Hello Hikers!
Wed Nov 4
This report was written by Jim
Interloken Trail from Parmenter Road south, Finger Lakes National Forest
On Wednesday November 4th a total of 10 hikers and 3 dogs met on Parmenter Rd in Seneca County for a South-bound hike on part of the Interloken Trail led by Mark S.
Soon after starting the hike a few of the hikers and the dogs opted to do an alternate road hike in the area. The remainder of the group pressed onwards.
Hiking through the woods, the group eventually reached open fields with a good view of Seneca Lake in the distance. With no cows in the fields to contend with, the group continued South, crossing into Schuyler County at Townline RD.
Shortly after that, the group reached Teeter Pond. After a brief observation period at the pond, the group turned North towards our vehicles, opting to hike the No-Tan-Takto trail that runs alongside that portion of the Interloken Trail. Upon reaching Wilkens Rd the group decided that a return to woods walking was a more desirable route of travel. We did a short road walk to the West, again jumping into the Interloken Trail for the last leg of the hike back to Parameter Rd
Weather conditions for the hike were good. Temperatures were pleasant. It was interesting seeing some of the fields and woods portions of this hike in their fall phase; I’ve previously seen this section of the Interloken during mush wetter summer months when the undergrowth was in full summer bloom, but never in the fall time period as during this hike.
Overall it was a very enjoyable hike, with terrain and elevation changes that are not too difficult for those who might just be starting to hike area trails.
Thanks to Mark S for leading the hike, and everyone who came to hike that day.
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Sat Nov 7
This report was written by Jim
Ski trails, Hammond Hill SF, Dryden
Hikers met at the parking lot on Hammond Hill RD for one last hike of the trails there before winter closes in on us.
We were far from the only ones who made the decision to use the Hammond Hill area on Saturday, as the parking lot had many horse trailers, trucks and passenger vehicles when I arrived. We passed many dog walkers and bicyclists over the course of our hike, although I tried to steer clear of the more popular trails.
Todays Ithaca Hikers group included four entirely new people for this hike. Welcome to all of you, and hope to see you on future hikes!
The group initially set off with twenty hikers and two dogs..
An additional Ithaca Hiker and their dog arrived too late to find the group and did their own hike, later catching up to us after the hike at Hopshire
Just a reminder to everyone, unless we are hiking an entirely new area that the group is unfamiliar with, we start the hikes promptly.
The temperatures were higher than expected, and soon some of the hikers were down to short sleeves. Hard to believe that just a week ago we were enduring our first snow accumulation of the season.
As we walked the yellow trails to the seasonal portion of Canaan Rd, the trail behind me was alive with the shuffling of feet through the freshly fallen leaves and the buzz of voices. The leaf-fall was so new in many places today that had there been no markers on trees along the way, picking out the trail in some places would have been a bit of a task for someone new to the Hill. The tall stands of trees the trail passes through before reaching Canaan Rd are among my favorite locations on Hammond Hill, and today did not disappoint.
Upon reaching Canaan Rd the group crossed over that road , continuing along more yellow trails. We doubled back to Canaan RD on trails that offered a wonderful view down some steep slopes. The views of the downhill slopes along this section are often concealed by the leaves in summer, but there are no such problems this time of year
Upon returning to Canaan RD the group walked the road to near the intersection of Canaan and Red Man, where we walked the Rabbit Run snowmobile trail to its intersection with the blue hiking trails at the top of the hill. A short out and back towards the South to kill a few minutes, and we soon turned North again to walk back to the cars.
Overall it was an excellent day to hike, one of the best we’ve probably had in a month or so.
More photos:
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Sun Nov 8
This report was written by Jim
Logan Road, Finger Lakes National Forest — FLT east
Twelve hikers and one dog met on Logan Rd in Schuyler County, for a hike of the Finger Lakes Trail.
The weather wasn’t as pleasant as it had been the previous day, but still excellent for the second week of November.
Hikers struck out on the FLT in an Easterly direction, as trail use in the Westerly direction is shut down for hunting season.
The first 30 minutes was a steady climb alongside a pleasant ravine. At the top of the hill we encountered a junction with the Southside Trail, but continued on the FLT.
The next half mile was a steady, undulating series of small creek beds and gradual up-hill and down-hill portions for another thirty minutes, until we reached Burnt Hill RD.
After crossing Burnt Hill Rd we continued on a short section of the co-located FLT and Interloken Trail, until the FLT veered off to the South.
This section of the FLT was interesting to me because the air was thick with falling leaves, and the noise of the leaves hitting the forest floor around me was quite evident.
At the same time the low bushes around me were a mix of deep reds, yellows and some that were even a deep green, as of yet unaffected by the seasonal leaf changes.
Occasionally passing under a gauntlet of trees as the trail cut a path between the trunks was also visually pleasing.
Passing Dunham lean-to, the group managed to avoid twisting an ankles on the unsteady streambed rocks that lay in wait under the fresh leaf cover, as the trail followed a dry streambed.
As the FLT returned to Burnt Hill RD, some of our group opted to road-walk North on Burnt Hill, while others opted to walk entirely back to their cars from that turn-around point on the FLT. The group on Burnt Hill further split up as some chose to continue road-walking on Wycoff Rd for a more direct route back to their cars. Others chose to continue on Burnt Hill to the first FLT crossing, and return to Logan RD along our original route.
There was a moderate amount of other trail users today, but nothing like Hammond Hill was the previous day.
More photos