Hello Hikers!
Wednesday May 3
Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve
Raining vigorously when we left the house — as we drove past the sweeping open fields beyond Game Farm Road where the state raises pheasants, we could see the back edge of the storm — by the time we reached the trail head, the rain was over
We have two videos showing stream crossings this time:
This is a delightful walk, very picturesque and lively — but it’s very short — a single turn around the trail takes just 45 minutes — we go around twice but we still come up very short of two hours — we can extend the walk by going across the street, but a lot of the hikers refuse to do this because they think the area across the street is full of ticks — too bad — they miss out on some lovely scenery
Official head count: 15H, three D
You can see Jack V’s photos here
Saturday May 6
Shindagin Hollow Road — rim trail and trillium display
Wet start — rained steadily on the ride to the trail and for the first 20 minutes of the walk
Then a pale sun came out just as we were walking along the hugely atmospheric rim of the gorge — it was fantastic — the trail was brimming with water, the little streams and rivulets gushing, some mist rising from the gorge
There were huge masses of trilliums blooming along the lower stretch of Shindagin Hollow Road — everyone said it was an unusually good year
The last few times we did this walk, the beautiful swamp at the bottom of the hill has been parched and depressing — so delightful to see an abundance of water this time
We really lucked out with the weather — in some parts of the county, it rained steadily all morning long
One negative: We were plagued by swarms of black flies off and on — they weren’t biting but they were really irritating
Official head count: 18H, five D
You can see Annie’s photos here
Schwartzie made a video
Sunday May 7
Malloryville — unmarked private trails with Bob Beck
I took this shot while we were standing on a former railroad trestle over Fall Creek — there’s no way to know how interesting a structure it is unless you walk down to the creek bank and look up, like Jack V did
Part of this walk involves crossing a big beaver dam — it was possible to cross without wetting your shoes on Thursday morning when Bob checked — but the rain since then pushed the water level up several inches so there was no way to cross without stepping in water over your ankles — more than half the group decided not to soak their shoes, so they turned back and retraced their steps — I stuck with the group that waded across — lots of fun!
Stephanie, like Bob and Roger, grew up here, and she spent her childhood playing in these woods and fields — seems like paradise to have been a child here, IMO
Inside the bog — a wonderfully atmospheric place — those are pitcher plants Bob’s pointing at
We lucked out with the weather again — all the weather sites were predicting rain but it held off until we were half way home and we hit a rain squall near NYSEG
Official head count: 21H, six D
You can see Jack V’s photos here