Category: hike reports

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday May 10

Fillmore Glen, Moravia

For years I never scheduled a walk in this dramatic gorge on the grounds it was too far away (it’s 31 minutes from our house).  Then about a year ago I abruptly realized it was ridiculous to ignore such a beautiful place because of an extra five minutes each way.  Now I feel bad about how narrow my old thinking was.  Anyway, Fillmore Glen is now in our hike rotation, and it’s definitely worth the trivial extra few miles driving.

There’s a typical CCC-era walkway along the stream for a good while  —  then the trail leaves the creek and becomes a rough narrow dirt path that zigzags up the wall of the gorge  —  dramatic, but too dark for photos.  We do have a video from Norm that he made when we were trying to decide how to proceed  —  here

Rather than retrace our steps, we came down on a snowmobile trail  —  very pleasant  —

We found a lovely old cemetery abutting the park grounds at the bottom  —  people buried there who were alive in the 1750s

Official head count:  17H, three D

 

Saturday May 13

Stevens Suspension Bridge to Cornell golf course and horse barns, Forest Home

Seemed like the early morning rain was fully over  —  then it started again just as we stepped off  —  but it ended for good a few minutes later and we had a great time  —  dark, damp, misty and 50 degrees  —  the best atmospherics for hiking IMO

The weather kept the golfers away  —  saw just two-three players and we didn’t have to worry at all about dodging stray balls or getting yelled at

Interesting to see how the lighting on the faces was affected by the color of the barn wall behind

Official head count:  14H, four D

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

Sunday May 14

Hammond Hill SF  —  northeast trails with Jack V

Official head count:  33H, eight D

Jack was improvising our route through this unfamiliar part of the forest as we walked along, picking the next path to take from the confusing mishmash of trails based on how much time was left  —  somehow he managed to get us back to the cars in precisely two hours, almost to the second.

You can see his photos here

 

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:

Norm

Schwartzie

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

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday April 26

Robinson Hollow SF, Tioga County

We were swarmed by small flies as soon as we stepped out of the cars  —  several hikers said they were black flies that had recently hatched and hadn’t reached the biting stage yet  —  a couple of us had insect head nets in the car and you’ll see some in the photos

If you ever get invited to do this walk, be aware it opens with a very steep uphilll that lasts for 12 minutes  —  we once had a hiker become seriously overstressed on the climb  —  could have been serious but luckily someone was carrying an energy bar and that did the trick

There’s a lovely lean-to right off the FLT that’s named in honor of the late daughter of one of our regular hikers, Lucy  —  she died as a very young child many years ago

Official head count:  19H, five D

Schwartzie shot a very short video  —  starring Lucy

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

 

Saturday April 29

Travor Road and the Tamarack Lean-to, South Danby

There’s a beautiful spring a few minutes’ walk beyond the Tamarack Lean-to where you can drink from a hose if you’re bold enough  —  a number of our hikers took the drink this time  —  Annie got some shots

Here’s what the spring area looks like  —  you can see the hose

One of the goals of this hike was for people to learn how to use a compass to make their way out of the woods  —  two groups set out from the lean-to to find the way through the woods to a six-pack of craft beer hidden along Travor Road  —  success  –  I wasn’t with either group but Jack V was and he got the shot:

Official head count:  25H, seven D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

Schwartzie took a video of people at the site of the spring, and then when they found the beer

 

Sunday April 30

Lindsay Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, West Danby

Official head count:  26H, seven D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday April 19

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

Official head count:  18H, five D

You can see Annie’s photos here

Norm shot a video

 

Saturday April 22

Woodard Road NW to Hines Road and beyond, Enfield

Official head count:  20H, six D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Sunday April 23

Abbott Loop east from Michigan Hollow Road to Hill Road, Danby SF

Official head count:  21H, four D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday April 12

Black Diamond Trail north from Cass ParkI was reluctant to schedule a hike on this new trail, which opened with some fanfare in January after years in the works  —  I thought it would be too tame for our group

But Tiger was eager to try it out  —  I wondered if anyone else would be interested, and I was surprised to see a big turnout at the parking lot

(Want to see what Norm was photographing?)

I thought I’d never been to this spot but as soon as we got on the trail and I saw the line of huge power line poles, I realized I’d walked here a little bit many years before

I tried to enjoy the new trail but I couldn’t shake off the looming presence of the huge poles  —  complete turn-off  —  Tiger told me after the walk that she hadn’t minded the poles at all

It takes 35 minutes of walking to get beyond the power line  —  the whole mood changes at that point and the trail becomes quite pleasant

There are a number of small gorges and creeks along the way, none particularly impressive, but nice

If I had to resume working I wouldn’t mind this job, cruising around on this cute little cart and chatting up the ladies.

The only good thing I can find to say about the power line poles is that they make a dramatic gateway to the attractive part of this trail.  If you want to try this walk, start further out of town and avoid the beginning.

Official head count:  27H, six D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

 

Saturday April 15

Roy H Park Preserve into Hammond Hill SF, Dryden

I can never resist trying a group shot on this trail.  Not everyone shown

Official head count:  20H, three D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

Mysterious animal sighting:

After we got home from the hike, I got this e-mail from Annie:

Hi! I had an interesting adventure this morning at the tail end of the hike that I thought you’d be interested in.

As usual, I found myself at the end of the group, taking photos. I eventually caught up to Brenda and Eckhart and their dogs, but they were slowed down by over enthusiastic pups racing after each other so I decided to pass them so my sister (always with the head of the pack) wouldn’t worry about where I was.

Eventually I was walking solo when, suddenly ahead of me, I saw a large, dark brown furry mammal leap across the trail and bound into the woods. It was too fast for me to get my camera in place but I’m sure it was a bear. My first thought was that I was glad the three dogs were not there and my second thought was that I didn’t want to be alone! I continued to walk slowly enough for Brenda and Eckhart to catch up and hear my tale.

Margaret was worried about me and called to find out how I was doing and was pretty astounded to hear the story. I regret that I didn’t capture this with my camera but I don’t regret not being a hungry bear’s breakfast!

Then, later in the afternoon, I got this e-mail from Bad Dennis:

Saw this on way back from “Park’s Preserve” walk:

Fisher cat.   It was cautious of me but not fearful–about 50 yards away down hill to side from me.

 

Sunday April 16

Bald Hill Road to The Pinnacles, Danby SF

First insects of the year    —  very annoying gnats

This delightful view will soon be blocked by leaves until fall

Another obligatory group shot location  —  again, not everyone shown

Official head count:  21H, eight D

More photos:

Annie

Jack V

Get-together right afterwards at Hobit’s

It was warm bordering on hot in the last stretch of our walk, but it was breezy and very pleasant at Hobit’s  —  nice lazy vibe

Some of the people who hiked skipped the get-together, but other people who hadn’t hiked showed up and we had about the same size turn-out (I didn’t do an official head count)

I was happy to catch up with Hobit’s 16-year-old son Jake  —  maybe you remember he’s into tumbling   —  this time I used the burst mode on my camera in hopes I could follow his trajectory on a running leap and flip

Jake’s been growing but he can still pull this flying-through-the-air trick off nicely  —  you can see from his shadow on the grass that he’s a bit close to the ground throughout