Author: shesse

Hello Hikers!

Mon May 31

Report by shesse. Photos by Tiger/shesse

Rural road walk — Hosenfeld Road and Carley Road, Alpine, Schuyler County

Another gorgeous morning out in the country

This time we were up on a beautiful hilltop south of Mecklenburg, with greatr views to the south and east

There’s a lovely feeling of gently rolling terrain up on the hill — but getting up there is a diferent story

It’s a 450-foot climb up from Route 228, and some of the way is fairly steep

Here we see Connecticut Hill and Cayuta Lake in the background

Almost no traffic. Not dusty. Wonderful spring feeling.

Official head count: Eight walkers, eight dogs

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Wed June 2

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger

Robinson Hollow SF, Tioga County

18 hikers met on Robinson Hollow RD for a hike of the FLT in a Northerly direction from that trailhead.

It was a cool day with a forecast of rain later in the day; thankfully for this hike, the rain held off until the very last hikers emerged from the woods at their cars at the end of the hike.

Hikers set off up the very steep and continuous grade that presents itself to hikers when starting out from the small parking area at the base of the hill. The incline continues through a series of switchbacks and turns for around the first thirty minutes of hiking. Eventually the trail comes out onto what must have been at one time a logging road. All the hiker cares about at that point is that the trail is now FLAT, and continues to be so for a few minutes.

While the trail was steep in the beginning, it did benefit from following old forest logging roads for much of the uphill portion. This meant that hikers were able to not have to walk single file and could communicate with each other by means of other than hollering back over ones shoulder to someone further back in the column of hikers as we sometimes find our group when in motion.

The trail maintainer for this section is our own Lucy G, and the trail was in good shape as I expected it to be, having witnessed Lucy in previous years while she was tending to her trail maintainer activities….

Eventually the Trail takes a plunge over the embankment, leading more or less straight down to a stream near the Kimmie shelter.

Hikers took a slight detour to the new shelter before returning to the FLT and continuing Northerly through the woods. This stretch of the Trail is very pleasant, with a minimal amount of roots, mud and other stuff to detract from the hike. The surroundings were quite enjoyable throughout the hike, and I found hikers on numerous occasions stopping to admire one item or another of plant life growing on the forest floor.

After reaching the hour turn-around time, the group did an about face and returned in the direction we’d come.

Thankfully after the initial long climb up from the streambed, much of the remainder of the trail was downhill.

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Sat May 5

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger and Cian

Upper Buttermilk SP from Yaple Road, Danby

21 hikers and 6 dogs met on Yaple Rd near the junction with Comfort Rd, for a hike into upper Buttermilk Falls State Park

This route is part of the spur trail for the FLT that runs from West King Rd towards upper Buttermilk Falls State Park.

The weather was sunny and warm, and there was a fair number of other day hikers both with and without dogs sharing the trail system as we navigated through the park.

Some of our group commented that the trail from Yaple Rd into the park was previously unknown to them and a very nice section of trail for being relatively unknown.

The group reached the Treman Lake Trail and took a right turn, passing the small lean-to there and circling the lake and climbing the stairs as the trail continued around the Eastern side of the lake. I’m always happy to recognize the on-going trail maintenance that I see in our state parks when we hike any of them, and this section of trail always brings that issue to mind for me. Reaching the side trail to La Tourelle the group took this slight detour; while not an official trail within the park, it does cross over some very nice topography and gives the hiker a nice view of the forests in the area.

Turning around the group returned to the Treman Lake Trail and descended towards the portion of the trail that crosses over the CCC-era dam. I observed that the lake levels were probably the lowest levels I recall them being in recent memory.

I had originally considered having the group hike the actual spur trail to West Kind Rd after circling the lake, but the bright sunlight and warmer temperatures changed my mind and seek another route that would keep us in the shade under the trees. Upon reaching the opposite end of the dam, the group turned North and road walked to the picnic and pavilion area closer to West King Rd. Here we took the Bear Trail South; after completing that trail the group returned to the Treman Lake Trail and took it back to the FLT spur trail and our vehicles. This brought us back out to our vehicles at exactly the two hour time we try to meet for local hikes…

I was very happy to see the larger turn-out on Saturday;  the groups passage along the trails generated more than a few positive questions about the group to me as I followed behind everyone as sweep for the last leg of the journey…

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their day to join us for this hike.

******

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun June 6

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Cian

Jenksville SF, Tioga County

12 hikers and 2 dogs met in the Allison Hill Rd parking area for Jenksville State Forest in Tioga County.

The day was already beginning to be a hot one as hikers strode into the shade of the trailhead.

The trails in this forest are broken down into yellow , blue and red trail systems. For the novice first entering this trail system, a map is a necessity, as the general trail layout is not immediately obvious on the ground, particularly if you’re hiking the blue blazed trails. Last years hike had focused primarily on the centrally located blue trail system; this years hike was focused on the yellow trail system, including a very nice overlook area on the western edge of the yellow trails that I had wanted to get to in that previous hike but was unable to do so.

Overall, todays hike was marked by very gradual elevation gains and losses, a nice feature of a hike on such a warm day. There was a minimal amount of mud anywhere on the trail, although a couple of low-lying areas had clearly sopped up some of the recent rainfall and were something of a gooey slog to traverse. Most of the worst of the muddy areas had well-defined side trails that allowed the hikers to avoid the muddy depression entirely; not something I would advocate for normally, but a happy occurrence on Sunday.

Before setting off on the hike I passed out maps to everyone in case someone should get separated from the main group, and in fact within the first hour or so the group broke down into two or three distinct sub-groups due to trailing elements missing arrows set down on the forest floor for them, photo-taking,etc. Thankfully that section of the  trail consisted of a loop, and the main body soon encountered the trailing element coming from the opposite direction.

Everyone reunited and paused briefly at the overlook area that has a great vista overlooking the valley and the roads the group used to get to the trailhead. On both hikes in this forest, hikers have commented that the drive through the farmland and country roads to get to the hike is an enjoyable thing all by itself

Trying to avoid setting foot on the same sections of trail as much as possible, I had the group climb up the hill from the observation point before grabbing another side trail that had some short inclines and a fairly significant old house foundation. Out of curiosity the group paused long enough to find the old homes now filled-in well, and then we set off again through the forested trails

Before too long the group reached what I have come to think of as the Jenksville Forests version of the “Time Square” trail convergence that we all know from Hammond Hill State Forest. There we jumped onto a blue trail that took us back to our cars with just a few minutes over the two hour hike limit.

A very enjoyable day, overall

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Monday May 24

Report by shesse. Photos by Tiger/shesse

Farm road walk — NW of Perry City, Schuyler County

Another wondferful morning out in farm country — mid 60s, birds twittering in the fields, sweet smell of spring blossoms in the air, a pale blue sky streaked with jet trails ….

We walked on Bower Road in the last stretch before it dead-ended into the Hector Forest

This is where the terrain rises to a high point between the two lakes. The horizon in the background here is on the other side of Cayuga Lake, miles to the east.

One country touch that’s not so great — the roads in this area are made of an unusually dry dirt and they can get very dusty. Luckily there’s almost no traffic

I’ve loved this walk for years, but I’m sorry to say I’ve now lost interest, because six large upscale houses have been built along the first part of the walk since we were here last. They’re widely spaced out and pleasant enough to look at, but they’ve completely destroyed the rural feelling for me. The scenery now seems fake.

There are still many great touches, of course

But it’s just not the same.

Official head count: three walkers

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Wed May 26

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger

Monkey Run Natural Area, north side of Fall Creek at Hanshaw Road

12 hikers and 1 dog met at the parking area for the Monkey Run Natural Area on Hanshaw Rd.

A 13^th hiker arrived later and met the group on the trail in the area of the stairs that lead from stream level to the higher trails that skirt the edge of the cliffs above the streambed.

A few members of the group broke away early and made their ways back to their cars, so the final numbers of the group ending the hike was about half of those who had started the hike.

Hikers were not alone in the area; multiple other people were leaving and arriving throughout our time in the area.

Temperatures were warm but not unbearable, and we avoided the heavy rain that struck the area later in the day.

Susan had an alternate route to get the group to the “beach” area that we always visit on this particular hike.

Other than the alternate route to the “beach”, the route taken by the hikers was our normal one for this hike, although the exact trail route is difficult to actually describe. The group tried to stay under cover of the trees and out of the fields as much as possible due to the bright sunlight on hike day. The plant life undergrowth on the forest floor was well advanced but not an impediment to the hike.

There were  a very few areas the group crossed that had mud, and the water levels at stream crossings were low enough that the few water crossings were not too much of an impediment to the hike.

All things considered it was a good morning for a hike….

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Sat May 29

Hike report by Jim.

Six Mile Creek, south side trails

11 Ithaca Hikers and 2 dogs met on Crescent Place  in the city of Ithaca for a hike of the trail network around the South Hill Rec Way.

While it had been raining most of the previous evening, the start of the hike found the weather cleared up, if still overcast.

Hikers walked down the South Hill Rec Way to the turn onto the blue blazed trail that runs through the woods to the area of Second Dam and beyond.

Despite the rain the previous day the trail was in good condition. The various water crossings along the trail had a good amount of water flowing downstream, but none so much that it made the crossing difficult.

Temperatures were cool enough that the hike was enjoyable.

The group had a chance to see a little of the area wildlife, including a deer and wild turkey, over the course of the hike.

Reaching the hill overlooking Second Dam the group followed the sharp right turn that follows the ridgeline where it returns to the Rec Way

Arriving at the Rec Way most of the groups members opted to continue walking to the East for a few minutes to round out the hike time. The Rec Way was being well-used, so there were several other walkers and joggers on the Rec Way at the same time.

Upon returning to the junction with the blue blazed trail the group opted to remain on the Rec Way and walk back to Crescent Place.

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Sun May 30

Hike report by Leigh Ann. Photos by Cian

Connecticut Hill Cemetery area

Hi, everyone.

Eleven hikers and three dogs met to hike this afternoon on Connecticut Hill. The gathering time was 1:15 to avoid turkey hunters. Some of us arrived early to hike from the main parking spot by Connecticut Hill Cemetery, which is at the western junction of Boylan and Connecticut Hill Road. Others shuttled to the trailhead from the Cemetery.

This day never warmed up above the mid-50s, and it remained overcast and slightly drizzly. After several days of soaking rain, this was a hike of moss and ferns, black-wet trees, and pops of chartreuse foliage in rooms within the forest. Most of our route was over cushiony forest floor. 

This was a fun hike that only the leaders, Nancy Lorr and Randy Olson, had seen before. I wish I could describe the route in detail, but that’s something Nancy L. can do. We headed south from the western junction of Boylan and Connecticut Hill Road, until we turned west on another road, which I believe is also named Connecticut Hill Road. At the bottom of the hill on that new road, we took off southwesterly into the woods. We visited a lovely pond that had enormous, purple lady slippers still blooming by the shore. Then we continued southwesterly down and across several healthy streams and turned back east and uphill toward the road we came in on, using the FLT for a bit of the way.

Near the end of the hike, we turned off a trail to look for a very small cemetery that maybe 100 people have seen in the last 10 years. There are only eight headstones, and they are very old, from just one family. One is for Mary, wife of Jedediah Green, who died at age 79 on March 31, 1842. She would have remembered the beginning of the United States. Jedediah is buried nearby, near 14-year-old daughter and other family members. The day could not have been better for finding this cemetery. It is not something to explore on a bright, shiny day.

Thank you, Nancy and Randy, for leading this hike!

Best wishes,

Leigh Ann

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here.

By Jim R

When Part 1 of this report ended yesterday, Jim had settled down at a campsite next to a rushing stream prepared for a good night’s sleep after a hot tiring day on the trail. Then he heard car doors slamming and music blaring nearby.

The people from the cars came down the trail, passing my campsite and  apologizing that they hadn’t seen my tent when they pulled in from the road. They set up a few feet further downstream and spent a good portion of the night partying. Thankfully the noise of the water behind me drowned out most of the partiers noise and music.

The next morning ( Tuesday )  dawned and I found myself alone, the partiers having departed at some unknown point during the night. Having had negative interactions with partiers at campsites two years in a row, I suspect that in the future I will do my best to avoid camping in shelters or bivouac sites close to roads.

I had breakfast, broke camp and walked to the near-by Todd Rd. I followed that back to where the FLT crosses Todd, and I continued my Westward trek on the FLT. It was here, as I got closer to Gulf Rd, that I found the most activity of anywhere on the Trail in my time hiking this section. I encountered two day-hiking gentlemen who were climbing the hills up from Gulf Rd; I stopped and had a great conversation with them about many topics. Reaching the part of the FLT where the other end of the Van Loane Hill Loop rejoins the trail, I encountered many day hikers, dog walkers, and even some other section hikers who were setting out on the first day of their own section hike towards Ithaca. I hope that they were successful in their journey. It was here that I saw the only wildlife I observed along the Trail.

Crossing the dilapidated bridge in that area, I stopped for lunch and refilled my water supplies. Reaching Gulf Rd, I turned left where the FLT makes a quick jog on Route 6 before it crosses a bridge and plunges back into the wood line in its Northerly journey.

This stretch of Trail is a bit odd compared to what we are used to traversing here in Tompkins County; its more like a walk through peoples grassy mowed back yards and lightly wooded lands. In some places I think that’s exactly what I was doing.

After a mile or so of this the trail pops out in Odessa at the Schuyler County Veterans Park, a nicely done public space with pavilions, a veteran’s memorial and a public water supply that on this day was not functioning.

Crossing over Route 228, a hiker is soon facing a section of the FLT that is all of a 500 foot elevation gain as the Trail follows a logging road straight up Rogers Hill. My goal was to reach Roger’s shelter, located near the summit of the hill. I’d been there in the past with Ithaca Hikers, but had come into the shelter from the other direction. As I climbed the hill I found myself second guessing my exact location on the map. There is some active logging going on around the road, with several trees right next to the road being cut down and the blazes in many places disappearing for long stretches or being poorly maintained. Despite the route being intuitive due to its straight-as-an-arrow nature, the longer I climbed and the long stretches of road with no discernable blazes eventually had me thinking that I’d somehow walked right past the shelter. The eventual appearance of private dwellings along the road reinforced this idea to me.

Eventually I found a grassy shaded area along the road. I stopped for a late lunch and refilled my water supply from the fast-racing water in the road-side ditch I was sitting next to. That’s not as bad as it sounds, as the water was collecting in some fairly large pools being refreshed with a large volume of water briskly flowing down from higher elevations along the steep grade.

Returning to climbing the hill, I soon found the side road that led to the lean-to. The shelter is a nice set-up, with a decently sized pond and near-by privies that don’t require the hiker to dig a cathole to do their business in the woods. Other than some near-by kids racing around on their ATVs, I found myself alone in the shelter for the evening.

I had dinner, set up my sleeping gear and went to sleep. I knew that the next day was supposed to be warm, and I wanted an early start.

Waking up early Wednesday I had breakfast, packed up and set off down the hill, away from the shelter and towards Carley Rd. I knew from driving this section just the previous weekend ( when the group hiked the FLT West from Logan Rd ) that this stretch of Carley Rd would be another uninteresting stretch of road walk. Crossing over Steam Mill Rd, I plunged into the Southerly portion of Texas Hollow State Forest. Crossing some well-flowing streams I started to soak a towel to keep it around my neck, as temperatures were starting to climb.

The Trail here is not particularly unique in my mind; I stopped to make a trail register entry, texted David Priester about a blow-down, and continued a slow uphill climb towards Newtown Rd. Reaching Newtown Rd I crossed over that road, and here began the long descent down into that portion of Texas Hollow that the group is most familiar with from previous hikes in the area.

As I drew closer to the bottom of the valley I was taking note of the condition of streams I was crossing; many could be seen flowing briskly downhill from further uphill, only to literally disappear into the ground, leaving only a dry streambed. The grassy areas around the pond as parts of it became visible in the far distance seemed to be in stark white sunlight compared to the forested area I was travelling through.

Coming to one of the last shaded streams with a strong water flow and pools of water to draw from, I stopped for a prolonged lunch, a resupply of my water, and a bit of a rest before continuing on.

Eventually I came to the flatlands and then to Texas Hollow Rd itself. By now the heat was fully evident, and I decided to do the road walk bypass on Texas Hollow Rd to Rte 79 rather than make the steep climb up the FLT on the Westerly side of Texas Hollow Rd. I began walking Texas Hollow Rd and soon found myself racing from one clump of shadowed roadside to the next.

