ithacahikers

Hello Hikers!

Wed Jan 6

Hike report and photos by Jim

The FLT from Bald Hill Road to Michigan Hollow Road, Danby SF

While I was en route to the hike, there was an observable shift in conditions; downtown was bare of snow. Lower Sandbank RD near Buttermilk, was similarly bare of snow.

Once I hit the junction with Townline RD, the first snow covering the ground appeared along the road

The closer I got to the meeting location, the deeper the snow I could see got

When I arrived at the parking area, I quickly checked the first few hundred yards of the trail., in case conditions were prohibitive for a hike.

Reassured that it was a good hike location, I returned to the parking lot to meet arriving hikers.

Thirteen hikers met at the junction of Bald Hill and Comfort Rds, for a hike of the FLT

Two additional hikers arrived late and basically hiked together along the FLT route that the main hiking body was taking.

An additional hiker arrived and chose to do a hike route unique to herself.

The ground and trees were covered by a fresh coating of clean, white snow. Snow on the trunks of trees appeared as if a clean white sweater was being worn by the tree for a special occasion.

The snow on the  FLT itself was just deep enough to show a clear path that an unknown  single hiker had made for us of our route previous to our arrival.

The wind swept through the trees, leaving branches groaning with each gust.

When passing close by a stream, the sound of the running water was inviting. On stretches where the stream was already iced over, hikers could still hear the faint sound of the water running underneath the cap of ice.

On the outbound leg I led the group, with hikers enthusiastically chattering away behind me about these various observations.

Upon reaching Michigan Hollow RD the group paused for  a few minutes to allow stragglers to catch up, before striking out for the return leg of the hike.

On the return leg I asked Jack V to lead the group while I acted as sweep, giving me the opportunity to stop, look and listen at those things I was passing which I might have missed on the first leg of the hike.

All in all, this was an excellent hike, on an excellent day. I couldn’t ask much more of a winter hike than what we had today

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Sat Jan 9

Hike report and two photos by Jim

Kennedy SF, Virgil

13 hikers and 3 four legged furry hiker companions met on Daisy Hollow RD for a hike of Kennedy Forest in Cortland County.

It should be noted that upon arrival at the trailhead, I was surprised to find active logging occurring.

The roadway to the parking area has been smoothed out from its prior rutted and center-humped condition, and the road to the parking are has been extended for use by logging vehicles.

Hikers had to contend with the noise of tree felling and vehicle movement of logging vehicles over the course of the hike. Only one logging road has been cut through the section of trail we travelled over. I’m sure that given the passage of time those fresh gouges through the trees will offer us additional hiking opportunities…..

Hikers set off over a  trail that was in very good condition for hiking; there had been some trail use by others, but not so much that the trail was reduced to a slippery mess of ice and risky surfaces. Foot traction was a good idea mainly because of the many uneven surfaces found on this hike.

The sun was out, creating a good contrast of shadows cast from surrounding trees and the glare of light off the clean white snow covered surfaces.

There was  a single water crossing, with water levels high enough to cause hikers to choose their foot placement carefully before crossing the running water. There was more than one rock in  the streambed that offered less of a secure footing than initially assumed, due to a crust of ice on the stream rocks

The group quickly made its way up the FLT before taking a turn onto the blue blazed Swedish loop. Here was  a path less travelled compared to the FLT, with at most one person having travelled that route ahead of our group.

Upon reaching the yellow blazed short-cut back to the FLT, the group was now breaking trail through untouched snow. The snow depth was not an impediment to our hike on any way through that area.

After  reaching the FLT the group turned back down the trail towards our cars. It was here that we started to encounter small groups of people who were similarly out for a hike on the FLT.

