ithacahikers

Hello Hikers!

 

 

Wednesday Sept 2

Upper Treman SP, mixed woods, roads and streams walk

This is a hike we pieced together a few years back one day when we got lost in the back part of upper Treman.  It’s a hodgepodge of sections with no real rhyme or reason, but it’s lots of fun and it gets us into areas that aren’t used much.  Above is the meet-up on Woodard Road.

First leg of the walk:  Heading down Butternut Creek Road from the parking spot.  The Google Maps page will make you believe this is a live working road unless you pay very close attention.

Crossing Fishkill Creek.  There used to be a nice bridge, but it was destroyed in a storm.  It’s possible to cross in low water like we had this time  —  though I still managed to soak both feet and to fall over  —  no damage to me or my camera.

Van Ostrand Road  —  lovely rural feeling, no cars

Thomas Road  —  pretty much completely deserted

Finger Lakes Trail on the edge of the park  —  some fantastic woodland scenery but a little too dark for good photos under the trees  —

Normally I don’t like to go on the trails where everyone in the county brings everyone who comes to visit, but the park was quite deserted and the chance to visit this fabulous gorge area was too much to pass up on.

Official head count:  11 hikers, two dogs

You can see eight more photos by me online here.

You can see Jack V’s online photos here.

 

 

Saturday Sept 5

Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area

Another great walk with Dave on a poorly marked ski trail in this beautiful wild part of the county

This was our first hike with leaves on the trees  on this particular trail, officially known as Connecticut Hill Hike #3  —  it’ll take me a few more times here to get any kind of a grip on what we saw, but my first impression was that it’s exceptionally pretty

Everyone else seemed happy too, so I’ll declare this walk a big success

Lots of gorgeous woodland scenes ….  almost all in the shade so it was very pleasant even though it was pretty warm out in the sun

We had a special hiker with us, Boomer (far left), making his second walk with our group  —  he’s famous for having fallen off the high bluff at Monkey Run where we hiked the Sunday before, with no ill effects  —  he clearly loves to be out in the woods and it was really fun to have him along.

Dave seems to have a real knack for pacing these Connecticut Hill hikes  —  he brought us back to the cars in almost precisely two hours for the second time in a row  —  this guy is good.

Official head count:  21 hikers, five dogs

You can see nine more photos by me online here.

You can see Jack V’s online photos here.

 

 

Sunday September 6

Lindsay Parsons Biodiversity Preserve

Goldenrod in full bloom just like I hoped  — fabulous effect  —  even better, there was a complex fragrance of goldenrod in the air, with a subtle but delightful sour note, that I never noticed before  —  loved it!

The huge fields are the prime attraction here but there are a number of other good sights to see  —  the big beaver pond on the yellow trail is always striking but it was really weird this time, probably because of the long dry period we’ve had  —  Reyer always hikes in Tevas so it was nothing for him to pull off his shoes so I could get this shot  —  ground gooey, he reported

There are also two beautiful back-to-back ponds that have been hit really hard by the drought  —  the water level was extremely low

There’s a good deal of lovely woods on this hike that can get overshadowed by the other sights  —  nothing spectacular, but very nice

There was a good deal of fog or mist hanging on the hilltops on both sides of the road when we shaped up  —  great atmospheric touch  —  some hikers told me beforehand they weren’t going to do this hike because they were afraid it would be too hot  —  in fact it was a bit warm but it didn’t actually get uncomfortable, and I thought it was a great morning.

Two hikers got stung.

Official head count:  23 hikers, two dogs

You can see 10 more photos by me online here.

You can see Jack V’s photos online here.

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We now have photos up on our hike photo web page from Bud and Scott’s Montana fishing adventure  —  click here.

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Aug 26

Bald Hill Road to Thatcher’s Pinnacles, Danby SF

This walk is the lazy hiker’s way to get up to The Pinnacles look-out  —  you start two-thirds of the way up the long hill from the valley below, and by the time you get up to the top, you’re barely even breathing hard

For half the year, The Pinnacles is a wonderful place with a fantastic view into the inlet valley and out across West Hill  —  the other half year, when the leaves are out, it’s a bit of a dud

I always take a group shot to mark the occasion, but it really lacks drama with all the trees blocking the view and covering the distant hill.  The state DEC has just done a good bit of logging along this trail segment  —  they need to do some serious cutting right behind where our guys are posing.

One thing I really like about this hike is that it gives us the chance to walk back and forth through one of my favorite pine woods of all, along the southern leg of the trail between the look-out and Bald Hill Road  —  I love to come here, and doing it the lazy way, without a big huffing-and-puffing climb, is especially fun.

Official head count:  14 hikers, five dogs.

You can see seven more photos by me online here.

You can see Jack V’s photos online here.