Reaching the end of Texas Hollow Rd I dumped my gear, had a long rest and evaluated my position. I realized that much of the route I would have covered in my remaining planed trail time consisted of  Trail that I’d already been on at one time or another. I realized that much of it was dry with little or no water likely to be present, and I had failed to consider the need to pre-position water along this portion of the Trail. I knew that the next two days were supposed to be in the high 80s or low 90s in temperature. Given these facts, I decided that the wiser course of action would be to terminate the hike. I called Katharine and asked her for a ride from the area. And so ended what was a few short but interesting days on the FLT.

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By Jim R

Jim is the coordinator of the Ithaca Hikers

This is a short report of my curtailed section hike of the FLT for a few days in mid-May. I will warn the reader that there are no photos accompanying this report. I did have a camera AND a Go Pro AND a cell phone with me the entire time, but I  paused only a few times to even consider taking pictures throughout this short section hike.

On Sunday the 16^th of May, the Ithaca Hikers did a group hike of Upper RH Treman State Park from Woodard RD. Following the group hike I had lunch with Katharine, who then drove me to the junction of Rockwell and Porter Hill Rds in Enfield.  I picked this start point for my own walk based on having done most of the FLT from where I left off last Fall in Danby as part of the group hikes I’ve done with Ithaca Hikers; I saw no need to walk solo over miles of FLT footpath that I’ve demonstrably done with the group at some previous point. These criteria left out a few short miles of road walk in Danby that I will do as a day hike at some point.

Based on last Falls experience where I had problems during my last section hike in obtaining water along a route with little in the way of running water after a dry summer, prior to Sundays group hike I pre-positioned a couple of gallons of water along my first days projected route. Other than that, I’d done no hike route reconnoitering, as it was mostly an area I was fairly familiar with, having grown up a few miles away.

Most of you in the group know that I absolutely abhor most road walks, and I knew going into the hike that much of the first days route consisted of  a paved road walk. Hopefully as the years go by, some of these road walk sections can be replaced by re-routes through woods and fields. After walking to the bottom of Porter Hill Rd, the FLT turns left and continues up Trumbulls Corners Rd. Other than a short jog into the woods at the Stevenson Forest Preserve, the FLT route runs along Trumbulls Corners Rd to Rumsey Hill Rd. The short distance inside Stevenson Forest Preserve was a welcome reprieve from asphalt and passing vehicles.

Reaching the bottom of Rumsey Hill Rd, I did notice in looking up Rumsey Hill Rd from the intersection that the pitch of the road seemed a little more severe when observed from on foot rather than from the comfort of motorized transport. The slog up Rumsey Hill Rd was slow, and reaching the next turn onto a section of ( flat ) ( ! ) Connecticut Hill Rd. This section of the hike, along with the next turn onto Griffin Rd, was unremarkable at best, punctuated only by the occasional car that went roaring by.

The Griffin Rd section is relatively short, perhaps a quarter mile at best. Reaching the point on Griffin Rd where the FLT plunges into the woods to continue South was the highlight of my afternoon. Finally, woods!

The trail section South of Griffin Rd is fairly standard FLT stuff for our area; stands of CCC-era pines, with the footpath winding its way amongst them. I think that any of us with little effort can name a dozen similar FLT miles elsewhere in our county. The FLT map shows one observation area along this portion of the trail, a power line right-of-way. It was, I thought, a little under-whelming, and so I continued on my way after taking a quick look.

Soon enough the hiker comes to and crosses over Cayutaville Rd and then in quick order the Southern end of Black Oak Rd. Crossing over that road, a hiker finds themselves clambering the final feet of elevation gain towards the summit whereon is located the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area radio tower that we’re all familiar with from previous hikes. I stopped here and resupplied with water from my pre-placed cache and had dinner. By now the daylight was quickly ebbing, and so I found myself bivouacking on Connecticut Hill. This had been my planned destination for the day given what I saw as a late start to the hike.

As part of my hike planning I had purchased a Garmin InReach Mini satellite communication device, and had pre-arranged with a couple of our Ithaca Hikers to send them both a pre-made message indicating that I had made camp for the night. Part of this planned daily text gave them GPS coordinates to my message location. They had instructions to contact 9-1-1 the next morning if neither hiker received my message by the end of the day.

The first night was unremarkable; I enjoy sleeping out in the woods, and I found Connecticut Hill to be a relaxing location to make camp.