We arrived back at our cars a full thirty minutes earlier than normal. I guess that we really had walked the trail at a faster pace than I had thought. With that much time left to hike, I suggested to the group that we cross the road and continue on the FLT over a section that the group ( to my knowledge ) has never hiked. Several hikers took me up on that offer, and so we made a bit of a road walk to the FLT om the opposite side of the road. Almost immediately after entering the trail we were faced with options of following either the Spanish loop or the FLT; the latter would have involved a significant water crossing that I think will limit us to hiking this section of trail only when water levels are low in the summer. The group then chose to examine the signage for the Spanish Loop, with individual hikers taking pictures of the sign for later reference. So many did this that I opted to take a picture of hikers taking a picture of the sign ( see attached )

All in all, it was a good hike.

A nod of recognition goes out to the unnamed hiker I met at the trailhead while I was waiting for the group to arrive. He emerged from the trail as I waited by my car, and we had a long talk as he re-arranged his pack from night hiking to day hiking configurations. He is/ was training for the “Saranac Six”, which is apparently a 24 hour event next month in which participants summit six peaks in the Saranac region in winter conditions. This man has been training in the area of Kennedy Forest on a daily basis in preparation for the event.

Three cellphone photos by Mary

Cian’s photos

Complete online album

And finally, a cellphone photo by Roger

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Sun Jan 10

Hike report by Jim

Roy H Park Preserve to Hammond Hill SF

Fifteen hikers and four dogs met in the North parking lot of the Park Preserve on Irish Settlement Rd

An additional hiker arrived late and opted to hike with the sweep element once she encountered them.

Today was a much more overcast day than Saturdays hike, with more of a noticeable wind to deal with during the hike.

I always enjoy the lower flat areas of this hike where the group passes through the monoculture of tall evergreens, and today was no exception.

On the upward hilly portion of the outbound leg of the hike  it seemed like we would be under the green canopy with a gloomy ambiance to the hike, and then we would walk into an area that lacked overhead cover and find ourselves on a much brighter section of trail for a few short feet.

Soon enough we found ourselves on the last flat stretch approaching Hammond Hill Rd. That area is always a relief to me after the uphill portions.

Once across Hammond Hill Rd and onto the yellow trail network  the larger group broke down into smaller elements. Some hikers chose to forge ahead at a fast clip, eventually reaching Canaan Rd before turning around. Some chose to hold back and admire the terrain they were passing through, but not going as far as the faster element. Soon enough everyone turned around to return to the cars

Trail conditions were not bad overall. The trail was well worn by  previous hikers over the past several days. Some areas that are normally boggy in the warmer summer months had a thin crust of ice that a passing hiker would break through as they walked along. All in all there was minimal ice, and nearly everyone came prepared with adequate traction for the terrain conditions. There was minimal trail use by others while we were there. A couple of solitary dog walkers and young families with small children bundled up against the cold wind did pass by us at various times during the hike.

Nine photos by Tiger

Cian’s photos:

Cian’s full album is here

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 30

Hike report and three photos by Jim

Carter Creek Road, Connecticut Hill WMA

Fifteen hikers met at the junction of Carter Creek RD and Rowell Hill Rd in Newfield for a hike of the seasonal portion of Carter Creek RD. My expectation of the route was that it would be a level tamped-down snow surface due to its normal use as a snowmobile trail in the winter months. This was the condition the road had been in last winter when we last road-walked the route in colder months. My initial observations of the trailhead on this hike day didn’t cause me to have any concern that conditions would be otherwise.

Once the group set off, we found that there was minimal snowpack on the road.  Multiple vehicles at some point had driven down the road, causing deep ruts and an uneven road surface that had to be picked carefully through as you walked along the route. This was severe enough that some of our hikers choose to turn around and end their hike prematurely.

The main body continued on until reaching the hour turn-around point. The route, which travels  primarily through state land, was in such a state that hikers couldn’t really appreciate the surroundings but instead had to watch their feet to avoid catastrophically crashing to the ground.

On the return leg of the hike the sun, which had stayed behind cover on the outbound leg, finally appeared and seemed to push us further down the trail  as it shone down on our backs from behind us. The wind, which had been intermittent on the outbound leg of the hike, died down and gave the group a much more pleasant return trip to our vehicles.

