Did Nero Fiddle While Hubbard Park Burned?

Castle Craig was a popular spot on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Visit #952, Saturday 9 May 15, 11:55AM-3:00PM, mileage unknown.
Temps in the low 70's, partly sunny.

The Meriden Record-Journal reported this week of scattered brush fires in the local area due to the dry spring conditions.

Hubbard Park was not immune to these brush fires either. I can only conclude this brush fire was started by a discarded cigarette.

I had 2 objectives with this week's foray onto the trails: I'd received a report of one trail in need of cleaning due to scattered bottles and cans, and I wanted to straighten out the telephone poles blocking the end of another trail to deter vehicles from driving down it.

I hiked from the parking lot to the south end of Merimere Reservoir then turned left onto the trails, heading toward the Halfway House and up to Castle Craig.

I didn't travel more than a few hundred yards when I stumbled upon the charred remains of the brush fire, near the south end of Merimere Reservoir.

The scorched patch was roughly 100 x 20 feet in size.

I reached the trail which was the source of the trash complaint, checked it off my list, and dropped off my first  bag of trash at Castle Craig.

I continued on the trails then to the road, making my way to the telephone poles which were in need of some Feng Shui. My comealong did the Feng Shui-ing.

If these poles continue to be moved I'm going to suggest an alternative installation.

Between Castle Craig and West Peak I managed to collect enough trash that I needed to transfer everything from a 13 gallon to a 30 gallon bag. I guess it's not surprising to find so much trash in this area this time of year now that the road to Castle Craig and West Peak is open to traffic, and despite my occasional assistant Paul Bernier and I cleaning the area a mere 2 weeks ago. Sad but true.

Anyway, I walked down off West Peak and over I-691. Enroute back toward Hubbard Park as I walked off-trail to pick up some trash I chanced upon this well-hidden letterbox.

Post Daffodil Festival Report

Visit #951, Saturday 2 May 15, 9:50AM-12:10PM, mileage unknown (My new pedometer is junk.)

A week after the Daffodil Festival, I always have to clean up around the Halfway House. That's where the fireworks are launched from and for some inexplicable reason, neither the fireworks company nor the Meriden Parks Department cleans up the area afterwards. The area is littered with debris from launching of the salutes and shells. The only difference this year was an added surprise.

Fortunately, I had help this year from stalwart part-time assistant, Paul Bernier.

I did not have access to a rake and carrying a full-size rake, which is needed for this job, is a pain. Paul came through with a mini-rake which he had on hand-small and was easy to carry.

We started at the Soap Box Derby track and hiked a counterclockwise loop. In 10 minutes' time we reached the water treatment plant and had collected a full bag of trash, which Paul hung from the fence so the water department personnel could dispose of it later.

At the south end of Merimere Reservoir we picked up the trails and pointed ourselves directly to the Halfway House.

To our dismay, not only did we encounter the usual aftermath of the fireworks' launch, but this year hundreds of feet of caution tape marked FIRE LINE-DO NOT CROSS. It also must have implied DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAPE AFTER YOU'RE DONE.

 

You would think the vendor would clean up after themselves. The leftover tape is a "first" for me.

I was under the impression the Meriden Fire Department stands by at the site during the fireworks should any fire issues arise-so maybe it's their tape? SOMEBODY dropped the ball on this.

Anyway, after removing the tape, I got down to business with Paul's mini-rake cleaning up the area. The mini-rake made for slow going but it was better than nothing.

In the past I've merely tossed the debris over the edge because there was way too much to bag and carry, but Paul gave me an idea for 2016- I'll bag it and leave it at the Halfway House and request it be picked up.

After restoring the area to some semblance of clean, we continued on our route covering all the trails below Castle Craig, then crossing over I-691 and returning back to the park, where we deposited 2 more bags of trash.

I'm already preparing for 2016. I found a backpackable, full-sized alternative to Paul's mini-rake:

Look for a product report next year!

Maybe I should buy one for the fireworks company as well.

The Daffodil Festival Via The Back Door

The real fun wasn't happening at the Daffodil Festival in Hubbard Park; it was happening a short walk north of the park, along Merimere Reservoir.

Visit #950, Saturday 25 April 15, 7:50-11:15AM, 6.0 miles.
Temps in the mid-50's, sunny.

With the Daffodil Festival in its second week and a parade in Hubbard Park Saturday morning, I sure wasn't going to be able to park there for my weekly expedition. So I returned to the Berlin side of the park and hiked in.

Since last week Paul and I cleaned from the north end of the road up to East and West Peaks, I thought this week I'd walk south from the same start point, all the way to Hubbard Park and turn around. This would result in a reasonably clean road from bottom to top, a good start since the road will open to vehicle traffic next week.

I also thought I'd use the festival time to continue with my Five Year Plan, because with the park occupied by the Daffodil Festival, there would likely be nobody to spook as I ran my chainsaw.

As I walked south toward the park, I found a fallen hemlock lying roadside, which I cleared by tossing it over the guardrail on the other side of the road.

I reached the gate to the park, turned around, and pointed myself north. By the time I reached the water treatment plant, I'd filled my first bag of trash so I hung it on the fence hoping a Meriden Water Department employee would take it away.

When I reached the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I discovered Chris Bourdon of the Meriden Parks Department replaced the cut lock on the gate, which I reported to him privately. Thanks, Chris!

Then it was on to the meat of my operations for the week.

I picked up where I left off, at the jersey barriers, and trimmed the western side of the roadway heading north along Merimere Reservoir. I made one mistake in my preparations today-I forgot to bring my loppers. So I used my chainsaw and performed all the heavy work instead. As a result, evidence of my effort on Saturday isn't readily apparent. I expect to begin the fine trimming during the Memorial Day weekend.

