Hello Hikers!
Wed Feb 10
Report and photo by Jim
Level Green Road, Caroline — road walk
Three hikers met on Level Green Rd where the FLT crosses
The snowpack on the trail was relatively fresh and un-compacted, which would have made for a difficult hike without skis or snowshoes. Instead, we did a road walk of the surrounding area.
Hikers headed Southerly on Level Green Rd before turning Easterly onto Goodrich Hill Rd
It was a clear and sunny day, and as we walked down Goodrich Hill Rd the view of the valley below and the opposite hillside was quite enjoyable.
At the bottom of the hill Goodrich Hill Rd merges onto Blackman Hill Rd. The group followed this to the bridge that crosses into Tioga County.
Once in Tioga County the group crossed West Creek Rd and began climbing Jewett Hill Rd until it was time to turn around and return to the cars.
There were a few other people out enjoying the beautiful day, including Lucy G and a friend snowshoeing, another small group of hikers and a wagon train of snowmobilers who passed us at one point as they raced up Goodrich Hill RD.
Other than a short period of chilling wind it was a beautiful day to be out for a walk.
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Sat Feb 13
Hike report and five photos by Jim
Upper Treman SP — park trails and nearby roads
Eight hikers and two dogs met in the parking lot of Upper Robert Treman State Park.
I had done some preliminary exploration and found that trailheads on Woodard and elsewhere appeared to be untrodden.
I did find that the Rim Trail was open and had a well-compacted footpath through the snow.
The group set off up the Rim Trail, enjoying the play of light and shadows through the trees over the fresh snow. Eventually the group arrived at the Lucifer Falls overlook, where we found further progress impeded by the locked gate at the head of the staircase.
We enjoyed the view of the frozen falls with barely a hit of flowing water still visible under a sheath of ice that could be seen extending far up the footpath on the opposite side of the creek.
After posing for an obligatory Stephen-esque group shot, the group turned around and began making our way back up the Rim Trail.
We soon found a late arriving 9th Ithaca Hiker who had followed the group up the trail.
Returning to the parking lot, the group jumped onto the CCC trail, which was slightly less compacted than the Rim Trail, but not terribly less so. Making our way to the other end of that trail the group passed over the new Fishkill Creek bridge to arrive at Butternut Creek RD. The group followed that road to where the FLT veers off into the woods again, which led us back to Thomas Rd
Taking Thomas Rd back to the Rim Trail, the group retraced our earlier steps back to the parking lot.
Finding ourselves back at the cars a little early, a couple of us chose to walk Woodard Rd to near Stone House Rd to make up the allotted hiking time.
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Five photos by Cian
You can see Cian’s complete photo album here
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Sun Feb 14
Report and one photo by Jim
Rail trail from Dryden to Freeville
Eight hikers and three dogs met on Springhouse Rd in the Town of Dryden, for a walk of the Dryden-Freeville Rail Trail.
Hikers set off towards Freeville under a sullen sky that sent a few random snowflakes our way. Much different than the clear blue skies with wisps of clouds on Saturdays hike.
As with the Saturday hike at Robert Treman, the walkable trail consisted of a single narrow beaten track through the snow, flanked in some areas by snowshoe or ski tracks and the occasional tracks of some animal or brave hardy solitary walker. Stepping off this narrow track of compacted snow resulted in a quick shift of the hikers balance as they would sink into the softer snow along the trail.
Hikers crossed George Rd, paused briefly to admire the view across the valley, and continued on towards Freeville past the lands of the William George Agency.
It was a relief to me to finally reach the paved portion of the road that services the near-by sewage treatment plant. The group walked the paved road to Railroad Street ( Rte 38 ) in the Village of Freeville, before returning to the single width track through the snow to re-trace our steps to our vehicles.
I found on the return trip that temperatures seemed to have warmed up just enough to start loosening up the compacted snow and make it slightly slushy under-foot, as if we were walking through a sandy beach.
The group passed at various times a couple of cross-country skiers and dog walkers. Overall I was disappointed that a fairly nice fitness trail of this caliber that is so closely situated to many Town residents has seemingly been used as little as this one has since the snowfall of ten days ago.
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Five photos by Cian
You can see Cian’s complete photo album here