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And here are four shots I got before Tiger and I turned around because we found the snow too choppy:

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Sat Jan 2

This report was written by Jim

East Hill Rec Way

On Saturday January 2^nd, 18 people and four dogs met at the parking lot near the bottom of Snyder Hill Rd for a stitched-together hike of several of the urban multi-use trails in the area. The weather initially was extremely windy, with patches of rain. I carried an umbrella during the hike, and at least some of the group came equipped with rain gear. This surely contributed to us NOT having rain during the hike……

The group left the parking lot onto the Vincent and Hannah Pew Trail, but almost immediately jumped off that paved walkway for the Wilderness Trail that runs alongside the Pew Trail for a significant portion of that trails distance. Trail conditions on the Wilderness Trail were intermittent areas of  standing water covering patches of ice. This caused some issues for some members of the group, who opted to return to the Pew Trail and walk the paved trail surface there. They were joined by some late arrivals.

The main body of the group pressed forward until the Wilderness Trail rejoined the Pew Walkway near Tudor RD. We then returned to Pine Tree Rd.

Arriving at Pine Tree RD  the group crossed the intersection there and walked along Honness Lane to the junction with the East Hill Rec Way.

Walking Northwesterly on the East Hill Rec Way, it was my intention to jump off the paved Rec Way and walk the Hawthorn Thicket Loop that is just before the Rec Way  crosses Mitchell Street. Reaching that trailhead however, we found notices posted by Cornell University that the Hawthorn Thicket Trail was closed until April due to extended periods of deer hunting the University was allowing on the property.

The group continued on the Rec Way, crossing Mitchell Street and eventually arriving at Maple Ave. Not being familiar with the trail route beyond that intersection and my original plans having not included such an extensive hike of that stretch of the trail, I opted to turn the group around and returned us to Mitchell Street. From there we walked to Pine Tree Rd and the sidewalk to the East Hill Rec Way leg that crosses over Pine Tree RD on its way to Game Farm Rd. The group walked that portion of the trail as far as the McDaniels Nut Grove before turning around and re-tracing our steps back to our cars on Snyder Hill Rd.

The hike, despite the last minute route changes and the spills that some people had early in the hike, seemed to go well. There were some stretches’ of the Rec Way where we were encountering multiple joggers, dog walkers and other users of the trail, but most of those interactions went well.

Cian brought a new pole for his camera equipment, but prevailing winds kept him from deploying the pole during the hike. I’m sure that we’ll see some fantastic pictures from Cian using this equipment in the future.

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More photos:

Cian

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Sun Jan 3

Road walk — Fisher Settlement Road, South Danby

Nice cloudy morning, just below freezing — a bit breezy at the meet-up, otherwise very pleasant

The snow was mostly gone on the ride out, but quite deep at the trail head, elevation 1400′. This is the entry to the FLT from Fisher Settlement Road

Cian has a new very long pole for his panoramic camera. He discovered on Saturday that it can be hard to use in the woods, but there was room to really extend the pole on this walk.

Clare demonstrating the snow depth at the snowmobile trail. I wonder who threw the tire there ….

I love the patterns created by the various types of trees we walk past on this road in particular. Couple of very dark and gloomy woods looks below.

Our hard-charging hikers made it quite a long way down the road before they had to turn around. I was dawdling along in the back, talking to someone about the prospects of living to a very old age. I love the bleak quality of these woods on a dark winter day and it seemed like an appropriate topic. (I learned a few weeks ago that I probably have Viking ancestry — had my dad’s Y-DNA analyzed — haplogroup I1, SNP I-M253.)

There was ice on the road in scattered spots but in general it was clear. Because the road isn’t paved with asphalt, it’s comfortable enough to walk on even when you’re wearing moderately aggressive foot traction.

Only a few cars passed.

I’m a huge fan of dark brooding woods and this stretch is a great one.

