Category: hike reports

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Thursday March 16

Road walk, Michigan Hollow Road, Danby SF

Gorgeous fresh and sparkling morning in Danby SF  —  it seemed especially beautiful because it was our first chance to get out after being trapped inside for two days by Snowstorm Stella

One problem at the meet-up  —  there was a strong wind blowing down from the north, and we were not looking forward to having to walk back into it for an hour on the return leg  —  over 20 mph with gusts over 30 mph, according to two weather data sites

Norm shot a small video, which you can see here

One good thing about a road walk  —  if you arrive late, you can just drive ahead and catch up with everyone no matter how far up the road they are

We made it as far south as the Tioga County line in an hour  —  just about three miles

For whatever reason, the wind wasn’t bad at all on our way back to the cars  —  maybe it was being blocked by the trees  —  in any case, we had a great time and everyone was really feeling cheerful

Official head count:  12H, three D

 

Saturday March 18

Road walk  —  Legge Hill Road, Candor

More chilly wind blowing right on us  —  luckily, either it died down quickly or I got used to it, but it wasn’t a bother after the first few minutes

The sky was a leaden grey and the scenery had a wonderful bleak and melancholy feeling  —  we passed two picturesque decaying houses that must have been lovely in the past;  they added to the gloomy mood

It started to snow lightly before we reached the halfway point in the walk

There was a good snow cover everywhere except this little knob  —  it wasn’t particularly windy at that moment, but it must be a very windy spot in general.  Steve (R) shot a brief video from the summit giving a 360-panorama view  —  you can see it here

This was one of the first of the farmland road walks our group has done  —  Tiger and I both really loved it the first time  —  this time we were a little surprised to find it didn’t seem so special to us  —  we’ve gotten spoiled and we’re really very discriminating now

But there’s no question, the rolling terrain and the gloomy atmosphere were fantastic!

Official head count:  18H, five D

You can see Annie’s photos here

 

Sunday March 19

Snowmobile trail, Fischer Settlement Road east through Danby SF

The snowmobiles had packed the snow down pretty well, but we had to walk single-file and the surface was a little lumpy and soft, so the walking was a bit tough

This was supposed to be an easy hike but the trail was a lot more uphill than I’d remembered, and we got a good workout

It was really nice out and we were in good spirits  —  Stephanie said she felt a powerful urge to make a snow angel, something she hadn’t done in many many years

The snowmobile trail turned south and headed down Travor Road through the SF  —  we got as far as Peter Road in South Danby  —  another walk for another day

My ass was dragging as we got back to the cars but Tiger said she felt energized and not the least bit tired  —  I wonder if all this hiking is turning her into an endorphin-type exerciser ….

Official head count:  25H, five D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wed March 8

Shindagin Hollow SF, bike trails in the northeast section

An unusually nice morning for early March  —  no signs of spring yet, of course, but it was mild and the air smelled very fresh from the rain overnight and there was water everywhere

The hikers were all in a lively mood and everyone was talking away brightly  —  it was the morning of the world without women march and one word was on everyone’s lips:

Trump

This is a loop hike that includes a number of extremely poorly marked biking trails  —  the only way we can finish in two hours is if someone can remember the correct way to proceed at every unmarked crossroads  —  so far, Tiger’s the only one who can remember the way  —  she had a few minutes of confusion this time caused by downed trees and huge puddles obscuring the way, but she figured it out in the end and we got back to the cars in almost precisely two hours

Official head count:  19H, four D

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

Saturday March 11

Forest road walk with a lesson in using a compass, Curtis Road and Hill Road, Danby SF

We shaped up right at the top of a fairly high hill and the atmospherics when we got out of the car were awful  —  biting raw wind, snowing and 12 degrees ….

…. but, as always when we hike in nasty weather, it was fun to see everyone, and we all perked up as soon as we got moving

The main group set off down Hill Road, planning to do some elementary work on navigating in the woods with a compass.  Four of us decided to just do a straight road walk south on Curtis Road  —  we made it down to the intersection with Fischer Settlement Road

Most of Curtis was underlain with a sheet of ice  —  I guess this is what happens when you have a big thaw and then a sharp freeze and some snow  —  I broke through the ice at one point into a big puddle  —  got my foot a little damp  —  but, thanks to good socks, not a problem

*****

Report on the main group, who bushwhacked from Hill Road to Curtis Road using a compass, from Scott:

On Saturday, a group of the hikers did a bushwhack with compasses from Hill road east through a beautiful mixed forest and mildly uneven terrain to Curtis road.    After about 1/2 hour all Bushwhackers emerged onto Curtis in reasonably close proximity and, if we counted correctly, none were left behind and lost.     On Curtis road the Bushwhackers met up with the other hikers for a lovely walk back to the cars.    The bushwhacking event appeared to be a success and we will be planning others in the future.

