Category: hike reports

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Aug 9

Harford Slaterville Road N on the FLT into Hammond Hill SF, Tioga County

The Five Susans

Official head count:  19H, four D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Saturday Aug 12

Woodard Road NW to Hines Road and beyond, Enfield

The first part of this walk was badly overgrown in spots  —  the weeds were so thick and high it was almost impossible to see the path in spots  —  a big problem because the trail in this section has areas full of roots, snags and ruts  —  I realized that many of our trails would quickly look like this if we didn’t have the Cayuga Trails Club to maintain them regularly

We decided not to walk back on the overgrown part of the trail  —  we took the shortcut back on the road system instead

Luckily it wasn’t too hot and we were comfortable on the final leg

Official head count:  23H, five D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Sunday August 13

Bald Hill Road to the Abbott Loop and Thatcher’s Pinnacles, Danby SF

The Pinnacles Look-out has gotten increasingly overgrown in recent years, and the view now is very unsatisfying in mid-summer.  We always do a group shot when we reach the summit, but now I pose the hikers against the woods because I find the lighting better (not everyone’s shown)

Official head count:  36H, six D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

We’ll have a get-together on Labor Day

I think it’s a great holiday to mark with a party (assuming it’s not raining).  Stay tuned

 

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Aug 2

South Danby Road westward on the FLT to the Abbott Loop, Danby SF

This drainage ditch was recently deepened  —  the three-plank bridge tilts in two directions  —  very challenging if you have balance problems

Jack B is our second-oldest hiker  —  he’ll be 83 in the fall  —  never uses or needs a pole

Official head count:  19H, six D

You can see Annie’s photos here

 

Saturday Aug 5

Roy H Park Preserve into Hammond Hill SF

Official head count:  25H, eight D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Sunday August 6

Stevens Suspension Bridge, Forest Home, to the north side of Fall Creek in Monkey Run

In this photo, we’re on the rim of one of the sheer bluffs that fall away dramatically to Fall Creek, which you can see below in the background.  Annie has four shots in her nature album that give you a good idea of what’s happening along this stretch of the trail.

Official head count:  28H, 10D

You can see Annie’s photos here

 

 

 

Hello Hikers!

I’m very sensitive about not using too many photos in these reports to hikers because I don’t like to be boring  —  but I’m hearing from a number of people that they had a really good time Saturday, and I do have more photos that I don’t think are repetitive or dull.  We had a lot of people and I’d like to try and let you see more of them having fun.

I’ll start with a few overview shots and then move in

If you’re into photography, maybe you noticed I used two lens lengths (two different lenses actually)  —  the top three shots were with a wide-angle lens, the others with a short telephoto lens

 

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday July 26

Diane’s Crossing to Hill Road, Danby SF

Official head count:  19H, four D

 

Saturday July 29

Lick Brook

This hike was led by Jack V, who took the photos

Official head count:  20H, one D

You can see Jack’s photos from the hike and the cook-out afterwards here.  I chose the shots to illustrate the hike report from this album.  I had to crop the shots to use in this report  —  Jack just got a new camera and it produces such large files (24 MP) that I wasn’t able to upload them to the web site without cropping them.

Update on the Saturday afternoon cook-out

It broke up sometime after 10 pm.  A large amount of baked clams were eaten toward the end.  Our food coordinator Liz asked me to post this comment from her:

Hello Hikers!

What a wonderful day we had at our annual summer hiker’s picnic!  The weather was perfect, the venue was amazing, the food preparation went on without a hitch.  A big thank you to all who helped, including the set up crew, the cooks, the clean up crew, everyone who provided a dish-to-pass, Roger and Gunilla for hosting us, and of course Steven and Susan for being at the helm.

Because of everyone’s generosity, All the bills were paid, and we have $120 extra.  Last year, about that amount went to pay for the annual fee to maintain the hiker’s website.  Since Mary already collected monies for that during a previous event, this year  I will present Steven and Susan with a gift certificate to a restaurant of their choosing. They are so generous in their time and efforts that this meant to be a little thank you, from all of us.

It is a pleasure to coordinate this event.  I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails, in a kayak, or at another of our social events throughout  the year.

Sincerely,

Liz Kyle

Here are two final shots from the cook-out that I didn’t have room for in yesterday’s photo report:

Liz and Roger

Randy managing the chicken fire

 

Sunday July 30

The Wedge, Connecticut Hill WMA, with Dave B

Official head count:  30H, eight D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday July 29

Our food coordinator Liz

The Cornell chicken team Bud and Randy

It was a gorgeous day but Roger’s pond was just 67 and only a few very hardy people went swimming

This was our eighth cook-out here and the property gets more and more beautiful every year  —  all the gardening is done by Gunilla, who’s a skilled artist and has a very artistic eye

The setting is so bucolic and serene, it takes on a slightly surreal quality every year of peace and relaxation

The chicken does give off a bit of smoke for a while during the grilling

I brought along a second camera with a portrait lens and this let me get some shots I couldn’t with my regular hiking camera

Do you remember Liz promised that I’d be making an appearance “squeezed into my bathing suit?”  This is a display I agree to undergo every summer to make up for never using photos of myself in the weekly hike reports.  I didn’t go into the water this year but I did pose for a candid shot:

My waist circumference, measured across my belly button and without sucking in my gut at all, was 33 3/4″ on Friday and Saturday morning.  Your waist measurement compared to your height has actually become a very important health indicator for older people.  My height is 70 1/2″ so I’m doing OK ….. for now ….

Our cook-outs are always wonderful  —  this one seemed especially nice

Our nature photographer Jack V got some shots of the cook-out but I’ll hold off linking to them until tomorrow because he’s bundled in the picnic shots with his shots from Saturday’s hike, and I’ll report on the hike tomorrow  —  stay tuned