Author: shesse

Hello Hikers!

Tuesday July 6

Hike report and photo by Jim

Special longer hike — Hoxie Gorge SF, Cortland County

Five hikers met at the Hoxie Gorge Rd trailhead for a hike of part of the Hoxie Gorge State Forest.

The weather had not been cooperative earlier in the day, and in fact we cut the hike short because we thought that we had more inclement weather approaching.

From the trailhead parking lot the group walked a short way down the road to the blue blazed access footpath that leads to the Finger Lakes Trail. Signage indicated that the blue blazed trail was at one time the actual FLT, before it was re-routed.

The blue blazed trail ran nicely along the Hoxie Gorge Creek, although footing at points was somewhat iffy due to slick rocks and roots from the morning rains. Temperatures were tolerable, but the air was fairly muggy because of the recent rain.

There was a decent amount of water observed flowing in the streambed.

Eventually the blue blazed trail intersected with the FLT itself. My original intention was to take a left turn here and walk the FLT until we got to some open fields where the FLT map indicated several lookout points. The All Trails website listing for this trail spoke of the noticeable noise from I81 as the South-bound trail.  Because of the heat of the day and not wanting to be caught in the open if bad weather returned, I opted to take a right and follow the FLT South deeper into Hoxie Gorge State Forest.

Immediately after turning right onto the FLT, the path leads hikers through some majestic stands of evergreen trees such as we sometimes see here in Tompkins County. After a couple of minor water crossings and as the hikers approached Hoxie Gorge Freetown Rd, the footpath enters an overgrown section of trail that doesn’t appear to have regular maintenance or enough regular foot traffic to keep the undergrowth at bay. The group opted to turn around here, with the intent of returning to the intersection with the blue blazed trail and continue North on the FLT towards the near-by lean-to.

Upon returning to the intersection with the blue blazed trail the group observed that bad weather was setting in and chose to end the hike and return to our cars. The group returned to the trailhead via the yellow-blazed footpath maintained by SUNY Cortland; this trail runs along the blue blazed access trail, but further from the streambed. This route was both quicker and safer than the blue blazed trail.

Since this was the groups first hike at this location, I’ll make some observations in case other members of the group want to check out this hike. If using Google to map your route, if coming from Ithaca ignore any suggested route that doesn’t involve taking State Route 392 from Dryden, going through Virgil until it intersects with  Route 11.

On Hoxie Gorge Rd ignore the Google pin location previously emailed to everyone  and just drive to the end of the road where the very obvious parking area with signage ( it even says “parking” )  is. You’ll have to pass through a curved narrow one lane segment of road on Hoxie Gorge Rd to get to the parking area; be alert for the lane reduction. The blue blazed trail is a short way back down the road, but unless you want to get closer to the water my suggestion is to use the SUNY Cortland yellow blazed trail both in and out from the hike. Its safer and faster and takes you to the same place that the blue blazed footpath does. While we didn’t get to hike to the lean-to, my suggestion for a two hour hike is to go one way or the other on the FLT, either to the lean-to the North or the stands of pines to the South, and turn around and travel the other way to get your two hour hike time in.

Thanks to everyone who hiked with me today!

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Wed July 7

Hike report by Jim. Two photos by Elizabeth.

King Nature Preserve, Richford, Tioga County

7 hikers met in Tioga County for a hike of the  King Nature Preserve, a Land Trust holding that we hadn’t pre viously hiked as a group

Temperatures were high, as was the humidity level.

The threat of rain was unfounded, and if anything the direct sunlight and clear skies were uncomfortable

That being said, the trail in the Preserve was often muddy from recent rains.

The trail is a fairly short loop that passes through stands of a variety of hard and soft woods and old fields, as well as along a nice stream  for a short while ( coolest part of the hike, for obvious reasons ) that includes the ruins of what I assume is an old mill.

After completing a loop of the trail the group returned to the road and walked to the top of the hill where there are some nice views of surrounding farmlands.

Returning to our cars the group decided that there was enough time to complete a second lap around the trail, so we returned to the Preserve, this time taking the trail in the opposite direction from the first lap.

