Hello Hikers!
Wed Oct 14
This report was written by Jim
Treman SP from Route 13 west on the FLT
Eleven hikers and four dogs met in the parking area near the junction of State Routes 13 and 34/96, for a hike of the Finger Lakes Trail in the area of lower Robert Treman State Park.
The day had started out noticeably cool, but by the time the hike started things had warmed up to a comfortable level.
The walk through lower Treman was uneventful, the freshly fallen leaves crunching underfoot as the group climbed the hills and progressed towards upper Treman.
The sun filtered through the leaves that were still on the trees, but at no point did it seem that the light intensity was uncomfortable. On the climb from lower Treman the group encountered only one other hiker/ trail runner on the FLT.
The majority of our group turned around after an hour and headed back to their cars. Two hikers continued on to the Rim Trail, taking that to Upper Treman and then hiking the length of the Gorge Trail back to lower Treman. Both the portion of the Rim Trail that we hiked as well as the Gorge Trail saw a moderate level of other park patrons on the trails for being a mid-week hike.
The water in the stream in many spots we saw was quite clear, with the leaves floating on the surface creating some interesting shadows on the creek bed as everything moved with the current.
The two hikers arrived back at their cars about an hour later than normal compared to our normal hikes. The parking area we use beyond the bridge was still fairly full of other peoples vehicles, so we were clearly not the only group deciding to hike that area that day
I’m pretty happy with this hike over all. I was glad to see that the park system has been investing in a good amount of trail maintenance in recent years, with many areas of broken stonework that I recall on the Gorge trail in past years having been repaired.
If anyone else chooses to hike this area before the state closes the trails for the season, be aware that the water fountains have already been turned off for the year, so you should bring your own water supply with you.
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Sat Oct 17
This report was written by Jim
Shindagin Hollow SF — Shindagin Hollow Road east toward South Road and beyond on the FLT
The route I took on my drive to the trailhead passed over Irish Settlement Rd, where the fields were covered with the seasons first hard frost. Other hikers reported that their drive from Ithaca a little later in the morning on Slaterville RD had them passing through fields of mist.
I was standing at the trailhead waiting for the rest of the hikers to arrive , when the sun came over the hilltop and started warming the frosty leaf canopy in the trees around me. Soon the forest around me was filled with the sound of thawed frost falling to the ground as a sort of rainfall within the treeline. These are the sorts of sounds that get obscured when the larger group begins to assemble and the volume of hiker chatter obscures the background noises.
Other people were getting in some last minute outdoor recreation in the area; there were tent campers set up near our parking area, and the lean-to was occupied when we got there on the out-bound leg of our hike.
Streams near the trailhead and during the hike were still bone dry, although the stream water source at the lean-to had more water running than it did a month ago.
Seventeen hikers and six dogs met on Shindagin Hollow RD to hike to and beyond South RD. Of that number a couple of late arrivals never met up with the lead group of hikers, so from the start of the hike the group was fractured into two distinct clusters of hikers who had little interaction with each other. Trail conditions on some of the up-hills were a little treacherous due to the slick leaf cover and roots, but there were no falls or other ill effects from these conditions.
The early morning lighting made picking out some of the more worn blazes a little bit of an adventure in places, particularly when the fresh leaf covered caused the trail to disappear somewhat into the surrounding terrain. . A small trail re-route was enjoyed by the group on the outbound leg.
Upon reaching South Rd, the first group of hikers continued on, through a straight, mostly flat, section of trail that skirts along near-by fields. As the trail took a couple of 90 degree turns the group hit its turn-around time and re-traced its steps back down the trail without incident.
It’s my understanding that the second group of hikers turned around upon reaching South RD.
More photos:
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Sun Oct 18
This hike report was written by Jim
All photos in the report were taken by Tiger
Monkey Run Natural Area, south side of Fall Creek, Varna
18 hikers and 5 dogs met on Monkey Run Rd for a hike on the South side of Fall Creek through the Monkey Run Natural Area.
We were lucky to have several relatively new hikers and some long-absent Ithaca Hikers re-join us on the hike today.
This proved to be a popular destination today for others as well. Our group encountered multiple other trail users before during and after our hike.
Things started out a little cool temperature wise, but it was a comfortable hike throughout. We haven’t done this hike in some time now; I had delayed in choosing this for one of our hikes because of reports over the summer of a possibly rabid animal in the area. No animal encounters were made on the hike day.
This was a really comfortable hike terrain-wise; none of the hills are particularly strenuous, the forest surface covered with needles and fallen leaves is always pleasing to walk on, and the portions of the hike where the group crosses open fields near Rte 366 can be visually stunning as well on clear crisp days like today was.
The portions of the hike that travel alongside the steep precipices next to Fall Creek are always of particular interest to me, and todays hike was no exception.
The group paused as we always do alongside the streambed at one point before plunging back into the brush and tree cover to continue with the hike.
There was a little confusion on my part over one of the yellow blazed side trails towards the end that resulted in us doing a small extra circle, but ultimately we wound up back at the cars only a couple of minutes past our normal end time.
More photos: