Category: hike reports

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Nov 16

Road walk  —  Legge Hill Road from Honeypot Road to Lathrop Hill Road and beyond, Candor

First time we walked on this road  —  I decided we should try it without ever having been here  —  I picked it out just by looking at Google maps  —  I thought it looked really promising but it was far more beautiful than I’d hoped  —  it helped that it was a wonderful mild morning

I love to walk in the woods, of course, but when we can find a country road like this one, I like it on the road just as much

Official head count:  18H, four D

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

Saturday Nov 19

Upper Buttermilk Falls SP

Official head count:  40H, 12 D (a new record for us, I think)

You can see Annie’s photos online here

 

Sunday Nov 20

Upper Treman SP

We had a little bit of an adventure  —  we wanted to cross Fishkill Creek but the water was high and the rocks very slippery  —  one group made it across but the rest of us chickened out  —  some of those who crossed recrossed back, the others forged ahead on the other side and met up with us later  —  fun!

Those of you who fly around for pleasure have probably hiked in summer conditions one day and winter conditions the next, but for those of us stay-at-home hikers it was an interesting experience.  I was a little surprised to find that I enjoyed Sunday’s wintry hike just as much as Saturday’s balmy one  —  though of course it wasn’t truly cold Sunday, so it wasn’t a perfect experiment.

Official head count:  18H, seven D

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

Hello Hikers

 

Wednesday Nov 9

Woodard Road NW toward Porter Hill Road, Enfield

Classic fall morning, drizzling a little, gloomy skies, upper 40s  —  not everyone’s idea of a great day but I really love these conditions

We’ve had to cut this walk short for the last few years because a landowner withdrew permission for access, but that was just recently remedied, and the new trail is lovely

Official head count:  14H, one D

 

 

Saturday Nov 12

Carter Creek Loop, Connecticut Hill WMA

This is an excellent trail with a number of very beautiful stretches  —  looked especially lovely with the bright slanting sunlight and the long shadows

Official head count:  26H, eight D

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Sunday Nov 13

Hammond Hill SF ski trails

More gorgeous weather  —  another great walk

Official head count:  32H, 11 D

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Nov 2

Watkins Glen

You can be forced to wait in line to get into this fabulous gorge in season  —  the trick is to come in November, early in the day  —  we pretty much had the main parking lot and the trail to ourselves

On the theory that it’s safer for an old, somewhat shaky group of hikers to go up the steps rather than to go down, we walk back along the rim, which is just a typical trail

Nice lookout dating from 80 years ago  —  to bad there’s no longer any view to see, because lots of trees have grown up.  Advice to DEC:  Cut them down!

There are great views from this bridge ….

Unfortunately, the walk up the gorge and back down the rim doesn’t add up to two hours  —  but you can explore some beautiful trails along the south side, and there are other sights to see

Official head count:  24H

You can see Jack V’s photos here

 

 

Saturday Nov 5

Gorge Trail, Finger Lakes National Forest, Schuyler County

Official head count:  27H, four D

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Sunday Nov 6

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

Official head count:  39H, 11 D (possibly a record)

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

******

Update on our Thanksgiving get-together

Looks like two hikers will each roast a turkey  —  stay tuned

******

Want to map the hikes?

Here’s a recommendation from regular Sunday hiker Jack B

 

“Several fellow hikers have asked about the app we sometimes use to track our hikes.  Here is some info that you might want to pass on to the group..

The app is called Maps.ME  (used to be called Maps with Me).  It uses the GPS in iPhones, iPads, and Android devices to show you where you are without requiring a data connection. Instead, you download free maps ahead of time of the area where you are going to be. Turn on the app and it shows you on the map where you are. It lets you mark places as bookmarks, plan routs to somewhere, and even record a “recent track”.  I used that this morning and it recorded a nice set of dots along our hike trajectory. You can save these if you want.  Everything is free and they have maps for all over the world. Many maps even show trails (we used this for hiking an obscure trail in Norway a few years ago).  To get it, just go to the relevant app store for your device and download it.  A recent manual on what it does and how to use it is online at:  https://maps.me/files/MAPS.ME%20User%20Guide%203.0.pdf.   There are also YouTube videos showing you how to use the app.  The critical point is that you do NOT need a data or phone connections to use this app. Very cool.

