Hello Hikers!
Wed Oct 28
This report was written by Jim
Carter Creek Road, Connecticut Hill WMA
On Wednesday October 28th, 9 hikers and 3 dogs met at the southern end of Carter Creek Rd in the Town of Newfield.
The maintained road ends here after a local bridge washed out several years ago. The road surface beyond the closure is still in good condition, having not been declared abandoned by the town. The closed portion of road still services a privately owned hunting camp on one side of the washed-out bridge, while the road on the opposite side of the bridge provides access to a Cornell Natural Area.
The weather was less than optimal, with a fairly steady drizzle on-going as the hike started.
The hike followed Carter Creek Rd past the road closure and along Carter Creek itself. Upon reaching the closed bridge that crosses the creek the group opted to do a streambed crossing in the nearly-dry stream rather than risk crossing the mossy and slick canted bridge surface.
After crossing Carter Creek the road continues on with a modest incline.
The group turned onto Cabin RD and continued at a steady pace up the gradual incline. On Cabin Rd there is a spot or two with some decent vistas of the hills and ridgeline on the opposite side of Carter Creek. While we were past peak colors on hike day, the wild assortment of leaf colors and the misty air quality gave the group an excellent view of that area.
We passed a couple of small mowed fields and continued climbing Cabin Rd to near the terminus with Connecticut Hill Rd. Before reaching that intersection the group turned off Cabin Rd and entered a short section of the Finger Lakes Trail. This offered us the opportunity to do some hiking on an actual trail versus a pure road walk.
This short section led us through a very short meadow, but was otherwise a woods walk until it came out onto Connecticut Hill Rd.
By this time the rain had stopped and the air was clear of the mist and ambience that we had enjoyed on the outward leg of the hike.
Once the hikers reconvened as a single unit on Connecticut Hill RD w hiked to the intersection with Cabin Rd and returned to the cars.
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Sat Nov 31
This report was written by Jim
Halloween walk — two urban cemeteries and other close-in sights
18 hikers and three dogs met in the Ithaca High School parking lot for a holiday-appropriate urban walk of the area cemeteries and other local properties.
It was a cool day but not uncomfortably so.
Several hikers had opted to hike in some form of alternate holiday themed garb from their normal hiking outfits.
The group quickly ascended the main road that runs through Lakeview Cemetery situated above the Ithaca High School
After emerging from the upper portion of that cemetery, a short detour to Sunset Park provided the group with a quick photo opportunity before continuing on to the Ithaca City Cemetery via Stewart Avenue.
The hikers entered the upper entrance to the Ithaca City Cemetery, passing through one of the tree-filled and shaded side roads to that property before arriving at the lower part of University Ave. Hikers walked to the bottom of University Avenue and climbed the stairs of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail.
Once on Eddy Street the group travelled a short distance along Highland Place and Williams Street to return to to Stewart Avenue.
Norm suggested a small detour from the planned route which again took the group through the Ithaca City Cemetery and back to University Avenue. Climbing University Avenue, the group turned onto Lake Street and returned to the high school parking lot.
It was good to have a couple of our city hikers join us again for this hike.
This was a hike that was a little out of the norm for the group, but everyone seemed to have a good time.
More photos:
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Sunday Nov 1
Willseyville Creek valley east of Ridgeway Road, Caroline
Very nice morning — not too cool, cloudy, a rain storm coming at us on the doppler radar ….
The regular trail downhill through the woods was closed so we had to do the first leg of the walk on Ridgeway Road — in fact that’s not really a hardship because the road is extremely quiet, and the scenery is good. The road walk down the hill takes 10 minutes.
This is part two of the walk, up the old railroad bed through the Willseyville Creek swamp. This leg of the hike was greatly improved recently by a brush clearing operation that our group helped with. But there is still a fringe of scrubby brush along the side of the railroad trail that obscures the view into the swamp, which looks like this:
About a half-hour into the walk, you leave the railroad bed and head north through a series of beautiful fields, on the way to the back edge of Shindagin Hollow SF
It started to rain at 11, exactly as the NWS had suggested it would. But it wasn’t hard, or unpleasant.
The rain created some really great atmospherics on the distant hills.
Official head count: 20H, four D
More photos: