Category: hike reports

Hello Hikers!

Wed Feb 16

Hike report by Jim

Kennedy State Forest, Cortland County

7 hikers and 1 dog met in Cortland County for a hike of ( mainly ) the FLT in Kennedy Forest.

The weather at the trailhead was a little concerning, with some good winds whipping through the treetops and enough windchill to penetrate multiple layers of clothing. Ultimately the wind was a non-issue as we hiked deeper in the woods, and only reminded us of its presence as we returned to the cars at the end of our hike.

The trail surface, while not perfect, was better than some I have seen recently. The snow had a decently hard crust that lighter hikers could stand entirely on the crust without breaking through. Thankfully there has been enough hiker traffic on this portion of the trail that the treadway was beaten down and easily traveled, even if the surface was a little uneven and somewhat slippery due to the constant freeze and thaw cycles since the last snowfall. Foot traction was essential on this hike.

It was a pleasant walk, with the streams frozen over and easily passed over. The visual scars of last years logging operations remained buried away from view and only hinted at by the stumps and piles of logs thrusting up from beneath the layers of white. The light from the sun that occasionally reminded us of its presence was a nice light and shadow contrast inside the forest. The snow remained fresh enough along the route that the various and frequent  splashes of small cones across the snows surface made an interesting visual contrast.

The group found the Swedish loop and other side trails much less travelled than the FLT itself, but not unbearably so where we would have found ourselves breaking trail through the deep snow. This was more a case of while not a perfect walking surface but of being “just good enough” that it wasn’t a miserable slog through deep snow.

Soon enough we found ourselves at the yellow blazed shortcut back to the FLT.

The return trip to the cars was uneventful.

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Sat Feb 19

Hike report by Nancy L

Depotron Hollow Road, Danby

10 hikers met at the corner of Miller and Marsh Rd on a chilly windy day.  The hike on Marsh down to Deputron was uneventful.  The road was mostly clear  of ice and snow.  Soon we turned left onto the snow covered Deputron road.  The snow on the road was tamped down enough for easy walking for the hikers most of whom we’re wearing traction devices on their feet.  About half way down we received warnings of a snow squall but most of us decided to go on hiking.  Cian met us at the top of Deputron after hiking from Coddington so he was able to join us for the hike down.  We hiked a fair distance past the unplowed portion before turning around to make our way back.  On the way the promised squall arrived but in the protection of the dense surrounding woods neither the wind or the snow were very intense.  All returned safely to their cars.The following pic is courtesy of Roger Beck:

Photos by Cian

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here

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Sun Feb 20

Special exploratory hike report and two photos by Jim

International Loop near Kennedy SF

I didn’t have a formal group hike planned for Sunday, as I’d originally expected the days focus to be on the gathering at Chestnut Lean-To that was cancelled.

Once the days events were cancelled, I wanted to check out the International Loop near Kennedy State Forest in Virgil. Stephen had previously advised me that he’s never taken the group through this particular trail system. Other members of our group heard of my plans and asked to come along. With the understanding that this was an entirely new hike location that I was only doing an exploratory walk on, five of us met on Daisy Hollow Rd for a walk of the maze of trails that make up this particular hiking experience.

With only a map awareness of the trail system, I started the group off on a blue blazed trail that meandered along Christina Creek. This part of the trail system had seen only minimal previous use, and we found ourselves breaking trail through hard crusted snow and seeking out the shallower drifts to posthole through.

Reaching the top of the hill we merged into a network of trails, and the group split up into sub-groups to check out different blazed trails, with an agreed-upon trail intersection that we would meet at further  up the hill.

From this point on the going was much easier; the trail register I wrote in indicated that a sizeable number of Tri-city Hikers had used the trails the day before, and they had compacted the footpath enough that the hike became much more enjoyable for our group.

The group eventually reached the Spanish Loop Trail and the Tiny Pond Spur Trail I had intended to use as our turn-around point.

The return trails tended to follow the utility right of ways at points, but did offer some nice green tunnels to hike through stands of evergreens

Overall this was an enjoyable hike location, one I intend to bring the group back to when warmer weather returns and we don’t have to contend with the snow.

Photos by Cian

Complete photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Wed Feb 9

Hike report and photo by Jim

Sapsucker Woods

16 hikers met for a hike of the Sapsucker Woods trails at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

This was a first-time hike location for the group, so it was a bit of an experiment for me in terms of route planning. I much appreciated the advice of Joel and Jane, area members of the group who joined us on this hike and gave suggestions on the route to hike.
The day was relatively warm in comparison to the weekend temps. The trails were well compacted by previous walkers as well as skiers. There were a few other day walkers or joggers on the trail but for the most part we had the trail to ourselves.
We started from the parking lot area and made our way through a long loop that travelled through the woods behind the visitor’s center. The trail eventually came out onto Sapsucker Woods Rd and we crossed over to do a loop of the trail system on the Eastern side of the roadway.

Returning to Sapsucker Woods Rd we re-traced our steps for the most part, although at one point I veered off the path to take us on an alternate loop that took the group further away from one of the local apartment complexes that is adjacent to the Sanctuary.
We came back to our cars and the parking lot a few minutes early; I’ll have to revise the route on future visits to get us closer to our normal hike duration.
I brought binoculars to this hike thinking that we might get a look at some wildlife, but other than some squirrels we didn’t get the opportunity to see any living wildlife today/

A warm welcome to Norm’s friend Mary who hiked with the group today for the first time!

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Sat Feb 12

Hike report and two photos by Jim

Ekroos Road, Tioga County

When I first arrived at the parking area there was a significant amount of cloud cover and the upper branches on the trees around me were alive with the sound of the wind blowing through them. The ground at the parking area was a sheet of ice, so most of the group hiked with some form of foot traction.

As the hike progressed the ice underfoot soon gave way to mud, making the traction unnecessary.

Within the first thirty minutes or so of the hike the wind had died down and the sun had come out. By this time the group was emerging from a section of the road that is well-lined with trees on both sides, to a part of the hike where the southerly side of the road opens up in broad vistas of the fields and hills in that direction. The sun made this particular stretch of the hike very inviting.

Arriving at the two residences about a mile down the road, the group found that the seasonal portion of the road where plowing normally ceases was in fact plowed today. This section of the road is most notable for the deep gully ( I can’t really get away with calling it a gorge ) that runs alongside the road The group pressed onward, hiking down the hill and crossing Boyer Creek as the road approached 76 Road inside of Tompkins County. The group turned around and crawled its way back up the hill for the return leg of the hike.

Passing the two residences at the crest of the first hill, the group found weather conditions changing again. The previous cloud cover returned with a vengeance, the sunny and clear portions of sky still visible to the south but quickly scuttling away from us. Soon a steady drumbeat of granular snow started to fall, quickly enveloping the group in what gave the appearance of hiking in a life-sized snow globe. By the time we made it back to the cars the ground was covered by a fine layer of fresh snow.

Overall, a very good day to hike this particular stretch of road.

Five photos by Leigh Ann

Ypu can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here.

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Sun Feb 13

Hike report by Jim

Lloyd Stark and Carter Creek roads, Connecticut Hill

7 hikers and 2 dogs met at the junction of Connecticut Hill Rd and Lloyd Starks Rd for a hike of the seasonal roads in the area. An additional 2 hikers also arrived but chose to ski the area roads together rather than hike with the rest of the group.

The snow on Lloyd Starks was well-compacted from snowmobiles, so the going was not terribly difficult despite recent warm days which I had thought might have softened up the snowpack.

It was a pleasant hike up to the crest of Lloyd Starks Rd; from there it was a gentle downhill to the junction with the seasonal portion of Carter Creek Rd, which had likewise been compacted by snowmobile traffic. Compared to the last winter hike where we hiked this area, when unknown persons had churned up Carter Creek Rd by driving through it repeatedly with 4 wheel drive vehicles, the surface today was an excellent hiking surface. I also found that the logged area along Lloyd Stark was much less of an eyesore thanks to the snowcover.

As the group moved along Carter Creek Rd a small amount of snow started falling, not enough to create any sort of hazard but enough to give the hike a nice wintery feel.

The group reached Hulford Rd before turning around and re-tracing our steps back to the cars.

The hiking group ran into a couple of dog walkers along the way, as well as a porcupine that had earlier lost a battle with some other wildlife, but otherwise we had the trail to ourselves.

The skiers reported to me later that they had relocated to Tower Rd. They advised me that they had skied until 1230 or so, as they found surface conditions in that area to be better.