Jack

PS. The manual dos not include all the recent features included in the current app, such as the Recent Track option. You may have to experiment with that as I did today.”

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Oct 26

Ridgeway Road south to White Church Road along Willseyville Creek, Caroline

Official head count:  25H, five D

More photos online:

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Saturday Oct 29

Fairfield SF, Candor, with Bill

Photos by Annie

Hike report by Nancy H

We met on a dirt access road near an old quarry. Fairfield State Forest has no marked trails, but our guide was Bill, a new member who grew up on a farm bordering the forest. This forest does not have marked trails, but Bill knows the place like his own back yard. Bill and Norm answered lots of questions about the many varieties of trees that grow here, including hickory, shagbark, red pine, hemlock, spruce, red oak, and a whole lot more. We emerged from the woods and walked along Jenksville Hill Rd, a very quiet dirt road, and returned to the starting point at almost exactly 11:30.

Official count: H:15 D:7

****

You can see all of Annie’s photos online here.  I love the look of this place and the vibe I get from Annie’s photos  —  I’m really sorry I had to miss this hike

 

 

Sunday Oct 30

Malloryville walk with Bob B

Photos by Annie

Report by Susan L

This lovely hike through the particularly diverse preserve took us atop an esker with views below on both sides and by bogs, swamps, and marshes, where we saw many a fallen tree coated in silky moss and enjoyed walking paths richly carpeted with autumn leaves. We learned how the glacially formed land features, including eskers, kames, and kettles, and complex water chemistry combine to support various distinct habitats.

Other highlights included crossing a stream on top of a beaver dam that had created a large pond full of now-dead trees and featured a grand beaver lodge; boardwalks and bridges comprised of donated (by Trex) composites created from melted garbage bags and recycled wood; and a kettle with a platform (named in honor of Bob and Roger’s “Aunt Floss”  [1899-2001], who “breathed in three centuries”) in its midst that encircled rare plants, including carnivorous pitcher plants.

Mild and cloudy with just a few minutes of sunshine, it drizzled just before we started, for a few minutes in the middle and again toward the end of the hike; we just missed the downpour on the way home!

29 hikers, 7 dogs

*****

You can see all of Annie’s photos online here

 

 

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Oct 19

Road walk  —  Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby

It was a beautiful grey morning and everyone was in a cheerful mood  —  I got into taking some posed line-up shots  —  this is four of the seven Susans who hike with us regularly ….

….  I liked this field as a backdrop  —  doesn’t look as good in the photo as it did in real life ….

….  I went gaga over this stand of dark pine  —  the hikers had gotten into doing the Hokey-Pokey when I got this shot

The leaf action was really spectacular  —  if you think I’m exaggerating, check out Jack V’s nature shots here.

Official head count:  18H, four D

 

 

Saturday Oct 22

Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve, Enfield

An alarming incident.  The big tree in the foreground fell down right into the trail shortly after we walked by the spot on the outbound leg  —  we were quite shocked to discover it blocking our way when we headed back  —  it was gusty but it didn’t seem like the wind was strong enough to be toppling trees.  This one was very rotten.

As predicted, we got rained on, but it was intermittent and it wasn’t raining all that hard  —  we were prepared for it and everyone stayed warm and dry and we had a wonderful walk.  On the drive to the trail head we passed areas where all the trees along the road were stripped bare of leaves, but there was plenty of leaf action along the trail and it was very satisfying.  I realized when I got back home that the old growth maple trees that are so cherished by forest people are so tall you can’t see the leaves on top unless you practically bend backwards, which I didn’t do, so I don’t know what the leaves were like on them.

Official head count:  NineH, two D

 

 

Sunday Oct 23

Bald Hill Road to Hill Road, and a get-together at Hobit’s afterwards, Danby

Official head count:  30H, seven D

You can see Jack V’s photos online here

Not everyone who hiked came to Hobit’s afterwards, but there were people there who’d skipped the hike.  It was a little cool in the back yard and almost everyone stayed inside  —  I sat outside staring into the fire and watching Emmie toast marshmallows

Jake, who’s now 16, has become quite a tumbler.  He did some wonderful tricks for us but I don’t know how to activate the “burst” mode on my camera so I failed to get any of his most spectacular moves.  I did manage by luck to catch him in mid-flight here.