Wednesday, October 16
Sessions Hill Rd & Forbes Rd, Homer
Hike report by Steve Schwartz
Leader: Steve Schwartz. 14 hikers (including 6 hikers from the Onondaga Chapter of the ADK).
The hike was followed by a tour and lunch at Beck Equipment hosted by hiker Roger Beck.
This is a loop hike of about 4 miles on very lightly traveled dirt roads with a short paved section. For the most part this is easy walking on level terrain with only two moderate hills. The roads offer open scenes of the sweeping rural countryside of Cortland County. The views were especially striking with the fall colors at peak. The weather was threatening with glints of sunshine between the light rain and wind with temperatures in the low 40s. Basically it was a blustery fall day with more threats of rain than actual downpours.
After the hike we caravaned down the hill following Roger the short distance to Beck Equipment in Preble. We had an informative and interesting tour viewing how they repair heavy construction equipment in the massive facility there. Roger provided a sumptuous repast of ham with all the fixins, pizza, coffee, and much else. Thank you Roger! Everyone had a wonderful time.
Saturday, October 19
FTL from Schuyler County Veterans Memorial Park, Alpine
Hike report by Leigh Ann
Twelve hikers and two dogs enjoyed a spectacularly shiny day on the FLT. We went from the Schuyler County Veteran’s Park to where the wooden bridge used to be in Hendershot Gulf. This hike is about 5.5 miles round trip and is almost flat, with about 275 feet of elevation gain. It is rewarding any time of year, as it goes along fields, a bog, through forests, and along Hendershot Gulf. The bright blue sky contrasted mightily with the peak fall foliage.
Sunday, October 20
Spur trail from upper Lick Brook/Townline Road to upper Buttermilk Falls SP/Yaple Road
Hike report by Jim
Nineteen hikers and two dogs met on Townline Rd in the Town of Ithaca for an out and back hike of the Thayer Preserve and the FLT spur trail into Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park. This is hike # 11 on our list of regular hike locations.
After an initial photograph the hikers set off on the red blazed portion of Toms Trail within the Thayer Preserve. This involves a couple of short uphill sections that eventually come to Sandbank Rd where the actual kiosk for the Preserve and a small parking area is located. Continuing onwards, the group passed by the junction with the blue blazed section of Toms Trail that we would touch later in the hike.
Beyond that trail junction the footpath crosses an open field behind South Hill Cidery before the trail plunges back into the woods before coming out on a utility right of way. By now the sun was out and the day was warming up nicely. The group hiked the right of way to West King Rd; from there a short road walk brought hikers to the orange blazed FLT spur trail that passes through some nice sections of woods and a couple of open field sections that were well along in their transition to fall colors on today’s hike. The last time we did this section of trail it was very much under water or suffering from heavy mud, forcing the group that day to road walk on Yaple Rd. No such problem existed today, and while the field sections could probably use one more mowing, it was a great improvement from the last hike here.
The hikers reached Yaple Rd earlier than normal, so we crossed the small bridge on Comfort Rd and entered the state park for a short hike to Treman Lake. We turned around at the lake and with Leigh Ann now in the lead we re-traced our earlier route.
Reaching the junction with the blue blazed trail we turned onto that section of trail, crossed the dry Lick Brook stream bed, and completed the loop of Toms Trail that brings hikers back to Townline Rd a short distance from the cars on the opposite side of the bridge located at the trailhead. That last section of trail is always one of my favorites in this area; while it doesn’t offer the same degree of awe that you get while hiking the trails on the opposite side of Townline Rd above the falls in the Sweedler Preserve, this section does offer some very enjoyable views as you hike the trail above the creek bed before it reached Townline Rd.
