ithacahikers

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 30

Hike report and three photos by Jim

Carter Creek Road, Connecticut Hill WMA

Fifteen hikers met at the junction of Carter Creek RD and Rowell Hill Rd in Newfield for a hike of the seasonal portion of Carter Creek RD. My expectation of the route was that it would be a level tamped-down snow surface due to its normal use as a snowmobile trail in the winter months. This was the condition the road had been in last winter when we last road-walked the route in colder months. My initial observations of the trailhead on this hike day didn’t cause me to have any concern that conditions would be otherwise.

Once the group set off, we found that there was minimal snowpack on the road.  Multiple vehicles at some point had driven down the road, causing deep ruts and an uneven road surface that had to be picked carefully through as you walked along the route. This was severe enough that some of our hikers choose to turn around and end their hike prematurely.

The main body continued on until reaching the hour turn-around point. The route, which travels  primarily through state land, was in such a state that hikers couldn’t really appreciate the surroundings but instead had to watch their feet to avoid catastrophically crashing to the ground.

On the return leg of the hike the sun, which had stayed behind cover on the outbound leg, finally appeared and seemed to push us further down the trail  as it shone down on our backs from behind us. The wind, which had been intermittent on the outbound leg of the hike, died down and gave the group a much more pleasant return trip to our vehicles.

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And here are four shots I got before Tiger and I turned around because we found the snow too choppy:

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Sat Jan 2

This report was written by Jim

East Hill Rec Way

On Saturday January 2^nd, 18 people and four dogs met at the parking lot near the bottom of Snyder Hill Rd for a stitched-together hike of several of the urban multi-use trails in the area. The weather initially was extremely windy, with patches of rain. I carried an umbrella during the hike, and at least some of the group came equipped with rain gear. This surely contributed to us NOT having rain during the hike……

The group left the parking lot onto the Vincent and Hannah Pew Trail, but almost immediately jumped off that paved walkway for the Wilderness Trail that runs alongside the Pew Trail for a significant portion of that trails distance. Trail conditions on the Wilderness Trail were intermittent areas of  standing water covering patches of ice. This caused some issues for some members of the group, who opted to return to the Pew Trail and walk the paved trail surface there. They were joined by some late arrivals.

The main body of the group pressed forward until the Wilderness Trail rejoined the Pew Walkway near Tudor RD. We then returned to Pine Tree Rd.

Arriving at Pine Tree RD  the group crossed the intersection there and walked along Honness Lane to the junction with the East Hill Rec Way.

Walking Northwesterly on the East Hill Rec Way, it was my intention to jump off the paved Rec Way and walk the Hawthorn Thicket Loop that is just before the Rec Way  crosses Mitchell Street. Reaching that trailhead however, we found notices posted by Cornell University that the Hawthorn Thicket Trail was closed until April due to extended periods of deer hunting the University was allowing on the property.

The group continued on the Rec Way, crossing Mitchell Street and eventually arriving at Maple Ave. Not being familiar with the trail route beyond that intersection and my original plans having not included such an extensive hike of that stretch of the trail, I opted to turn the group around and returned us to Mitchell Street. From there we walked to Pine Tree Rd and the sidewalk to the East Hill Rec Way leg that crosses over Pine Tree RD on its way to Game Farm Rd. The group walked that portion of the trail as far as the McDaniels Nut Grove before turning around and re-tracing our steps back to our cars on Snyder Hill Rd.

The hike, despite the last minute route changes and the spills that some people had early in the hike, seemed to go well. There were some stretches’ of the Rec Way where we were encountering multiple joggers, dog walkers and other users of the trail, but most of those interactions went well.

Cian brought a new pole for his camera equipment, but prevailing winds kept him from deploying the pole during the hike. I’m sure that we’ll see some fantastic pictures from Cian using this equipment in the future.

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More photos:

Cian

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Sun Jan 3

Road walk — Fisher Settlement Road, South Danby

Nice cloudy morning, just below freezing — a bit breezy at the meet-up, otherwise very pleasant

The snow was mostly gone on the ride out, but quite deep at the trail head, elevation 1400′. This is the entry to the FLT from Fisher Settlement Road

Cian has a new very long pole for his panoramic camera. He discovered on Saturday that it can be hard to use in the woods, but there was room to really extend the pole on this walk.

Clare demonstrating the snow depth at the snowmobile trail. I wonder who threw the tire there ….

I love the patterns created by the various types of trees we walk past on this road in particular. Couple of very dark and gloomy woods looks below.

Our hard-charging hikers made it quite a long way down the road before they had to turn around. I was dawdling along in the back, talking to someone about the prospects of living to a very old age. I love the bleak quality of these woods on a dark winter day and it seemed like an appropriate topic. (I learned a few weeks ago that I probably have Viking ancestry — had my dad’s Y-DNA analyzed — haplogroup I1, SNP I-M253.)

There was ice on the road in scattered spots but in general it was clear. Because the road isn’t paved with asphalt, it’s comfortable enough to walk on even when you’re wearing moderately aggressive foot traction.

Only a few cars passed.

I’m a huge fan of dark brooding woods and this stretch is a great one.

Not everyone on the walk made it into the group shots. I urged those wearing masks to hold their breath and pull the mask down for a few seconds so everyone could see their faces. Not too many takers.

Here’s one of Cian’s shots using his new long pole — he can really get some elevation:

You can see the rest of Cian’s shots here,

Official head count: 20H, three D

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 23

This report was written by Jim

Ridgeway Road to White Church Road, Caroline

12 people and a single dog met on Ridgeway Rd for a hike of that section of the FLT, towards White Church RD

It had been a couple of days since the last significant snowfall, and I have considered that stretch of the trail to be  a popular one that I thought would have seen some use in the intervening time since snow fell.

While someone had clearly plowed the trail surface down from the original snow depth, we found that the trail from its Ridgeway Rd junction had been used by at most a couple of skiers, one or two walkers, and a few animals. As a result, the walk was a slow slog through several inches of deep snow; not enough to call it true posthole hiking, but as someone in the group described it, it was like walking through dry sand. Not a pleasant hike for me, and while many members of the group put on good faces about the experience, I can only assume that others shared my sentiments about the hike.

When the group reached the turn to cross the fields towards White Church Rd, we found that the FLT was entirely untouched snowpack.

I made the decision to turn around and upon reaching Ridgeway Rd to finish out our remaining hike time with a road walk. The group accomplished this, walking towards White Church Rd on Ridgeway RD before returning to our cars.

More photos:

Cian

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Sat Dec 26

Hike cancelled — icy conditions

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Sun Dec 27

This report was written by Jim

Ekroos Road (aka State Land Road), just across the Tioga County line in Candor

Hikers met on Ekroos Rd, just over the line into Tioga County.

Ekroos Rd runs off of Honeypot Rd, which is what South RD in the Town of Caroline turns into after crossing the county line.

The parking area was about 2 /10s of a mile from Honeypot  Rd, and while the plows hadn’t entirely cleaned out the parking area, there was enough space that everyone’s cars could be accommodated for the most part.

The group started out a few minutes later than normal, as this was the first time the group had hiked this location and several members of the group had difficulty getting to the meeting location. After the group set off, a couple more hikers arrived and met the group further down the road.

The group passed a snowmobile trail that appeared to have been entirely unused despite it having been a few days since the last snow fell. This is something I have noticed this winter season; snowmobile use appears to be very minimal this year compared to previous winters.

Ekroos Road is maintained to a seasonal dead end due to a couple of residences about 2 ½ miles from Honeypot Rd. This resulted in a fairly long stretch of plowed roads ( easily hiked ) with minimal vehicular traffic, although we did encounter a couple of cars travelling up or down the road. The outbound leg of the hike is a gradual descent through tall pines on state land; towards the end the surrounding land transitions to privately held properties.

After a few turns and a mile or so of walking, the trees on the Southerly side of the road gave way to open fields and views down the valley. While there were some atmospherics that did slightly obscure our view of some things in the far distance, it was not to a degree that prevented us from being able to see quite a bit of the surrounding area.

Along the way we passed over several small streams that cross or follow the roadway. The ice formations along the roadway on some areas of the walk were quite enjoyable as well.

Reaching the residences at the end of the maintained portion of road, some members of the group opted to turn around immediately. Beyond the end of the maintained roadway the road takes a sudden sharp descent; the road surface appearing to be benefitting from  some amount of privately maintained plowing of the roadbed in this area. Some members of the group opted to walk a few minutes further through this section. While the road there passes along a very nice small gorge area, we soon found that the road surface itself was extremely hazardous due to ice covering the entirety of the roadbed, and so we turned around and started back towards our cars.

