Wednesday, August 6
South Hill Rec Way/Six Mile Creek, south side, rim trail
Hike report by Jim
Sixteen hikers and one dog met on Crescent Place in the city of Ithaca for a hike of the South Hill Rec Way and associated blue blazed trails led by Anne B. This is hike #2-1 on our list of regular hike locations: https://www.ithacahikers.com/hike-2.
Conditions were warm and sunny, with just a hint of the haze from the Canadian wildfires in the air.
The group left Crescent Place and walked a short way on the Rec Way to the first turn onto the blue blazed trails. The group stayed on the upper section of the blue blazed trail system during this hike.
Only one of the stream crossings today had any flowing water; the rest were bone dry. Not surprising, seeing as it’s been several days since the last rainfall.
The group stopped briefly at the second dam overlook before continuing on.
Upon reaching the Rec Way again the group split into two subgroups. One group took the Rec Way directly back to our cars. The second group simply turned around and retraced our route on the blue blazed trails.
There were a few other people on the blue blazed trails. The Rec Way itself was obviously much more populated with trail users.
Warm welcome to Alissa and Marek on their first hike with the group!
Saturday, August 9
Dabes Diversion Loop, Kennedy SF, Cortland County
Hike report by Leigh Ann
Eleven hikers did the Dabes Diversion loop counterclockwise from the junction of Bleck and Hauck Hill Roads. After almost a week of air quality indexes over 100, it was pleasantly exotic to have good air qualty. The sky was blue and it looked blue all over. This hike reliably comes in under two hours in the summer (when footing is good) because it is less than four miles long. So, some hikers extended the hike to two hours by doubling back from the cars to where the diversion loop meets up with Hauck Hill Road before returning a final time to the cars. The temperature was pleasant until well into the second hour of the hike, and the trail was dry all the way.
Sunday, August 10
Finger Lakes Trail in Danby State Forest from S. Danby Road to the Tamarack Lean-to
Hike report by Nina F.
On Sunday, August 10th, 27 hikers and 2 dogs met along s. Danby road to hike the Danby State Forest out to the Tamarack Lean-to and back (hike #23-1). It was a warm day, with temps in the mid-80s, but the gorgeous pine tree/hemlock forest trails kept the trail shady and the forest cool. It’s a stunning hike, with a winding trail, tall trees and ancient ferns. We saw small forest creatures, including a few toads and a somewhat rare sighting of a luna moth caterpillar. A few hikers who were a bit in front of the main group walked an additional quarter mile past the lean-to down a decline and back up in order to add a little distance. This enabled two club members to reach their 100th mile of the summer on the FLT during this hike – congratulations June and Lincoln!
The rest of the group waited at the lean-to and were clearly having a good time, as the conversations and laughter could be heard from a good distance away. It was a lovely morning all-round.
