Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club Founded in 1 962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands

and places of natural beauty. .. "

January-February 1998 Winter Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 1 & 2

Annual Meeting to Feature Cayuga Nature Center Director

Dr. Janet llawkes. executive director of the Cayuga Nature Center on NYS Route 89. wi ll be the featured speaker at the Cayuga Trails Club Annual Meeting on January 18. 1998. Her presenta tion is titled .. The Cayuga Nature Center and the Community."

For many years. our club has combined the annual meeting with a banquet at an Ithaca-area restaurant. This year wi ll be different. In stead of an evening dinner, we will enjoy a leisurel y buffet luncheon instead. The Jncheon at the Ramada Inn in Ithaca will begin at l :00

p.m. after a social beginning at 12:30. Please send in your reservation before January I 0. Fu rther information was sent to you in a separate mailing. The same information is al so on page 7 of thi s issue of Cayuga Ji-ails .

Janet Hawkes has been executive director of the Cayuga Narure Center for 2Y" years and has increased and improved educational activities dramatically for people or :il l ages. Janet is a native Ithacan w ho e njoyed hi k ing local

trails every Sunday \\·ith her famil y while growing up. She received a Ph.D. degree in education in 1993. Her resume is extensive includ ing :igricul tural development work in the South Pacific and science and agriculture teaching at Elmira BOCES. She also was Tompkins County·s Cornell Cooperative [xtcns1on Agent . In addition to her position at the Cay­uga Nature Center. she is managing editor of the journal Na111n: Swdy, published by the American Nature Studies Society . The organization was founded by Liberty Hyde Rail ey. director or Cornell' s College of Agriculture from 1903-- 1913. At >Ur meeting. Janel will describe the

new master plan anc.1 intcrpreti\-C plan for the Cayuga Nature Center.

The old, faded signs on the Abbott Loop Trail and at Diane's Crossing were replaced recently with brand new ones. Photo by Doris Abbot t.

Next Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes Bring a Friend!

.January 11, 1998 Robin Spry-Campbell will lead a hike or ski.

depending on the weather, in Finger Lakes National Forest. Robin emphasizes that the hike or ski will be of moderate pace. Meet at I :00 p.m. in the P & C parking lot in Trumansburg. This will be WLL 1-1 ike ='412. The national forest is located north of NYS Route 79 bet\\Ten Burdett and Watkins Glen. NY. Februarv 15, 1998

Walk, Look. and Learn Hike #413 \\·ill be a ski trip to the Bear Swamp area near Skaneateles Lake. Dave Ruppert wil l lead. Meet at I 0:00 a.m. near the Tompkins County Trust branch office at East Hill Plaza on Pine Tree Road in Ithaca . Dave will lead a hike around Corne ll Plantations if there is no snow for skiing.

CA YUGA TRAILS

The Finger Lakes Trail - How to Walk Halfway Across New York State and Enjoy It!

by Nick Vandam, C. T.C. member and FLT End-to-End Hiker #74

The I 0th of May, 1992, was a perfect hiking day-warm, sunny, low humidity, and no biting bugs. About 70 hikers had assemb led along Route 79 at the eastern edge of Tompkins County for the first in a group of six monthly hikes which would traverse the county along 50 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail. I had hiked three-quarters of the FLT in the county previously (in more or less random fashion), but this hike series, progressing from east to west, would give an entirely different perspective- that the trail goes somewhere. When we arrived at the opposite side of the county in October, we could pull out the maps and see just how far we had walked! Everyone has favorite sections of trail. In Tompkins County for me, it is the walk along Lick Brook gorge in the Sweedler Nature Preserve. The camaraderie among the hikers was special; each month we would catch up on the activities since the last hike. The hike series was organized by the Cayuga Trails Club (actually, by Tom Reimers, with some able help). About 50 of the hikers completed all the hikes and were awarded patches.

In early 1993 I got a call from the FL T's End-to-End Hike guru, Ed Sidote. Would I be interested in helping to lead some hikes in Cortland County later that year? Yes! Especially since the eastern two-thirds of the county would be new trail for me. I noted that there was a gap of about 8 mi les in Tioga County and a separate part of

Tompkins County between the 1992 and l 993 hikes. We were able to include that gap in the 1993 series so that hikers completing both series would have hiked 108 consecutive miles of the FLT, which is one-fifth of the entire trail! Seemed like a good way to jumpstart interest in day hikers in finishing the entire trail in segments (it worked for me!). My most memorable section in Cortland County was the woods walk south of Stoney Brook Road, but Hoxie Gorge was special, too!

