Category: hike reports

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

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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

Hello Hikers!

Wed May 12

Hike report and group photo by Jim

Virgil Mountain, Cortland County

Ten hikers and four dogs met on O’Dell Rd for  a hike of  the FLT  on Virgil Mountain

The day started out a bit overcast, although the temps were cool and comfortable; pretty much perfect hiking weather.

When first stepping off O’Dell Rd onto the FLT, the hiker passes by a large stand of the CCC-planted pines that we see on so much of the state land we hike through. On days like today those stands of trees, standing in their uniform rows, impart a little bit of the “atmospherics” onto a hike, to use Stephens word.

The first quarter mile or so of trail is a mix of gradual rolling ups and downs, with a fair amount of muddy spots, many with  sections of corduroy filler to get  hikers through the muddy parts.

By the first and second stream crossing our hikers found themselves walking on some thick layers of pine needles interspersed with the usual roots and rocks. All in all, not a bad walking surface.

Hikers pass through and along at least three distinct streams on this hike; the sounds of the flowing water was a great companion on this particular hike today

The incline is a gradual and continuous climb throughout this hike.

Soon enough our hikers found themselves at the only crossing of an improved road on this section of trail, at Van Donsel Rd. The group paused to allow the dispersed end of the hiker line to catch up with the main body; everyone rested a bit and then turned to the task of charging up the second half of the outbound leg of the hike

Once on the other side of Van Donsel the elevation gain begins in earnest. Soon hikers found themselves passing the chair lift apparatus for Greek Peak ski resort; here the FLT turns to parallel the ski trails for a while.

Pausing to make an FLT trail journal entry, the group then summited the mountain peak, stopping to admire the summit marker and then continue on to the near-by observation point that looked over the valley. By now the sun was out, and with the clear atmospheric conditions the group could see ridgelines and peaks many miles distant.

After a quick group photo, we turned around and hiked our way back down the trail, stopping only at one point to catch a view of the valley from the top of the ski lift area of Greek Peak.

All in all it was an excellent hike.

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Sat May 15

Hike report and group photo by Jim. Six photos by Cian

Finger Lakes National Forest — Logan Road west to Satterly Hill Road, Burdett

8 hikers and 2 dogs met on Logan Rd near Burdett , for  a Westerly walk of the FLT in that area I was very interested in this particular hike, as I don’t recall ever being with the group when the Hikers have walked this section in the past.

A 9^th hiker caught up to the main group shortly after we set off.

A 10^th hiker with 3 dogs arrived late and walked the trail as a solo hike, but never met up with the main group until we had completed the outbound leg of the hike and were back at the cars.

The day was sunny and warm, and clearly the better weather lately has caused the undergrowth to really take off.

Shortly after leaving Logan Rd the Trail takes hikers through a lush field. Throughout this hike the Trail is generally very narrow and closed in by the undergrowth along the footpath. As we pushed our way through the undergrowth I was glad that we checked out this section of the Trail when the trail-side greenery was not at its full summer growth stage.

After getting through the fields, hikers enter a very nice section of woods, with the Trail wandering through nicely spaced mature trees.

Eventually the Trail brings hikers to a well built bridge of recent vintage; clearly a lot of effort went into making sure that this bridge would stay in its place. The group paused here for  a group photo before moving onwards

There were  a few muddy spots along the lower lying areas of the Trail, but nothing too difficult to deal with.

Before long the Trail begins a gradual long steady climb up a hillside.

It was on this hilly part that we had our only real issue; the FLT in this area is criss-crossed with a myriad of horse or other type trails and footpaths, with little in the way of blazing to send a hiker in the correct direction.. At one point the FLT takes a right turn; the group followed those blazes, but by the time we reached Satterly Hill RD it was clear that the trail we were following was not in fact the FLT. The panoramic view of the surrounding area from that location more than made up for any error in trail use.

A short roadwalk brought us to the current FLT footpath where it crosses the road, but we found that further progress forward was halted due to the Trail in the area being closed due to hunting. As it was nearly time to turn around, the group followed the correct Trail, noting on our descent where we had made the directional error on our upwards climb.

The return trip to the cars was uneventful, although we did eventually encounter the last Ithaca Hiker to arrive.

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You can see Cian’s fill photo album here

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Sun May 16

Hike report by Leigh Ann. Six photos by Tiger

Woodard Road NE into upper Treman SP, Enfield

Hi, everyone.

This was a great spring morning for an atmospheric road/woods hike that hinted at impending storms for the afternoon. At 9:30, nine hikers and two dogs set out east from Woodard Road on the FLT to the junction with the CCC Trail. From there, we took the CCC trail south over Fishkill Creek to Butternut Creek Road. The Road was mostly dry, but the creek was full, and we paralleled it on the road until we reached the hard left turn onto Van Ostrand Road.

From there, we took Van Ostrand Road up over the hill to where the panoramic view opens out to the north. The mackerel sky had briefly opened out to blue by then. When we reached Thomas Road, we headed north on that into the state park, through lovely fields growing up with young pines and white-blooming autumn olive trees.

From the end of Thomas Road, we hiked to the South Rim Trail and down to Lucifer Falls, which were bright white and had a nice deep bass tone. We saw numerous other people and dogs on the South Rim Trail. But from the Lucifer Falls overlook, it was clear that the North Rim Trail is not open yet – at least where it goes up beside Lucifer Falls. 