This brought us back out to the road at exactly two hours.

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Sat July 10

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger/shesse & Cian

Monkey Run Natural Area, south side of Fall Creek — Varna

Eighteen hikers and six dogs hiked the trails around Monkey Run Rd on the South side of Cascadilla Creek.

The initial group of around 15 hikers and 3 dogs left our cars promptly at 930, while the only slightly late arrivals formed a separate group that didn’t meet the main hiking element until nearly the end of the hike.

It was a sunny but cool day, one that was popular not only with our group but other day hikers, dog walkers and joggers who we found sharing the trail with us. The portions of the route where hikers had to be exposed  in the open for a longer period of time did not have the sort of hot, discomforting quality to them that some more recent hikes through similar open areas have had.

The trails throughout todays hike were passable although with often muddy or with standing water. The mud was the consistency of brownie batter, and hikers often had to choose between striding through the muck or trying to skirt the mess entirely and further expand the footprint of the trail footpath.

I was somewhat surprised to find that while the trail itself did have many wet areas along the route, the inclines on the hillsides were not particularly hazardous due to slippery mud and wet roots as I had expected them to be.

The streams and rivulets we hiked alongside or over were briskly flowing with no lack of water. With one exception the many footbridges made crossing over the smaller streams a non-issue; the one exception currently lacks any sort of footbridge and could strongly benefit by such an addition….

The group set off in the direction of Varna, initially travelling over the orange blazed trails that eventually bring the hikers out near Varna itself. A quick walk across the open fields soon brings the group to the red blazed trails, which we followed for the remainder of the hike. With the exception of a quick stop at “the beach” where we took a few quick photos and observed the levels of water in the creek bed, there was no deviation from the red blazed trail system until the end of the hike.

Towards the end of the hike the group passes by the side trail that leads back to the cars; the group continues on for another ten or fifteen minutes, in order to reach the appropriate hike duration. Eventually turning around, we made our way back to the side trail and emerged in the parking lot only a few minutes early.

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Cian’s photos:

“Saturday monkey run was a sub hike from the group because we got separated pretty early on / Katherine, Iris, Amadou and I ended up doing more of a naturalist hike  – finished an hour late”

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun July 11

Hike report by Jim. Photos by shesse & Cian

South Danby Road east to the Tamarack Lean-to, Danby SF

Ten hikers and two dogs set off on the FLT from South Danby Rd

An 11^th hiker arrived late and caught up with us on trail.

A 12^th hiker with 3 dogs arrived but missed the main body of hikers and did her own hike.

It was a cool morning from the trailhead; I had originally planed to have the group head towards Curtis Rd but realized that in a fairly short time we would have been hiking over a section of trail that we had just recently walked. So I pointed us up the hill in the opposite direction towards the Tamarack Lean to.

Weather reports had given us a very good possibility of avoiding rain; in fact, a short-lived shower had met me when I arrived on South Danby Rd. We lucked out for the rest of the hike and escaped unscathed from any torrential downpours. Unfortunately the recent rains had left their impact on the footpath, and there was  a fair amount of standing water and decently long stretches of absolute watery thick mud on the trail to greet hikers as we charged up the minor inclines. It wasn’t until we reached some of the higher elevations amongst the evergreens that we had reliably firm ground to hike on.

This particular section of trail weaves in and out of a stretch of snowmobile trail. In the winter this is a convenient bypass for a hike, as the snowmobile trail in winter  is usually well-travelled and compacted while the FLT is more or less pristine and often untouched and the snow quite deep for those without snowshoes. Today I was tempted to jump onto the snowmobile trail to avoid the mud on the FLT, but ultimately stayed the course until we reached firmer ground

Katharine, who had hiked in the opposite direction, reported that the FLT in that direction was as bad if not worse than the portion the main body had hiked on.

I always enjoy hiking through the stands of evergreen, with the forest floor covered in a layer of old needles. Today was no exception, particularly after getting through the mud and water at lower elevations. The light shining down to the forest floor through the canopy was particularly enjoyable today. The lack of much undergrowth in these sections gives a hiker a good sense of the lay of the forest floor around them. This is much preferred to pushing your way through the lush summer growth of vegetation found on some parts of the Trail that limits your field of view to only a couple of feet immediately around you.