Next in line for 1994 was Schuyler County. Tom Reimers coordinated the first three hikes, and I would arrange the last three, starting on August 14. What a debut! Nearby Dryden, NY, had a tornado-like "micro­burst" funnel march right down Main Street. Our sched­uled hike would have to ford two significant streams, and after 2-4 inches of rain in several hours we decided a

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scouting party would be prudent. The rain actually stopped before the hike started, and 33 brave souls assembled for the hike. The scouting party reported back-one stream was thigh-high with a very strong current. So we made an instant decision to switch the September and August hikes. The September hike was shorter, and we did not have to walk through any water that was more than a foot deep! Most of the trail was underwater that day, and the rest of the trail was all mud anyway. But we were rewarded in October with some spectacular fall color in my favorite section in Schuyler County-the woods between Sexton Hollow Road and Sugar Hill Road.

Irene Szabo, Steph Spittal, and some others picked up the ball and led the 1995 hike series through Steuben County. I really enjoyed just being a plain old hiker again without any "responsibilities." The drives were longer, but all of the trail was new to me. The most "interesting" hike in Steuben County was the mile-plus walk on Cochrane Road just west of Bath. I timed my walk on that dusty dirt road just as a sports car club rally went on the same road. We were treated to a fast-moving sports car with huge dust clouds about every 45 seconds! Do lungs cope with dust any better than auto air filters? My favori te section was the Mitchellsville Gorge west of Route 54.

My final county hike was the 1996 "Hike across the Genesee." However, I missed three of the seven hikes wilt. an injury and other conflicts, so that my favorite section was a make-up hike in April 1997. Just north of Pond Road near Hume, the trail follows Wiscoy Creek for a couple of miles. In April the forest floor was a carpet of spring beauties. I have never seen wall-to-wall wild­flowers like that. I estimate over I 00,000 of these small plants completely covered the ground! And of course, anyone who forded Slader C reek in May of'96 will never

forget that hike. Until that day, my August 1994 Schuyler County hike was my wettest hike in 25 years on the trai l. But Slader Creek topped it.

Meanwhile, I had been hiking other sections of the trail in Allegany State Park and the Catski lls. I became an "End-AND-Ender" in 1995 by hiking to the eastern and western ends of the trail. A solo hike in July 1996 was my biggest adventure. I got a late start driving from Ithaca and reached the trailhead at 2:30 p.m. for an 11-mile hike. A large "Posted" sign was in the middle of the trail! A couple of minutes later, a woman emerged from a nearby house to tell me that she had closed the trail. I asked her why she closed the trail and she said she was upset that hikers were stealing wood from her woodlot, which was one-half mile from the road and 800 feet up a muddy one lane wagon road. On this warm day I convinced her that l was not interested in stealing firewood, and she let me

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CA YUGA TRAILS

hike through. But the trees with trail blazes had been cut

down in places and the trail was badly overgrown. In foct. I got lost five times in the t I miles. M y favorite one: I lost

tht: blazes and then spotted one 100 feet to my right. I re\·crscd direction to find out where I wandered off the trail. and l got lost again! f e ventua lly reached the Native American lands just north of Allegany State Park and was fol low in g old Route t 7 when [ heard some music. The music got louder and louder until I walked right by a jam session \\'ith a couple of gui tari sts pl aying some very hot blues, with about 100 people listening! You never know what you will find on the trail. [ staggered to the end of my hike a t 9: 15 p.m.! By the way, the trail has since been rerouted and is much easier to folio\,. now tha t it was reblazed !Or the 1997 .. Western Wall" series.

ln 1997. l organized an inforn1al series of I 0 hikes lo cover my biggest gap-Chenango and western Delaware Countic.:s . With the help of three to I 0 other hikers, and wonderful weather, several of us walked 128 miles in those coun ties. Ed Sidote told me tha t the best hiking on all the FLT was in Chenango County, and the northern half or that county Crom Bowman State Park northwest to the county line near Lincklaen is as good as it gets . In particular, the walk from Paradise Hilt Road west to Lincklaen Road, ending w ith Fenby Glen, was exquisite.

