ithacahikers

Wednesday, September 18

Finger Lakes National Forest

Hike report by Mark Sussman

On Wednesday September 18 twelve hikers and one dog met at the northern terminus of the Interlokin trail in Seneca County. The day was overcast, but otherwise excellent hiking weather. The group headed south until they arrived at Teeter Pond, which is the largest pond in the Finger Lakes National Forest. They then headed back on the No Nan Takto trail. First through the pasture, then woods with many Shagbark Hickory trees. They then entered the area of multiple unmowed meadows with the late summer wildflowers in full bloom. The hikers enjoyed the beauty of the flowers, and even gathered and ate some apples from old apple tree in one of the meadows. They then returned to the Interlokin Trail via a seasonal road and back to their cars. The hike was approximately 5 miles, and took just over 2 hours.

Hike report by Jim

Twelve hikers and one dog met on Parmenter Rd in the Town of Lodi, for a loop hike consisting on parts of the Interloken and No Tan Takto Trails within the Finger Lakes National Forest, led by Mark and Ellie. This is hike # 42-6 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-42. The Interloken Trail is part of the Finger Lakes Trail System; the Interloken Trail is FLTC map sheet I1 and is available for purchase in either paper or electronic formats at https://fingerlakestrail.org/store/maps-and-gps/…. Sale of the map sheets helps to defray the costs associated with trail maintenance.

Weather conditions were good during the hike, if only a little humid.

The group left the parking area, hiking the Interloken Trail across Wilkens and Seneca Rds, leaving Seneca County and entering Schuyler County in the process. Views across the valley were excellent, if a bit hazy. Trail conditions were good, with very little mud or elevation changes along our route. Arriving at Teeter Pond the group paused for a while before turning around for the return portion of the hike.

Mark initially led the group back on the No Tan Takto Trail before taking a slight detour to rejoin the Interloken Trail for the last portion of the return leg of our hike.

Our group mostly had the trails to ourselves today, although we did encounter one couple and their dog very close to the end of our hike.

We had one new hiker, Doug B, on today’s hike. Welcome to the group, Doug!

Saturday, September 21

Kennedy State Forest, Spanish and Ukrainian Loops

Hike report by Jim

Twelve hikers and two dogs met on Owego Hill Rd in Cortland County for a loop hike within James Kennedy State Forest. This is hike # 40-5 on our list of regular hike locations:. hike #40 – James Kennedy State Forest – Multiple Trailheads – ithacahikers Todays looping route consisted of parts of the Spanish and Ukranian Loops as well as a section of the Finger Lakes Trail. This hike included trails that appear on Finger Lakes Trail Map sheet M19, which is available for purchase at: https://fingerlakestrail.org/store/maps-and-gps/…. Purchase of the map sheets helps to defray costs associated with trail maintenance.

Leaving the trailhead, the group descended on the Spanish Loop before making the first of many creek crossings. The streams were mostly dry today, with an occasional pool of water but no flowing water at all. Other than one utility pole right-of-way and the final road walk, the group was entirely under the forest canopy today. There are still plenty of leaves on the trees, but the first leaves to fall are blanketing the footpath and making the trail a little hard to follow.

That part of the Spanish Loop has a few mild uphill sections early in the hike, as the trail switchbacks up the hill. It crosses the intersection with the new German Trail as well as the more easterly end of the Ukrainian Loop.

The group stopped for a quick journal entry before making our way westerly on the FLT which in that section is largely a mild descent back towards Owego Hill Rd.

Crossing Owego Hill Rd we continued on the FLT, passing a side trail or two along the way as we hiked along another streambed over a nice layer of old pine needles before arriving at the more westerly end of the Ukrainian Loop.

From this point on the FLT the Ukranian Loop starts out as a steady uphill climb as it follows a streambed that was as dry as the others we’d found today. The footpath begins a switchback up the hillside, repeatedly crossing the same dry creek bed before finally coming to another trail register box; beyond that box the trail levels put and then begins a gradual descent until the trail arrives back at Owego Hill Rd. From that road crossing it was a ten minute road walk back to our cars. Lots of flowers blooming along the road that drew positive comments from hikers.