Eventually reaching Peters Rd the group paused long enough to offer up an adequate rendition of happy birthday to newly returned ( from an out of town trip )  Leigh Ann. From there we forged ahead until reaching the Tamarack lean-to. After making an entry in the lean-to trail journal, the group returned to the trail and hiked back to South Danby Rd without incident.

The group encountered some mushroom pickers along the trail and some of us paused long enough to pick a few mushrooms for themselves, but the remainder of the hike was otherwise uneventful.

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Cian’s photos:

“Sunday hike in danby – we noticed orange mushrooms early on , noticed that Mary was harvesting them (she identified these as chanterelles) when I returning so I took some pictures / before we left we ran into a group of mushroom hunters, who were kind enough to point out the edible mushrooms, including oyster mushrooms and king bolete mushrooms.   I noticed Katherine’s car, she had went the other way, so I waited for her to return – while I was waiting more mushroom hunters showed up with buckets and baskets”

You can see Cian’s comlete photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Wed June 30

Hike report by Jim

Deputron Hollow Road, Danby

On Wednesday June 30, 8 hikers met for a hike of the seasonal portion of Deputron Hollow Rd

While on the hike, the group encountered a 9^th member of the group hiking in the opposite direction with family members.

It was a sunny day, and I would say that my favorite part of this hike is probably as we descend the hill towards Coddington RD, before reaching the maintained lower portion of Deputron Hollow RD. On sunny days such as this particular hike day, the various shades of green in the tree canopies overhead are fairly enjoyable, as is the walk along the route of the stream below us..

It seemed as if the first hour of the hike passed quicker than normal, and soon it was time to turn around and climb the hill back to our cars. This was probably the most uncomfortable portion of the hike for me as it soon became readily apparent how still the air was, with almost no breeze to relieve the heat of the day.

Soon enough the group found ourselves back at our cars and being quizzed by a local resident as to our observation of insect damage to the trees along the hike route.

All in all a fairly normal hike, one that I will probably put some thought into changing up in the future to make it overall more interesting.

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Sat July 3

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Cian

Potato Hill SF, Caroline, from Level Green Road to Blackman Hill Road and beyond on the FLT

On July 03 the Ithaca Hikers turned out for a hike of the FLT in the Potato Hill State Forest . This is the hike we do that starts on the seasonal portion of Level Green Rd and travels towards Rte 79 ( in the distance ), first crossing over Blackman Hill Rd.

Eight hikers and two dogs set off on the trail; the lower portions of the trail were frequently standing water and more often mud, which was my expectation after the heavy rain of recent days. As we gained elevation this became less of a problem.

Previous hikes on this section of trail had resulted in the group meeting some stinging ground bees. I don’t know if the bees are still in the area; if they are, the weather on this hike day surely kept them close to their hives.

It was an easy, gradual  climb through the woods, with a quick pause to make a trail journal entry as we always try to do. Lucy G is the trail maintainer for this portion of the Trail, and had emailed me ahead of the hike warning that the second footbridge from Level Green Rd was a-kilter and unsafe to use. This was the condition that we found it in. Thankfully the water levels in the stream were low enough to make the water crossing not an issue for the group.

In the area of Blackman Hill Rd the Trail makes a recently created jog, bringing the Trail out onto Blackman Hill Rd to make the road crossing a direct crossing rather than the slight road walk that was until recently required.

Once on Blackman Hill Rd the group could see sunny skies off in the distance to the East, but our hopes for a sunny crossing of the open fields ahead of us were soon dashed. In fact, the skies overhead almost immediately opened up with a strong deluge, as if to welcome us for exiting out of the forest. We crossed the fields quickly and plunged back into the tree line. After a few minutes of walking downhill I turned the group around for the return leg, as there was no purpose in sending everyone down the water-sodden hill just to turn them around to claw their way back to the fields. Re-crossing the open field, my main thought was of the lightning portion of the wilderness first aid class I recently completed ( along with several other members of the Ithaca Hikers ). Thankfully we were not called on to have to perform any lightning-related first aid to anyone on this hike.

