Wednesday, August 21
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park and Cass Park, Ithaca
Hike report by Jim
Seven hikers and two dogs met in the Town of Ithaca at the Allan H Treman State Marine Park for a hike of trails within the state marine park as well as the Cayuga Waterfront Trail towards Cass Park. This is hike # 53-1 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-53.
The morning was a mix of brooding clouds and sunlight overhead as the group met in the parking lot of the marina, between the piers and the dog park. The forecast called for some rain, but the group hoped that we would miss the worst of the weather during our hike. This hope proved to be in vain, as we encountered some serious downpours midway through the hike as the group reached the Childrens Garden in Cass Park.
The first hour of the hike was uneventful; the group completed a loop of the trail along the shore of Cayuga Lake on the north point of the marina. Our route soon took us to the Waterfront Trail, which we followed along the flood control inlet to Cass Park.
Reaching the Childrens Garden at the base of the Black Diamond Trail, we encountered the first of several intermittent downpours that forced us to seek shelter under the park pavilions. These downpours lessened for a while before returning with even greater intensity and prolonging our pause under the protection of the pavilions.
Eventually after around twenty minutes the rain lessened and seemed to dissipate to the point that the group decided that the better course of action was to conclude the hike early, and so we made our way back to the marina via another part of the Waterfront Trail.
Thanks to the dedicated core group of hikers who braved the elements today!
Saturday, August 24
Ravine, Damsite, & Homesites Loop, Connecticut Hill, Newfield
Hike report by Jim
Twenty-five hikers and three dogs met in the Town of Newfield for a loop hike in the vicinity of Doll Hill within the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, led by Dave B and Dave G. This is hike # 46-N on our regular hikes list: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-46.
This was perfect hiking weather, sunny and warm, but not excessively so. The temperatures were especially enjoyable under the forest canopy, where we hiked through a mix of sunlight and shadow for most of our route. The two Daves had pre-hiked the area several days before leading this hike, and their efforts in cutting some blowdowns and trimming back the undergrowth along the way were much appreciated by the group.
Trail conditions were good over the entire route, which consisted of a large loop on and around Doll Hill, with stops along the way at a couple of the old house foundations and a former dam on Carter Creek. There wasn’t much water flowing in the streams today, so the areas we passed through that normally have a small waterfall or two were nearly dry today but still very enjoyable.
Elevation changes were gradual throughout the route, with no serious ascents or descents to challenge the group, given today’s overall favorable conditions.
There was a small but pleasant road walk section along Carter Creek Rd that connected two sections of the hike route.
Many parts of this hike consisted of old logging roads, old driveways to long-gone residences, the ghosts of which persist in the still-present foundations and water wells. Dave B at the front of the hike, and Dave G acting as sweep, were good at sharing their knowledge of the area’s history with the group.
There was a slight amount of excitement at one point as the groups passing riled up some bees, with one dog and a couple of hikers getting the worst of it before the group was able to get through the area and away from the hive.
Warm welcome to Ali, Linda, Pedro and Zoe X on their first hike with the group!
Sunday, August 25
Hammond Hill, Dryden
Hike report by Jim
Twenty-four hikers and three dogs met in the Town of Caroline in the large parking lot at the end of the maintained portion of Hammond Hill Rd, for a hike of the trail system in Hammond Hill State Forest. This was not one of our existing Hammond Hill hikes but a new route that I spliced together. Normally this hike is an out-and-back hike, but in the last year there have been some new blue blazed trails created in this state forest that I’ve been wanting to start working into some of our hikes and making a loop route for the hike, which I personally always prefer to an out-and-back hike. This was the first such revised hike I’ve led the group on.
Since there are some new trails on Hammond Hill that some people might not be familiar with, here is a link to the current map: https://dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/hammondhillsf.pdf
Today was a little warmer than recent days but still overall a very pleasant hiking day. Lots of sun on the open sections of trail, and the sections of trail under the forest canopy seemed noticeably cooler to me.
The group paused for a quick photo on the road and set off up the hill on the yellow #1 trail until we reached the Yellow #6 intersection. In the past we’ve turned to the right here, but today we turned left, hiking until we reached the intersection with Yellow # 3.After a short distance on Yellow #3 the group arrived at the new Blue #3 trail, which loops around one of the higher peaks in the state forest before coming out on the seasonal portion of Canaan Rd. I pre-hiked the new Blue #3 loop yesterday: it’s a nice walk through the stands of pine trees that are among my favorite surroundings in any forest we hike in, and while its shorter than many of the existing trails, it’s a nice addition to the trail system in this state forest.
Walking a short distance down Canaan Rd the group soon turned onto the Yellow #6 trail, which has historically been among my favorite sections of this state forest due to the trail passing through some nice sections of pine trees.
The hikers turned onto the Blue #1 trail, which led to the seasonal portion of Hammond Hill Rd. The group walked the seasonal road back to the parking lot, arriving at the cars about fifteen minutes early. The first time I lead the group on a new route its often difficult to get the hike time down exact due to the varied hiking speeds of everyone within the group. I will work at amending this route in the future.
To use up the remaining fifteen minutes hikers turned onto the red blazed trail that leads to the Roy Park Preserve, for a quick out and back trail section that some people said was their favorite part of the morning. That section of trail can often be quite muddy and swampy during the rainy season, but today it was nearly completely dry with a nice layer of pine needles underfoot.
We shared the trails today with a couple of trail runners who we encountered multiple times over the course of the morning. Other than those runners we had the trails to ourselves on what was a beautiful day to be in the woods.
Warm welcome to Barbara, Mark, Mel, Ifor, Kim and canine hikers Willie and Gideon on their firsts hike with the group! There was also a late arriving male hiker who I didn’t get a chance to speak to until the very end of the hike, so I did not get your name.