Other than two solitary hikers our group encountered on our hike, we had the trails entirely to ourselves today.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 22

Monkey Run Natural Area

Hike report by Jim

Fourteen hikers met at the dead end of Monkey Run Road in the Town of Dryden, for a loop hike of the Cayuga Trail on the south side of Fall Creek. This is hike # 6 on our list of regular hike locations:  https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-6.

The Cayuga Trail map is map sheet ” The Cayuga Trail” and is available on the Finger Lakes Trail Conference website in both paper and electronic formats: https://fingerlakestrail.org/…/purchase-individual-maps/. Purchase of the FLTC map sheets helps to defray the costs associated with trail maintenance.

Hikers did a loop of orange and yellow blazed trails, initially hiking westerly towards the hamlet of Varna and crossing the open fields of Tailby Flats to return to the wood line. Stops for pictures and extended viewing were made at the shoreline of Fall Creek and on the bluffs high above the stream.

There’s been some more trail erosion in places along the Fall Creek shoreline that I wanted to avoid today, so I deviated from our normal route on this hike and had the group walk to the Dryden Rail Trail. Once there the group did an out-and-back walk to route 13, finishing at our cars a few minutes behind schedule.

There was a decent number of other hikers sharing the trails with us today. Weather conditions were sunny and warm, so I can understand why people wanted to get out and hike on a great day like today

Welcome to Debbie on her first hike with the group!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, September 11

Green Lakes State Park, Fayetteville, NY

Hike report by Steve Schwartz

10 AM to 12:30 AM.  5.5 miles.  500’ of elevation gain.

Eighteen hikers and one dog met at the Environmental Center at Green Lakes State Park on a warm, sunny late summer day.  We hiked along Green Lake admiring the Caribbean blue clarity of the waters and the lush, wooded shores.  All trails in the central area of this very large park are wide and well-maintained which makes for easy walking with no concern for ticks.  Fortunately, it was much less crowded than in mid-summer with only a few runners and dog-walkers encountered.  The trail continues to Round Lake, another beautiful, smaller meromictic lake.  Between the lakes we admired the stately old-growth tulip trees and other magnificent trees.  We heard the call of a pileated woodpecker but didn’t see it alas.  

Beyond the lakes the trail proceeds uphill amid banks of pale Jewel flowers.  Continuing steeply the trail offers views of the lakes far below but only through the leaves at this time of year.  We emerged from the forest on the winding road to the golf course restaurant.  But the road walk is quiet and short and soon we enjoyed a pleasant rest and snack time on the restaurant lawn with its view of the lake far below.  We can actually see where we started the hike and with binoculars probably our cars.  Some availed themselves of the comfortable Adirondack chairs provided by the restaurant, others stretched out on the lawn.  Restrooms are available here and the restaurant workers refilled some of the hikers’ water bottles.  Alas our stay at this scenic spot had to be short if we had any chance of getting back in the time frame allotted to the hike.  With some reluctance, the leader was able to gather the hikers for the walk back down to the lakes.  

On the return back to the cars we proceeded along the other side of the lakes and admired the freshwater reefs on the shore of Green Lake.  The trail proceeds along the immense beach at the parking lot end of Green Lake.  We got back to the cars exactly on time.  Several hikers lingered to socialize and enjoy the exhibits at the Environmental Center and just to spend more time outdoors on this splendid day.  

Saturday, September 14

Bock Harvey Forest Preserve and Riemen Woods, Enfield

Hike report by Jim

Thirty-three hikers and five dogs met on Rockwell Rd in the Town of Enfield for a looping hike of the Finger Lakes Trail and the trail system within the Bock Harvey Forest Preserve led by Dave B. This is hike # 30 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-30. The trails hiked today are on FLT map sheet M16, available for sale in electronic or paper formats at: https://fingerlakestrail.org/…/purchase-individual-maps/. Sale of the map sheets defrays the on-going costs related to Finger Lakes Trail maintenance.