Not everyone on the walk made it into the group shots. I urged those wearing masks to hold their breath and pull the mask down for a few seconds so everyone could see their faces. Not too many takers.

Here’s one of Cian’s shots using his new long pole — he can really get some elevation:

You can see the rest of Cian’s shots here,

Official head count: 20H, three D

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 23

This report was written by Jim

Ridgeway Road to White Church Road, Caroline

12 people and a single dog met on Ridgeway Rd for a hike of that section of the FLT, towards White Church RD

It had been a couple of days since the last significant snowfall, and I have considered that stretch of the trail to be  a popular one that I thought would have seen some use in the intervening time since snow fell.

While someone had clearly plowed the trail surface down from the original snow depth, we found that the trail from its Ridgeway Rd junction had been used by at most a couple of skiers, one or two walkers, and a few animals. As a result, the walk was a slow slog through several inches of deep snow; not enough to call it true posthole hiking, but as someone in the group described it, it was like walking through dry sand. Not a pleasant hike for me, and while many members of the group put on good faces about the experience, I can only assume that others shared my sentiments about the hike.

When the group reached the turn to cross the fields towards White Church Rd, we found that the FLT was entirely untouched snowpack.

I made the decision to turn around and upon reaching Ridgeway Rd to finish out our remaining hike time with a road walk. The group accomplished this, walking towards White Church Rd on Ridgeway RD before returning to our cars.

More photos:

Cian

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Sat Dec 26

Hike cancelled — icy conditions

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Sun Dec 27

This report was written by Jim

Ekroos Road (aka State Land Road), just across the Tioga County line in Candor

Hikers met on Ekroos Rd, just over the line into Tioga County.

Ekroos Rd runs off of Honeypot Rd, which is what South RD in the Town of Caroline turns into after crossing the county line.

The parking area was about 2 /10s of a mile from Honeypot  Rd, and while the plows hadn’t entirely cleaned out the parking area, there was enough space that everyone’s cars could be accommodated for the most part.

The group started out a few minutes later than normal, as this was the first time the group had hiked this location and several members of the group had difficulty getting to the meeting location. After the group set off, a couple more hikers arrived and met the group further down the road.

The group passed a snowmobile trail that appeared to have been entirely unused despite it having been a few days since the last snow fell. This is something I have noticed this winter season; snowmobile use appears to be very minimal this year compared to previous winters.

Ekroos Road is maintained to a seasonal dead end due to a couple of residences about 2 ½ miles from Honeypot Rd. This resulted in a fairly long stretch of plowed roads ( easily hiked ) with minimal vehicular traffic, although we did encounter a couple of cars travelling up or down the road. The outbound leg of the hike is a gradual descent through tall pines on state land; towards the end the surrounding land transitions to privately held properties.

After a few turns and a mile or so of walking, the trees on the Southerly side of the road gave way to open fields and views down the valley. While there were some atmospherics that did slightly obscure our view of some things in the far distance, it was not to a degree that prevented us from being able to see quite a bit of the surrounding area.

Along the way we passed over several small streams that cross or follow the roadway. The ice formations along the roadway on some areas of the walk were quite enjoyable as well.

Reaching the residences at the end of the maintained portion of road, some members of the group opted to turn around immediately. Beyond the end of the maintained roadway the road takes a sudden sharp descent; the road surface appearing to be benefitting from  some amount of privately maintained plowing of the roadbed in this area. Some members of the group opted to walk a few minutes further through this section. While the road there passes along a very nice small gorge area, we soon found that the road surface itself was extremely hazardous due to ice covering the entirety of the roadbed, and so we turned around and started back towards our cars.

Once we reached our cars, some members of the group opted to fill out remaining hike time by over-shooting the parking area and walking to Honeypot RD and then turning around to return to our cars. This brought us up to the two hour hike time almost perfectly.

There was some interest among some of the hikers today to re-do this hike during the summer or fall when the leaves are out, so we’ll probably be seeing this hike location again.

More photos:

Cian

Hello Hikers!