 

 

Saturday Aug 29

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

Fantastic morning on a great pine trail

Nothing notable to report on  —  just a wonderful hike.  A lot of the trail is underlain by a thick carpet of pine needles  —  makes for delightfully springy walking, especially during a long dry spell like we’ve been having

Tamarack trees at the lean-to

The drinkable spring just beyond the lean-to

Travor Road crossing

Official head count:  20 hikers, seven dogs

You can see eight more photos by me online here.

 

 

Sunday Aug 30

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

I’d never want to suggest that our hikes are ever remotely exciting  —  but neither are they all trudging quietly through the woods looking at wildflowers and mushrooms  —  we do have lively moments from time to time  —  here we were about to step off when a huge dog suddenly emerged from the woods, barely restrained by its powerfully built young owner, and got into a wild barking match with our newest hiking dog, tiny 10-pound Gonzo, who looks to be a breed known for fearless behavior  —  very amusing spectacle.

This is the point on the trail where we first emerge from the deep woods and abruptly find ourselves a few feet away from a spectacular section of the Fall Creek gorge  —  there’s a sheer drop-off of 100 feet or more straight down  —  I’ve never been able to capture the full scene in a photo

Here’s what the edge of the gorge looks like  —  Eckhart’s less than a foot from the edge and his dog Tori is only inches away  —  the pale overly bright area between Eckhart and Tori is the stream far below  —  fabulous spot, but terrifying for those of us afraid of heights.

One bee sting  —  visiting hiker got it in the leg  —  aside from that, great morning

Official head count:  31 hikers, four dogs

You can see six more photos by me online here.

You can see Jack V’s online photos here  —  including Gonzo.

Hello Hikers!

 

 

Wednesday Aug 19

Sledding hill, north end of Taughannock Falls State Park

We’ve been coming here every six months or so on Wednesdays for years trying to figure out how to complete what looks on the map like a very nice loop hike — never could figure it out, always had to turn back in confusion — finally did it — thanks to new hiker Mark (foreground), who comes here all the time and knows his way around.

It’s a delightful walk — starts in an area of extensive fields, some mowed more or less periodically, some that haven’t been cut in quite a while — there isn’t the drama of the best fields we routinely hike through like Lindsay Parsons or Layen Road — but the effect is very pleasing in a low-key way

After a while you get into an area of woods — some very nice action here, I’d rate it good to excellent in quality

No trip to Taughannock is complete without some kind of look at the falls, even though we’ve all seen them a million times  —  the overlook area where I took this shot is currently a big mess while they’re building a new visitors’ center  —  there was some suspicion among the hikers that this will become an excuse for charging money to park there

Official head count:  14 hikers, six dogs.

The reason we always get lost here is that the trail is full of forking paths that aren’t marked  —  I just realized in writing this report that there’s a new map that actually shows all the forks and side trails (dashed lilnes), so now we can get around here ourselves any time, even when Mark’s not around.

Click here to see seven more shots by me online.

 

 

Saturday Aug 22

Taughannock Falls SP, rim trail and cook-out

Back in the park three days later  —  lovely cool morning, too cool to swim as we’d intended, but perfect for walking around and having a cook-out

One mishap  —  two hikers got stung, one of them twice  —  otherwise, great fun

Official head count:  41 people, seven dogs (not everyone did both the hike and the cook-out)

You can see eight more photos by me online here.

You can see more photos of the cook-out by Jack V online here.

 

 

Sunday Aug 23

Carter Creek Loop, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area

Another beautiful cool morning

One of the hikers was quizzing me about this walk the day before  —  how good is it?  would it be worth doing?  —  I had to be a little vague because I’d only done it once before, and my memory was a bit blurry  —  anyway, now I can say for the record, this is an excellent hike, very beautiful

Dave brought knowledge of four Connecticut Hill hikes with him when he started hiking with our group last fall  —  all four are technically illegal  —  they follow convoluted ski trails created without the state’s permission, and pretty much impossible to figure out unless you come here all the time  —  legally, the huge Connecticut Hill WMA is mainly intended for hunting and trapping  —  creating and maintaining trails for hiking and skiing is a big no-no

Anyway, it’s full of great scenery and I’m delighted we have someone to lead us around here

Official head count:  26 hikers, six dogs

To my mind, a perfect hike is one that finishesup in precisely two hours flat  —  Dave brought us in at 1:59  —  yeah!

You can see eight more photos by me online here.

 

 

This report is by Bud Norvell and Scott Davis:

 

 

Montana Trip Summary (July 25 – August 13, 2015)

or

“Piscatorial Insanity Drives Old Guys Into Wilderness”

Two of our regular hikers, Scott Davis and Bud Norvell, returned last week from a trip to Montana where they spent 12 days hiking, fishing and camping in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, south of Glacier National Park.

