Hello Hikers!
Wed April 1
Mount Pleasant Road from Baker Hill Road to Midline Road, Dryden
We got an unexpected benefit from all the snow and ice in the woods this winter — forcing us to seek out unfamiliar places to walk — we ended up discovering some really fantastic scenery — and the sights along this latest country road were the best of all, in my opinion.
It was a lucky combination — a dramatically grey sky that turned sunny with beautiful puffy clouds all of a sudden — huge expanses of snow with a fringe of trees in the distance — rolling terrain that created wonderful perspectives — it added up to a bit of a surreal look that I just loved.
Mount Pleasant Road goes past the Cornell Observatory, and the view from the road right at the observatory is amazingly far-reaching, of course — but I thought some of the other scenes along this road were more interesting —
This stretch has a reputation for being windy, and evidently there’s lots of blowing snow that has to be plowed often, because there were enormous walls of frozen mounded-up snow along the edge of the road in some spots …. created a really odd effect — I got Vicki and Jack to climb up to the top — Vicki did a little dancing and Jack did some posing — I also got atmospheric mug shots of Rich, Vito and Norm that reflect some of true feeling along the road – click here to see the photos online.
Official head count: 24 hikers, three dogs
Click here to see seven more photos of the walk online.
Saturday April 4
Hunt Hill Road, Irish Settlement Road and Hurd Road , Dryden
Classic early-spring morning, blustery, the sky bouncing back and forth from clouds to gorgeous sun, a couple of super-brief snow squalls …. birds singing, the streams and ditches brimming with snow-melt ….
These are quiet country roads with some rural touches – but this is Cornell-professor, well-to-do territory too ….
lots of big houses and fancy houses all along the way — great fun to gawk at
Official head count: 12 hikers, three dogs
Click here to see six more photos online.
Sunday April 5
Fisher Settlement Road, Danby, east to Travor Road
Beautiful mild dark snowy morning in Danby SF
We finally got back into the woods — still too messy for walking on the Finger Lakes Trail but the snowmobile trail that runs through the state forest was decent — just a little bumpy — but a number of us broke through the top crust at times — no serious damage reported but if you’re unlucky this can really mess up your ankle or knee
I’ve enjoyed all the road walks we’ve done while the snow in the woods was so deep, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm for walking on roads — and everyone was happy to be out in the pine woods on such a gorgeous atmospheric morning
Official head count: 18 hikers, one dog
Surprisingly big turnout for Hobit’s Easter lunch got-together after the hike, considering it was one of the major family holidays of the year — we had a great time — that’s Emmie, age six —
Click here to see seven more shots online