Photos by Leigh Ann

Two more hikers, Randy and Nancy L, decided to ski the roads. You can see Nancy’s photo album here.

Hello Hikers!

Wed Feb 2

Hike report by Jim

Lime Hollow Nature Center, Cortland County

8 hikers met on Gracie RD in Cortland County for a hike of various trails within the Lime Hollow Nature Center property.

The parking area was fairly well-covered with a layer of ice, which most hikers took as a cue to wear some form of foot traction. I opted for nano spikes, although we later found that the trail conditions were probably better for microspikes. Ultimately the trails were so compacted from previous skiers and hikers that no form of foot traction was really needed.

Setting off Westerly on the Lehigh Valley trail hikers soon arrived at the High Vista Loop  Trail which circles Baldwin Pond. Parts of this loop were the least compacted of any we found on the various trails. Stopping to look at Baldwin Pond, Steve S took the opportunity to walk out on the ice to check it out. Based on some other people present and what I took to be ice fishing holes on the pond surface, I assumed the ice was quite safe. Various wildlife observations also took place at this point of the hike.

Returning to the Lehigh Valley trail the group jumped onto the Hermits Way, which in turn connected to Fen Way and its return to Lehigh Valley. Through this stretch of trail the snow surface was  littered with the bark and needle and seed residue of the forest around us. The contrast of the snow, the darker bark, and this forest residue made for interesting visuals on this sunny day.

The sun was out, no wind was noticed, and so this was an enjoyable portion of the hike for me.

Once back on the Lehigh Valley Trail the group returned to the parking area, passed our cars and continued Easterly on the Lehigh Valley Trail.

We jumped onto  Maple Run, which led us to the Chicago bog. Once there the entire group walked out onto the frozen surface, something we’ve never done on previous hikes there. Walking across the pond we soon jumped back onto solid ground at the Phiilips Memorial Walk trail, which we took to Gracie Rd. The group returned to the Maple Run via the Esker Connector, and from there back to our cars.

Hike duration was almost a perfect two hours, arriving back at the cars with eight minutes to spare.

This was a great day to hike, with minimum difficulty from weather or trail conditions. The group behind me was  a steady hum of conversation for nearly the entire hike, so I assume that everyone with me had an enjoyable morning.

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Sat Feb 5

Hike report by Nancy H

Stewart Park, bird sanctuary and Newman Golf Course

Eight hikers and two dogs met on a cold, snow-covered morning in Stewart Park. As hikers arrived, we found out that the roads inside the park had not yet been plowed. Two hikers’ cars got stuck in the snow when they tried to drive into the park, and the group spent some time digging and pushing to move the cars. Eventually, everyone parked in the lot of the Ithaca Youth Bureau, which had been plowed and salted.

With temperatures in the low teens and a brisk wind coming off the lake, we decided to head into the bird sanctuary to get out of the wind. There we made our way through the deep, powdery snow (it looked like maybe one or two people had been on the trail before us). One hiker in our group wore snowshoes. Norm spotted some mink tracks and (later) fox tracks in the snow.

After we’d looped through the woods, we crossed the bridge and walked across the golf course. Here the wind reasserted itself, but the sun and the astonishing blue sky made up for it. We gave our legs a rest by walking on a plowed road at the far side of the golf course. From there we headed back toward Stewart Park, cut through the woods again, and made our way back to our cars.

Photos by Leigh Ann

You can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here

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Sun Feb 6

Hike report by Jim

Quiet rural roads weest of Upper Treman SP

Eight hikers and two dogs  met on Woodard Rd in Enfield for a roadwalk of the surrounding country roads. A ninth hiker arrived late and did their own solo hike. I had originally planned this as an FLT walk, but I arrived early to the meeting location, drove around the surrounding roads to check conditions, and chose to switch to a road walk.

It was a sunny but cold day, excellent for walking. Expecting some windy conditions I wore an extra layer or two but never felt overheated during the walk.

Road conditions, while well plowed and sanded, were slippery in parts and most of the group wore some form of foot traction.

Weather conditions were enjoyable except for portions of Thomas Rd where the group experienced some stiff winds coming across the open fields.

The group eventually arrived on Thomas Rd where the FLT leaves the woods and enters Robert Treman at the gated service road; to proceed further would have meant breaking trail through the fresh snow, which no one was interested in doing. The group used that as our turn-around point dfspite it being not yet quite an hour into the walk.

