Harford-Slaterville Road north on the FLT into Hammond Hill SF, Dryden
This trail head is in a lovely country setting out in the middle of nowhere — at first glance it looks very idyllic — but in fact it’s a bad place to shape up, and it makes everyone nervous. As you can see, the road is very narrow, and the hikers’ cars aren’t more than a few inches out of the driving lane. It’s impossible to get any further off the pavement because the ground drops away quite abruptly into a pond right on the other side of the cars. The hike meet-up area in in a short straight stretch between two blind curves, and the speed limit is pretty high.Steve S, Jim (across the road), Casey, Joel and Jack VIf you click on this shot and enlarge it, you can see Katharine in the far left demonstrating her special method of carrying two dogs — quite a trick IMOTiger was waiting just up the trail as the group sprang into action — she took all the rest of the shots in this report. You can see another shot of Katharine carrying the dogs — she’s really good at itThe trail itself is very attractive — makes up for the bad parking situation
Official head count: 14H, three D. Two more hikers set out to join us but they missed a turn and drove way out of the way asnd never managed to find us.
Special out-of-town hike organized and led by Steve S — Labrador Pond, Tinkers Falls and Hang Glide Hill, Tully
The hike report and photos are by Steve S
IthacaHikers Splinter Group hike guided by Steve S to Labrador Pond, Tinkers Falls, and Hang Glide Hill. After we all managed to gather at Labrador Pond we admired the serene lake and walked the boardwalk through the boreal forest. Warm and pleasant at Lab Pond, then rain at Tinkers Falls. Several hikers did the walk behind the falls and met the rest of the group at the junction with the trail up Hang Glide Hill. The rain stopped by the time we made it up the long hill to the summit. Spectacular view, snacks, a bit of hang out in the damp air, but the view was very atmospheric. Afterwards we drove to Tully where we had coffee at Bloom Cup Cafe–a very pleasant comfortable coffee shop.
Sorry for the poor quality of the shot of the falls but it was soaking rain. I think the context etc makes it ok to publish. It’s especially neat to see Irene and Nelson behind the falls and Norm at the base. We all had a great time despite the weather.
Official head count: SevenH, one D
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Sat May 25
South Danby Road west on the FLT to Curtis Road and Hill Road, Danby SF
There was mud, as expected — it was very sticky, and very slippery. Luckily the muddy segments were fairly limitedThe chance of rain was very low — but within just a few minutes after we started the drive home, we ran into a real cloudburst along 96B in Danby that would have drenched us if it hit a little earlier. The storm seemed to be confined to Danby — it wasn’t raining as we got closer to town.
Finger Lakes National Forest — Logan Road to the Burnt Hill lean-to on the FLT
Grist Iron Brewery, Route 414 — a short drive from our trail headThis was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had for a brewery after a hike — we had two tables full of hikers at Grist IronThe brewery is in a great setting overlooking Seneca Lake — it was a gorgeous day, really beautiful and not hot