The day was in the 80s as hikers pulled up to the trailhead. After some initial instructions from Dave the group set off in the woods, passing the kiosk and entering the first large field as the group wound its way up the trail.

We stopped at the lean-to for a quick group photo before continuing on the blue blazed trail towards the FLT. Once on the FLT the group continued westerly, reaching and crossing Porter Hill Rd before entering the Rieman Woods on the opposite side of that road.

Hikers completed a fast loop of the FLT in Rieman Woods, returning to and walking up Porter Hill Rd to retrace our route on the FLT.

Passing through the Bock Harvey Preserve on the FLT we exited the Preserve, continuing on the FLT towards Rockwell Rd. There was no water flowing in the creeks, and we did encounter one blowdown on the edge of one field. While the temperatures were in the low 80s today the heat was barely noticeable under the forest canopy.

We saw no other hikers on our route today.

Dave paused occasionally to impart some piece of wisdom regarding the Preserve of the land the FLT single track footpath was passing through. The group turned around just before reaching Rockwell Rd, retracing our route and turning onto the yellow blazed trail that offered an alternate route back to the cars.

Hikers arrived back at the parking area right on time.

Welcome to new hikers Jason Y and Aaron on their first hike with the group!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 15

Jenksville State Forest, Newark Valley

Hike report by Jim

Eleven hikers met on Allison Hill Rd in Tioga County for a loop hike of mostly the yellow blazed trails within Jenksville State Forest. This is hike # 60-4 of our regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-60

The day was warm, and the transition to fall colors is well underway, even if we are not yet at peak fall colors. The drive to and from the hike was very enjoyable as a result.

As with last year’s fall hike at this location, we happened to be hiking here when a local trailbike event was being held on the near-by farm property. This resulted in the sounds of small engines accompanying us on much of our hike today, not an issue for us, but just a persistent presence for about half of our route.

Our pace was good, and we arrived back at the cars on time

Trail conditions were excellent, with no mud to speak of and only a possible slip or two along the way if a hiker ( me ) wasn’t careful with their foot placement.

Warm welcome to Tere, who hiked with us for the first time today!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Monday, September 2

Wildflower preserve, Giles Street

Hike report by Jim

Nineteen hikers and four dogs met on Giles Street in the City of Ithaca for a special Labor Day hike of the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve and Wells Falls. This is hike #1 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-1.

The city doesn’t seem to maintain a webpage dedicated to the Wildflower Preserve, but here is a running groups fairly accurate description of the area in question: https://mountaingoattrailrunning.weebly.com/…/mulhollan…

The morning was overcast and cool as the hikers arrived. As has been the case in the past, parking at this location was at a premium, with several other individual hikers and dog walkers not associated with our group arriving or leaving as our people showed up and jockeyed our cars around to make the most of available parking space.

After a group photo the hikers walked into the Wildflower Preserve, hiking the wide and well-maintained trail as it followed the creek bed. Obvious signs of recent trail work to clear the path of blowdowns were observed. Water levels in Six Mile Creek were a little low today, not unexpected given recent amounts of rain, but the creek was still flowing adequately for the time of year. During wetter times of the year the cliffs on the opposite side of the creek usually have a steady stream of water falling to ground level, but those areas were dry today.

The group arrived at the blue blazed trail that ascends the hill towards the Second Dam access road, and we began the short climb. Near the top of the hill the blue blazed trail makes a sharp turn and follows the contours of the hillside as we approach second dam. This section of trail is always very enjoyable due to the views it affords hikers, even during the summer when the trees are leafed out. One or two minor water crossings along the way seem to add some character to that section of the trail system.

At the dam the blue blazed hiking path joins the graveled access road until it reaches the overlook area for Second Dam. The path beyond the dam becomes unsafe in my personal opinion, so I usually turn groups around at the overlook and walk the access road back to the blue blazed trail.

