Category: hike reports

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Oct 26

Ridgeway Road south to White Church Road along Willseyville Creek, Caroline

Official head count:  25H, five D

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Saturday Oct 29

Fairfield SF, Candor, with Bill

Photos by Annie

Hike report by Nancy H

We met on a dirt access road near an old quarry. Fairfield State Forest has no marked trails, but our guide was Bill, a new member who grew up on a farm bordering the forest. This forest does not have marked trails, but Bill knows the place like his own back yard. Bill and Norm answered lots of questions about the many varieties of trees that grow here, including hickory, shagbark, red pine, hemlock, spruce, red oak, and a whole lot more. We emerged from the woods and walked along Jenksville Hill Rd, a very quiet dirt road, and returned to the starting point at almost exactly 11:30.

Official count: H:15 D:7

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You can see all of Annie’s photos online here.  I love the look of this place and the vibe I get from Annie’s photos  —  I’m really sorry I had to miss this hike

 

 

Sunday Oct 30

Malloryville walk with Bob B

Photos by Annie

Report by Susan L

This lovely hike through the particularly diverse preserve took us atop an esker with views below on both sides and by bogs, swamps, and marshes, where we saw many a fallen tree coated in silky moss and enjoyed walking paths richly carpeted with autumn leaves. We learned how the glacially formed land features, including eskers, kames, and kettles, and complex water chemistry combine to support various distinct habitats.

Other highlights included crossing a stream on top of a beaver dam that had created a large pond full of now-dead trees and featured a grand beaver lodge; boardwalks and bridges comprised of donated (by Trex) composites created from melted garbage bags and recycled wood; and a kettle with a platform (named in honor of Bob and Roger’s “Aunt Floss”  [1899-2001], who “breathed in three centuries”) in its midst that encircled rare plants, including carnivorous pitcher plants.

Mild and cloudy with just a few minutes of sunshine, it drizzled just before we started, for a few minutes in the middle and again toward the end of the hike; we just missed the downpour on the way home!

29 hikers, 7 dogs

*****

You can see all of Annie’s photos online here

 

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Oct 19

Road walk  —  Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby

It was a beautiful grey morning and everyone was in a cheerful mood  —  I got into taking some posed line-up shots  —  this is four of the seven Susans who hike with us regularly ….

….  I liked this field as a backdrop  —  doesn’t look as good in the photo as it did in real life ….

….  I went gaga over this stand of dark pine  —  the hikers had gotten into doing the Hokey-Pokey when I got this shot

The leaf action was really spectacular  —  if you think I’m exaggerating, check out Jack V’s nature shots here.

Official head count:  18H, four D

 

 

Saturday Oct 22

Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve, Enfield

An alarming incident.  The big tree in the foreground fell down right into the trail shortly after we walked by the spot on the outbound leg  —  we were quite shocked to discover it blocking our way when we headed back  —  it was gusty but it didn’t seem like the wind was strong enough to be toppling trees.  This one was very rotten.

As predicted, we got rained on, but it was intermittent and it wasn’t raining all that hard  —  we were prepared for it and everyone stayed warm and dry and we had a wonderful walk.  On the drive to the trail head we passed areas where all the trees along the road were stripped bare of leaves, but there was plenty of leaf action along the trail and it was very satisfying.  I realized when I got back home that the old growth maple trees that are so cherished by forest people are so tall you can’t see the leaves on top unless you practically bend backwards, which I didn’t do, so I don’t know what the leaves were like on them.

Official head count:  NineH, two D

 

 

Sunday Oct 23

Bald Hill Road to Hill Road, and a get-together at Hobit’s afterwards, Danby

Official head count:  30H, seven D

You can see Jack V’s photos online here

Not everyone who hiked came to Hobit’s afterwards, but there were people there who’d skipped the hike.  It was a little cool in the back yard and almost everyone stayed inside  —  I sat outside staring into the fire and watching Emmie toast marshmallows

Jake, who’s now 16, has become quite a tumbler.  He did some wonderful tricks for us but I don’t know how to activate the “burst” mode on my camera so I failed to get any of his most spectacular moves.  I did manage by luck to catch him in mid-flight here.

