Hello Hikers!
Wednesday Aug 19
Sledding hill, north end of Taughannock Falls State Park
We’ve been coming here every six months or so on Wednesdays for years trying to figure out how to complete what looks on the map like a very nice loop hike — never could figure it out, always had to turn back in confusion — finally did it — thanks to new hiker Mark (foreground), who comes here all the time and knows his way around.
It’s a delightful walk — starts in an area of extensive fields, some mowed more or less periodically, some that haven’t been cut in quite a while — there isn’t the drama of the best fields we routinely hike through like Lindsay Parsons or Layen Road — but the effect is very pleasing in a low-key way
After a while you get into an area of woods — some very nice action here, I’d rate it good to excellent in quality
No trip to Taughannock is complete without some kind of look at the falls, even though we’ve all seen them a million times — the overlook area where I took this shot is currently a big mess while they’re building a new visitors’ center — there was some suspicion among the hikers that this will become an excuse for charging money to park there
Official head count: 14 hikers, six dogs.
The reason we always get lost here is that the trail is full of forking paths that aren’t marked — I just realized in writing this report that there’s a new map that actually shows all the forks and side trails (dashed lilnes), so now we can get around here ourselves any time, even when Mark’s not around.
Click here to see seven more shots by me online.
Saturday Aug 22
Taughannock Falls SP, rim trail and cook-out
Back in the park three days later — lovely cool morning, too cool to swim as we’d intended, but perfect for walking around and having a cook-out
One mishap — two hikers got stung, one of them twice — otherwise, great fun
Official head count: 41 people, seven dogs (not everyone did both the hike and the cook-out)
You can see eight more photos by me online here.
You can see more photos of the cook-out by Jack V online here.
Sunday Aug 23
Carter Creek Loop, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area
Another beautiful cool morning
One of the hikers was quizzing me about this walk the day before — how good is it? would it be worth doing? — I had to be a little vague because I’d only done it once before, and my memory was a bit blurry — anyway, now I can say for the record, this is an excellent hike, very beautiful
Dave brought knowledge of four Connecticut Hill hikes with him when he started hiking with our group last fall — all four are technically illegal — they follow convoluted ski trails created without the state’s permission, and pretty much impossible to figure out unless you come here all the time — legally, the huge Connecticut Hill WMA is mainly intended for hunting and trapping — creating and maintaining trails for hiking and skiing is a big no-no
Anyway, it’s full of great scenery and I’m delighted we have someone to lead us around here
Official head count: 26 hikers, six dogs
To my mind, a perfect hike is one that finishesup in precisely two hours flat — Dave brought us in at 1:59 — yeah!
You can see eight more photos by me online here.