I reached the north end of Hubbard Park and returned to my truck with the second bag of trash.

Daffodil Festival, Food Truck Edition

Hubbard Park, as seen from Castle Craig, during the Food Truck event on the first weekend of the Daffodil Festival. It was barely 11AM and the park was already packed with salivating mouths. I swear I could hear the multitude of growling stomachs from Castle Craig-or it was my own stomach?

This is the first year the Daffodil Festival has sponsored a Food Truck event and from the number of cars I glimpsed from Castle Craig as well as newspaper reports, it was an appetital success.

Visit #949, Saturday 18 April 15, 9AM-12:30PM, mileage unknown.
Temps in the low 70's, sunny.

My mileage for this week went undocumented because my pedometer took a ride in the washing machine. After Saturday's activities, I stopped at Dick's Sporting Goods and picked up Pedometer 3.0. Yes, that's version 3.0 as 1.0 also took a spin in the Maytag.

Care to guess which one died?

A double thanks this week. First, thanks to the Meriden Parks Department for picking up the mirror I found during last week's jaunt.

Second, thanks to Paul Bernier, who joined me in this week's work. As always, I welcome his company and his efforts to help keep Hubbard Park clean.

In last week's report I rode my  mountain bike to Hubbard Park on Sunday to inspect some lesser used trails. At that time I discovered a hemlock had fallen across one particular trail.

With the Daffodil Festival going on, parking would be near impossible, so Paul and I parked north of Hubbard Park in Berlin, and walked in.

We walked the road from the north end of Merimere Reservoir then diverted onto the trail to the fallen tree.

With Paul's help and my chainsaw, the trail was restored in short order.

Paul and I then turned around and returned to the road, walking up to Castle Craig and collecting trash from both sides as we went. We cleaned up the parking lot and surrounding area and deposited our trash bags to be picked up later by a park's crew.

By the time we reached the fork to East Peak/West Peak, we managed to collect two more bags of trash so we left them on the concrete blocks at the intersection.

Next, we headed over to West Peak, cleaning up both sides of the road, the parking lot, and the trails to West Peak itself.

In the process we found something unusual: two bags of trash which I HAD COLLECTED LAST FALL, were stashed in the woods about 100 feet from the road. I can only assume someone intended to return and take the returnable cans and bottles from both bags but their plans were curtailed by this winter's snow. How else can you explain it?

Surprisingly, the bags were still reasonably intact. Paul and I added them to the 2 more bags we collected and left them in the parking lot. Hopefully a parks crew can pick them up on Monday.

Until next week, maintain.

Spring Is Upon Us

Just a little celebration; who'd a thunk I'd reach 100 posts?!

Visit #947, Saturday 11 April 15, 4:40-7:10PM, 4.9 miles.
Temps in the 50's, sunny.

Visit #948, Sunday 12 April 15, 4:00-4:30PM, mileage n/a.
Temps in the mid-60's, sunny.

Last week as I began walking up toward Merimere Reservoir from the parking lot, I noticed some new graffiti on the wooden fencing surrounding the retention ponds. I planned on removing it this week, then patrolling some trails in the far reaches of Hubbard Park to check for downed limbs and trees.

Apparently I wasn't paying attention because there was a lot more graffiti than I originally thought, and it took up a valuable 45 minutes of my time, so I had to change plans.

As I started at the parking lot, I noticed the gate across the Soap Box Derby Track was unlocked. I don't know if it was for Daffodil Festival preparations or vandalism. I'll inform the Meriden Parks Department and let them decide.

I reached the retention ponds and the graffiti I discovered last week.

"JK" went "bye-bye" with a combination of a wire brush and 60 grit sandpaper.

Any remnants should fade away nicely.

Of course, I then noticed all the other graffiti I wasn't paying attention to last week. I went to town with the sandpaper and wire brush. Here are the Before and After photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you can't make out what the graffit is, they're cartoonish characters. From the sheer number of them, you can see why it took 45 minutes to remove them all.

At that point I hadn't even reached Merimere Reservoir, so I amended my itinerary and chose to scout out the rest of the trails below Castle Craig.

Enroute to the Halfway House, I discovered Len has come out of his winter hibernation and is again placing pieces of wood across the trails.

Past the Halfway House, on the Main Trail, my eagle eyes spotted my first Find of the Week resting on a log.

They were merely drug store "cheaters" so not much money was lost.

Crossing over I-691 I steered myself toward the trail which ends across the street from Belmont Avenue, where I discovered my second Find of the Week.

Is it still a Selfie if I use a mirror?

This discarded tag sale item even retained the price sticker, $12. I'll contact the Meriden Parks Department and ask them to pick it up.

Moving along back toward the park, while stepping off-trail to pick up some trash I found a letterbox.

Returning to the parking lot, I dropped off my trash for the week.

I returned to Hubbard Park on Sunday afternoon by mountain bike to inspect the trails I didn't reach on Saturday due to the graffiti diversion.

I entered the park from the Berlin side. On my ride up toward West Peak, I counted 72 people walking up the road, which is amazing. It makes you wonder how many more people would take up such exercise if vehicle access was more restricted.

 I also counted 5 ATVs  and one dirt bike as they left Castle Craig.

I also came upon the two gentlemen below, illegally fishing in Merimere Reservoir. Yes; spring is upon us...

As I was taking the picture, one remarked to the other that I was photographing them, whereupon one of them remarked loudly, "Fucking faggot!" When I asked which one of them said that, they feigned ignorance. I would have contacted the police but I don't carry a cellphone and there was no license plate on the scooter. I figured taking the photo would be enough to scare them away; when I returned to the spot roughly 20 minutes later, they were gone.

Why is it us lycra-clad cyclists are all considered fags by the general population-superheroes wear tight outfits and no one calls THEM faggots; at least not to their faces!