Once we reached our cars, some members of the group opted to fill out remaining hike time by over-shooting the parking area and walking to Honeypot RD and then turning around to return to our cars. This brought us up to the two hour hike time almost perfectly.

There was some interest among some of the hikers today to re-do this hike during the summer or fall when the leaves are out, so we’ll probably be seeing this hike location again.

More photos:

Cian

Hello Hikers!

Wed Oct 16

This report was written by Jim

Cayuga Lake waterfront trail — Stewart Park to the Farmers’ Market

Ten hikers met in the parking area of Stewart Park near the old swan viewing area/ boathouse building.

Another hiker met us on the hike.

The hike location had been changed from an outlying hike to this more central location due to the snow-filled weather forecast, and some hikers took advantage of the change in location to walk or bike to the hike.

Temps were cool but there was no wind, and the view down the lake as far as could be observed was about the best that I’ve ever seen it this time of year.

The group started by doing a short loop around the former boathouse building – yellow B diamond near the “31” in the Northwesterly corner of the park, depicted here: Cayuga+waterfront+trail+CWT+map+no+yah.jpg (1296×2240) (squarespace-cdn.com)

; this loop gave us a good view of the lake and a kinder gentler walking surface than the asphalt alternatives.

We crossed over the suspension bridge and quickly completed a loop of the Fuertes natural area without incident.

The group crossed over Fall Creek, then proceeded through the northerly edge of the golf course, through the lighthouse woods and out to lighthouse point.

A slight bit of wind was felt here, and the small amount of ice on the water surface and along the shoreline had some unusual qualities to it that reminded me of piles of discarded vanilla frosting. We were not the only ones out enjoying the day, as we’d been passed by several runners along the way. At the lighthouse we observed near-by hunters trying their luck with the waterfowl. The birds seen in  the area didn’t seem particularly concerned, so I can’t speak to the hunters success…..

The group completed a circuit of the golf course, then walked to the Farmers Market.

From there the group turned around and made a fast return  to our cars or the longer walk to near-by residences.

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Sat Dec 19

Report and photos by Jim

Road walk — Hill Road and Curtis Road, South Danby

Ten hikers and two dogs met at the junction of Curtis and Hill RDs in the Town of Danby

At 930 the group set off southwesterly on that rolling stretch of Hill Rd.

The sun above shone down on the freshly fallen snow laying on the fields and limbs of the trees the group passed.

The fields were full of trees and plants encased in a sheath of ice.

Winds on the initial leg of the hike were not a problem.

The group passed over South Danby RD and continued on Hill RD until reaching the end of the plowed portion of the road.

Turning around and heading back towards Curtis RD, the group was soon met by another hiker and dog who had arrived at the parking area a few minutes late and who had guessed wrongly twice as to the groups direction of travel before eventually finding us.

The group returned to the junction of Curtis and Hill Rds and opted to continue Northerly on Curtis RD to the end of that roads plowed surface. It was here that the wind finally caught us in the open, and any exposed skin was soon chilled. More than once I heard members of the group appreciating the extra protection the face masks gave today.

The group returned to the junction of Hill and Curtis Rds. With a few minutes left to use up, the group opted to strike out in two directions; one group returned Southwesterly on Hill RD, while the other group sought the portion of Hill RD to the Northeast that had more shelter from winds due to the trees closely lining both sides of the road.

At the end of the two hours the entire group again reconvened at our vehicles before leaving the area.

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Sun Dec 20

Cornell arboretum road walk and Mundy Wildflower Garden, Forest Home

Bit of a raw morning in Forest Home, even though it was just a few degrees below freezing. Very dark and gloomy, unpleasantly breezy in spots, snowing lightly much of the time — definitely a chill in the air

We’re going to try something different this time. Tiger and I were both taking photos. The first 11 shots will be by one of us, the second 10 by the other. It was a friendly camera shoot-out. See what you think. Did I get my ass smoked by my artistic wife?

Now here’s photographer No. 2:

Official head count: 16H, three D

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 9

This report was written by Jim

Monkey Run Natural Area, north side of Fall Creek

Approximately 15 hikers and 2 dogs met in the parking lot at the intersection of Hanshaw and Lower Creek Rds, for a wintery, seasonal hike of the red and orange blazed trails on the North side of the Monkey Run Natural Area.

