ithacahikers

Report to Hikers: week of Sept 11-Sept 17

Hello Hikers!

Wednesday Sept 13

Road walk: Southern Newfield at the Tioga County line

Brand new territory for all of us — this was another rural road walk discovered by Scott while he was riding his bike

We soon came upon a small herd of jet black cattle — it seemed clear they were intrigued by the sight of a group of people walking by — they ran around in an amusing fashion and seemed to be really enjoying themselves

Our walk was shaping up to be very attractive when two highway department trucks pulled up and said the road we were on was about to be closed for resurfacing. We went back to the cars and drove to a new spot on a different road.

I wasn’t sure where we had gone — very deserted setting

As the person who conceived and plotted out this walk, Scott was a little concerned that the group might be disappointed or irritated by the unexpected road work. But everyone took it completely in stride. Scott wrote to me afterwards:

Wanted to pass on my appreciation that when things got screwed up nobody pissed or moaned, bitched or whined. A tribute to the group!

I had a great time myself. I find it so interesting to go out into these picturesque rural neighborhoods I’d never otherwise get to — and walking is an ideal way to check them out.

Official head count: 16H, five D

You can see Jack V’s shots here

Saturday Sept 16

Layen Road to Bruce Hill Road and beyond, Danby

The owner of the quarry has walled it off from the hiking trail by piling up a big mound of dirt — we sent a scouting party over the top to investigate — nothing exciting to report

There’s a couple of nice fields south of Bruce Hill Road that we can just reach before it’s time to turn around — this one is usually planted in corn, except that Tiger said, oddly, this time there were no corn cobs on the plants

There are at least three kinds of apples growing along the side of the big field at the start of the hike, according to Tiger. A number of hikers tried them — very tasty though a bit hard, according to Tiger

Official head count: 24H, seven D

More photos:

Jack V

Sunday Sept 17

Taughannock Falls SP rim trail

This is a great spot for a group photo — never occurred to me; Lourdes gets credit for the suggestion — not everyone was shown

Official head count: 35H, seven D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of Sept 5-Sept 10

Hello Hikers!

Wednesday Sept 6

Bald Hill Road to Michigan Hollow Road on the FLT and then up Smiley Hill Road, Danby SF

There were apples growing along Michigan Hollow Road, probably dating back decades to the time this was farmland — I generally don’t eat wild fruit but these hikers said the apples tasted good

Official head count: 15H, three D

Saturday Sept 9

Woodard Road south into Upper Treman SP, Enfield

Official head count: 17H, four D

Sunday Sept 10

Upper Buttermilk Falls SP from Yaple Road

Official head count: 27H, eight D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of Aug 28-Sept 4

Hello Hikers!

Wednesday Aug 30

Road walk: Valley View Road and Tupper Road, West Danby

A new walk for us, discovered by Scott while he was taking a bike ride. We shaped up in a very quiet semi-suburban neighborhood, walked up a wild-looking dirt stretch, and emerged into another very quiet semi-suburban neighborhood. Very interesting and fun to explore parts of the county like this that we’d never otherwise venture into.

There’s an old cemetery near where we parked that’s extremely beautiful

Official head count: 24H, five D

Saturday Sept 2

Connecticut Hill WMA — Lloyd Starks Loop highlights, with Dave B

Official head count: 27H, 10 D

Labor Day Sept 4

Lindsay Parsons Biodiveristy Preserve and get-together at Katharine and Scott’s

I arrived at the hike expecting to find rolling fields of goldenrod in bloom — but it turned out that more than 2/3 of the acreage had been mowed recently — we had a great walk anyway

Official head count: 31H, seven D

Get together at Katharine and Scott’s

A small number of hikers didn’t proceed on to the party, but a number of other people who hadn’t hiked showed up and we had a big turnout. Lovely relaxed vibe.

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of Aug 21-Aug 27

Hello Hikers!

Wednesday Aug 23

Route 79 at the Tioga County line south toward Blackman Hill Road

First time we did this hike in many years, and first time ever on a weekday. There’s a large parking lot up the road from the trail head but there were commuter cars already in it, and some of us had to park here and there along the road. The parking lot is also a bus turnaround — Annie had to go back early and she came upon a bus struggling to make the turn because our cars were in the way.

It’s a pretty spot to look at, but when we were walking up the narrow shoulder to the trail and the cars and trucks were blasting by, it felt a bit dangerous

The trail plunges abruptly into the most wonderful super-gloomy woods right away, and the rest of the walk is in shade, more or less deep

The trail is a somewhat steep climb uphill for much of the outbound leg, but it’s very beautiful and our hikers were quite cheerful. This walk was recently improved by Cayuga Trails Club and it’s really pleasant now. The trail surface is generally clear of roots and snags, which is a welcome change from many of our trails. (The photos show the group coming back down.)

Everyone liked the hike and we’ll do it again, this time on a Sunday when there’s no buses, no commuters and less traffic

Here’s what the trail head looks like from back near the parking lot — very peaceful when the road is empty.

Official head count: 25H, three D

More photos:

Annie

Saturday Aug 26

Finger Lakes National Forest: Dirt roads, abandoned roads and footpaths, with Jack V

The national forest has a wonderful peaceful deserted feeling to it — it’s so much fun to have such a big network of picturesque roads and basically no traffic at all — we saw maybe five cars total.

Official head count: 20H, seven D

More photos:

Jack V

Sunday Aug 27

Shindagn Hollow SF, rim trail along the upper gorge

Official head count: 30H, nine D

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Labor Day weekend plans

I’d like to hike Labor Day morning in the Lindsay Parsons Preserve and then go straight to Katharine and Scott’s in Danby for our holiday get-together that I mentioned before, (We wouldn’t hike Sunday.) But it’s too son to know what the weather will be. As an alternative, if Labor Day’s going to be bad, we can hike and then do the party on Sunday. Stay tuned.

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