The return leg of the hike to Level Green Rd was uneventful; as we had turned around on the hike early, the group filled out the remaining fifteen minutes of hike time with a short road walk on Level Green Rd.

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun July 4

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger/shesse & Cian

Fischer Old Growth Forest, Newfield

Thirteen hikers and three dogs set off from the parking lot on Rte 13 in Newfield for a hike of the Fischer Old Growth forest. A 14^th hiker arrived late and ended up doing a solo hike

The weather was particularly sunny and warm out in the open fields at the start of the hike, and it was a relief to plunge into the tree cover as we descended the hill from the parking area.

It was a pleasant walk through the woods as the group followed the red trail deeper into the woods. At the intersection with the yellow trail we branched off onto the yellow trail and did that loop through the old growth portion of the woods. I’ve always enjoyed that part of the trail system at this particular location.

Completing the yellow loop we rejoined the red trail, descending towards the streams and flat lands. The ground in many places along this part of the trail were still quite hazardous from the slick mud resulting from the recent rains. The portions of the descent with safety ropes were not adequate to keeping me from going to the ground at one point.

Reaching the flatlands the group found its way blocked for our most junior hiking member by a wild array of stinging nettles that grew up and over the trail. The group beat these down to the ground to make enough of a path to allow our young hiker passage without being unnecessarily shredded by the undergrowth.

Once across the small valley the group faced the mostly uphill portion of the Easterly leg of the red trail loop. Reaching the top of that segment the group reconvened and agreed that a second loop of either trail was unneeded today, and so we walked to the blue loop trail, completed that and returned to our cars so that we could each enjoy the remainder of the holiday.

Thanks to everyone who set aside part of what is surely a busy holiday for everyone to come together to hike our local trails.

As I stated my favorite part of this hike is the yellow blazed trail through the old growth trees.

I believe that for both safeties sake as well as a concern for the environment, some thought needs to be put into redesigning the hill portions of the red loop. I believe that creating some switchbacks along those areas would be both safer for hikers and protect the sensitive environments around the steeper slopes from human-caused damage and erosion……

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You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Wed June 23

Hike report by Jim. Photo by Tiger

Shindagin Hollow SF — FLT from Braley Hill Road to Shindagin Hollow Road

Eight hikers met on Braley Hill Rd for a hike of the FLT to Shindagin Hollow Rd and back

It was  a sunny day, and once into the trees there was a dappled effect of light on the forest floor which the Hesse’s feared would play havoc with their ability to properly photograph the hike. I wont know until I read the weekly report whether they were able to get any decent pictures of this hike.

This area is one of my favorites to hike in, as are many of the other trails we walk on in the Shindagin area

The downhill portion of the hike was uneventful, with perhaps a few extra tree blow downs since the last time I hiked this trail being the only exceptional thing we encountered on the trail.

After reaching Shindagin Hollow Rd the group paused for  few minutes to examine some work that has been done to the streambed in that area in recent years before turning around and climbing the hill back to our cars.

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Sat June 26

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger and Cian

Hammond Hill SF — Canaan Road and eastern trails

Sixteen hikers and one dog gathered at the end of the maintained portion of Canaan Rd just inside the Tompkins County line, for a circuitous hike of the red and yellow trails on Hammond Hill East of Canaan Rd. As I described it to Katharine later, the planned hike route was similar in shape to a large tooth….

A second set of four hikers and five dogs arrived late and met up with the tail end of the first group much later

Temperatures were tolerable; a slight flying insect problem manifested itself during calm windless moments on the hike, but a slight breeze was adequate to the dual purpose of sending the bugs  away and making the hike more enjoyable to people. The sun was hiding behind clouds and so the hike was spent almost entirely in over cast conditions.

My intention in coming up with this newer loop hike was to serve as an alternative to the normal Hammond Hill hikes the group does starting from Hammond Hill Rd; the red trails almost always fall outside the scope of the groups two hour hike time limit.

