Wednesday, March 20
Mulholland Wildflower Preserve
Hike report by Greg
Once Casey had talked 2 police into parking their cars illegally so the rest of us could park legally, 13 of us with no new hikers, dogs or cats were ready to hike.
A beautiful day again. My voiced concern that this hike would be too short led to Nancy L suggesting extending the hike into terrain I had thought too difficult. With unanimous agreement we were off. Though one hiker departed early we still returned with 13 hikers. How could that be?
Ten minutes shy of completion we encountered a very late hiker – a former deputy sheriff. Hugs all around and now with our new leader we arrived Intact 10 minutes late to our cars.
Saturday, March 23
Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area
Hike report by Nancy Lorr
Dave Gislason graciously led this hike after expertly grooming the trails. Nine hardy hikers gathered on a cold snowy morning at the Lloyd Starks Boylan junction on Connecticut Hill. Snow was lightly falling rendering the roads a little slippery. On my way I was chastened by the sight of a car off the road which reminded me to take my time getting there. There were plenty of rescue vehicles converging upon it. The trails were quite passable since the snow was about 2 to 3 inches and quite soft. The first part of the hike went through a quite active beaver area where they are currently chop/chewing down trees to expand the dammed ponds. Next we climbed uphill in the territory between Boylan and Connecticut Hill roads finally arriving at Connecticut Hill road close to where it meets Tower Rd. We crossed the road to follow a trail which crosses many small streams called the seven streams section of the hike. All were picturesque winding through the snow. This was followed by a stretch on the FLT before turning down a trail taking us to a large pond. Normally there is an escape route around the pond by crossing over the pond outlet and walking the dike to the road but this time the outlet was flushing a torrent of water due to the efforts of the beavers and the increased precipitation. No one wanted to quit hiking at this point so we turned north to visit a little pond and some streams in gently undulating terrain. Finally we crossed an alternate stream to make our way to the cars.
View Nancy Lorr’s photo album.
Sunday, March 24
Potato Hill State Forest, Caroline
Hike report by Nancy Lorr
20 hikers and 1 dog gathered on a wintry spring morning at the junction of the Finger Lakes Trail with Level Green Rd to hike eastward into the Potato Hill State Forest. Parking was a challenge. There was a pull off accommodating a few cars. The rest had to park along the road which did not have a wide curb. The trail had a blanket of snow but was somewhat wet with several challenges to keeping your feet dry. On the first portion of the hike in Potato Hill State Forest from Level green to Blackman Hill road, it was quite woodsy with beautiful snow laden conifers. Crossing the road, we entered the new Summerland Preserve. After a brief hike uphill through trees we emerged into a field following the markers to a summit graced with an attractive but snowy bench and a good view. The trail proceeds into the woods again and soon plunges downhill making its way toward route 79. I’m pretty sure some of the hikers made it there (lol). On the way back several of us took a short side trip to a pond that is picturesque in all seasons.
