Report to Hikers: week of April 8-April 14

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 10

A false start, and then a walk up Lick Brook

We shaped up along Route 13 in Newfield planning to walk through Fisched Old Growth Forest — but as soon as we stepped off, we hit a sign saying the forest was closed until April 30 for special deer hunting. So we headed up the highway a few minutes to the lower Lick Brook parking lot.
We had an unexpected start this time as well — a big trail was coming at us and we had to wait for it to pass by before we could cross the trestle
That was the last excitement for this morning

Official head count: 15H, one D

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Sat April 13

Kennedy SF, Virgil

The mud season started with a bang. The car was wedged in too deep to push out — the AAA had to come and pull it out
The hiking dogs really love mud-puddle water, much more than clean fresh water in a stream

Official head count: 33H, five D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun April 14

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

I got this shot of Tiger to illustrate what the terrain is like in the long stretch that skirts the edge of the very deep Shindagin gorge. Tiger was trying to get a shot to show where the steep downslope ends and the sheer drop begins, but it was impossible to get up to the edge of the slope without falling off. If you have any balance issues, the sensation of walking along this stretch of the FLT and wondering if you could fall off can be very upsetting.
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While we were standing around waiting to start the hike, a very loud roaring and throbbing sound abruptly filled the air
This wonderful big jeep came roaring into view — I know we go hiking to escape the ugliness and dirt and noise of modern life, and to walk amid the calm beauties of nature — but this roaring machine really lifted up my spirits, and I greatly wished I was riding in it at the moment.

Official head count: 24H, three D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of April 1-April 7

Hello Hikers!

Wed April 3

Two steep trails up the hill from lower Buttermilk Falls SP to the upper level

This is the entrance to the Owl Creek Trail, which starts off the road from the lower parking lot up to the cabins. I never heard of this trail until late last fall — it’s not on the main park trail map and it starts in a very obscure place (though it is on this trail map). In any case, it’s a beautiful trail and well worth doing regularly. It’s basically just about as steep as the other better known trails that run from the lower parking lot up the hill — that’s to say, it’s a killer.
The trail ends in this small cemetery on upper Stone Quarry Road. It’s a nice little spot but there’s not much to see — it’s really just a place to turn around.
For part of the way, the trail runs right along the edge of a very deep and steep ravine through which Owl Creek flows — if you’re into contour maps, you can see the Google contour map showing the ravine and the road here.
Here’s a view of the creek — very pretty
We made the trip up and back to the cemetery in just an hour — to fill out the other hour, we walked up the rim trail and then walked on the Bear Trail for a little while. This added up to a lot of time spent going uphill strenuously — and it puts this hike into maybe first place as the most strenuous one we do.

Official head count: 19H, three D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sat April 6

Danby SF — Loop trail from Bald Hill Road to Diane’s Crossing and back

Diane’s Crossing, the little bridge across Michigan Creek where we started heading back toward the cars
It looks a bit overgrown and brushy in the photo, but it’s actually a very lovely and serene spot
Back at Bald Hill Road

Official head count: 25H, three D

More photos:

Jack V. I’m not able to get a working link to this album of Jack’s. To see these shots, use one of the other two links to Jack’s work in this report, and then click on the phrase ” > Ithaca Hiker Photos >”. That will take you to the home page for Jack’s photos, and you’ll see his Danby shots album in the top left.

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Sun April 7

Monkey Run Natural Area, south side of Fall Creek, Varna

Official head count: 25H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of March 25-March 31

Hello Hikers!

Wed March 27

Michigan Hollow Road at Diane’s Crossing SE to Hill Road and beyond oin the FLT, Danby SF

Official head count: 13H, one D

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Sat March 30

Monkey Run Natural Area, north side of Fall Creek at Hanshaw Road

The trail has been rerouted away from this creek-front stretch but a small group of us in front failed to notice the detour. This is the best time of the year to check out this stretch because all the weeds have been flattened by ice and snow.

Official head count: 25H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun March 31

Treman SP on the FLT W from Route 13

The high point of this walk is always a group shot at the pavilion. The hikers were a little reluctant slow to get into a proper line this time, and I had to try and boss them around
Here’s the view from the line-up — I thought Norm’s stance was undignified
For some reason, we never manage to get all the hikers into the portraits — four people missing from this one, not counting me

Official head count: 23H, three D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of March 18-March 24

Hello Hikers!

Wed March 20

Potato Hill SF, Level Green Road to Old 76 Road, Caroline

Major surprise when we got to the trail head — we found a big logging operation under way
We’re used to this place being completely deserted and tranquil, so it was very weird
Once we got a few minutes in from the road, the walk seemed normal again
It warmed up quite a bit during the hike, and by the time we finished we ran into some horrendous gooey mud

Official head count: 10H, one D

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Sat March 23

Roy H Park Preserve to Hammond Hill SF

Official head count: 14H, one D

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun March 24

Taughannock Falls SP, gorge trail and north rim trail

Official head count: 25H, four D

More photos:

Jack V

Report to Hikers: week of March 11-March 17

Hello Hikers!

Wed March 13

Six Mile Creek, north side rim trail starting at Crescent Place

This hike is right in town and I thought there’d be a good chance the snow had melted, because there was so little snow in other parts of town …
This isn’t a popular trail by any means — we never see anyone else using it when we walk here — but enough people had used it that there was a treacherous thick layer of ice laid down that made walking tricky
The group had to cut the walk short when they came to a stream they couldn’t ford ….
No one wanted to retrace their steps through the woods because of the ice, so they walked back the whole way on the South Hill Rec Way, which parallels the trail.

I had to skip this hike, having fallen ill the day before with vomiting and diarrhea. I had to sit out a lot of hikes last summer after I fell down and suffered a concussion, but I always looked forward eagerly to looking over Tiger’s photos right after every hike to see how it went, and I always thought each walk looked beautiful in the photos. This time, though, oddly, the scenes from the hike looked ugly and depressing to me — never happened before — I was really surprised how much the intestinal illness was affecting my perceptions.

Official head count: 12H, one D

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Sat March 16

Woodard Road east into upper Treman SP on the CCC Trail and the FLT

Our official nature photographer Jack V loves to photograph water — he was using a high-quality new camera for the first time — check out his shots at the link below to see the shot he got of this lovely small waterfall
I was still too sick to hike, but this time when I looked at Tiger’s photos right afterwards, it seemed like a really great walk and I wished I’d been able to be there

Official head count: 12H, one D. Two more people left home intending to join the group, but they failed to pay attention to the location and they went to the wrong place

More photos:

Jack V

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Sun March 17

Lindsay Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, West Danby

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Official head count: 24H, four D

More photos:

Jack V