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Oct 12

Road walk, large dairy farm neighborhood NE of Freeville  —  Red Mill Road, West Malloryville

Official head count:  16H, one D

Check out Jack V’s online photos here

 

Saturday Oct 15

Southern leg of the Abbott Loop from Michigan Hollow Road east to Hill Road, Danby SF

Official head count:  16H, four D

You can see Annie’s photos online here

 

 

Sunday Oct 16

Yellow Barn SF, Dryden

It started to rain about five minutes after we got into the woods  —  wasn’t supposed to rain until afternoon and a number of us weren’t wearing any rain gear  —  quickly started to rain fairly hard, though we were somewhat sheltered by the trees  —  then, just as quickly, it stopped

I’ve never found a detailed map of Yellow Barn and it’s full of confusing woods roads and trails  —  we ran into a problem on the way back to the cars  —  we were going to go back along the edge of a big field but there were horses out and we were afraid the dogs might scare them  —  forced to bushwhack for a while  —  I like the break in routine but it made us late getting back

On the plus side, the areas that are normally muddy were dry, and the fall scenery was gorgeous

Official head count:  30H, six D

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Fair warning:  No more slack in the time we start our hikes

I’ve always been lenient about delaying our start so people running a little late can join up with us  —  especially when it’s a hike where the trail we’re going to take isn’t obvious.  And, possibly because everyone knows I’m lenient, we always get a few stragglers who pull up after the advertised start time.

But due to chronic dissent in the ranks, we’re now going to leave at precisely the time specified in the hike announcement.  I keep my watch synched with the official US time and we’re going to step off on the dot.  So be advised.

 

Wednesday Oct 5

Shindagin Hollow SF, various bike trails off of Braley Hill Road

I always hope I can get enough usable photos to make a little narrative of our walk  —  failed this time  —  all I could manage was the beginning ….

…. the middle ….

…. and the end.

Both our nature photographers were with us and they managed to get photos along the way  —  too dark for me

Annie

Jack V

Official head count:  21H, four D

 

 

Saturday Oct 8

South leg of the Abbott Loop from Michigan Hollow Road toward The Pinnacles, Danby SF

Another lucky morning for us in the face of a poor forecast

The rain held off until we reached the turn-around point, and then it was just a heavy drizzle, mostly blocked by the trees

I think this trail’s at its best when there’s rain nearby, and it was fantastic this time  —  wonderful gloom under the trees, mist, yellow leaves glowing  —  the trail was a little slippery, though.  I’d hoped to get a sense of whether I still love this walk so much, but I was talking too much and I failed to pay enough attention to the surroundings.

Official head count:  15H, two D

 

 

Sunday Oct 9

Kennedy SF, Virgil

Official head count:  40H, seven D

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Sept 28

Layen Road to Bruce Hill Road and beyond, Danby

Official head count:  26H, six D

More photos  —  by Annie

 

Saturday Oct 1

South Danby Road west on the FLT to the Abbott Loop, Danby SF

Official head count: 22H, two D

 

Sunday Oct 2

Stevens Suspension Bridge west to the Cornell golf course and horse barns, Forest Home

Official head count:  26H, eight D

Both our nature photographers were absent  —  you can see eight more photos by me online here.

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Several hikers who have subscribed to receive all the postings on the web site as e-mails mentioned that they recently stopped getting the postings even though they had not unsubscribed to the web site.  I’ve no idea why this happened  —  it’s all handled through the widgets that are incorporated into the hikers’ site.  I’ll start trying to figure it out;  if anyone has any ideas, contact me.

Meanwhile, if you suddenly stop getting the hike e-mails, you can:

• Go to the web site home page and enter your e-mail address into the Subscribe widget.  You may get a message prompting you to manage your subscription.  Try that.
• If that doesn’t work, enter a different e-mail address into the widget, if you have more than one e-mail.  It’s extremely easy to create a new e-mail for yourself if you want to do that.  I have five.
• If all else fails, you can always visit the web site directly and stay up to date that way.