I Was Packin'

 It was a day for work. Load 'em up!

Visit #1493, Saturday 24 August 24, 6:50-9:20AM, 5.0 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60s, sunny and dry.

I discovered a couple fallen trees on my hike last week. Let's go remove them.

I picked up the trail at the north end of Merimere Reservoir and hiked up.

Here was my first task. The trail goes directly over the rock.

Chop-chop.

The other tree was very near the top end of the trail. The trail is in there somewhere between those two trees...

I found it and re-established the trail.

Hiking down a steep trail, I could hear the footsteps of an early morning trail runner approaching from behind. Just as we met, we both slipped on the loose dirt and almost caught ourselves.

This particular trail has apparently seen some of the damage from last Sunday's "training thunderstorms" even though the most severe damage appeared west of Waterbury. I know I got dumped on but good.

Arriving home, I confirmed the "almost caught" part.

Hiking across the wooden walkbridge I spied this rusted piece of an old abandoned car. The car was removed decades ago and the chunk of metal just appeared recently, which is strange considering the countless times I've crossed this bridge. I carried it with me back to the park.

I dropped off today's haul and went home to unpack.

When It Rains...

 

...it pours.

Visit #1492, Sunday 18 August 24, 6:45-9:15AM, 5.1 miles, 4.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, rain.

I woke up to cloudy skies and checked the weather. While it said there was a 70% chance of rain, the HOURLY forecast did not indicate when it would start; it only displayed "cloudy" icons. Because of this conflict, I wasn't expecting rain but I DID pack a rain jacket.

A couple trails were late season overgrown, so I used my hedgeclippers to trim one side. Hard to capture on film, so trust me.

It was still dry when I reached Castle Craig and policed the parking lot. The flag was reacting to the strong breeze.

I hiked down another trail leading down to Merimere Reservoir. The humid conditions made things greasy and I'm always mindful of slipping and spraining an ankle.

Which today I did. My knee went one way; my ankle went the other. I heard AND FELT that signature POP! While I didn't see stars, Jesus, or Elvis, it did smart and as I sit writing this, I feel a dull throbbing and have on the ankle brace I saved from the last time I sprained my ankle, in 2009.

This sprain was less severe as the last one as I don't have the swelling, just the pain and weakness.

Below is graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised. Scroll quickly if you're squeamish!

That's what my 2009 sprain looked like.

But it wasn't even raining yet!

At 8:30, shortly before exiting the trail, it started to rain. Then I heard a peal of thunder. I prayed to my deity of choice that there wouldn't be any more and they heard and answered my prayer.

Your deity and your mileage, may vary.

I sloshed my way back to the park along the road and enroute encountered two separate individuals jogging up the road in the rain. Thumbs up and smiles were exchanged.

Back at the parking lot, the dearth of cars reflected the weather, and my car is one of the three.

Rounding The Corner

 

Do you see any corners? I don't see any corners. But trust me; we've rounded a corner.

Visit #1491, Sunday 11 August 24, 7:00-9:30AM, 5.2 miles, 5.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60s, sunny and dry.

After weeks and weeks of just life sapping heat and humidity, Sunday dawned with that perfect summer weather.

It appears that graffiti within the park proper has become more common, or at least I hope my sample of two in two weeks is not indicative of a trend.

Last week I found some graffiti on the gate leading to the Soap Box Derby track. This week I discovered some on this steel box:

I thought I could lick it with sandpaper or graffiti remover but neither had any effect.

However, for every problem there is a solution, and I shall return next week with the Arnold Schwarzenegger of graffiti removers and vanquish this foe.

The remainder of today's hike  up to West Peak was scenic, quiet, and devoid of graffiti.

Now to start training for next week's bout with that steel box...

My Master Plan

 

'Twas another sticky, humid hike. Really; Meriden is out there somewhere- the Saturday morning view from Castle Craig.

Visit #1490, Saturday 3 August 24, 6:45-8:30AM, 4.0 miles, 6.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70s rising to near 90, cloudy with humidity over 90 percent.

This morning I began my hike and no sooner did I reach the gate at the soap box derby track that I encountered some graffiti.

I intentionally blurred the graffiti to obscure what was an Instagram address I verified when I returned home.  I did not want to give the creator any free advertising. Of course,  I removed the graffiti.

At the gate at the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I encountered #12 in the recurring series beginning November 2016, of this cat graffiti. Still off their meds, I guess.

I gave it the same treatment.

While cleaning up the parkling lot at Castle Craig I found a dog dish in reasonable condition. I thought I might clean it up and bring it to Goodwill, but when I stopped for a haircut after my hike, I offered it to my dog-owning barber, who took it.

And here was my "Master" Plan for today-remove this Master Lock.

Hiking down the Blue Trail, heading toward the beehive fountain, I found the trail had become overgrown. There's a reason why I carry hedge clippers in my backpack. Don't all hikers carry hedgeclippers?

