak.
Paul Bernier joined me this week and although I wouldn't need help picking up trash or clearing any trails, his company was welcomed.
Last week, the road to Castle Craig was buried under a good 12" of unplowed snow. This turned back many a disappointed walker as I could attest to the lack of footprints as I snowshoed along the road.
The City of Meriden did a fine job plowing the road this week for, other than some ice patches in the first mile, it was clear the remainder of the distance for the MANY walkers we saw out on this sunny day. No doubt the late winter sun helped clear the road as well.
But the road to Castle Craig has some pitches that would turn back the toughest of vehicles as it did on the last section before reaching the Castle.
Once back on the snow, I donned my snowshoes for the return trip on the trails back to the park.
Paul and I reached the parking lot where Paul proudly displayed the only 2 pieces of trash we collected.
To reaffirm that it's still winter, someone had the forethought to equip the monument at the playground with seasonally appropriate headgear. This photo is from last week.
I don't imagine the bronzed child will need the hat much longer.
Visit #850, Saturday 15 February 14, 11:05AM-1:35PM, 5.5 miles.
Temps in the low 30's, developing snow. 2-5" predicted.
Yet more snow fell during the week, adding to the perfect snow base.
I planned on "merely" walking the road from the park up to West Peak. Good thing I brought the snowshoes and crampons.
As I made my way up the road toward the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I ran into too many people that expressed to me their disappointment in having to turn back because the road was not plowed beyond the dam at the south end.
I too expected asphalt, or at least lots of ice with PATCHES of asphalt. But I was prepared for anything. The snow was deeper than it looks in the photo. Once on the snow I switched from my crampons to the snowshoes and found myself alone as I crunched my way to West Peak.
Freezing rain from Friday night brought down thousands of small branches, littering the road.
Just as I reached West Peak, the snow began to fall. I snowshoed down the trail and back to the park via the Halfway House.
The 2 pieces of trash I found consisted of a cardboard case from a six-pack of Bud Light, and the packaging from a Wham-o Polar Bear Air Tube. Both were found by the water tank, which makes me wonder if they were related.
Visit #849, Saturday, 8 Feb 14, 11:00AM-1:35PM, 4.9 miles.
Temps in the low 30's, mostly sunny.
On Saturday, if I didn't bring the right tools for the job I was gonna be in a world of slow, wet misery.
Last week I discovered a tree had fallen across the Blue Trail up near Castle Craig. This week's goal was to remove it.
Meriden had a good dump of 10-12" of snow on Wednesday. Temps were cold enough so there wouldn't be much melting. I needed to bring the right tools to remove the fallen tree, and the right tools to get to it, otherwise it wasn't going to be fun.
I brought the right tools.
After passing the Halfway House I cut directly through the woods; something you wouldn't dream of doing without snowshoes. I hiked up the Virgin Mary and picked up the Blue Trail pointing east toward Castle Craig. Fortunately, the snow did not bury the tree I sought so it was easy to find.
Out came the other correct tool for the job and I cleared the tree from the trail.
I moved on and picked up a trail which leads from near Castle Craig all the way down to Merimere Reservoir, paralleling the road. Since this trail had no tracks, I can only assume it's not well-known, which is too bad because this trail is much more enjoyable than walking on the road.
Breaking trail can be work, but it's always fun.
While snowshoeing down this trail I found a couple of stacked 5 gallon buckets. I'd love to know how, why, and when they found their way to that spot because I hadn't noticed them before and I think I'd been on that trail within the last 2 months. I can't imagine what is out here that would require buckets.
Back on pavement at the north end of Merimere Reservoir, I tied my snowshoes to my backpack, stuffed my hiking poles in with the chainsaw, and walked the road back to the park.
Besides the buckets, the only trash I found was what else but a Dunkin' Donuts cup.
Visit #848, Sunday 2 February 14, 11:00AM-1:00PM, 4.8 miles.
Temps in the mid-40's, clouding up.
Just when I think I'll have nothing of interest to write about, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Snow, muddy trails, low temps; I didn't expect to collect much trash. I'd planned a loop from the playground up to Castle Craig and back via the walkbridge over I-691.
On the Blue Trail a few hundred yards from Castle Craig I discovered a tree has fallen across the trail. I expect to remove it next week.
After I reached Castle Craig I began my descent; that's when I was pleasantly surprised.
From behind me I heard the voice of a young woman saying, "That's cool-do you have another bag?"
I gave her a bag, offered her a pair of work gloves, and we agreed to take separate routes back to the park so as to maximize our impact. Now THAT'S COOL.
I didn't want to frighten her off so I wasn't so bold as to ask her name or take her picture.
A cold day awaits the runners at tomorrow's Tradition Run.
