Report to Hikers: week of Feb 1-Feb 7

Hello Hikers!

 

 

Thursday Feb 4

Shindagin Hollow State Forest, bike trails

Shindagin Hollow bike trails 031

This is one of a number of really good hikes that, unfortunately, we can do only on a weekday. In some other cases it’s because parking is too limited if there’s a big weekend turnout. For this Shindagin hike, the problem is that we’re walking on the main mountain bike trails in the county — a weekday morning is the only time we can be sure the bikers are all at work or in school.

Shindagin Hollow bike trails 076-001

A few minutes after leaving the cars, you enter what I regard as one of the two-three best pine woods areas we do — every time we come here, I’m determined finally to get the photo that captures the fabulous mood — failed once again — but now I realize what I’ve been doing wrong — our nature photographer Annie was making her first hike on this trail, and she did a much better job than me, though even her shots don’t do full justice.

Shindagin Hollow bike trails 110

It was in the high 30s and it seemed like an early spring day — lots of mud and water on the trail, streams very full, a tiny bit of ice in spots — beautiful morning

Shindagin Hollow bike trails 086

Aside from our hard-core skiers, no one seemed the least bit upset that there was no snow

Shindagin Hollow bike trails 135

This was the first time doing this walk that we didn’t get lost or turned around the wrong way or arrive back at the cars late — Tiger has been making a special effort to understand the trails here and it was a total success — made it back within a minute or so of our two-hour goal — there are maps of the forest but they don’t show all the trails, and the trails on the ground are not all marked — also, the scale of the maps seems wrong

Official head count: 17 hikers, two dogs

More photos online:

Me

Annie

 

 

Saturday Feb 6

Gorge Trail, Finger Lakes National Forest, Reynoldsville
Gorge Trail, FLNF 047I’m sorry this hike is so far from town way off to the west — it’s a delightful walk but a lot of our regulars live east of the city and many of them just refuse to make such a long drive — so turnout for our hikes in the national forest is often on the lowish side  —  this was our smallest group on a weekend hike in six months
Gorge Trail, FLNF 074Too bad — there’s lovely scenery everywhere, and lots of variety
Gorge Trail, FLNF 134In fact we almost never see other hikers when we’re walking in the national forest — again, too bad, since this is probably the best maintained set of trails around, thanks to being under the jurisdiction of the federal government, which obviously has a decent maintenance budget for this tract — you rarely see an obstacle like this fallen tree in the path
Gorge Trail, FLNF 115More unseasonable weather, just a little below freezing so again it felt like early spring, with water on the trails and the streams running full — I managed to be the only person crossing this stream to plunge his foot in deeply — good socks, so no problem being a bit wet
Gorge Trail, FLNF 122Some of the trails were a bit choppy where people had sunk in the mud and then the deep footprints froze — there are some nice country roads here and they certainly have the benefit of being easier to walk on
Gorge Trail, FLNF 149Sun came out toward the end and it was above freezing by the time we wrapped up — really nice morning all around

Official head count: 13 hikers, two dogs

More photos online:

Me

Annie

 

Sunday Feb 7

Jim Shug Trail east into Cortland County on the Finger Lakes Trail

Jim Schug Trail east into Cortland County 040

Another beautiful mild morning — I didn’t even need gloves to take photos at the meet-up — pretty amazing for the middle of winter!

Jim Schug Trail east into Cortland County 085

We got off to a sizzling pace on the first leg of the walk, for reasons involving a dog — very energizing, but people were joking they might collapse — pace stayed lively throughout and we did the whole hike a bit faster than normal

Jim Schug Trail east into Cortland County 110

As soon as you leave the big fields the trail starts to climb up an old woods road — it’s quite steep and, for whatever reason, it’s covered with a layer of small flat rocks — we find this same treatment on some other old roads too — must have served some purpose in the past but the stony cover makes for terrible walking, especially going downhill — real ankle-breaker

Jim Schug Trail east into Cortland County 229

Pressure is building on me to stop categorizing this hike as moderately strenuous — a number of hikers now think it’s one of our steepest — OK, I agree, it is pretty steep in spots — but I don’t want to scare people away by making it sound too awful

Jim Schug Trail east into Cortland County 175

This look-out is definitely one of our most beautiful — a wonderful serene quality
Official head count: 30 hikers, four dogs

More photos online:

Me

Annie
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Update:  Seems like the clickable feature is working well, so you can ignore what I wrote below before I had a chance to test the clickability out.

