Wednesday October 12
Allan H Treman State Marine Park and Cass Park, Ithaca
Hike report by Jim
Nine hikers & three dogs met in the parking lot of Allan H Treman State Marine Park, for a hike of area trails.
We started with a loop of the walking trail on the north side of the park that follows along the lake’s edge.
After that we walked along the flood control channel on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail.
Then we walked through Cass Park to jump onto the Black Diamond Trail, which we hiked until reaching our turn-around time.
Saturday October 15
Ekroos Road, Tioga County
Hike report by Jim
Thirteen hikers met on Ekroos Rd on the Tompkins-Tioga county line for a road walk. Two additional hikers and five dogs arrived late and joined the group mid-hike.
Over the time and distance of the hike it seemed as if forest conditions were changing in front of us; this may also have been due to different conditions along different sections of the road as we passed through them.
Near the parking area the trees were a nice mix of still-green leaves and different shades of yellow leaves, all still on the trees. Other areas of the woods along the road were still mostly green leaves at ground level, but the canopy overhead was already mostly bare branches and we found ourselves walking through inches of freshly fallen leaves. Mixed into this were stretches of evergreens, their branches still enclosing the roadway in green needles while leaves from nearby trees filled the air.
As in the past, a couple of stretches of open areas to the north or south gave some really nice views to hilltops in the distance across open fields.
The group walked to Old 76 Rd. before turning around and retracing our route back to the cars.
Welcome to Rebecca, Samara, Vlad, and Jennifer on their first hike with the group!
Sunday October 16
Watkins Glen State Park
Hike report by Jim
Twenty-three hikers met in Watkins Glen for an end-of-season hike of the trails there. Three dogs came along for the hike but were unable to hike the gorge trail with their owners.
The day was sunny but cool, far better than I had hoped from the extended weather forecasts I’d read through the week.
At 9:40, crowds were growing but not terribly bad; by the time we left a couple of hours later the park entrance was jammed with people arriving at the park.
We started by climbing the stairs leading to the gorge trail. I’ve always found this trail to be unique because of the paths cut through the rock and the proximity of the trail to small sprays of water that cascade over the cliffs close to the footpath.
The group climbed steadily upwards; from the back of the line we looked like a large multi-hued centipede snaking our way up the trail.
Leaves along the trail were a multi-hued mix of primarily yellows and greens, with some red from vines adding to the color scheme. A decent amount of water was flowing through the gorge, something that always improves this particular hike.
At the top of the gorge trail the group paused for a quick photo, and then began the downhill trip via the North Rim Trail. Roger opted to check out the railroad trestle but rejoined the group later
We made a quick detour along the way and passed through the cemetery near the upper end of the park.
We arrived at the lower parking lot a full thirty minutes early, and about half of the group opted to jump on the nearby FLT for a quick out-and-back to bring our hike time up to the two hour mark.
After the hike several of us met at Grist Iron for some food and adult beverages.
We enjoyed the company of three hikers today who were joining the group for their first hike.
Photos by Nancy L. and Randy O.