Hello Hikers!
Wed March 7
Snowmobile trail from Fisher Settlement Road east to Travor Road, South Danby
Official head count: 19H, three D
Sat March 10
Deputron Hollow Road and Gilbert Road, Danby
You get a wonderful sense of driving out into the country when you head up E Miller Road from 96B to this meet-up — the road climbs steadily past picturesque farms and broad fields, and the view to the south and west gets steadily more sweeping and dramatic
Deputron Hollow Road gets hardly any traffic, and I was very surprised to see a churned-up mess of slippery ice, mud and frozen puddles when we arrived at the junction of Marsh and Deputron
At first it seemed like we would have to abort our walk — then people began to pick their way ahead carefully
We began to see extensive signs of logging and we realized the mess was created by this logging operation
This is the junction of Deputron and Gilbert — we were beyond the logging area and the footing was fine
There’s a really beautiful deep gorge that runs along the south side of Deputron for much of the way — it looked spectacular with the snow cover
This is what churned up the road — it’s called a skidder and it’s quite a big piece of equipment
Aside from the messy conditions underfoot, the walk was great
Official head count: 23H, five D
More photos:
Sunday March 11
Potato Hill SF, Caroline — Level Green Road SW toward Old 76 Road
This was the first time we walked for more than a short distance on this trail. It’s a decent stretch for a hike, though a little tiring — there are significant uphills in both directions — made even worse by having to plow through the snow. There’s a lovely stretch of uncluttered hardwood forest, and a lot of low scrubby growth that clearly used to be fields, and has a distinctive atmospheric feeling. A good bit of mud and water, both streams and little rivulets running down the middle of the footpath. The walk through Potato Hill SF on the other side of Level Green Road is easier and more varied — there are several areas of beautiful dark pines, for instance — but this direction has its charms too.
Official head count: 22H, six D