The number is “approximate”, because people and their animals both showed up late and left early over the course of the hike.

Throughout the hike there was almost constant snow falling on the group, but it wasn’t an unpleasant or particularly dangerous amount of snow from what I saw. With weather conditions in mind I had held off on pre-planning a specific route, thinking that the group might want to take some alternate routes rather than travel down slopes in snow-covered conditions, but such was not the case. A couple of people chose to turn around early and end their hikes because of trail conditions, but the majority of people hiked through despite the snow-covered trails. The group managed to pick its way both down and up a couple of steeper sections;  we had one or two falls in the group along the way, but no one sustained any injuries. The ropes on steeper sections were put to good use on this hike.

The scenery was good on the hike in spite of the snow, which was not so heavy that it obscured visibility of the surrounding hillsides and woods.

Overall I would describe this hike as being a good reminder to everyone who hikes with the group about how foot traction is an important equipment component on many of our more rural hike locations during the winter months. Unlike other individuals and groups who suspend their hikes in winter months, we hike in all seasons and just about any weather condition.

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Sat Dec 12

This report was written by Jim

Upper Buterrmilk Falls SP

In the matter of 72 hours between hikes, the group experienced a shift in weather and trail conditions for which Ithaca is so well known.

Where Wednesdays hike had been in a snowstorm and over snowy trails, this hike was held in warmer temperatures and muddy paths. Wednesdays hike had been pretty much one of the group hiking alone; Saturdays hike was one in which we were sharing the trails with a multitude of other park patrons.

Approximately 16 hikers and five dogs met at the parking lot at Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park.

I say approximately, as one hiker went to the parking lot at Lower Buttermilk Falls, resulting in one of our regular hikers going there to guide the hiker to the Upper Park; those hikers ended up doing their own hike on the route the larger group took.

After meeting in the parking area of upper Buttermilk, the larger group struck off along the Bear Trail. There is a new bridge crossing the stream from the parking lot at this location. This  gives a great view up-stream as you cross over while doing away with the need to hike out to West King Rd to make a dangerous crossing of the bridge that was by necessity  the groups prior practice.

We broke out of the woods at the end of the Bear Trail and re-assembled before attempting the trail around Treman Lake.

The group continued on, eventually reaching and admiring the recent excavation efforts of the streambed around the stone arched bridge at the far end of the lake. Visibility was good throughout the hike; the views of the lake and surrounding hills and cliffs along the trail were excellent. The group turned around at the hour mark rather than doing a loop as is our normal summer hike practice on this trail, due to seasonal closures of  sections of the lake trail.

This set of photos was taken by Tiger

More photos:

Cian

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Sun Dec 13

This report was written by Jim

Ellis Hollow Nature Preserve

Sixteen hikers and five dogs met on Ellis Hollow Creek Rd for a walk of the FLLT Preserve there.

Temps were cool but bearable. The group encountered a small amount of rain within the first few minutes of starting our hike, but the rain soon ended and the group suffered no ill effects from the precipitation.

From the parking lot the group jumped onto the blue blazed trails, which involve a couple of water crossings, none of which proved difficult on this day. The blue blazes soon enough transitioned to the red blazed trail; by the last quarter of the first circuit the group found itself on the yellow blazed trail and headed back towards the parking lot area.

There was one brand new trail re-route on one of the steeper hills, with the re-route and its switch-backs marked by cairns and smaller colored flags. In the past when we’ve hit that section of trail in the winter it’s always been a hazardous ice-covered slope, so this re-route should come in useful for those types of hikes. Thanks to whatever organization is responsible for the work and effort involved in these sorts of trail improvements.

Once the group completed its first circuit of the preserves trails at around the hour mark, some hikers chose to call it a day and head for home. A few hikers reversed their course and re-traced their route to get a second lap in. A  couple of us chose to add one of the sections of yellow blazed trails to our hike that aren’t part of our usual hike routine at this location.

In the end and regardless of which path we chose for the second hour, all of the remaining hikers ended up back at the parking lot at roughly the same time.

Hello Hikers!

Wed Dec 2

This report was written by Jim

Lick Brook and the Thayer Preserve, Danby

On December 2^nd, 14 hikers and 1 dog met on Townline Rd at the corner with Sandbank Rd, for a hike of the Lick Brook ravine area. Snow was freshly fallen in the area, although the snow on the actual trail was fairly minimal. The biggest snow-related issue that I could see over the course of the hike were the wet roots on the trail. There was a decent amount of water flowing over the various cascades and waterfalls, much more so than the last couple of times I’ve hiked this trail.