The main group of hikers set off down the seasonal portion on Canaan Rd, then took a right onto Red Man Rd We followed this until coming to a snowmobile trail, which we took up the hill to the red disc marked trail system The bottom of the snowmobile trail had its usual mud problem, but this was the worst of any mud I saw during the hike.

Once on the red trail system we working our way around several red and yellow marked trails in a counter clockwise direction; Once into the yellow trails the main body of the group surged forward, missing a turn on the trail and ending up coming out directly onto the seasonal portion of Canaan Rd. From there I am told that they returned to the cars on their own accord.

The rear element of the group took a couple of planned route turns on yellow trails 8 and 7, which offered a more gradual downhill hike while avoiding much of the rocky scree -filled road surface of the upper portion of Canaan Rd. The first time we had tried this hike we had used the yellow 5 trail; I prefer the FLT-section of yellow 4 and so planned that part for this hike. I especially enjoy the sweeping nature of yellow trail 7, as the hiker gets to look over the edge of the trail and down the slope through the trees while hiking.

Other than a small group of bicyclists and a couple of day hikers we encountered, we had the route to ourselves, something I didn’t expect on a weekend hike.

The rear element of the main group , soon after coming out onto Canaan Rd, were met the late arrivals who had made their own hike route around the trail system and had arrived back onto Canaan Rd only slightly later than we had.

Overall I am happy with this hike; I would prefer less of  a road walk in the beginning so that we can meet our two hour hike time limit while spending more time on the trails. I have been told that some members LIKE the road walk portion as it gives them an opportunity to walk together and talk.

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You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun June 27

Hike report by Nancy L. Photos by Cian — link to photo album by Nancy

Connecticut Hill — Boylan Road — West Branch of Carter Creek

6 hikers and 2 dogs met west of Hulford Hill Road on Boylan Rd at a parking lot with a Connecticut Hill Information kiosk.   The hikers headed south into the woods on a whisp of a trail that quickly intersected the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT).  Instead of following the FLT we headed off-trail down the hill to a newly-created trail that followed the contour of the hill on the West side of the West Branch of Carter Creek.  Much evidence of the Gypsy Moths could be seen since many pieces of leaves littered the ground, though the sounds of the caterpillars chewing was no longer so prevalent.  A medium-sized Garter Snake was seen along the trail.  After a trek, we reached the “scream trail” (we made a slight overshoot which intersected with the FLT again and retraced our steps to find this trail).  The scream trail is a pleasant wide trail that goes gently downhill to the creek.  The dogs ran merrily ahead during this period.  After crossing the creek, we headed on down the east side of the creek.  This low-lying trail was rather soggy, so we chose at the next opportunity to find our way to a trail higher up on the East side of the creek heading on down Hulford Hill and still following the creek though it was not visible.  This trail is well marked with blue blazes and easy to follow.  After a rather long hike downhill we finally arrived at a series of cascades where we all enjoyed a rest before the impending slog uphill.  We already had realized that this hike would be a little longer than normal, so began the return on the blue marked trail all the way back to Boylan Road.  A short hike west on Boylan Road brought us back to the cars, just short of 3 hours, 5.25 miles after we started.  

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

You can see Nancy L’s photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Mon June 14

Report by shesse. Photos by Tiger/shesse

Farm road walk — west of Mecklenburg in Schuyler County

We were up on a hilltop that looks west toward Burdett — checking out a large farm

I happily eat meat in all forms and eat cheese and cream. But it makes me sad to walk past a very large number of animal sheds where the animals all spend all their time indoors. On the other hand, I don’t want to pay Farmers Market prices for animals raised in old-fashioned conditions.

The operation here is very mechanized, with various big machines and vehicles scurrying around. This is a huge pile of old tires — holding down tarps with something unknown to me underneath

This is the main farmhourse and several old barns — it’s a lovely bucolic setting, and the beauty and tranquility helped me put the operation into perspective.

It was another gorgeous cool morning. Just a smattering of farm trucks passed.

