Wednesday, October 28
Fall Creek Valley Natural Area to Park Park and the area of Cornell Arboretum, Ithaca
Hike report by Jim
Fourteen hikers met on Forest Home Drive for a looping hike through the Fall Creek Valley South Natural Area that takes parts of several of our other hikes and tries to put them into a single hike that we can do during the fall hunting season. This hike has now been added to our hikes list as hike # 4-5.
Weather conditions for the hike were good, with clear skies, generally sunny and warm enough to make for a comfortable hike.
After a quick group photo, the group started off on the red and blue blazed trails on the south side of Fall Creek. Crossing Forest Home Drive the group entered the yellow blazed trails of the Park Park, which offers an elevated view of Varna below. The views were not as good as those in the winter when the trees have lost their leaves. While many leaves were still on the trees during this hike, there were enough freshly fallen leaves along the route that we were often shuffling our feet through an ankle-deep layer of leaves.
Leaving the overlook area the group moved westerly, hiking along the blue blazed Morgan-Smith trails that run between Forest Home Drive and the Arboretum. Entering the F.R. Newman Arboretum grounds visitor.map_.2019.pdf, we hiked around Grossman and Newman Ponds before walking to the nearby orange blazed Treman Woodland Walk/ Cayuga Trail. That in turn led to the Floriculture War Memorial Trail (also part of the Cayuga Trail) that follows Forest Home Drive. The War Memorial Trail leads to the entrance road to the Arboretum, which the Cayuga Trail crosses at the Caldwell Road intersection.
Entering the Mundy Wildflower Gardens, we did a loop through the trails there before returning to the Arboretum. We re-traced our route until we reached the Leon-Ballord Allen Memorial Trail/ Cayuga Trail, which we took back to Forest Home Drive and our cars.
I had pre-hiked this route twice last week and thought that I had the hike dialed in at nearly a full two hours, but we ended up getting back to the cars after only 90 minutes. For next fall I will have to add some other trails within the Arboretum to extend the hike to a full two hours.
Saturday, October 31
Ithaca City Cemeteries
Hike report by Nancy H.
This year, our annual Halloween hike had to follow a different route because the Stewart Avenue bridge remains closed for a few more weeks. Instead of meeting at Stewart Park and first visiting Lakeview Cemetery, we gathered at the base of the Cascadilla Gorge trail. About 30 hikers (plus two dogs) attended, several in costume, including a clown, Little Red Riding Hood, and an elegant Gothic lady with a raven-topped fascinator.
There was still plenty of fall color in Cascadilla Gorge. After we climbed to the top, we walked across the Cornell campus to admire Ithaca from above, then made our way down the slope to the City Cemetery. We paused at the Firefighters’ Memorial and admired the old grave markers. Back in Fall Creek, we walked through the neighborhood and stopped at Tioga Street’s “Halloween house,” where the owner was putting the finishing touches on his elaborate and very spooky display.
By this time, it was starting to get late, so some hikers went back to their cars. Others proceeded back up the hill, this time through Lakeview Cemetery, where we stopped at Carl Sagan’s grave. As always, his grave was decorated with tributes from people honoring his memory. More hikers turned around at that point, but several of us continued to Sunset Park for a late-autumn view of Cayuga Lake. We took a different path through Lakeview down the hill, and then returned to our cars.
The entire hike covered more than five miles and lasted close to 2.5 hours. Hopefully next year, both the Stewart Avenue bridge and the gorge trail will be open and we can resume our traditional hike!
Sunday, November 1
Finger Lakes Trail from Schuyler County Veterans Memorial Park, Alpine
Hike report by Jim
Twenty four hikers and one dog met at the Schuyler County Veterans Memorial Park for an out and back hike on the FLT. This is hike # 66 on our list of regular hike locations: hike #66 – ithacahikers.
I would like to make note of Casey C rejoining the group for todays hike after a long absence. Welcome back Casey, it was good to see you!
Todays hike took place entirely on FLT map sheets M15 and M16. FLT map sheets are available in paper or electronic formats at: Purchase Individual Maps – Finger Lakes Trail Conference Sale of the map sheets help to defray the on-going costs associated with trail maintenance.
When I arrived at the Veterans Park, I saw a group of around 12 hikers approaching the parking area on foot. My first thought was that I had missed my own hike because of the time change, but as they approached, I realized I didn’t know the group, asked them who they were, and found that they were a group of librarians (!) hiking around ten miles on the FLT today.
The rest of today’s Ithaca Hikers soon began arriving, nearly filling all of the available parking spaces in the park. After a quick group photo, we set off in a south easterly direction on the FLT, hiking through young forests and along open fields until we reached Route 6. Weather conditions were generally warmer than I had expected; while the fallen leaves were thick underfoot, it was surprising to many of us to see how many trees still wore their leaves in late fall shades of tan and brown. Crossing the bridge on Route 6 we turned onto Gulf Rd and followed that road until the FLT footpath veered onto its own path that closely follows Cayuta Creek. Here the FLT footpath consisted of mostly dry ground with gentle elevation changes for the last mile or two before we reached our turn-around point. Cayuta Creek itself was barely flowing along its length, even in those parts where I’ve always seen it reliably flowing in the past.
The group reached the turn-around point where a former footbridge spanned a side creek feeding into Cayuta Creek; that bridge collapsed a few years ago and has yet to be replaced.
The return leg of the hike was uneventful, and soon the group found itself back at the cars wishing each other a good week until the next hike.
Fo those hikers tracking their FLT miles for a 2026 FLT 50 or FLT 100 patch todays hike included 5.5 FLT miles.