Wed Oct 16

This report was written by Jim

Cayuga Lake waterfront trail — Stewart Park to the Farmers’ Market

Ten hikers met in the parking area of Stewart Park near the old swan viewing area/ boathouse building.

Another hiker met us on the hike.

The hike location had been changed from an outlying hike to this more central location due to the snow-filled weather forecast, and some hikers took advantage of the change in location to walk or bike to the hike.

Temps were cool but there was no wind, and the view down the lake as far as could be observed was about the best that I’ve ever seen it this time of year.

The group started by doing a short loop around the former boathouse building – yellow B diamond near the “31” in the Northwesterly corner of the park, depicted here: Cayuga+waterfront+trail+CWT+map+no+yah.jpg (1296×2240) (squarespace-cdn.com)

; this loop gave us a good view of the lake and a kinder gentler walking surface than the asphalt alternatives.

We crossed over the suspension bridge and quickly completed a loop of the Fuertes natural area without incident.

The group crossed over Fall Creek, then proceeded through the northerly edge of the golf course, through the lighthouse woods and out to lighthouse point.

A slight bit of wind was felt here, and the small amount of ice on the water surface and along the shoreline had some unusual qualities to it that reminded me of piles of discarded vanilla frosting. We were not the only ones out enjoying the day, as we’d been passed by several runners along the way. At the lighthouse we observed near-by hunters trying their luck with the waterfowl. The birds seen in  the area didn’t seem particularly concerned, so I can’t speak to the hunters success…..

The group completed a circuit of the golf course, then walked to the Farmers Market.

From there the group turned around and made a fast return  to our cars or the longer walk to near-by residences.

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Sat Dec 19

Report and photos by Jim

Road walk — Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby

Ten hikers and two dogs met at the junction of Curtis and Hill RDs in the Town of Danby

At 930 the group set off southwesterly on that rolling stretch of Hill Rd.

The sun above shone down on the freshly fallen snow laying on the fields and limbs of the trees the group passed.

The fields were full of trees and plants encased in a sheath of ice.

Winds on the initial leg of the hike were not a problem.

The group passed over South Danby RD and continued on Hill RD until reaching the end of the plowed portion of the road.

Turning around and heading back towards Curtis RD, the group was soon met by another hiker and dog who had arrived at the parking area a few minutes late and who had guessed wrongly twice as to the groups direction of travel before eventually finding us.

The group returned to the junction of Curtis and Hill Rds and opted to continue Northerly on Curtis RD to the end of that roads plowed surface. It was here that the wind finally caught us in the open, and any exposed skin was soon chilled. More than once I heard members of the group appreciating the extra protection the face masks gave today.

The group returned to the junction of Hill and Curtis Rds. With a few minutes left to use up, the group opted to strike out in two directions; one group returned Southwesterly on Hill RD, while the other group sought the portion of Hill RD to the Northeast that had more shelter from winds due to the trees closely lining both sides of the road.

At the end of the two hours the entire group again reconvened at our vehicles before leaving the area.

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Sun Dec 20

Cornell arboretum road walk and Mundy Wildflower Garden, Forest Home

Bit of a raw morning in Forest Home, even though it was just a few degrees below freezing. Very dark and gloomy, unpleasantly breezy in spots, snowing lightly much of the time — definitely a chill in the air

We’re going to try something different this time. Tiger and I were both taking photos. The first 11 shots will be by one of us, the second 10 by the other. It was a friendly camera shoot-out. See what you think. Did I get my ass smoked by my artistic wife?

Now here’s photographer No. 2:

Official head count: 16H, three D

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 9

This report was written by Jim

Monkey Run Natural Area, north side of Fall Creek

Approximately 15 hikers and 2 dogs met in the parking lot at the intersection of Hanshaw and Lower Creek Rds, for a wintery, seasonal hike of the red and orange blazed trails on the North side of the Monkey Run Natural Area.

The number is “approximate”, because people and their animals both showed up late and left early over the course of the hike.