On Monday morning I woke, had a quick breakfast, broke camp and started hiking with no real issues. Hiking South on the FLT, the next road crossing is another section of the multi-tentacled Connecticut Hill RD. South of that piece of Connecticut Hill Rd I knew there would be a reliable water source, and so I planned to stop there and top off my water supply.

It was here that I ran into my first hiccup of the hike. My water supply consists of a three liter Camelbak hydration bladder, in which I put only water. On the side of my pack I keep a one liter plastic bottle; this is used for my cooking water in camp, and I add various tea packets or drink mixes to the contents of the bottle during the day. This is important to me so that I don’t get bored with just plain water over a prolonged period of time. Many hikers who prefer water bottles over water bladders say that they have a hard time tracking their water consumption when drinking from a water bladder. I know from many years in the military what my typical rate of water consumption is, and I keep the plastic bottle as a reserve supply if the bladder runs dry.

Reaching the stream south of Connecticut Hill Rd, I stopped and got my water purification system out of my pack. This consists of a Cnoc brand water bag, a Sawyer Squeeze water filter, and Aquatabs. The Aquatabs are a backup purification method that’s supposed to kill off a few things that are known to slip past the Sawyer Squeeze filter. The system worked pretty well for me last Fall, even when I was forced to draw water from stagnant shallow pools of water. I last tested this system at home a week or so before this hike when I laid out the contents of my pack and tested items like the filter, treated clothing with permethrin, and ran through my packing checklist.

On this day when I collected water and tried to run it through the Sawyer, I found that the Sawyer was completely stopped up; it wasn’t allowing any water through at all. This was a problem. I collected enough water to fill my hydration bladder, added enough Aquatabs and set off along the trail.

Coincidentally at that time, as I climbed the hill towards Boylan Rd, I received a text from Nancy L asking how the hike was going. I explained my issues with the water filter, and she agreed to pick up a replacement filter and meet me along the trail. I agreed pretty readily to this plan, as I didn’t want to rely solely on the chemical purification tablets for the duration of my hike. They might kill off the microscopic stuff, but my visual satisfaction with merely chemically treated water left something to be desired.

I continued hiking, and by the time I got to the part of the Trail where it crosses Connecticut Hill Rd near Cabin Rd, Randy and Nancy L were pulling in with my replacement filter. They wanted to hike with me a short distance and show me some of the aspects of that part of the FLT that they were familiar with from their many local hikes; this was a welcome offer, as they were the first people I’d seen on the Trail since I started.

The three of us hiked Westerly towards and across the Tompkins- Schuyler County line, Randy and Nancy pointing out the many traces of past human habitation and other aspects of the Trail in that area that they knew of along the way. Reaching Todd Rd we crossed over that, and then immediately turned onto the Easterly end of the Van Lone Loop Trail; Randy and Nancy wanted to show me a bivouac area they knew of along that loop. Descending the hills towards  the water we followed the Loop, soon coming to the area they’d described to me. While not an official bivouac site, the close proximity to water, some informal seating and other basic amenities made it a welcome place to set up camp for the night.  Randy and Nancy wished me well and set off back towards their vehicle.

I dropped my gear, had dinner, and set up camp for the night along the stream that raced loudly just a few feet away from the tent. As with my other nights, I skipped having a fire; I was more interested in sleep than sitting around a fire.

Somewhere around 7 PM, I heard the sudden arrival of cars on near-by Todd Rd, the loud rock music and slamming doors announcing the arrival of carloads of people.

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This is Part 1 of a two-part report. The second part will appear tomorrow.

Hello Hikers!

Monday May 17

This report was written by shesse. Photos by Tiger/shesse.

We have a new weekly event — road walking out in farm country — provided it’s not too hot. Our first walk was along Red Mill Road in West Malloryville, NE of Freeville

Fabulous morning to be out in a farm area. The temperature was 60 at the start, 70 at the end. Just right for a walk in full sun the whole time.

This walk takes us up on a relatively flat hilltop with views of rolling hills in all directions (depending on where you’re standing).

There’s a big dairy-cow operation here, of the modern type (cows don’t leave the barn). You can spy a few of the cows in the photos.

This is the type of operation that allows a farmer to make a decent profit while we all get milk for $2 a gallon, the same as 20 years ago.

The scenery along this walk is completely pleasing. The fields were ablaze with dandelions.