Finally, the gaps were closing 1 Since I had covered so much of the tra il with various county hike series, I wanted to fini sh the trail with a county hike . Irene Szabo graciously allowed me to hike the final "Western Wall" h ike with 70 other hikers and celebrate my fini shing the trai l \\'ith a g reat picnic . I must admit I really did not want to see that final 13-mile hike end, but at 3:13 p.m. on October 11, 1997, I was done 1!

I want to acknowledge publicly the hikers who spent at least 2 years hiking with me: John Andersson , Phil Dankert. Rebecca Elgie . and Jack Van Derzee. Se\·eral others spen t all or parts of a year on the trail. The hikes were much more Cun \\·ith them 1 Also. I want to thank a group of people \Vithout whom none Of this \\'OUld have

been possible: Joe Donovan, L inda Mattice, Bob Muller. Tom Reimers. Steph Spitta l, Irene Szabo. and especially

Ed Sidotc . for the numerical ly inclined. [ placed m y hikes in

three categories: 30 day hikes covering 274 miles as county hikes (30-80 people), 14 day hikes co\·ering 180 miles as small group hikes (2-12 people). and 11 day hikc o; CO\·cnng l 0 l miles ;:is solo hikes. (At times. f wo uld drop my bicycle oil at one end. dri ve to the other end.

''alk to my bicyck. and bike back to the ca r.) The totals: 55 day hikes i.:o,·enng 555 miles.

1-inally. my lasting and most \\'Onder t'ul memory ol.thc

FLT is the endless \·aricty of the habi tat: from open

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hardwood forests to farmers· tie Ids to dark coni fer fo rests

to cool shady glens to hackcountry roads to lush ferns to someone's backyard to \\·onderful wildllowers, and e,·cn

the occasiona l paved road o r patch of thist les or blackben-ies. It was al\\·ays an adventure. I rarel y spent more than 30 minutes in the same habitat. and that is what makes the FLT so special to me. l ,,·as the 74th person lo hike the entire traiL and the 12th person to finish in 1997.

Every year I set three goals: \\'a]k some new FLT miles, hike a few more High Peaks in the Ad irondacks, and bicycle 3000 m iles. >low what do I do for the FL T 1

Well, I recently bought a set of Bristol Hills maps ...

Nick Vandam (left) receives his FLT End-to-End Hiker patch from hiking partner Jack Van Derzee. Photo by George Stoner.

"Cfz"mb the mountai?u and get their good tidings.

Natures peace will flow into _vou as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares

wi!L drop off Like autumn leaves" John Muir

Cayuga Tra ils is th e official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P. 0. Box 754, Ithaca, NY 74857-0754.Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Thomas J. Reimers, Editor, by mail at

3C Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 6071272-8367, or by e-mail at treimers@aol.com.

--1 .J .I ,

CA YUGA TRAILS

Clearing Trails John Andersson, President

You are reading this in the new year, but I am writing in the old. I'm sitting at my computer listening to Gene Autry sing "Merry Texas Christmas" while you might be thinking about Christmas (past) bills. This is an odd feeling, knowing you will be reading in the

future what I write now which will be past when you see it. Such is our perception of time. How can I think that what I find relevant now will be relevant in a few weeks? How could the founders of our Cayuga Trails Club and the Finger Lakes Trail in 1962 know what would be relevant in 1998? They couldn't have known the details of living in the 90's, but they knew their vision of something relevant and valuable in 1962 would remain relevant and valuable in 1998. They had to struggle with issues of access, trail construction, funding, attracting and keeping volunteers. Hey, these sound likerelevant issues in 1998 too! Plus we have to deal with increased use of the outdoors by horse riders, bicyclists, ATVs, and snowmobiles. These are not ~ll compatible uses on the same trails, but many folks would like to see multiple-use trails across the public lands. This issue has been discussed at length for the management plan for the national forest in Hector and for the New York state forests. This issue is one we all should pay attention to and put in our "two cents worth." What other issues do we have? How about expanding the spur trails? Improving the existing trails? Finding funds to pay

for an executive director of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference' Paying for improved trail maps created by the Global Positioning System? Some of these things will be discussed at a weekend retreat of the Board of Managers of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference later in January. As one of the elected FLTC managers, and as your president, I'm interested in your view of the future of the FLT and the Cayuga Trails Club. You can reach me through the Club's mailbox, leave a message at 898-3058, or talk to me at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 18. Details enclosed on pages 1 and 7. See you then and on the trail!