As I mentioned above, we now have clickable photos again, but I liked it before when you could double-click and get a big blow-up. If you enjoy seeing the close-up details like I do, you can click here and see all the photos in this hike report online — click “View Original” for any one and you’ll get a very satisfying large version — all the wrinkles and protruding tongues and moist noses clearly shown

Report to Hikers: week of Jan 25-Jan 31

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Jan 27

YMCA and EcoVillage property on West Hill
YMCA-EcoVillage 163          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
This was a new walk for most of our hikers — through some delightful scenery a little west of town off Route 79. We hiked through extensive deciduous woods on a large tract belonging to the YMCA, and in sweeping brushy fields connected to EcoVillage.
YMCA-EcoVillage 043          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Notice anything odd about this photo? It’s in black and white. I was fiddling with the camera controls while wearing gloves as we stood around waiting to start — I couldn’t really feel what I was doing through the glove, and I changed the camera settings without realizing it. When I got home, I discovered a lot of the photos were too dark to use — until Tiger suggested I convert them into B&W. This sidestepped the problem I’d created — pretty ingenious of her.
YMCA-EcoVillage 171          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Luckily, when we were out in the open areas, the wrong setting I’d put on the camera didn’t exert so strong an effect, and I was able to use the original color shots — colors came out a bit lurid but I like the look
YMCA-EcoVillage 085          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Didn’t seem like there was really any snow at all on the ground when we were driving to the trail head — but as soon as we set off I wished I’d worn my YakTrax — there was a nasty layer of hard ice under the light snow — to avoid it, you had to walk off to the side of the trail, right next to the brambles

YMCA-EcoVillage 144

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
This is definitely a good hike — Tiger and I have done pieces of it in the past but not often enough to remember the way — thankfully we had Virginia to lead us around — she lives nearby and walks here all the time
YMCA-EcoVillage 017          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Official head count: 21 hikers, five dogs

YMCA-EcoVillage 180

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
I was a little upset I messed up the camera settings, but it ended up producing some very dramatic effects I could never have gotten deliberately — looks a little fake, maybe, but fun.

 

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Me

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Saturday Jan 30

Roy H Park Preserve and Hammond Hill SF, Dryden
Roy Park Preserve 084          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
We failed to wait my preferred minimum time (three months) to do this hike again, so I was concerned it might seem a little stale — but it’s such a beautiful walk, and it was such a lovely day, everything turned out great
Roy Park Preserve 135          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Basically no snow on the ground on the way to the trail head, but by the time we got up into the higher areas of Hammond Hill SF, there was complete coverage and it looked very wintery. Not deep enough for skiing, according to our own Mr Nordic Ski Jack V, but he steered us away from the ski trails anyway for fear we’d damage the base by punching through.
Roy Park Preserve 224          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
My one and only real complaint about this walk is that the Roy H Park boardwalk is too short and the wonderful swampy area is over so fast. We tried in the past to extend the walk into the swamp but we got turned back by high water almost immediately.
Roy Park Preserve 196          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Some hikers have a little prejudice against walking on rural roads as opposed to sticking to woodland trails, but I like them both equally myself — as long as the scenery along the road is decent. In favor of the roads, the footing can be better, and it’s usually easier to walk side by side and talk
Roy Park Preserve 154          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
One of the downsides of being older and exerting yourself on a chilly day — nose just runs and runs — this isn’t a posed picture
Roy Park Preserve 037          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Official head count: 20 hikers, four dogs

 

More photos online:

Me

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Sunday Jan 31

Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to, Danby SF
Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 120          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
So was I a genius for scheduling our midwinter cook-out for a day 25 degrees above normal, or what?
Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 056          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The huge amount of wood we cut and hid off to the side 10 days ahead of time was all there untouched, and we had a fire so magnificent it could have warmed the dead
Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 099          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Eckhart was in complete charge ot making and managing the fire — at first, there was a lot of skepticism that he was using too much green wood, and piling on too many logs before the fire really caught — but as the fire progressed, people began to say it was the best fire they’d ever seen — in the end, it was universally judged a masterpiece
Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 010          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

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Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 036          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
There was supposed to be a regular two-hour hike before we started to eat, and most of the people set off on this (Tiger and I and some others stayed behind at the lean-to) — but for reasons that weren’t entirely clear to me, the hikers returned very early, and everyone seemed content just to stand around and work their way through the cook-out menu
Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 076          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Special citation to Roger: Best improvised use of a non-commercial hot dog skewer

Cook-out at Chestnut Lean-to 149-001          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Official head count: 32 hikers, three young granddaughters who played hike-and-seek in the woods, and seven dogs

More photos online:

Me

Annie

Jack V

Report to Hikers: Part 2, week of Jan 18-Jan 24

Hello Hikers!

 

Saturday Jan 23

Lloyd Stark Loop, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area
Lloyd Stark by Mark 070          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Something different. — I asked several regulars if they’d like to handle the photography for this hike report — not that I’m tired of photographing the hikes, but I thought it would be fun to give others a chance — so all the shots in this report are from Mark, who’s been taking photos for many years and who has an impressive collection of classic film cameras on display at his house — I took just one photo, an up-to-date mug shot of Dave G, who guided us along this confusing trail.
Lloyd Stark by Mark 015          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Maybe we didn’t get any snow from the blizzard to the south, but I wonder if the big storm affected our weather in some other way — I thought it was unusually raw at the trail head, and it continued even after we were in the woods — wore my face mask the whole time — very roasty-toasty except it made my nose run vigorously the whole time, and there was some steaming up of the eyeglasses.

Lloyd Stark by Mark 019

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Dave G almost had to skip leading us on the hike — he was doing a last run-through of the trail the day before on skis when he took a nasty fall and hurt his foot — there actually wasn’t enough snow for skiing, which caused him to crash — luckily for us, he felt OK by morning. This is not the smoothest trail in the world — we hit lots of frozen leaves and crusty thin ice that kept collapsing underfoot — not that great for the ankles if you’re not careful.
Lloyd Stark by Mark 046          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Don’t know if it was due to my dire warnings, but no one fell behind and got lost — just a little standing around waiting for everyone to catch up — the going was somewhat slow because of the poor surface
Lloyd Stark by Mark 054          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The temperature never climbed above the high teens but there were enough uphills and we all warmed up before too long — we had two new hikers, steered to us by Norm — this is Dave — he got a huge “like” from Katharine …. not too hard to figure out why if you know her — there are two fantastic overlooks on this trail, both of them at their best with snow cover and gloomy light
Lloyd Stark by Mark 010          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Official head count: 16 hikers and Yoda

More photos online:

Mark

Jack V

 

Sunday Jan 24

Kennedy State Forest, Virgil
Kennedy SF 048          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of evergreen forests — if you feel the same, this walk just beyond Dryden is definitely the one — I was really struck this time by how long we were able to spend walking through fantastic stands of hemlocks, and how dramatic and satisfying the evergreen scenery is. There are stretches of hardwood forest here too, but I’m pretty sure this walk contains the largest stretch of evergreens in our roster.
Kennedy SF 184          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
It’s even more fun because much of the trail is a bit challenging — narrow, bumpy, rising and falling, roots in the path — the snow cover was quite slippery and there were hikers with less grippy soles on their shoes who actually had to crawl uphill in a few spots
Kennedy SF 071          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
I like the ruggedness of the trail myself but it’s harder than usual for me to get action shots of the hikers, because I’m so busy trying to keep from tripping or falling, there’s no way I can keep turning around to photograph the people behind me. I really need to be able to stop and stand still.
Kennedy SF 164          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Much easier to get shots on the non-hemlock parts of the walk — the beech trees with their pale leaves add a nice luminous touch.
Super-regular hiker Brenda recently got a new hat — she said she loves hats and she always has a car full of them — very jazzy and I like the way it brings a touch of style into the woods.
Kennedy SF 118          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Some hikes have a high point, some don’t. Not everyone got to see this one, but I’d say it was definitely the high point — or low point, depending on how you define it
Kennedy SF 110          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
That’s Norm — we were all steamed up when we emerged from the woods at the halfway point at Owego Hill Road, but he was the only one to tear off his clothes — I didn’t have to egg him on, either, it was his idea — pretty hairy guy ….
Kennedy SF 121          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Official head count: 26 hikers, five dogs