The hikers descended the blazed trail back to the flats, where we followed our previous route back to the cars. By now the sun was out and it was a very enjoyable portion of todays hike.

Arriving at the parking lot some hikers chose to end their hike there; the remaining hikers walked to Giles Street, crossed the bridge and turned into the blue blazed trail for Wells Falls. After turning off form Giles Street, first we ascended the trail branch that winds its way up to the crest of the hill before descending on the opposite side until it reaches the base of the cascades below the bridge. Returning to Giles Street, the by-now diminished group of hikers returned to the trail entrance, this time taking the lower blazed trail that goes to the base of Wells Falls. There we found a number of people fishing, hammocking or otherwise enjoying the natural surroundings on a holiday.

As the group made its way back to the parking lot the first raindrops began to fall; another perfectly timed hike!

Welcome to Lena, Mary C and baby Noah on their first hike with the group!

Thanks to all who came out to share an enjoyable hike on a holiday weekend!

Wednesday, September 4

Shindagin Hollow State Forest, Brooktondale

Hike report by Mary Weiz

Eighteen hikers and three dogs meet on a sunny Wednesday morning in early September, the 4th. In addition, we welcomed three new hikers to the group! 

At meet-up the air temperature was 58℉.  After hiking about 4.4 miles in just over 2 hours the air temperature rose to 72℉. The forest remained pleasant throughout with little-to-no pestering insects, dodging cyclists, nor was the creek crossing difficult. We stayed on the Rim Trail proper and walked it to Gulf Creek Road. There, we walked up Shindagin Hollow forest road back to the rim and walked it in the opposite direction back to the cars. A few hikers chose to walk the seasonal road exclusively back to the cars on their return route. 

The Shindagin Rim trail is a multi-use trail that shifts in subtle ways, and sometimes apparent ways, due to single-track riding mountain bikes. These adventure cyclists ride the trails regularly. Typically the trail isn’t well marked. This morning, we skirted around one blow down (not new) and steep mountain bike “jumps” without any trouble.

We encountered only one cyclist who was inflating his bike tires in preparation to enter the rim trail. There were no cyclists riding the trail during the time we were hiking it. 

Saturday, September 7

Texas Hollow State Forest, Hector

Hike report by Casey

It was a rainy day, but that didn’t stop 11 hikers and one impressive dog from showing up. It didn’t rain hard and I was happy to not have to wear a rain jacket.

We did the FLT going east from Texas Hollow Road. Leigh Ann led the lead pack and managed to get all the way to Newtown Road to turn around, head back, and take in the blue loop on the way back.

I was the sweep as I was recovering from spending all day Friday working the Grand Prix Festival in Watkins Glen. And we even had one of the Festival’s participants take us up on our invitation to hike with us for this one.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 8

Hinchcliff Family Preserve, Spafford, Onondaga County

Hike report by Jim

Seventeen hikers and two dogs met on Vincent Hill Rd above Skaneateles Lake, for a loop hike of the Hinchcliff Family Preserve. This is hike # 60-8 on our list of regular hike locations https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-60.

While this by now what I consider this a “regular hike location”, as we’ve been here a number of times, it’s always been an infrequent Wednesday hike for the group, so we had some of our regular hikers with us today who had never been on this particular hike previously.

The morning was sunny and cool, with a steady wind blowing throughout much of the hike.

Leaving the parking area the group plunged into the woods, the red-blazed trail winding through the trees with only minor elevation changes. We encountered the first of a couple of blowdowns on the trail that we’d encounter today, but neither was significant enough to delay the hike. Water in the streams was flowing well after recent rains, but not so much that it made stream crossings difficult.

Reaching the intersection with the yellow-blazed loop, the group turned downhill to make a clockwise lap around the loop. Along the way we paused at the chimney of the old cottage to take a group picture before pressing onwards.