The group started down the trails on the Sweedler Nature Preserve side of Townline Rd; at the junction of the blue and white trails most hikers chose the white trail that winds down the hill and over the ridgelines before coming out on the valley floor near the waterfalls. A couple of hikers chose the more direct blue trail route to the valley floor.

Others within the group chose to take their time as they hiked the area trails. These last hikers chose to spend the bulk of their time in the valley admiring their immediate area there, rather than climb the hill to continue hiking with the main group of hikers.

After meeting on the valley floor and checking out the falls, the main body of hikers returned to Townline Rd via the Blue trail.

The group lost a couple of hikers to other responsibilities upon reaching the road, but the main body of hikers pressed on across Townline Rd  to the orange blazed trails on the Thayer Preserve. Within a few minutes the group had reached the open fields facing Northeasterly towards Sandbank Rd.

After stopping to admire the vista in front of us, the group turned around so as to avoid that part of the Preserve in which hunting is allowed.

We returned to the blue blazed trail which leads down to the streambed.

Hikers found that despite water levels being higher than in the past, fording the stream was not particularly difficult this day. The group crossed the stream and continued along the blue trail back to Townline RD and our vehicles.

This was very much a “hike your own hike” for much of the group, with various hikers taking their time and choosing which path to take, the amount of time spent in a particular area of the hike, etc. We had one new hiker, Barbara, on  this particular hike. Welcome to the group Barbara, and I hope that you will continue hiking with the Ithaca Hikers.

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Sat Dec 5

This report was written by Randy

Embedded photos by Randy/Nancy L

Watkins Glen SP — upper South entrance

Nine intrepid trekkers and three leashed and sweatered dogs met in the Park near the swimming pool, which was strangely still full of water. The day was overcast and chilly, and truly perfect day for a hike. Although there was sleet on the drive over, we encountered no precipitation during our hike…it waited until we were safely in our cars and on the way home!

We hiked west along the FLT, passing a picnic area full of stone tables covered with clever cairns. 

Nancy L was the “leader”, but the trail was so easy to follow others took turns.

  Soon the trail climbed steeply uphill allowing us to warm up.  The hike along the south side of the gorge had some precipitous drop-offs, some of which were protected with fencing, some exposed to serious trouble if you weren’t careful.  We passed a lean-to overlooking the trail; no firepit, but otherwise suitable for an emergency bivouac. 

The trail passed under a massive train trestle that spans the gorge.

We regrouped before continuing to a large pavilion located on the shore of a pond.  Everyone agreed it might be a nice spot to hold a group gathering, like a late-May picnic coinciding with the flowering of the nearby rhododendrons. 

We then continued west, some of us going out to Rt. 329 to check out the potential parking/access situation about a 1/2 mile away, while others waited a while before deciding to head back along an old park road.  Nancy led the first group back, and Randy guided the others along the same route.  Everyone eventually reunited in the Six Nations campground area.  From there it was a short downhill to our cars.  

More photos:

Randy/Nancy L

Cian

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Sun Dec 6

This report was written by Jim

Jim Schug Trail, Dryden

Fifteen hikers and three dogs met at the parking area for the Jim Schug Trail on Lake Rd.

The morning weather front had put a layer of frost and ice over everything, so several regular hikers and their pets were delayed in getting to the hike.

Setting off on the Schug Trail towards the village of Dryden, hikers were met by a stiff wind that chilled a person if they stopped to admire the views along the trail. Other than a group photo at Dryden Lake Park early in the morning there wasn’t a whole lot of stopping on this hike.

Despite the temperatures there was a decent amount of other people using the trail this day.

The wind whipping across the lake was observed to be creating a good amount of wave action. The greens and browns in the shallow, still  ponds were particularly vibrantly colored under their thin crust of ice. This was in particular contrast to the white of the frost and ice covered areas.

The group pretty quickly broke up into about three distinct groups, not counting the late arrivals. The fastest group reported at the end of the hike that they had reached South Street before turning around, for a total distance of a little over five miles for that group.

Some of us were content to progress at a much slower pace than the lead element.

The return trip to the cars had only occasional periods of wind, unlike the outbound leg of the hike.

Three scenic shots from the trail

More photos:

Cian