Official head count: four walkers

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Wed June 16

Hike report by Jim

FLT from the Tioga County line up the hill to Blackman Hill Road

Five hikers met on state route 79 at the county line, for a hike of the FLT towards Blackman Hill RD.

Passing through Mallow Marsh the group admired recent repairs done to the trail in that area by Cayuga Trails volunteers

Entering the forest temperatures dropped noticeably, making the ensuing climbs much more tolerable. Here the FLT is initially little more than a narrow path carved out of the hillside, forcing the hiker to carefully check their footing as they proceed along the trail.

Soon this gives way when the trail meets an old logging road; from there the Trail is a steady climb up the side of the mountain, a series of steep climbs with an occasional flatter area to catch your breath. Portions of the Trail along this area consist of loose gravel and scree from past rains. Once again, its best o take your time picking your way through this section in the interest of safety.

Towards the top of the hill the Trail assumes a nature more similar to other parts of Tompkins County; a gradual climb up the hill through stands of hard and softwood forests. Not so many root or rock hazards…

Near the top of the hill the Trail was recently re-directed due to land donations, and the Trail breaks into the open with a wonderful view across open fields.

The main body of hikers reached the top of the hill and turned around, re-tracing their footsteps back to their vehicles at the bottom of the hill.

Not a stretch of trail that is particularly remarkable, and the parking issues at the bottom of the hill make it difficult to use this area as a launching point for a group day hike of a larger size, but the views at the top make up for much of the effort to get there.

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Sat June 19

Hike report by Jim.

Lick Brook

13 hikers and 6 dogs met on Townline Rd for  hike of the Lick Brook gorge

A 14^th hiker arrived late and hiked solo

For many people the on-going construction on Sandbank Rd made getting to todays hike particularly difficult; with the dual issues of hot muggy weather and difficult road conditions, thanks to all who hiked today with the group.

Hikers proceeded down the white blazed trail into Lick Brook. Immediately past the kiosk there is a slight re-route of the trail, I am guessing for the purpose of moving the trail away from the cliff edge.

The trail was in good condition today, a far cry from the previous hike of this gorge that was hampered by sheets of ice on the footpath.

The group made its way down into the valley floor, descending along the spine of the ridge and making a minor water crossing that was not impeded by water flow.

Arriving on the forest floor the group made its way to the falls area where the dogs made themselves comfortable with a quick dip into the streambed.

The group turned around and made its way up the hill along the blue blazed trail. There was little air movement around the group at this point, and several of us made frequent stops to rest from the climb.

Arriving back at the car several hikers opted to head for cooler pastures at home.

Once back on Townline Rd the breezes were in fact much more noticeable than they had been in the lower elevations. The breeze helped make the remaining hike much more enjoyable.

The small remaining hiking group crossed the bridge and jumped onto the blue blazed trail; I prefer this direction of travel through the Thayer Preserve over the red trails we have started out on in the past.

A couple of us had arrived back at Townline RD from the Lick Brook trail system behind the main body of hikers. As our small follow-on group hiked along the blue trail I became distracted by seeing what proved to be a small chicken house near the trail, something I hadn’t recalled seeing when hiking that trail in the past. I detoured to take a quick look at this structure, and by the time I returned to the trail the hikers had all pulled well ahead of me. Hiking up the trail I approached what I assumed to be a root across the footpath, a common sight on any of our local trails. This early assumption proved wrong, as it was in fact a 3-4 foot long snake with a girth about wrist-sized, something I’m not used to seeing when I’m out and about on local trails. The snake and I had about a teen minute stand-off, the snake coiled and watching me carefully. With a sharp drop-off on one side of the trail I opted to finally box my way around the snake on the opposite side of the trail and resume my hike. By this time I could hear the remainder of the group hiking along the opposite ridgeline and knew that I was unlikely to catch up to them. I opted to hike to the water crossing and turn around, re-tracing my steps on the blue trail back to Townline Rd. Once back on Townline Rd I hiked into the red trail long enough to verify with a couple of section hikers I met that our group of hikers was off the trail.