More photos online:

Me

Annie

Report to Hikers: Part 1, week of Jan 18-Jan 24

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Jan 20

Chestnut Lean-to, Danby SF
Chestnut Lean-to 114          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
I’m posting this report on Wednesday’s hike ahead of time in order to get the ball rolling on our hot dog cook-out coming up next Sunday. We did the hike in to the lean-to for our midweek hike so we could collect enough wood for the fire, which I’ve learned from experience is the most important item in a winter cook-out.
Chestnut Lean-to 128          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
At the first cook-out we had, two years ago, the fire was too small and we were a little chilly. Last year we had a big fire but we started it too late and it didn’t get really blazing until we were wrapping up. This year I’m advertising a fire guaranteed to be five feet high, and we’re going to start it early so it will be just right when we gather.
Chestnut Lean-to 090          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
We thought we might have to do some extensive foraging for firewood, but the state DEC has done a great deal of tree-cutting in the area near the lean-to in the last year, and a lot of the wood has been left lying around, so there was actually a tremendous supply for us, though it required sawing. We had a number of saws with us and we managed to produce a huge amount of good-sized logs. We hid most of the cut wood a ways off in the woods to be sure no one camps out between now and the cook-out date and spots our logs and burns them.
Chestnut Lean-to 072          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
If your idea of a great outdoor get-together is to sit alongside a pool while a waiter hands you a drink, you won’t like the cook-out. But if you like a little challenge mixed in, this event is fantastic. The hike in from the cars is short, about 20 minutes, but there are several lively ups and downs along the way that will get you warmed up. If the snow is deep, we’ll have our snowshoe team walk in at the front of the line to pack the trail down into a solid base (we did this last year). We’ll have a two-hour walk as usual for those interested, but if you just want to come for the cook-out, by all means do it.
Chestnut Lean-to 085          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The lean-to’s in an idyllic setting and it’s especially pretty with snow. You can get inside the open part of the lean-to if you want shelter, though no one has done this to date. There are rustic benches around the fire, and we cut some large stumps to use as stools. With the fire blasting away, it’s really quite pleasant. I’ll give details about the food next week — there’s no need to pre-order anything — just show up and you’ll find a hot dog waiting for you.
Chestnut Lean-to 031          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
We had a lot of fun cutting and gathering the firewood on Wednesday’s hike. It didn’t seem like work with everyone pitching in.
Official head count: 16 hikers and Yoda

More photos online:

Me

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of Jan 11-17

Hello Hikers!

 

Wednesday Jan 13

Yellow Barn SF followed by a birthday party at Steve and Diane’s in Ellis Hollow

Yellow Barn 061

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

It was so horribly cold and windy at the trail head I briefly thought we might have to abandon the hike, something we’ve only ever done once or twice before.  But then we reached the shelter of the trees in a minute or two and the wind was blocked.  Still unpleasantly cold for a while until we got warmed up.

Yellow Barn 109

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online.

The snow cover wasn’t very deep and it was nice and powdery, but we hit a surprising amount of slick ice underneath, and the terrain was generally bumpy and choppy, which made walking a little tough, especially for those with knee or ankle problems.  Tiger’s knee swelled up when she got back home and it was hurting in bed; she had to take Aleve several times.