The group arrived  back at our cars also slightly early, but no one complained.

Photos by Leigh Ann

You can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here

Hello Hikers!

Wed Jan 26

Hike report by Jim

Upper Buttermilk Falls SP

Six hikers met in upper Buttermilk Falls State Park for a hike of the Bear Trail and Lake Treman Rim Trail.

It was a cold and clear morning; not as cold as the weather report would have had you believe if you had checked that before coming to the hike.

A few minutes of very fine snowflakes fell when I first arrived in the parking lot, but soon dissipated and ended completely.  Other than a departing hunter and a dog walker or two, our hikers had the park to ourselves at that time of the morning.

Hikers crossed over the new footbridge to reach the Bear Trail. The Bear Trail footpath was well compacted snow, a welcome change from last Wednesdays hike in Shindagin. I had donned nanospikes for the hike after making an initial inspection of the trail footpath. Over the course of the hike I realized that the better option would have been microspikes, as the nanos failed to provide the best traction over the entirety of the hike due to changing trail conditions.

The Bear Trail portion of the hike was uneventful, and soon we found ourselves in the picnic area near Treman Lake. By now the sun was shining, casting long shadows through the woods and causing a glare of light across the fresh snow along the trail.

Hikers climbed the hill towards Treman Lake, crossing the closed off  side trail to the loop trail that crosses over the dam. From there we continued the steady uphill climb.

Continuing on the trail circling the Lake we found the trail increasingly less compacted; clearly the regular users of the tail were not coming this far. Eventually we crested the high point of the trail and began descending. By the time we reached the junction with the FLT spur trail we found that the lake trail was closed to hiking for the season. The group jumped onto the FLT spur trail which was even less compacted than what we had been hiking through.

The group soon reached Yaple Rd at the hour mark of the hike, then turned around to re-trace our steps. Picking up a couple of slower members of the group along the way we soon returned to the picnic area parking lot.

Rather than returning along the Bear Trail we opted to cross the fordway, made possible by a layer of frozen ice and snow covering the flowing water. The wooden footbridge was taken up for the winter season and unavailable.

The group found the park service road was plowed, allowing an enjoyable return trip to our cars with no incidents to report.

A warm welcome to Johanna on her first hike with the group!

Photos by Nancy L

You can see Nancy’s complete album here

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Sat Jan 29

Hike Repoort by Jim

Black Diamond Trail from Kraft Road, Town of Ulysses

4 hikers met on Kraft RD for a Northbound hike of the Black Diamond Trail. Two of the four chose to ski rather than hike the trail. The trail surface had been reconnoitered by Nancy L the previous evening, so we knew that there were several individual tracks running the length of the trail for use by either skiers or hikers.

Two additional hikers arrived at the parking area late and chose to do their own hike in the southbound direction.

While the reported wind chill factor had scared many hikers from joining this hike, the wind was not particularly bad after a few minutes of hiking. Within a half hour of the hikes start the wind had died down to a level where I barely noticed it for the remainder of the morning

.The northbound hikers and skiers proceeded Northerly for an hour, turning around at the hour mark to return to our vehicles without incident.

The South-bound hikers later reported to me that they had made some excellent progress on their own hike before turning around to return to the parking area.

Special cold-weather photo by Jack V

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Special report and photos by Leigh Ann

A little explanation that can go with these pictures:
Saturday, Iris and I arrived at the Kraft Road trailhead shortly after the rest of the group headed north on the Black Diamond. We headed south so we wouldn’t tread on as many cross-country ski tracks and had a very enjoyable hike to Perry City Road and back. The wind chill was -15 to -10, so we kept our face masks on pretty much the whole time. We had the trail to ourselves except for a herd of deer that we startled. Two hours after we started, we returned to the cars and rendezvoused briefly at the Upper Falls Overlook.

Best wishes,Leigh Ann

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Sun Jan 30

Hike report by Jim

Spur Trail, Upper Lick Brook to Upper Buttermilk Falls SP

12 hikers and 1 dog met on Townline Rd for a hike of the Thayer Preserve and the FLT Spur Trail to Yaple Road.

Weather conditions were much improved from the previous day.

While the trail leading down into Lick Brook was closed for the extended January hunting season, the Thayer  Preserve trails were well traveled with a compacted layer of snow on the treadway, probably benefitting from the Lick  Brook side being closed.