There’s hundreds of cows in this farm but there was barely a whiff of manure smell, except when a big tanker truck with spraying equipment passed on its way to spread liquid manure on a nearby field.

Official head count: eight hikers

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Wed May 19

Hike report by Leigh Ann

Connecticut Hill Wildlive Management Area

Hi, everyone.

Nine hikers and two big, playful puppies met at the western junction of Boylan and Connecticut Hill Roads at 12:30 p.m. This was later in the day than our usual because turkey hunting ended at noon.

Connecticut Hill was a chartreuse explosion under a bright blue sky, and the humidity was so low that it looked like the shadows in the forest had been cut out of cardboard. This was one of the hottest days of the year so far. The creeks and streams were running, which was great for the hot puppies and fun for the hikers. Fallen leaves on the forest floor were dry, and the chartreuse of the blooming trees ended up on our boots.

We went west down to a big creek where there are several tightly stacked chimney-like cairns. Then we headed north and east up to the top of a quarry where there is a view that never disappoints, regardless of the season. The chartreuse explosion was especially impressive there. Then we continued northeast and spent ten minutes picking our way around a big clear cut before climbing uphill through lovely hemlock forest on the “sink trail,” which has a big, steel sink at the top. The sink is rusted out – not good for collecting water, but close enough to the cars to be encouraging.

Thank you, Nancy, for leading this fun hike!

Best wishes,

Leigh Ann

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Sat May 22

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger & Cian

Ridgeway Road to White Church Road and beyond on the FLT, Brooktondale

Nineteen hikers met on Ridgeway Rd for a hike of the FLT Eastward towards White Church Rd and beyond.

Because of long term trail footpath flooding the group in recent months when hiking this section have road-walked to the former railroad crossing area at the low point in the road; that’s what we did today.

Temps were on the warm side ( high 80s F) , which is why I had decided on a relatively flat hike today.

A significant number of bugs were airborne, resulting in a few hikers resorting to head nets and rain gear or long sleeves for self protection against the flying annoyances.

The old railbed portion of the trail that runs along Wilseyville Creek was trimmed back and an easy walk today.

After making the turn towards White Church Rd the group found that the portion of the trail running through  fields south of White Church RD had not been mowed yet, but the fields were not so overgrown as to make this a problem.

Hikers crossed over White Church RD and passed through the fields on that side of the road.

Approaching the base of Roundtop Hill hikers found the only muddy portions of todays hike, but nothing so bad as to make the trail impassible.

With progress on the out-bound leg of the hike having been relatively fast, a half dozen hikers opted to continue on the trail, climbing Round Top until it was time to turn around.

Progress back to the vehicles was uneventful, with the bulk of the hikers arriving back at their cars at precisely the two hour mark.

A chance encounter with a property owner at the vehicles may lead to permission for our group to cross their private property in the future and avoid the flooded areas that have required road walks for this hike location.

*****

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

******

Sun May 23

Report by Jim. Photos by Tiger and Cian

Bald Hill Road south to Michigan Hollow Road, Danby SF

13 hikers and 3 dogs met at the junction of Bald Hill and Station RDs for a walk of the seasonal portion of Bald Hill RD

This particular route was selected due to recent high temperatures and the relative ease of walking this route.

The group most often hikes parts of this route for our Pinnacles hike. On todays hike we found that there was minimal water or mud on the flatlands near the parking area. The lower sections of the road that are often churned up mud were flat and easily navigated on this hike

The initial climb, past the old cemetery and the turn towards the Pinnacles, was a comfortable walk. Once under the heavier canopy of leaves it seemed as if temperatures dropped several degrees. Only the accompanying and persistent onslaught of bugs deterred from the hike.

While this hike was mostly a road hike, there was still a lot of visually interesting sights along the road if one slowed to observe. The play of light and shadows along the rows of CCC-era evergreens, the occasional explosion of white flowers from Dogwood trees and other colors from various flowers were all of interest on this hike. Some members of the group paused to take note of the birdsong heard from close to the trail.

Other users of the trails and roads were minimal; we had to yield a time or two to passing cars and motorbikes, and I saw only a single user of the Abbott Loop on this day

The fastest members of the group made it  far as Michigan Hollow Rd, while the rest of the group was happy to meet the returning fast walkers on their way back to their vehicles.

*****

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here