I hope to perform more hedgeclipper magic next week.

I found another smiling rock. I wonder if it is related to the one I found last week.

I dropped my litter off for the week and drove my sweaty self to the barbershop.

But I wasn't done. At least, not for the weekend.

I took a bike ride early Sunday morning and decided to take my road bike a little off road, following the trail in Hubbard Park that parallels I-691. I had hiked this trail yesterday and it was clear. However, on Saturday afternoon strong thunderstorms with high winds rolled through the area. To my surprise, I found a fallen tree branch as a result of that storm.

I removed it from the trail and wondered if I'll find other trail issues on next week's hike.

Grin and Bear It

 

I didn't see a soul today, must be the humid weather.

Visit #1489, Sunday 28 July 24, 6:30-9:30AM, 5.7 miles, 6.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70's,  cool for the most part but the humidity made for a sweaty hike.

CT Insider published a story this week about bears in Connecticut.

Several of the trails I hike in Hubbard Park see few others even though these trails are well established. I've always thought if I were attacked by a bear, my body might not be found for a day or more. Is that morbid or what?

I have taken some precautions; My backpack is equipped with an emergency whistle which hopefully will scare away bears, and I carry bear spray.

This week I would hike on one of those trails to remove a fallen tree, and I thought about the article, and bears, while out today.

I wasn't too thrilled to have to carry my chainsaw so far for just one tree, but the nature gods shined on me and I found two more trees worthy of removal.

The first tree, or pair of trees, which I unexpectedly found was on the trail behind the water tank.

On another, unmarked trail I found a sapling bent over so I removed it. This sapling didn't merit an After photo.

I hiked up to the road to West Peak and along the way spotted this painted rock spotlighted by the morning sun. Perhaps that's why it was smiling.

Once on the trail I had to hike quite a distance to reach the fallen tree I'd discovered last week.

Then I found a bonus tree, and that made three. Mountain bikers wasted no time building a ramp over it.

I wasted less time removing it.

At the bottom of the trail, still a couple hundred feet from the road, I came upon my Find of the Week.

I'd love to know how and when it got there. Fitting it in my trash bag was going to be a problem. When I attempted to fold the hose it promptly snapped, giving me the idea to try and snap it into manageable pieces. Problem solved.

As I walked around the gate leading back to the road, I found some graffiti which needed removal and was happy to oblige.

Approaching the gate to the closed road back at the park, I was reminded of this wreath I saw the past two weeks; I took it away.

This wreath would have come in handy had I been eaten by a bear. Fortunately it was not needed.

"Water, Water, Everywhere But, Not A Place To Stand"

I've inserted this song in my blog before, but it's worth repeating this week.

Visit #1488, Sunday 21 July 24, 6:15-9:25AM, 6.8 miles, 3.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, sunny and moderately humid, reaching the mid 80s.

Interesting news in the Meriden Record Journal this week: Merimere Reservoir has a prostate problem and the state of Connecticut is helping fund the repair surgery.

I guess a lot of water is leaking from here:

Down to here:

And on to here:

And further, through here:

...instead of reaching Meriden's citizens.

This kinda makes sense to me because, as reported by the National Institute of Health, by the age of 85, 90 percent of men will have prostate enlargement and the issues that go along with it. I can only conclude two things:

1. Since Merimere Reservoir is over 85 years old, it makes sense it will have BPH.

2. Since the reservoir is experiencing this ahem, leak, the reservoir must be male.

I walked the road up toward the reservoir this morning and found some some new graffiti on the gate near the water treatment plant, which I removed  with some handy sandpaper and muscle.

At the north end of Merimere Reservoir I found a sticker on the gate. Stickers are just as offensive to me as graffiti so I removed it. In the photo I've blurred the information on the sticker so as to not give advertising to the owner, who I contacted and gently notified them of their trespass.

Once I left the road and picked up the trail, I soon found my Find of the Week but as you'll see, it wasn't my best find.

Why I would find a steak knife on a trail is beyond me.

Reaching the top of the trail was my goal this week.

These poles were placed at the trailhead at my request back in 2014 because I had found cars driving down the trail for some discrete activities. Occasionally I would find them moved slightly but not to the degree shown above. This week I brought some tools to assist repositioning them.

A couple logs were too heavy to move so I will return with assistance to complete the job.

But it was on my walk down the road back toward the reservoir and the park that I came upon a "Can You Beat This" Find of the Week.

I dreaded carrying this back to the park because I fully expected everyone who saw me thinking I was some Yo Dude skateboarder. Well, it didn't take long because the first person I encountered asked me that question, "Are you a skateboarder?!" Sheesh.

Closer examination when I got it home revealed one lame wheel bearing which freed up nicely with some WD-40. The bearing seal was broken but otherwise, it seemed serviceable to me although I wasn't about to test it. I'm gonna post it for free on craigslist and see if there are any takers.

In the meantime, I'm going to brush up on my skateboarding slang. Dude...!