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About Our Members

Welcome to the following new C.T.C. members.

Jeanne Clemons 42 Churchill Place

Big Flats, NY 14814

Amanda Walts and Guillermo Metz 96 Lockerby Hill Road Lansing, NY 14882

Scott and Valerie Nostrand 288 Etna Road

Ithaca, NY 14850

Soneeta Grogan 543 Harvey Hill Road

Trumansburg, NY 14886

The current membership total for 1997 is 195. Last year's total was 188.

**** Second Day Out!

by Doris Abbott • ~ Editor's Note: In December 1994. Betty Lewis and ..

Doris and Cliff Abbott.finished hiking all 555 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail. They were FLT End-to-End Hikers 34, 35, and 36. From time to time, their adventures have appeared in Cayuga Trails. In the spring 1997 issue, Doris Abbott described day one of a three-day backpacking trip on the FLT in the Catskill Mountains. Tom Reimers joined the threesome. Below is her story of day two.

Tom ' s eager to go. He starts off by running down the trail. We used most of our water this morning so we have to stop at the first water hole to refill. When we reach the junction with the Little Spring and Pelnar Hollow Trails, Cliff and Tom hike down to the Little Spring Brook to refill our water bottles. Upon their return, they tell us they had seen two blue herons.

We follow the Pelnar Hollow Trail. The deteriorated path veers uphill. Tom can see the slope ahead from where he's standing. He reports the incline ascends very steeply. Cliff, Betty, and I drag ourselves up the terrain. As I near the top of the incline, I can see Tom sitting on a log waiting for us to catch up. The next steep climb leads us to what we think is the 2,600-foot summit of this unnamed peak. My clothes are soaked with perspiration and the II.. ~ breeze brushing against my body feels wonderful. •

CA YUGA TRAILS

Apparently we misjudged the top of the hill, for we 're

·rill climbing. As the three of us are passing by some .nteresting rock ledges, Tom calls back to tell us that he 's

arrived at the intersection where the Mary Smith Trail veers off the Pelnor Hollow Trail. For the remainder of the day, we will be following red markers on the Mary Smith Trail. We have a 1.2-mile descent before reaching Holiday and Berry Brook Road, then a long climb to the 2,942-foot summit of Mary Smith Hill. The trail becomes lined with tall, thick briars containing long, pointed barbs. Thick

vegetation is draping the treadway hiding the wet, slippery rocks and damp tree roots.

The 1.2-mile descent from the top of the mountain is very gradual. The briars give way to lush growths of hay scented fems which are growing along both sides of the trail. The trail drops more steeply as we approach Holiday and Berry Brook Road, and we lose the 450 feet of the elevation we just crawled up!

Our lunch spot is a sunny, open area near the road. When we head back out on the trail, we cross under a power line and over the East Delaware Aqueduct which is carrying water from the Pepacton

ground is covered with fems, and red elderberry bushes

are growing in abundance in this area. I just remem­bered ... rocks and ledges are rattlesnake territory!

A sudden crash stops us in our tracks. Off to our right, a huge tree just tumbled to the ground, landing with quite a bang! We couldn't see it, but we certainly heard it. The blue hills of a distant ridge to the southwest are showing through the trees . A lso showing are the dark clouds building up overhead.

Apparently we crossed over the highest elevation of Mary Smith Hi ll because the trail appears to be heading down towards a viewpoint which the map indicates is east of the summit. When we arrive at the viewpoint, Tom's stretched out on the flat rocks. We relax and enjoy the view spread out before us. We have our first glimpse of Middle Mountain, and its height (2,975 feet) makes me apprehens ive. I'm beginning to grow weary, and don' t need another di fficult c limb today. The descent off the eastern slope of Mary Smith Hill is treacherously steep. There are loose rocks and slippery roots to contend wi th and not many trees to grab onto for support. It's dangerous

underfoot and rough on the

Reservoir to New York City. We start to climb immediately. The •r~0il is open, but the rocks and

~"~ continue to be slippery. Before long, the s teepness in­creases, and the trail veers up­ward at a precipi tous angle.