The group set off from Townline Rd, quickly scaling the hillside to the flats where the trail runs along the ridge between the gorge and Sandbank Rd.

Reaching the split with the blue blazed trail that runs back to the gorge, the group quickly found out that the well-compacted trail surface was now greatly diminished in the amount of hiker traffic that had been using the orange blazed trail. Coming out into the open fields near the Sandbank Rd cidery there was still a discernable path left by previous hikers, but it had been largely filled in by blowing snow. Reaching the opposite side of the field where the trail returns to the treeline, it was clear that even fewer people had been using that section of the trail.

The group spent much of the time between that field and the powerline right-of-way breaking trail through several inches of fresh powdery snow. Once at the right-of-way we found ourselves again breaking trail to West King Rd.

Coming out on West King Rd we made a short jog down the road and re-entered the woods, now on the FLT spur trail proper. While much of this section was not well-compacted, a trail left by previous hikers served to guide the group through the maze of trees when the blazes were not immediately obvious.

Coming out in the final field the group crossed the field towards Yaple Rd before turning around.

On the return leg the group splintered into several sub-groups. The main body returned to Townline Rd via the more direct route we had taken on the outbound leg of the hike. A couple of us took the blue blazed trail down into the ravine, crossing the frozen streambed and climbing the hill on the opposite side to loop back to Townline Rd. This section is always my favorite part of this particular hike.

A warm welcome to Gary on his first hike with the group!

Photos by Leigh Ann

You can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here

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Photos by Cian

You can see Cian’s complete album here

Hello Hikers!

Wed Jan 19

Hike report by Jim

Braley Hill Road, Shindagin Hollow SF

Ten hikers and 1 dog met on Braley Hill Rd for a hike of the FLT from Braley Hill Rd to Shindagin Hollow.

The Trail from Braley Hill Rd had been snowshoed on, and my initial belief was that the surface was packed down  enough to make the footpath hike-able.

This assessment proved to be incorrect once the group left the road and entered the woods. The previous snowshoers had not compacted the footpath nearly enough, and so it was slow going for the group as we hiked through the woods at an extremely slow pace.

Reaching the Jeep trail that intersects the FLT prior to Shindagin Hollow RD, we found that the earlier snowshoers had deviated form the FLT to follow the Jeep trail. Unwilling to have the group break trail through a foot of fresh snow on the FLT I initially entertained the idea of hiking the Jeep trail to Shindagin Hollow Rd to finish the hike as a road walk; a few minutes of walking on the fresh snow of the Jeep trail convinced me that the easier option would be to turn around and return to Braley Hill Rd to do any road walking on that road.

The group returned to our cars early, but the consensus was that the hike had been sufficient and no road walk was desired.

Photos by Leigh Ann

You can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here

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Sat Jan 22

Hike cancelled because of cold

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Sun Jan 23

Hike report by Jim

Treman SP on the FLT from Route 13

15 hikers and 3 dogs met at the FLLT parking lot of State Route 13 at Shady Corners, for a hike of the FLT through Lower Robert Treman State Park

It was a cool morning, with occasional sun coming through the clouds and no sign of the snow that was forecast for later that afternoon.

The group set off on the FLT from the parking lot, {which was a challenge in and of itself as only about half of the lot has been plowed or even driven on since our recent snowfall )

The FLT footpath has seen some regular use since the snow fell, but the snow itself was not packed down and was of a consistency similar to running on a sandy beach. Ultimately this slowed down the group enough that we only covered about half of our normal distance for this hike.

The group very quickly broke into about three distinct sub-groups that were hiking at very different speeds Some of these hikers we were able to reconnect with the main body of hikers on the return leg of this out-and-back hike, but some had already returned to the parking lot by the time the main group got back to our cars.

The main sub-group of hikers still covered a decent amount of ground, getting well into the hills above the YMCA pavilion before turning around at the hour mark.

A quick stop at the pavilion for some photos, and we set off again on our return trip to the parking lot.

We encountered a few other hikers on the trail, but for the most part our group had the trail to ourselves

Welcome to new hikers Rick, Hailey, Kris and their dog Pippa o their first hike with the group!

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Photos by Leigh Ann

You can see Leigh Ann’s complete photo album here

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Photos by Cian

You can see Cian’s complete photo album here