Wednesday, July 10
Robinson Hollow State Forest
Hike report by Leigh Ann
Eleven hikers met where the FLT crosses Harford Road, and we headed south for an out-and-back hike. The weather was increasingly tropical. Given that the remnants of Hurricane Beryl were moving in, and the heat index was expected to be about 90 by 11:30, we decided at the outset to turn around early and not break any land speed records. We turned around at 10:20 and returned at 11:10 after about 3.9 miles and 700 feet of elevation gain and were completely happy about ending early. At the end of the hike, we hung out chatting at the cars for a good 20 minutes, not moving around much.
Saturday, July 13
Westward on the FLT from South Danby Road
Hike report by Jim
Nineteen hikers and three dogs met on South Danby Rd for a westerly out-and-back hike on the FLT through Danby State Forest. This is hike # 22 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-22
The day started out sunny and warm, particularly in the more exposed areas such as Fisher Settlement Road and some more open areas the trail footpath passed through without the benefit of a forest canopy overhead. On the return leg of the hike a small breeze had begun to blow, which made things more enjoyable.
Once under the trees it was a mottled mix of shadow and light on the forest floor. Very enjoyable to pass through, although the effect is not obvious in the photos, as my camera opted to start using the flash in the more shadowed portion of trail.
There were a few blow-downs along the way, a mix of trees laying across the Trail or suspended in mid-air. Fewer in number than I expected, given the weather conditions that Danby had earlier this week
Normally the section of FLT just west of Fisher Settlement Rd is quite muddy, but that section was mostly mud-free, the ground in some places having at most the consistency of cookie dough. I’ve included a picture of the only standing water I saw during the entire hike.
The hikers broke down into faster and slower groups, the faster group being led by Leigh Ann and reaching Curtis Rd before turning around for the return leg of the hike.
Warm welcome to Nathan on his first hike with the group!
Sunday, July 14
Potomac Rd trails, Finger Lakes National Forest
Hike report by Jim
Eighteen hikers and one dog met on Potomac Rd, for an out-and- back hike in the Finger Lakes National Forest led by Jack V. This is hike # 42-1 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-42.
The day was very sunny and warm, but thankfully the heat wasn’t much noticed except for the open areas around the ponds we passed along the way.
Jack took the group on a somewhat looping route that took us through parts of the Interloken Trail as well as a couple of other trails in the vicinity
We shared the trail with a mix of bicyclists, dog walkers and a small group of overnight tent campers we passed early in the hike.
Trail conditions were generally good, although we did pass through a few areas that had more mud than I have seen on any recent hikes. The group did pass under one fairly large blowdown tree along our route
Since my last hike here many of the broken puncheon sections that I’ve seen over several years of hiking here have been replaced, which really added to my enjoyment of the route. Some of those old sections were downright dangerous to traverse, especially in rainy conditions.