"Betty and I f inally reach t he top of thi s raunchy stretch and discover there are no blazes rn s ight. II

knees. After a slow, stressful descent, we arrive at Mary Smith Road.

We start our hike on Middle Mountain in open hardwoods with fems bordering both sides

of the trai l. The footpath starts to climb-gently at first then Betty, Cliff, and I stand watching

Tom struggle up the vertical slope until he disappears from s ight. Since I am next in line, I dig my hiking stick into the ground for ballast. With my left hand, I grab anything in sight which will help me hoist myself upward. The climb is exhausting. M y heart pounds in my chest and the beads of perspiration forming on my brow run down the lens on my glasses. When I stop to catch my breath, the heavy weight of my pack nearly forces me off-balance. Moreover, every step I take sends loose stones rolling back down the trai l, and Betty and Cliff are below me.

More sky is showing through the trees now indicating we are very likely approaching the first peak (2,767 feet in elevation) of Mary Smith Hill. We hoist ourselves over a !edgy area which reminds Cliff and me of our days spent on the northern section of the Long Trail. The rocks in this area are covered with soft moss that fee ls like satin to the touch and is saturated with water which is falling in a

steady drip onto the ground. We hike through a hollow .i ituated between large rock formations. The rocks are layered, and stand about five to six feet in height. The

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more steeply. I 'm already breathing heavily, and I can hear Betty huffing and puffing behind me. Ahead is the seasonal spring Tony Preus mentions in his trail guide for th is a rea. There isn't much water trickling out of the

source, nevertheless we stop to fill our bottles in case we don't come across another spring. The water is full of debris and even with a pre-filter on the units, Tom and Cliff are having a hard time pumping the liquid through the purifiers.

Betty and I hike o ut ahead. There's lots of stinging ne ttle hanging over the trail on both sides. Even with long pants covering my legs, I can feel my knees tingling as I walk through the mess. Betty is getting stung, too. The trail ascends steeply over a bed of loose rocks of all sizes and shapes. Every time I take a step upward, stones fly down the side of the hill. Fortunately, Betty is not close to me at the moment. Betty and 1 finally reach the top of this raunchy stretch and discover there are no blazes in sight. We are standing by a house-sized boulder that has split

continued on page 6

CA YUGA TRAILS

S d D The slope of the hill is a mass of tangled brush with stone~~ econ ay continued from page 5 interspersed. While Betty and I sit and wait, Tom and Clif'

into severa l sections. Do we go left, right, or in between hike on hoping to find an area suitab le for erecting ou1 the boulder? Cliff and Tom come struggling up the hill. tents. The storm seems to have gone around us, for the We all agree that the terrain on the right side of the thunder has become very faint. Betry and I are both very boulder looks the most inviting. Tom hikes off in that tired; Betty is also cold. Neither of us needs to get wet. direction to see ifhe can find the route. He soon calls back When Cliff returns he tel ls us they have found a nice to us stating he's found a blaze. We continue to climb and camping area about a half-mile further on. We pass a every step is getting to be an effort at this point. A clap of house on our right, but no one is home so we can' t ask for thunder booms overhead. We increase our speed. water. We'll have to manage with the small amount we