Soon after the cottage site the trail reaches Randall Gulf and the footpath skirts that very attractive gorge area as it climbs towards the open fields in the northeasterly section of that trail. With Leigh Ann in the lead the group maintained a strong pace up the hill and through the open fields.

The open fields were a short but welcome respite from the forested section of the hike. With the persistent winds the open fields were sunny and bright, but not as oppressively warm as those areas have been in the middle of summer.

Passing through the parking area that enters the preserve from State Route 41, we were soon back in the woods for a number of open fields that alternate with short sections of woods. The last open field offers a great view of the lake below before the trail returns to the woods for a final time.

Soon the group had completed the yellow loop and were back on the red-blazed trail for the return leg of the hike that took us to our cars. We arrived back at the cars right on time.

We encountered a few small groups of hikers today, but mostly had the trail to ourselves.

Warm welcome to new hikers Geoff A, Michelle, Russ, Anne and canine hiker ” Finnigan”, on their first hike with the group!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, August 28

Black Diamond Trail from Houghton Road

Hike report by Jim

Fifteen hikers and one dog met at the Cayuga Nature Center parking lot on Houghton Rd in the Town of Ulysses for a very loosely coordinated northerly group hike on the Black Diamond Trail, led by Tom B. This is not one of the regular trailheads we start our Black Diamond Trail hikes from, so there is no current listing for it on our hikes list. I suppose that’s something I’ll have to change….

edit: I’ve added this meeting location to our Black Diamond trail listing, so its now Hike #58-4: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-58

The day was somewhat overcast as the group posed for a quick photo and set off on the trail. Being a weekday there were relatively few other walkers or bike riders along that section of the Trail. The day did seem to grow brighter and more humid as the morning wore on, but not oppressively so. The leaves on the trees along the Trail are starting to change colors, so I suppose that summer is truly behind us…

Each hiker soon settled into their own pace, and the lead hikers quickly outpaced the slower members of the group. The fast hikers made it to Taughannock Falls State Park before turning around to re-trace their route.

Warm welcome to Melissa, Tom D and Tom D’s canine hiking partner George on their first hike with the group.

Saturday, August 31

Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park from Yaple Road

Hike report by Jim

Twenty hikers and seven dogs met on Yaple Rd in the Town of Danby for a hike of the trail system within upper Buttermilk Falls State Park. This is hike# 10-2 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-10.

The morning started out a little overcast, and by the time we began the hike into the park from Yaple Rd the raindrops had started. For the most part the rain wasn’t a problem in the early part of the hike thanks to being under the trees. By the time the group stopped by the dam at Treman Lake the volume of rain was picking up, but shortly thereafter it dwindled and stopped entirely before the sun came out and the remainder of the hike was entirely enjoyable.

After the group photos the hikers crossed over the top of the dam and hiked the La Tourelle trail, before turning around and walking back to Treman Lake. We hiked up the opposite side of the lake, stopping at a vantage point or two along the way to enjoy the views of the natural surroundings.

Coming down the last flight of wooden steps we arrived at the area of the demolished stone arch bridge. Finding the water level of the stream to be very low, we rock-hopped across the water and walked back to the FLT spur trail that led back to Yaple Rd (the way we had entered into the park).

Arriving back at the cars a few minutes early, a good percentage of the group opted to continue on the FLT spur trail towards West King Rd, to use up the remaining hike time.

Completing an out-and-back on the spur trail (or in some cases a full loop hike to West King Rd and back around the block to the cars) the group arrived back at the cars again right on time.

We encountered a lot of day hikers on the route today.

Welcome to Margaret and Craig and their canine hiking partners Scooby and Chenille, on their first hike with the group!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, September 1

Hoxie Gorge, Cortland County

Hike report by Jim

Nineteen hikers and four dogs met on Hoxie Gorge Rd in Cortland County for an out-and back hike combining parts of the white blazed Finger Lakes Trail in Hoxie Gorge State Forest, the blue blazed access trail from Hoxie Gorge Rd and the yellow blazed McDermott Nature Trail, which is owned and maintained by SUNY Cortland. This is hike # 60-2 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-60.

