Wednesday September 13
Allan H. Treman Marina, Cass Park, Black Diamond Trail
Hike report by Jim
Fourteen people met in the parking lot of Allan Treman State Marine Park for a walk in the area, hike #53-1 on our hike list.
Hikers set off on the looping paved and gravel trails that circle the north point of the park. It was a sunny and pleasant day, so the breezes and views down the lake were welcome.
After returning to the parking area, we continued on the walking trails that cut through Cass Park to run along the flood control channel. At the Route 89 bridge near Inlet Island, we crossed over and returned through the Children’s Garden to the bottom of the Black Diamond Trail. A short out-and-back segment of the trail returned hikers to the Children’s Garden.
From there, we walked through Cass Park back to Treman Marina and the cars.
Saturday September 16
Dabes Diversion Loop, Cortland County
Hike report by Jim
Seventeen hikers met in Cortland County to hike a loop comprising the Dabes Diversion Loop, the Finger Lakes Trail, and the Kuzia Cut-off in Kennedy State Forest. This is hike #40-2 on our hike list.
Before the hike there was heavy fog which, thankfully, burned off before we started our hike. Temps were cool, with a mix of sun and shadow on the trail. The climb through the woods from the parking area and the traverse through the pines and across the old stone walls was a really enjoyable time for many of us – a great day to be in the woods!
When we arrived at the junction of the FLT and the Dabes Diversion Loop, we found clear skies with really good vistas across the valley. We continued our loop on the FLT, descending toward the water crossing, where we got to use the new, recently built footbridge.
Hikers navigated through the short FLT reroute that accompanies the new bridge, and we soon found ourselves on the blue-blazed Kuzia Cut-off.
We arrived back at our cars with 30 minutes to spare, so most of the group resorted to returning to the Diversion Loop to use up the remaining hike time.
FLT through-hiker Tim, who is on his 28th day on trail, joined us at the Dabes/FLT junction and hiked with us for the remainder of our route.
Sunday September 17
Bahar Nature Preserve and Carpenters Falls, Cayuga County
Hike report by Jim
Twenty hikers and one dog met for a hike of the Carpenter Falls and Bahar Nature Preserve in Cayuga County. This is hike #60-9 on our list of hikes.
By start time, our group had completely filled the small parking lot, so I think that I’ll have to make this a Wednesday hike in the future. At hike’s end we found about 10 other cars illegally parked along the road. Had our group been any larger, some of our hikers might have had to resort to the same parking arrangement.
The day was overcast and the woods were somewhat gloomy, but the falls were well attended not only by our group but by numerous other day hikers and dog walkers. We walked to the viewing area for the falls via the new boardwalk and hiked the nearby stone stairs to see the falls from below. There was a decent amount of water flowing, so the falls were quite enjoyable. Pretty much the entire group commented on the workout they got while returning to the boardwalk from the lower viewing area.
Back at the parking area, we took the trail toward Bahar Preserve. We found very little mud along the footpath as we followed the winding trail downward. Few of our hikers had been on our sole previous hike here, and this was their first visit to this location. Many reported having an enjoyable hike.
At the end of the trail, we made a brief stop at the lakeshore before turning around and retracing our steps back to our cars. We arrived at the parking area a few minutes early, so we did a short road walk to use up the remaining hike time.
Our planned stop at Summerhill Brewing had to be cancelled because the brewery was unexpectedly closed today, but I am sure that we’ll visit this venue at some time in the future.
Welcome to Mary Ann on her first hike with the group!
