Category: hike reports

Report to Hikers: week of April 22-April 28

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 24

Fischer Old Growth Forest, Newfield

Parking for this walk is very limited and a bit dangerous, so we only do it on Wednesdays when the turnout is smaller. It’s a shame because I’m sure our weekend hikers would really enjoy this hike just as much. Two things set it apart — many of the trees are unusually large and old, and the terrain rises and falls pretty steeply in a striking manner
We used to hike here regularly, but then I began to find the trail too steep, so we didn’t come for three years. Then my curiosity got the better of me.
I was surprised to see that Cornell Plantations, which owns the forest, has created an extensive new trail segment that’s very wide and well groomed, and is extremely easy to walk on. I was thinking they’d redone the whole length of the trail, and eliminated the super-steep and rugged ups and downs that I’d come to find so challenging.
Alas, most of the original old trail is still there, as hairy as ever, though the difficulty has been eased in several spots by the provision of some sturdy rope strung along the steepest parts. But it’s still grueling.
But I don’t mean to complain too much. The forest is really exceptionaly nice.
Unfortunately the trail’s not long enough to last two hours, but it’s too long to do two circuits, so you have to quit early. I didn’t mind; my ass was dragging

Official head count: 17H, two D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sat April 27

Texas Hollow SF, Bennettsburg

Official head count: 20H, one D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun April 28

Hammond Hill SF, Dryden

Raining very lightly at the meet-up — not a great forecast — the regulars faithfully turned out anyway
If you enjoy grey damp cool weather, it was actually quite nice out
We’re strongly focused on trying to keep our slower hikers from getting lost here — Norm is making a directional arrow out of branches to show which way to turn, since it’s not obvious
If you click on this shot and look closely at the high resolution version that will pop up, you’ll see snow falling — this was the second year in a row it snowed on the last Sunday of April while we were on the trail
This might be the first time ever that everyone on a hike made it into a formal group portrait — we have certain hikes where a portrait is always part of the routine
The scene back at the cars could look a little bleak and grim to you — in fact, everyone was in a very cheerful mood

Official head count: 20H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of April 15-April 21

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 17

Woods road walk — Curtis Road, South Danby

It was an exceptionally nice morning with a wonderful sense of spring in the air. There is a delightfully cute goat and this little horse who live next to the road — they were dashing around excitedly as we walked past, creating a classic idyllic scene — Tiger was very taken with the hors
There’s been a lot of recent logging by the state along the road === I really like the way the logging has opened the woods up — it creates a whole different mood
This is where Curtis Road ends, at South Danby Road — very conveniently, walking down and turning right around makes for almost exactly a two-hour hike

Official head count: 14H, one D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sat April 20

Bob Cameron Loop, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, Newfield

It was extremely wet and muddy in spots — my shoes were caked in mud by the end
Many areas of beautiful scenery — combined with the fog, it made for a great morning

Official head count: 19H, five D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun April 21

Layen Road to Bruce Hill Road and beyond on the FLT, Danby


Official head count: 29H, five D

More photos:

Jack V

Easter get-together at Katharine’s
Extremely lively and festive — almost everyone who hiked came on to the party, and a large number of people who didn’t hike also showed up. One drawback: the noise level started to sound like the atmosphere at a brew pub. One failure: No one brought potato chips, as far as I could discover

Report to Hikers: week of April 8-April 14

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 10

A false start, and then a walk up Lick Brook

We shaped up along Route 13 in Newfield planning to walk through Fisched Old Growth Forest — but as soon as we stepped off, we hit a sign saying the forest was closed until April 30 for special deer hunting. So we headed up the highway a few minutes to the lower Lick Brook parking lot.
We had an unexpected start this time as well — a big trail was coming at us and we had to wait for it to pass by before we could cross the trestle
That was the last excitement for this morning

Official head count: 15H, one D

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Sat April 13

Kennedy SF, Virgil

The mud season started with a bang. The car was wedged in too deep to push out — the AAA had to come and pull it out
The hiking dogs really love mud-puddle water, much more than clean fresh water in a stream

Official head count: 33H, five D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun April 14

Shindagin Hollow SF — Braley Hill Road to Shindagin Hollow Road on the FLT

I got this shot of Tiger to illustrate what the terrain is like in the long stretch that skirts the edge of the very deep Shindagin gorge. Tiger was trying to get a shot to show where the steep downslope ends and the sheer drop begins, but it was impossible to get up to the edge of the slope without falling off. If you have any balance issues, the sensation of walking along this stretch of the FLT and wondering if you could fall off can be very upsetting.
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While we were standing around waiting to start the hike, a very loud roaring and throbbing sound abruptly filled the air
This wonderful big jeep came roaring into view — I know we go hiking to escape the ugliness and dirt and noise of modern life, and to walk amid the calm beauties of nature — but this roaring machine really lifted up my spirits, and I greatly wished I was riding in it at the moment.

Official head count: 24H, three D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of April 1-April 7

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 3

Two steep trails up the hill from lower Buttermilk Falls SP to the upper level

This is the entrance to the Owl Creek Trail, which starts off the road from the lower parking lot up to the cabins. I never heard of this trail until late last fall — it’s not on the main park trail map and it starts in a very obscure place (though it is on this trail map). In any case, it’s a beautiful trail and well worth doing regularly. It’s basically just about as steep as the other better known trails that run from the lower parking lot up the hill — that’s to say, it’s a killer.
The trail ends in this small cemetery on upper Stone Quarry Road. It’s a nice little spot but there’s not much to see — it’s really just a place to turn around.
For part of the way, the trail runs right along the edge of a very deep and steep ravine through which Owl Creek flows — if you’re into contour maps, you can see the Google contour map showing the ravine and the road here.
Here’s a view of the creek — very pretty
We made the trip up and back to the cemetery in just an hour — to fill out the other hour, we walked up the rim trail and then walked on the Bear Trail for a little while. This added up to a lot of time spent going uphill strenuously — and it puts this hike into maybe first place as the most strenuous one we do.

Official head count: 19H, three D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sat April 6

Danby SF — Loop trail from Bald Hill Road to Diane’s Crossing and back

Diane’s Crossing, the little bridge across Michigan Creek where we started heading back toward the cars
It looks a bit overgrown and brushy in the photo, but it’s actually a very lovely and serene spot
Back at Bald Hill Road

Official head count: 25H, three D

More photos:

Jack V. I’m not able to get a working link to this album of Jack’s. To see these shots, use one of the other two links to Jack’s work in this report, and then click on the phrase ” > Ithaca Hiker Photos >”. That will take you to the home page for Jack’s photos, and you’ll see his Danby shots album in the top left.

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Sun April 7

Monkey Run Natural Area, south side of Fall Creek, Varna

Official head count: 25H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of March 25-March 31

Hello Hikers!

Wed March 27

Michigan Hollow Road at Diane’s Crossing SE to Hill Road and beyond oin the FLT, Danby SF

Official head count: 13H, one D

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Sat March 30

Monkey Run Natural Area, north side of Fall Creek at Hanshaw Road

The trail has been rerouted away from this creek-front stretch but a small group of us in front failed to notice the detour. This is the best time of the year to check out this stretch because all the weeds have been flattened by ice and snow.

Official head count: 25H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun March 31

Treman SP on the FLT W from Route 13

The high point of this walk is always a group shot at the pavilion. The hikers were a little reluctant slow to get into a proper line this time, and I had to try and boss them around
Here’s the view from the line-up — I thought Norm’s stance was undignified
For some reason, we never manage to get all the hikers into the portraits — four people missing from this one, not counting me

Official head count: 23H, three D

More photos:

Jack V