*****

We all met up back on Curtis Road near where we started:

This stretch takes us through a fantastic setting for a little while

Official head count:  16H, three D

Jack V walked with the bushwhack-and-compass group  —  you can see his photos here

 

Sunday March 12

Kennedy SF, Virgil

A few degrees colder than our meet-up the day before but not so windy, so the initial prospect of stepping out of the warm cars wasn’t so unappealing

This trail has a number of stream crossings  —  they may look small in the photos but the ice on top wasn’t solid and it wasn’t always obvious how to get across  —  several hikers broke through and got a bit wet

Lovely morning  —  pale sun for part of the time, a little snow flurries  —  on the last leg of the drive back into town, from NYSEG on, we drove through frozen fog

The box that protects the trail registry book was frozen shut and a couple of our guys had to work strenuously together to get it open  —  Tiger was concerned they might pull it off the tree

Owego Hill Road  —  underlain with ice and barely frozen-over puddles in spots

This walk doesn’t have any major ups and downs but it has many tricky small ones and you really need to keep your eye on the trail all the time  —  in order to finish the loop in two hours we need to keep up a brisk pace  —  several hikers complained we went so fast they didn’t have enough time to look around at the beautiful scenery

Official head count:  16H, four D

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday March 1

Road walk:  Chicken Coop Road west from Grove Road, Perry City

Another 60-degree morning with a stormy cold front coming straight at us on the doppler radar, complete with thunderstorms this time ….

I’ve never spent any time in farm country but our meet-up felt just like what I imagine a country crossroads would be like  —  slight stink of manure in the air, rural buildings everywhere you look, completely quiet and peaceful

This is the home neighborhood of our nature photographer Jack V  —  his family has been here for two hundred years and he has relatives living all over nearby.

I told Norm I thought his old-style beard really fits in in a back-country setting  —  no, he said, in fact the college girls really appreciate his look  —  he lives in Dryden and he does a lot of research in the TC3 library  —  he said the young students there often compliment his beard

Not only did we not get any rain, but the sun came out near the end and it was gorgeous

We went by Jack’s house afterwards to have some wine and to check out the photos he’s planning to put up in his first photo show, coming in June to The Commons  —  that’s Jack’s grandson Winchester, nine months old, who lives next door

Official head count:  12H, five D

You can see Jack’s photos here

 

Saturday March 4

Forest road walk, Bald Hill Road from Station Road south in Danby SF

Quite a bit more snow on the ground at hike time than predicted  —  the roads weren’t fully plowed on the way to the trail head and we did some skidding in the car

I’d no idea what the woods road would be like but I didn’t expect what we found  —  much of it was underlain with ice

Several of the hikers left their foot traction home  —  one hiker fell down hard onto her leg shortly after we set off  —  after that, everyone was careful and we didn’t have any more falls

This walk’s always picturesque but it looked especially good in the gloom and snow  —  then the sun came out briefly a few times and that was really pretty

…. resumed snowing pretty quickly

The roads were all plowed by the time we headed home except for the last steep stretch of Bald Hill Road just before the meet-up  —   Tiger had to gun the car up this hill while it slipped around a bit  —  fun

Official head count:  NineH, one D

 

Sunday Feb 5

Lick Brook

Official head count:  15H, three D

 

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wed Feb 22

Snowmobile trail, Route 79 in Slaterville Springs north to Midline Road and Irish Settlement Road, Freeville

Official head count:  17H, five D

You can see Annie’s photos here

 

 

Sat Feb 25

Six Mile Creek, south side rim trail

Big storm coming at us on the radar  —  would it hit before we finished the hike?

What a gorgeous morning to step out into the woods!

Wet and slippery in spots  —  several hikers fell down

Started to sprinkle a little about 20 minutes before the end  —  faint thunder in the distance

A couple of minutes after we drove away from the trail head, it started to pour  —  that was a squeaker!

Official head count:  27H, eight D

You can see Jack V’;s photos here

 

Sunday Feb 26

South Danby Road west toward Hill Road, Danby SF

We had a few little adventures this time, starting with the drainage ditch we need to cross right after we leave the cars  —-  the bridge across looked a bit icy and treacherous ….  0ne of our dogs who was wearing a jacket got knocked into the ditch by another dog in the excitement  —  he got soaked and had to go home early ….

The bridge across this stream had been knocked askew  —  it was tilted and sloping down in one direction  —  a number of us chose to go across on hands and knees, including me  —  very decent way to cross an icy surface

Our two nature photographers have a number of shots of us making the crossing ….

We got a snow shower  —  really added to the great gloomy atmospherics

We hit a good deal of mud and the dogs got dirty  —  one hiker was straddling this same ditch out at the road rinsing off his shoes when a piece of the bank gave way and he tumbled backwards into the ditch  —  he had a surgical bandage on one hand from a fresh carpal tunnel surgery but it didn’t get wet and he didn’t hurt the wrist while taking the tumble

Official head count:  27H, eight D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wed Feb 18

Road walk:  Three farm roads just north of Perry City Road, west of Jacksonville

We’ve had a string of great atmospheric mornings for our Wednesday road walk series, and this one was outstanding  —  snow shower on the way to the trail head and a gorgeous dramatic grey sky

I generally choose our midweek road walks just by looking at the map, and there’s always the possibility they could have dangerously heavy or fast traffic  —  but so far I’ve been very lucky.  These roads were deserted except for one stretch about 300 feet long where we had to shift from one road to another

Official head count:  14H, three D

 

Saturday Feb 18

Bock Harvey Forest Preserve to Hines Road on the FLT, Enfield

Official head count:  21H, six D

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

Sunday Feb 19

Potato Hill SF, Caroline

The snow was somewhat deep and very soft both weekend days, and we had to break a trail on the outbound legs  —  surprisingly exhausting

One of the hikers pulled the car a tiny bit too far off the road at the meet-up and it fell into a deep ditch that was obscured by snow  —  a coyote hunter in a big truck offered to pull the car out with a chain, but our guys got it out with some artful pushing and driving ….

Official head count:  17H, eight D