Planning for the trip began in early spring with conditioning initiated by carrying increasingly heavy packs on many of our regular hikes. Needless to say, they took much stuff, carried extra heavy packs, and backpacked long distances – but they reached remote and pristine trout streams where the trout were almost as enthusiastic about meeting fishermen as the fisherman were about catching trout.

Countless numbers of wild Western Cutthroat Trout were caught and released, but a select few were kept on most days for truly fresh fish dinners.

Days were hot, nights were cold, and rain was never a problem. Although often tired and foot-sore, there were no serious mishaps and they have returned somewhat reluctantly to real life. A fuller account of their adventures is available using the link below, and additional photographs will be posted on the hiker photo website.

 

Here’s the link to the full report  — if you encounter a screen telling you to log in or sign up, just hit the “Escape” key (PC) or “Quit” key (Mac) and you should get right in.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/641b428q2vntugt/trip%20narrative%20montana%202015.4.docx?dl=0

Hello Hikers!

 

 

Monday August 10

Special exploration hike — Newfield State Forest

I first noticed this forest on a map some years ago, but I never heard any of our fellow hikers mention it, even people who are very knowledgeable about other trails — I started to ask around — most people had never heard of it, and no one I talked to had ever been there. I was curious because I’m always looking for new trails for our hikes.

Tiger and I checked it out with two of our regulars who live in Newfield, June and Liz. First we had breakfast at Freddy’s Diner in downtown Newfield, where we had a lively discussion about skin cancer surgeries. The forest is five miles south, off Route 13. I knew enough from the scant information online not to expect much. In fact, unless you’re satisfied with simply walking through thick woods on a gravel road, this place hasn’t much to offer. There are no trails and the woods aren’t the type you’d ever want to bushwhack through. June, who doesn’t like to apply insect spray, was immediately bitten by a black fly, and she turned on her heels and went home. We other three kept walking on the road for a while but we were all swarmed by mosquitoes the whole time, so we soon called it quits.

 

 

Wednesday August 12

Shindagin Hollow State Forest, bike trails along Braley Hill Road

This hike takes us on a maze of mountain bike trails through some delightful woods It’s a wonderful walk except that we always get lost, even though we’ve now done this hike a number of times. Actually we did manage to find our way smoothly once, but then the next time we reverted to getting lost. In any case, we definitely lost our way again this time.

We’re never actually truly lost because we have Braley Hill Road as a spine, and it’s always theoretically possible to bushwhack over to it and find it eventually. Our chronic problem is that we end up walking in the wrong direction as we try and make our way back to the cars.

This walk takes us through a fantastic dark pine forest — it’s not very extensive and I’m always sorry when it ends.

Lost of dramatic sun-n-shade lighting in these woods — I like this particular photo because Sandra (wearing the earrings) is in focus — you can click the photo twice and check out her bangs to see what I mean.

Official head count: 13 hikers, two dogs

We encountered one lone mountain biker.  He was completely lost  —  on the other hand, he was able to cover ground to where he wanted to be a lot faster than us.

You can see six more photos by me online here.

 

 

Saturday August 15

Roy H Park Preserve into Hammond Hill SF, Dryden

Lovely morning

We had a brief moment of excitement on an otherwise quiet hike  —  we don’t often encounter horses so it’s always an event for me  —  you can’t tell from the horses’-ass view here but this batch of riders was atypical  —  usually they’re pretty rustic; this group looked like babes to me  —  you can see more shots of the horse group by me and Annie online

The walk had a really nice feeling to it  —  it was lovely in the deep pine woods on the Park Preserve ….

…. and beautiful on the ski trails on Hammond Hill

Official head count:  13 hikers, two dogs

You can see 10 more photos by me online here.

You can see Annie’s photos online here.

 

 

Sunday August 16

Shindagin Hollow SF, rim trail along the upper gorge

This hike’s got to be in the Top Five for shadiest summertime trail as well as in the Top 12 for beauty

From the time you get out of your car until you get back in, there’s really only small scattered patches of sunlight

That’s great on a hot morning like this one  —  it was over 80 by the time we wrapped it up, but it wasn’t too humid and it felt fine under the trees

There are a couple of uphill climbs on this trail but they’re not long enough to get you overheated even on a hot day.  In general, this is a pretty easy hike.

Hiker-photographer Annie went off with a small group that bushwhacked through a swamp  —  that was out in the sun  —  I’ve always admired this swamp on the way down Shindagin Hollow Road  —  she has views of it in her album from this hike I’ve never seen and it’s really beautiful.

Official head count:  25 hikers, three dogs

You can see seven more photos by me online here

You can see Annie’s photos online here.

We made it through the week without any hikers getting stung.  But I did learn that one of the hikers who got stung earlier this summer was stung 16 times on her leg that morning, far more stings than I’d heard about.