Yellow Barn 177

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

This walk is a very pleasing mixture of woods and fields  —  we hit some windy areas out in the open but by then we were steamed up and it didn’t feel so miserable.  Extremely beautiful sky with big puffy clouds and a lovely sun.

There’s a large pond along the way that was covered with snow.  I asked if anyone wanted to test out the thickness of the ice:

Yellow Barn 081

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

That’s Eckhart, our #1 daredevil.  If you look closely, you’ll see he was up on his toes jumping up and down, and grinning.  So we learned the ice could support one person.

But how many more?

Yellow Barn 189

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

How many of you think this was a fun challenge?  How many a foolish and risky one?

Yellow Barn 137

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

Official head count:  18 hikers, two dogs.  Everyone came out a bit small in order to get them all into one long lineup.   I have  another version of this shot online broken in two so everyone appears larger and you can see their faces better.

Yellow Barn 225

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

Six more people came to the party afterwards  —  we had NY-style cheesecake baked by Diane, shrimp and pizza, and lots of beer and wine  —  plenty of that left over for our hot dog cook-out coming up Jan 31 in Danby.

More photos online

Me

Annie

Jack V

 

 

Saturday Jan 16

Lindsay Parsons Preserve, W Danby

Lindsay Parsons 062

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Sometimes a hike comes across as more than just a string of different scenes. Several of us were talking about music, and it occurred to me this walk unfolded like a beautiful tone poem — fantastic saturated subtle shades of brown and grey — pale mist hanging on the hillsides — dim light than got lighter and darker — wet tree trunks and logs gleaming
Lindsay Parsons 039          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The start was a little disconcerting — parts of the parking lot were a sheet of treacherous ice — but it was fine once we headed down the hill into the preserve.
Lindsay Parsons 026          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Supposedly the rain that passed through a few hours before we set out was finished, but then we got a 10-minute burst on the trail — one of the hikers who was wearing a down coat got soaked and had to turn back early. For those of us wearing water-resistant gear, it was fun.

Lindsay Parsons 093          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
There’s a big pond here — not clear from looking whether the ice was weak or not — that’s daredevil Bud checking it out — evidently still solid but he didn’t venture any further out from the shore into the flooded areas

Lindsay Parsons 197

         Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Later, Bud found a garter snake in the middle of the trail, something we haven’t seen before in cold weather — you can see him lifting the snake in the bottom of the photo — the dogs ignored it

Lindsay Parsons 226

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
On the hike I was trying to think of an arty women’s designer who created a very successful clothing line in the mid-80s using a palate of muted woodland colors — couldn’t think of her name but Tiger knew it  —  not that our ladies do much hiking in stylish sportswear.  Tiger thought the scenery looked like a rich and subtle tweed.

Official head count: 20 hikers, four dogs
More photos online:

Me

Jack V

 

Sunday Jan 17

Willseyville Creek, Caroline

Willseyville Creek 024

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
Delightful grey morning along a very low-key and easygoing trail well off the beaten track.
Willseyville Creek 069          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
This walk resembles the Jim Schug Trail in Dryden in that it’s an old railroad right-of-way running through a swampy floodplain — it differs because there are some lovely woods and rolling fields to see along the way — and because you get the strong feeling hardly anyone walks here
Willseyville Creek 091          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
In winter, the right-of-way becomes an official snowmobile trail — it would definitely be fun to roar along here on a frigid morning — as long as the big puddles were frozen over
Willseyville Creek 137          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The walk takes us across Ridgeway Road up to the edge of a very large pond Willseyville Creek has formed — couldn’t manage to get a shot showing some of the extent, but the views to the east into the hills are beautiful too
Willseyville Creek 146          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
The creek passes under Ridgeway Road at the low point in the background of this shot — quick walk back to the cars —

Willseyville Creek 190

          Click here to see a copy of this photo online
…… very little traffic to dodge ….
Willseyville Creek 188          Click here to see a copy of this photo online

Official head count: 28 hikers, four dogs
More photos online:

Me

Jack V