This hike includes parts of the Finger Lakes Trail found on FLT map sheet M20, which may be purchased in paper or electronic formats here: https://fingerlakestrail.org/…/purchase-individual-maps/. Sale of the map sheets defrays trail maintenance costs incurred by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.

The morning was sunny and warm as hikers arrived on Hoxie Gorge Rd for the hike. After a quick group photo, the group set off down the blue blazed access trail that links the parking area to the Finger Lakes Trail. This blue blazed trail was the actual FLT a number of years ago until the footpath in this section was re-routed.

For the past couple of years I have noticed a slow degradation of the footpath in the blue blazed trail section. I am not sure if this is due to that section being abandoned, a lack of assigned trail maintainers, etc. Which is a shame, as this trail makes a nice little walk above and along the creek bed Today the group was slowed down considerably by a number of serious trail issues such as blow downs that had carried away the entire footpath with the root ball, etc. Trail condition reports have been submitted and hopefully some of these issues will be addressed. To be clear, these issues pre-date this summers windstorms, but the damage persists and is getting worse with time. Even the growth of low-lying vegetation was causing me to lose track of the blazed footpath, and we’ve hiked this trail a number of times in recent years.

Under the forest canopy it was sunny and humid.

We encountered one or two dog walkers, but for the most part had the trails to ourselves today.

Reaching the actual FLT, the group turned to the northeast, hiking towards the Hoxie Gorge lean-to. We ran into more blow-downs of recent vintage, but working our way around these was manageable. There were a couple of creek crossings, but water levels were lower than in the past when we’ve done this hike, so we had no issues.

The group reached the lean-to before turning around to return to the cars. The McDermott nature Trail meets the blue blazed access trail and provides a shorter, more direct route to the trailhead than the blue blazed trail does,

Welcome to new hikers Alessia and Becky, who joined the group for their first hike today!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Wednesday, August 21

Allan H. Treman State Marine Park and Cass Park, Ithaca

Hike report by Jim

Seven hikers and two dogs met in the Town of Ithaca at the Allan H Treman State Marine Park for a hike of trails within the state marine park as well as the Cayuga Waterfront Trail towards Cass Park. This is hike # 53-1 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-53.

The morning was a mix of brooding clouds and sunlight overhead as the group met in the parking lot of the marina, between the piers and the dog park. The forecast called for some rain, but the group hoped that we would miss the worst of the weather during our hike. This hope proved to be in vain, as we encountered some serious downpours midway through the hike as the group reached the Childrens Garden in Cass Park.

The first hour of the hike was uneventful; the group completed a loop of the trail along the shore of Cayuga Lake on the north point of the marina. Our route soon took us to the Waterfront Trail, which we followed along the flood control inlet to Cass Park.

Reaching the Childrens Garden at the base of the Black Diamond Trail, we encountered the first of several intermittent downpours that forced us to seek shelter under the park pavilions. These downpours lessened for a while before returning with even greater intensity and prolonging our pause under the protection of the pavilions.

Eventually after around twenty minutes the rain lessened and seemed to dissipate to the point that the group decided that the better course of action was to conclude the hike early, and so we made our way back to the marina via another part of the Waterfront Trail.

Thanks to the dedicated core group of hikers who braved the elements today!

Saturday, August 24

Ravine, Damsite, & Homesites Loop, Connecticut Hill, Newfield

Hike report by Jim

Twenty-five hikers and three dogs met in the Town of Newfield for a loop hike in the vicinity of Doll Hill within the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, led by Dave B and Dave G. This is hike # 46-N on our regular hikes list: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-46.

This was perfect hiking weather, sunny and warm, but not excessively so. The temperatures were especially enjoyable under the forest canopy, where we hiked through a mix of sunlight and shadow for most of our route. The two Daves had pre-hiked the area several days before leading this hike, and their efforts in cutting some blowdowns and trimming back the undergrowth along the way were much appreciated by the group.