At that point, another hiker and three more dogs happily joined the main group. We hiked down the South Rim Trail to the mill. From there we took the CCC trail and FLT back to the cars, arriving about 25 minutes early.

We stood around the cars visiting with each other for a while. Then we farewelled Jim Rolfe, who used this as his starting point for a week of hiking west on the FLT. Thank you, Jim, for planning this beautiful hike!

Best wishes,

Leigh Ann

Hello Hikers!

Wednesday May 5

This hike report was written by Jim

Star Stanton Road west into Hammond Hill SF, Dryden

Ten hikers and one dog met at the end of the maintained portion of Star Stanton Hill Rd, for a hike of the FLT in the area of Hammond Hill. An eleventh hiker arrived late and met the group on trail.

There was some concern about expected weather conditions at the beginning of the hike; a weather front moving through the area had the trailhead in a misty rain that was barely noticeable.

Hikers climbed the seasonal portion of Star Stanton Hill Rd in a Westerly direction. Passing into the abandoned section of  Star Stanton Hill Rd, hikers found this portion of the FLT well-blazed with fresh paint, which I believe was a change from the last time we’d hiked this section.

Passing a chained off split in the road, hikers soon found where the FLT takes a sharp turn off of Star Stanton Hill Rd and into the forest.

Stepping into the woods we were soon passing through small clumps of  evergreens and passing over small well-supplied water crossings. Our last time through this area the evergreens had been covered in fresh snow. This time, the forest floor was springing forth with new growth that had not yet grown so high as to screen our view of the surrounding forested area.

Climbing a small hill we found ourselves on the yellow blazed trails of Hammond Hill, whose multi-use trails share this part of the woods with the FLT.

The group made quick progress, following the white FLT blazes as we travelled from yellow to red blazed trails. It seemed that a mist hung in the air, resulting in  a sort of diffused lighting along the trail in places. While there were the occasional muddy patches and standing pools of water of trail, even the worst of these were easily circumvented and our journey continued.

I had not planned on using any of the Hammond Hill trails to create a lollipop or circuitous route of travel, and had only brought an FLT map with me, not the more detailed Hammond Hill trail map with which to alter my original thoughts for an out-and-back hike. After an hour we simply stopped, turned around and re-traced our steps along what was now a  mostly downhill trek back to the cars. As we made the return trip, weather conditions worsened slightly, with a rain that was more noticeable, and intermittent winds that seemed to push me down the trail as if to encourage me to leave the hill and return to civilization.

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Sat May 8

Hike report and photo by Jim

Kennedy SF, Cortland County

The trip to Saturdays hike in Kennedy State Forest was as unique as the actual hike.

Those who travelled to the trailhead via Virgil Rd ( State Route 392 ) were treated to picturesque low lying fog hanging over the mountains, and fresh snow layered in the fields almost as soon as crossing into Cortland County

Five hikers set off from the trailhead; two late arrivals met us on the trail in mid-hike.

It was a cool, damp day, the forecasted rain holding off until after the hike was completed.

The chill at the beginning was enough to require gloves and an extra outer layer, much of which were cast off during the hike.

The forest floor, in places where the trail had not been made into a muddy stream, had a unique shock-absorbing quality today which gave the hiker the sensation of walking across a spongey surface. The roots and mud, often a hazard on this trail on wet days, was not particularly bad today for me. A few near-spills, quickly arrested by poles or by sliding onto firmer ground. One hiker wandered far enough off trail at one point to run into the barbed wire, but nothing life threatening.

Water levels in the streams were higher than many hikes in this forest in the past, but this was not unexpected. Hikers were able to find narrower areas to bound across the streams to continue our journey.

The loggers were active in the far distance, and the muddy trails they’re using were encountered a couple of times as we made our way through the forest.

I reversed our normal direction of travel once reaching the intersection with the blue blazed trails; this time we remained on the FLT until reaching the yellow blazed side trail which in turn led to the blue blazed trails which returned us to the FLT on our return leg to the parking lot. There was no particular benefit to this route today, but it seemed to be a nice break from our traditional routes of travel for this forest.

This was a great hike.

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Sun May 9

Hike report by Jim

Yellow Barn SF, Dryden

Ten hikers and three dogs met for a hike of the Yellow Barn State Forest area

The day was cool, with only intermittent short periods of sunlight.

Hikers set off down the seasonal road from the parking area, skirting carefully around the various pools of water which were at their maximum capacity and overflowing due to recent rains. Despite this, the sections of trail were mostly passable, with little in the way of mud to impede our progress.

We initially tried a secondary approach to the horse fields that involved a woods walk along various ATV and snowmobile trails. Green growth of flowers and vegetation stood out on the forest floor along our path. The group eventually chose to return to the seasonal road and approach the fields along a route we use more regularly on this hike.

Entering the equestrian fields we found them to be unoccupied; we quickly skirted the fields to arrive at the entrance to the loop trail on the opposite end of the equestrian fields which was our ultimate destination.

The loop trail was an enjoyable mud-free hiking experience, and at the hour mark the group opted to press ahead to complete the loop rather than turn around immediately to return to the fields.

After completing the loop trail the group returned to the equestrian fields, where we countered the only horse and rider of the day.

A quick retreat down the seasonal road brought the group back to our cars ad the successful completion of another hike.