Wednesday, February 12
FLT west from Burnt Hill Rd. to Satterly Hill Rd., Finger Lakes National Forest
Hike report by Jim
Seven hikers and one dog met on Burnt Hill Rd in Schuyler County for an out and back westerly hike on the Finger Lakes Trail. This is hike # 42-4 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-42 .
This hike location appears on FLT map sheet M15. Map sheets are available for purchase in paper or electronic formats at: https://fingerlakestrail.org/…/purchase-individual-maps/ . Purchase of the map sheets helps to defray the on-going costs associated with trail maintenance.
Leaving the parking area the first part of the hike is a steady downhill slog towards Logan Rd. We used to start this hike on Logan Rd, but a re-route of the FLT footpath beyond Satterly Hill Rd last year forced us to relocate our trailhead for this hike.
Trail conditions were good today; a few inches of snow, and only a few people had preceded us on the trail. There was a decent amount of small, downed trees and tree limbs on the trail, waiting for warmer weather and the local trail maintainer in the spring. There were a few slippery spots on the downhill section, but nothing too bad. We did take our time though. It took us a good forty minutes to reach Logan Rd, a section of trail that normally takes us half that time in summer months.
Because of our slower pace, once we reached Logan Rd the group agreed to turn around once we reached the Mulvaney bridge rather than climb the hill towards Satterly Hill Rd.
After crossing Logan Rd, we continued on the FLT. No hikers had been on this section of trail recently; the only tracks in the snow being numerous animal tracks. Following the edge of the open fields we soon returned to the woods. I like this particular section of trail as it runs through an area of woods that has little in the way of brush or saplings. Line of sight through the forest is more distant than what you might normally find in other forest trails.
The group reached the bridge, looked the area over for a minute and turned around to re-trace our route, now with Mark S in the lead for the return part of the hike.
The second half of the hike was uneventful, and we got back to the cars exactly on time.
For those tracking their FLT miles in order to qualify for a 2025 FLT 50 or FLT100 patch, today’s hike included 3.3 FLT miles.
Saturday, February 15
Shindagin Hollow Bike Trails
Hike report by Jim
Fifteen hikers and three dogs met on Braley Hill Rd in the Town of Caroline for a hike of the bike trails in Shindagin Hollow State Forest. This is hike # 28-3 on our regular hikes list: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-28. Actually, we ended up having to modify the hike described at that link. When I got to the parking lot, there was a note at the kiosk asking that hikers stay off of the groomed yellow and red bike trails, which make up part of the trail loop I had planned on hiking with the group today. To avoid any conflicts with the cyclists, I modified our route as we went, making a loop hike by linking the blue bike trails, a short section of the FLT, and ending our route with a road walk.
Today’s hike is displayed on FLT map sheet M18, available for purchase in paper or electronic formats at: :https://fingerlakestrail.org/store/maps-and-gps/purchase-individual-maps/ . Sale of the map sheets helps to defray on-going trail maintenance costs.
The group set off from the parking lot in a southerly direction on blue blazed trail B1. Trail conditions were lightly packed snow; I was expecting that the bicyclists would have compacted more of the snow into a firm footing for us to hike on. While the snow was somewhat compacted due to past hikers and bicyclists, it wasn’t as firm as I had expected.
Reaching blue blazed trail B4 we turned onto that bike trail, hiking in a south westerly direction until we reached the FLT. This section of the FLT is one that I haven’t led the group on in a while, and its in some serious need of refreshed blazing. The group hiked in a westerly direction on the FLT until we reached Braley Hill Rd, where we hiked north back to our parking area. We hiked past our cars and continued on to Shindagin Hollow Rd before turning around and finishing the hike at our vehicles.
Not exactly the hike I had expected to take, but still an enjoyable winter hike in the woods.
Because of our modified route today we only hiked about a half mile on the Finger Lakes Trail. That small amount will still count for anyone compiling their FLT miles for a 2025 FLT50 or FLT100 patch: https://fingerlakestrail.org/whats…/hiking-programs/flt50/ .
Sunday, February 16
Kennedy State Forest, Dryden
This hike was cancelled due to severe weather.