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Special photo report by our hike photographer Cian — another giant snake

Cian skipped Saturday’s hike to go fishing with his nephew Amadou at Jennings Pond for the opening of bass season. By a very odd coincidence, he encountered his own huge snake on the same day Jim was coping with a huge snake a few miles away.

Cian also brought along an underwater case and a 360-degree app for his camera, so now we can see what it looks like underwater at Jennings Pond too.

You can Cian’s complete fishing trip album here.

You can see his underwater portfolio here. Be sure to try the 360-degree feature

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Sun June 20

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Tiger and Cian

Curtis Road to the FLT, South Danby

Ten hikers and three dogs met at Curtis and Hill Rd in the town of Danby for a hike to the FLT on the seasonal portion of Curtis Rd.

An eleventh hiker and three dogs arrived late and did their own hike.

As I approached the parking are on Curtis Rd I observed that the hills ahead of me seemed to be swathed in a layer of fog, which I took to be a good omen that the group would not be hiking in bad heat.

The group slowly filtered into the parking area as it so often does, and eventually we were ready to set off on our hike.

It was a pleasant day walking along Curtis Rd, with a nice breeze blowing across the open fields on the southerly side of the road.

Approaching Karenville the group paused long enough to feed the pony there before continuing onwards.

Reaching the end of the maintained portion of Curtis Rd, the group plunged into the green tunnel of the seasonal portion of Curtis Rd. Other than a few shallow puddles of water from the previous days rain there was nothing to detract from the hike in this area.

Approaching the area where the FLT crosses Curtis Rd the dogs at the neighboring residence set off a good amount of barking which faded into the distance once we made our turn onto the FLT and put those dogs behind us.

The group made its way through Danby State Forest, encountering a couple of small parties of hikers with dogs and trail runners. We encountered a couple of very minor muddy patches along this stretch, but nothing that made the hike undo-able.

Reaching the junction with the Westerly end of the Abbott Loop I opted to continue the group Westerly on the FLT.

Taking a small pause where the FLT crosses the seasonal portion of Hill Road, the group gathered itself together and pressed forward into the woods once again. Walking through a carpet of wet pine needles we slowly began a descent towards Michigan Creek, but turned around long before reaching the bottom of the hill once we reached the hour turn-around point.

Climbing back up the hill the group re-traced its steps back to Curtis Rd and then to Hill Rd and our cars. A second stop at the pony on the way back depleted me of the stockpile of carrots I’d brought for that occasion.

Overall this was a good hike, especially compared to some of the past hikes we’ve done along this same route that were not as pleasant for one reason or another.

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You can see Cian’s complete photo album here.

Hello Hikers!

Wed June 9

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Randy/Nancy

Black Diamond Trail, Ulysses

11 Hikers and 1 dog proceeded southbound on the Black Diamond Trail from Kraft Rd

A 12^th hiker opted to proceed alone in a Northerly direction from Kraft RD

2 additional people arrived at the trailhead with a hiker and opted to jog the trail ahead on the main body.

This was certainly a case of “ hike your own hike” today.

The weather was hot and muggy; there was little in the way of a breeze to cut the heat until hikers had almost returned to their cars at the end of the hike.

Proceeding from the cars, the air was heavy, and it seemed that the fragrances along certain parts of the trail were heavier than normal in the hot, still air. One hiker observed that the berries along the trail are ripening nicely. I’m not sure if they’ll survive in a ripened state long enough for us to sample them on our next hike of the area.

As much as I enjoy the green tunnel effect we get on this trail in the summer, I miss the ability to look out over the adjacent parcels  that we have in other seasons.

There were a multitude of other trail users : bicyclists, joggers, dog walkers, etc

It was an enjoyable period to relax, let your feet move you along and engage in conversation with the people next to you.

After traversing several cross roads it struck me that we’d been moving at a decent pace and had covered much more ground on this trail than we often do; I’m not sure if others in the group would have agreed with me on this issue.

After reaching the hour time limit the group turned around and returned to our cars without incident.