With the cold weather and snow covering the ground, I didn't expect much traffic or litter on the trails so I walked the road to Castle Craig to make sure it was clean prior to tomorrow's Tradition Run. Light snow with maybe 1" accumulation was forecast for Saturday night, and Sunday's temps would be in the 20's. The results will be a lot of runners' and walkers' stories for those that braved the weather to participate.
Obviously, I wasn't going to find much trash myself, so I used the opportunity to amuse myself with a couple minor graffiti/housekeeping chores in the back of my book. I stopped at the hardware store and bought a couple cans of spray paint.
I've participated in the Tradition Run before and can testify that the last pitch is a brutal slog.
At Castle Craig, I followed the trail down and tended to my first piece of graffiti.
Even within this semi-sheltered area the wind was gusting pretty stiffly, directing my paint other than where it needed to go. While it looks glossy in the photo, it should dry flat.
I followed the trails to the walkbridge over I-691 and tackled the last couple spots of graffiti on my agenda.
Update: in last week's post I dragged a piece of highway garbage back to the park and mistakenly thought it was picked up later the same day. I was wrong. I'll report its presence to the Meriden Parks Department and ask them to pick it up.
Visit #845, Saturday 18 January 14, 2:20-4:40PM, 4.9 miles.
Temps in the high 30's, sporadic snow showers, no accumulation.
Visit #846, Monday 20 January 14, 7:15-8:30AM, 2.75 miles.
Temps in the mid-30's, mostly cloudy.
Last week's route took me down hill from West Peak, where I discovered a small tree had fallen across the trail. It was still rooted to the ground and try as I may I couldn't break the bond.
This week's fun would take me back to the spot to finish the job.
The tree in question, and the tool of choice.
Five minutes of manual labor and the trail was good again.
Once up at West Peak, I walked the road toward Castle Craig. It would be my final session to make the area surrounding the Castle look nice in advance of the Tradition Run.
Since it was snowing lightly, when I discovered these ATV tracks, I knew they were recent. I wondered whether I would encounter any ATVs. Hmmm...
I took care of business at Castle Craig then walked the trail down. No sooner did I reach level ground when my wondering whether I'd see any ATVs was answered.
They were heading west on the Main Trail toward Southington. They must have ridden a loop because the gate at the south end of Merimere Reservoir was securely locked.
No matter how many times I'd walked past the Halfway House, I failed to see these tubes which I presume were left over from fireworks launching. I didn't have enough room to carry them all back to the park so I left three in plain sight, planning to return on Monday to retrieve the remainder.
Reaching Merimere Reservoir, I came upon Interesting Find of the Week #1:
So we know they vacationed at Disney Land/World but did they camp/shower in Hubbard Park?
It didn't take long before Interesting Find of the Week #1 was upstaged by #2!
I reached the park and dropped off my er, booty.
I returned early Monday morning, Martin Luther King Day, to retrieve the remainder of the black tubes. Upon reaching the Halfway House, I discovered they were gone. Perhaps the work of another kind person who hikes in Hubbard Park. With that off the agenda, I walked down to the reservoir and back via the Soap Box Derby Track. With the extra time I decided to check something else off my To-Do list.
This large piece of highway debris has been lying around for years. I weighs probably 150 lbs. and was an eyesore.
I dragged it back to the park adjacent to the gate. I planned on notifying the Meriden Parks Department to pick it up.
But that same afternoon around 3:30PM as I routed my way through the park on my bike, I discovered the junk was gone. Work of another kind person, perhaps?
Interesting Find of the Week #3 was this unopened can of Crazy Stallion beer.
What made this find interesting was there were TWO cans in the bag and one was empty; beer drinkers don't usually toss their suds. I can only imagine the drinker discovered Crazy Stallion beer is otherwise known as Canned Bathwater. From the reviews I read online, it's pretty close.
I added the can to the mix and dropped off my last bag of the week.
Visit #844, Sunday 12 January 14, 10:00AM-12:40PM, 6.2 miles.
Temps in the low 40's, mostly cloudy.
Picking up trash can wear you down, but every once in a while something happens that rejuvenates my faith in man.
I thought the trails would be too muddy to navigate today and I hadn't been up to West Peak in a while so I chose to walk the road all the way up, collecting trash as I walked. Also, with the Tradition Run coming up soon, it'd be nice to have the route looking clean; next week I'll clean around Castle Craig to complete the course.
I had about half a bag after crossing the north end of Merimere Reservoir and at the rate I was going, thought I'd have to leave it somewhere and start another one. For various reasons, I prefer to not do that if I can.
Just then I ran into Jack Clancy, a local and regular walker in Hubbard Park. Out of the blue he asks if I'd like for him to carry my bag of trash back to the park. Boy, I sure would! Faith in humanity restored.
Thanks, Jack.
This freed me up to start a second bag which would probably last the distance to West Peak and back to the park. It did. I cleaned up the parking lot at West Peak and the peak itself, then made my way down and back to the park via the I-691 walkbridge.