Trail conditions were good over the entire route, which consisted of a large loop on and around Doll Hill, with stops along the way at a couple of the old house foundations and a former dam on Carter Creek. There wasn’t much water flowing in the streams today, so the areas we passed through that normally have a small waterfall or two were nearly dry today but still very enjoyable.

Elevation changes were gradual throughout the route, with no serious ascents or descents to challenge the group, given today’s overall favorable conditions.

There was a small but pleasant road walk section along Carter Creek Rd that connected two sections of the hike route.

Many parts of this hike consisted of old logging roads, old driveways to long-gone residences, the ghosts of which persist in the still-present foundations and water wells. Dave B at the front of the hike, and Dave G acting as sweep, were good at sharing their knowledge of the area’s history with the group.

There was a slight amount of excitement at one point as the groups passing riled up some bees, with one dog and a couple of hikers getting the worst of it before the group was able to get through the area and away from the hive.

Warm welcome to Ali, Linda, Pedro and Zoe X on their first hike with the group!

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.

Sunday, August 25

Hammond Hill, Dryden

Hike report by Jim

Twenty-four hikers and three dogs met in the Town of Caroline in the large parking lot at the end of the maintained portion of Hammond Hill Rd, for a hike of the trail system in Hammond Hill State Forest. This was not one of our existing Hammond Hill hikes but a new route that I spliced together. Normally this hike is an out-and-back hike, but in the last year there have been some new blue blazed trails created in this state forest that I’ve been wanting to start working into some of our hikes and making a loop route for the hike, which I personally always prefer to an out-and-back hike. This was the first such revised hike I’ve led the group on.

Since there are some new trails on Hammond Hill that some people might not be familiar with, here is a link to the current map: https://dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/hammondhillsf.pdf

Today was a little warmer than recent days but still overall a very pleasant hiking day. Lots of sun on the open sections of trail, and the sections of trail under the forest canopy seemed noticeably cooler to me.

The group paused for a quick photo on the road and set off up the hill on the yellow #1 trail until we reached the Yellow #6 intersection. In the past we’ve turned to the right here, but today we turned left, hiking until we reached the intersection with Yellow # 3.After a short distance on Yellow #3 the group arrived at the new Blue #3 trail, which loops around one of the higher peaks in the state forest before coming out on the seasonal portion of Canaan Rd. I pre-hiked the new Blue #3 loop yesterday: it’s a nice walk through the stands of pine trees that are among my favorite surroundings in any forest we hike in, and while its shorter than many of the existing trails, it’s a nice addition to the trail system in this state forest.

Walking a short distance down Canaan Rd the group soon turned onto the Yellow #6 trail, which has historically been among my favorite sections of this state forest due to the trail passing through some nice sections of pine trees.

The hikers turned onto the Blue #1 trail, which led to the seasonal portion of Hammond Hill Rd. The group walked the seasonal road back to the parking lot, arriving at the cars about fifteen minutes early. The first time I lead the group on a new route its often difficult to get the hike time down exact due to the varied hiking speeds of everyone within the group. I will work at amending this route in the future.

To use up the remaining fifteen minutes hikers turned onto the red blazed trail that leads to the Roy Park Preserve, for a quick out and back trail section that some people said was their favorite part of the morning. That section of trail can often be quite muddy and swampy during the rainy season, but today it was nearly completely dry with a nice layer of pine needles underfoot.

We shared the trails today with a couple of trail runners who we encountered multiple times over the course of the morning. Other than those runners we had the trails to ourselves on what was a beautiful day to be in the woods.

Warm welcome to Barbara, Mark, Mel, Ifor, Kim and canine hikers Willie and Gideon on their firsts hike with the group! There was also a late arriving male hiker who I didn’t get a chance to speak to until the very end of the hike, so I did not get your name.

View Leigh Ann’s photo album.