Throughout the hike there was almost constant snow falling on the group, but it wasn’t an unpleasant or particularly dangerous amount of snow from what I saw. With weather conditions in mind I had held off on pre-planning a specific route, thinking that the group might want to take some alternate routes rather than travel down slopes in snow-covered conditions, but such was not the case. A couple of people chose to turn around early and end their hikes because of trail conditions, but the majority of people hiked through despite the snow-covered trails. The group managed to pick its way both down and up a couple of steeper sections;  we had one or two falls in the group along the way, but no one sustained any injuries. The ropes on steeper sections were put to good use on this hike.

The scenery was good on the hike in spite of the snow, which was not so heavy that it obscured visibility of the surrounding hillsides and woods.

Overall I would describe this hike as being a good reminder to everyone who hikes with the group about how foot traction is an important equipment component on many of our more rural hike locations during the winter months. Unlike other individuals and groups who suspend their hikes in winter months, we hike in all seasons and just about any weather condition.

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Sat Dec 12

This report was written by Jim

Upper Buterrmilk Falls SP

In the matter of 72 hours between hikes, the group experienced a shift in weather and trail conditions for which Ithaca is so well known.

Where Wednesdays hike had been in a snowstorm and over snowy trails, this hike was held in warmer temperatures and muddy paths. Wednesdays hike had been pretty much one of the group hiking alone; Saturdays hike was one in which we were sharing the trails with a multitude of other park patrons.

Approximately 16 hikers and five dogs met at the parking lot at Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park.

I say approximately, as one hiker went to the parking lot at Lower Buttermilk Falls, resulting in one of our regular hikers going there to guide the hiker to the Upper Park; those hikers ended up doing their own hike on the route the larger group took.

After meeting in the parking area of upper Buttermilk, the larger group struck off along the Bear Trail. There is a new bridge crossing the stream from the parking lot at this location. This  gives a great view up-stream as you cross over while doing away with the need to hike out to West King Rd to make a dangerous crossing of the bridge that was by necessity  the groups prior practice.

We broke out of the woods at the end of the Bear Trail and re-assembled before attempting the trail around Treman Lake.

The group continued on, eventually reaching and admiring the recent excavation efforts of the streambed around the stone arched bridge at the far end of the lake. Visibility was good throughout the hike; the views of the lake and surrounding hills and cliffs along the trail were excellent. The group turned around at the hour mark rather than doing a loop as is our normal summer hike practice on this trail, due to seasonal closures of  sections of the lake trail.

This set of photos was taken by Tiger

More photos:

Cian

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Sun Dec 13

This report was written by Jim

Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve

Sixteen hikers and five dogs met on Ellis Hollow Creek Rd for a walk of the FLLT Preserve there.

Temps were cool but bearable. The group encountered a small amount of rain within the first few minutes of starting our hike, but the rain soon ended and the group suffered no ill effects from the precipitation.

From the parking lot the group jumped onto the blue blazed trails, which involve a couple of water crossings, none of which proved difficult on this day. The blue blazes soon enough transitioned to the red blazed trail; by the last quarter of the first circuit the group found itself on the yellow blazed trail and headed back towards the parking lot area.

There was one brand new trail re-route on one of the steeper hills, with the re-route and its switch-backs marked by cairns and smaller colored flags. In the past when we’ve hit that section of trail in the winter it’s always been a hazardous ice-covered slope, so this re-route should come in useful for those types of hikes. Thanks to whatever organization is responsible for the work and effort involved in these sorts of trail improvements.

Once the group completed its first circuit of the preserves trails at around the hour mark, some hikers chose to call it a day and head for home. A few hikers reversed their course and re-traced their route to get a second lap in. A  couple of us chose to add one of the sections of yellow blazed trails to our hike that aren’t part of our usual hike routine at this location.

In the end and regardless of which path we chose for the second hour, all of the remaining hikers ended up back at the parking lot at roughly the same time.