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Sat June 12

Hike report by Nancy L/Randy. Photos by Randy/Nancy & Cian

Bob Cameron Loop, Connecticut Hill

A little after 9:30 Saturday morning, June 12, 17 hikers and 4 dogs met up at top of Tower Road, the highest point in the county. The google guidance to get to the hike start was faulty making it hard to find.  In future instructions I will describe a route or two as well as giving the link to the location.

We hiked southwest from the cars downhill through a cool, but muggy, forest.  It was cloudy, but no rain.  The trail was generally dry and easy to follow…if you knew where you were going.  Nancy used Gaia to pick the correct trails, and we found a large pond about an hour into the hike.  The pace of the hike was quite lively, without let-up.  Four of the hikers took an alternate route since they became detached from the group.  

One disturbing problem was the prevalence of the gypsy moth caterpillars literally hanging in the trail.  You could actually hear the detritus of the caterpillars falling from the canopy.  It sounded like a light rain.

After checking out the pond we headed north, still descending, until we got to Coal Mine Trail.  We then headed north and east on this somewhat wet and muddy section.  Once we reached the Bob Cameron Loop the trail widened.  However, it was now all uphill to the cars.  As we neared the cars we ran into two of the self-guided hikers.  But, there were two hikers still in the woods, so we used the phone to learn they were almost back.  Soon they emerged from the woods.   So, it turned out OK despite the group not staying together.  

Overall distance was nearly four miles.

Randy and Nancy

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You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun June 13

Hike report by Jim. Photos by Cian

Roy H Park Preserve, Dryden

Fifteen hikers and two dogs set out from the Roy Park Preserve parking lot on Irish Settlement Rd for a hike of the trail leading from the Preserve towards Hammond Hill Rd and beyond.

A sixteenth hiker arrived somewhat later and met us on the trail

It was a warm and sunny day, and entering the treeline after the initial crawl over the wooden boardwalk brought immediate relief from the heat of the day. Walking through the stands of pines in the lower part of the Preserve is my favorite part of this particular trail.

The climb up the hill went by without anything of particular interest; the usual muddy spots on this trail were mostly dried up this particular day, and the chattering group surged ahead the closer we got to Hammond Hill Rd.

Reaching Hammond Hill Rd the group found the multi-use trails there in somewhat heavier use than the Roy Park trails, with a mix of runners, dog walkers  and bicyclists  being our primary trail companions on this day

As a change of pace upon reaching the first fork in the trail the group turned left, towards Star Stanton Rd. The group walked out the first hiking hour and soon turned around, retracing our steps back to our cars

After the end of the hike a sizeable contingent of Ithaca Hikers made our way towards the Hopshire brewery and its supply of cold beverages and food products. We arrived there in time to claim an awning from a just-ended exercise class, and so had a nice amount of protection from the sun while we enjoyed the warm temperatures and nice surroundings.

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Special report — Ithaca Hiker puts in four days on the Appalachian Trail

By Eva B

Eva has been hiking with our group for a number of years.

I just wanted to let everyone know I survived a four day section hike in Maine on the AT, southbound from the Kennebec River to Stratton Maine. It’s about 35 miles but in the 90° heat, and having not carried a backpack in over a year, it was brutal. The worst part was the terrain, it felt like 12 miles through the Bigelows were rock scramble straight up and straight down. There were many places I had to toss my pack down or lift it up and then climb up. My poor dog had to be lifted up or down countless times. She was NOT a happy camper. I think I set a world record for the slowest pace while backpacking, some parts of that took me an hour to cover less than half a mile.

Also there were very few other people out. I passed no more than four people on any given day.

Even the first 20 miles – before the Bigelows- were annoying because there were countless blowdowns and areas where it was hard to find the trail. Anyway, I have a few days off before starting the 100 mile wilderness on June 12. I’ve been reassured that the terrain is not as bad, although I have to climb  Mount Katahdin at the end. I hope I make it!

I guess the only good thing is it was so hot, that the black flies and mosquitoes were not bad. But the deer flies were starting to come out.

The canoe ferry across a Kennebec River was fun, even if it’s only about five minutes across.

Eva