It is 5:30 by the time we reach the top of the mountain have left until we can locate some more. (the highest point on the Finger Lakes Trail according to The area the men have picked out for us is located at Tony 's guidebook). We arrive at another viewpoint, but the beginning of the Touch-Me-Not Trail on a small strip the trees have grown so high all we can see is the top of of wooded state land. The map shows a stream and tiny the mountains across the valley. We are disappointed. We pond near the area so Tom searches for water while Betty, descend into the col which lies between Middle Mountain Cliff, and I set up camp. Tom locates the pond and stream and Beech Hill , losing 325 feet in elevation. This will but they are both full of mud and unusable. Cliff notices necessitate a climb of 194 feet to the summit of Beech on the map that there's a good-sized pond located a mile Hill. We just experienced another large tree falling to the further south on the road, but we are all too tired to hike an ground. We saw as well as heard this one. It was a additional 2 miles tonight. Besides, it is getting dark, and spectacular sight. The thunder's getting louder, and I'm we dec ide to eat while we can see what we're do ing. The getting concerned. We cross over the top of Beech Hill, amount of water we have left is sufficient for our and immediately start our descent to Beech Hill Road. supper, but we don't have enough to wash the dishes. The sky is very dark in the north and the thunder is We wipe the utensils as clean as we can with increasing in intensity. It appears that the storm is tissues, and place them inside our tents (wh ich is .....-...._, circling around us, but it could change directions at the worst thing we can do) . Tom and Cli ff are tf any time. We hustle on, hoping to find a camp- tired to hang up the food tonight which lea\~~,, site near the bottom of the hill where the map ( us no choice. indicates there's a supply of water. Th~ ~ail • ~ '\., It is 8:30 p.m. Tom has retired already for descends steeply and is in bad cond1tion. ~ the night, and Betty is in the process. C liff Everything is going fine unti l I step do~ ;;;..17t§ill~m•miiiiiiiiiliiii and I wander over to our tent. When I climb onto what I think is firm ground but is • into my sleeping bag, I remember I left the actually a wet tree root and suddenly find myself lying in cover hanging on a branch. I 'm too exhausted to retrieve a prone position on top of my pack. My left foot is twisted it. It should be okay until morn ing. in an awkward position. and my right arm has taken a The loud crash of thunder directly over our tents jolts direct blow on a rock. It happened so fast, it takes me a me out of a deep sleep. The first thing I think of is my few seconds to realize what has taken place. Tom 's a few sleeping bag cover hanging on the branch. I unzip the front feet down the trai l in front of me, and he quickly comes to of the tent and crawl out. The wind is blowing strongly my aid. As soon as he pulls me into an upright position, I and lightening is flashing all around. I quickly grab the step down on my foot. My ankle is very sore , but it cover, dive back into the tent, and zip up the storm fly as appears as if nothing else is wrong. There is a sharp pain well as the netting. As I am sliding down into the warmth in my arm, but the bone doesn ' t seem broken. Fortunately of my sleeping bag, the rain comes pelting down. my pack had saved my back from slamming against the The wind, thrashing at the trees, howls a mournful root of the tree or the injury could have been severe. dirge that is accompanied by continuous flashes of

We continue on, being more cautious than ever about lightening bright enough to illuminate the interior of the where we step and finally come to the water indicated on tent. The rumble of a thousand kettle drums booms the map. There's a mere trickle running downhill, and it overhead. My body tenses, waiting for the third tree of the appears to be surface water. Cliff and Tom spend a few day to come down on one of our tents! After what seems minutes trying to fi nd the source, but the vegetation is too like an eternity, the storm passes over the area, rattling off ~ thick to wade through so they give up, hoping we'll find into the distance. I snuggle deeper into my bag. We hav another spring. been spared!

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CA YUGA TRA ILS

Walk Look and Learn ·'-- Hike #410 Report

Date: November 9, 1997 Location: Finger Lakes Trail from Black Oak Road to

Trumbulls Comers Road Distance: 3.5 miles Participants: 4 members Leaders: John Rogers, Claudia Stoscheck

On a true Finger Lakes November afternoon with gray skies and blustery winds, four intrepid hikers enjoyed the sights and smells of late autumn in the headwaters region of Enfield Creek. The streams were freshly charged with overnight and early morning rain. Many leaves had fallen recently-still bright with orange, yellow, and red splash­es. The old growth woods on the ridge in the Stevenson Forest Preserve (of the Finger Lakes Land Trust) was dark and quiet-a restful spot for cocoa and cookies.

Walk Look and Learn Hike #411 Report Date: December 14, 1997 Location: Finger Lakes National Forest Distance: 4 miles Participants: 2 members Leaders: Jack Van Derzee

The day was sunny but a little windy. Only one other person showed up for the ski. The snow was very good with only a couple wet spots. We skied on the Burnt Hill Trail to Burnt Hill Road. We then took the road back to the Ravine Trail and then to the Interloken Trail. The ski ended about 2:30 p.m. . . ..

~ ,,,,. -): +

,,, ' , f '

Cayuga Trails Club Annual Meeting & Luncheon Sunday, J anuary 1 8 , 1 998

Ra mada Inn Airport, 2310 N. Triphammer Road, Ithaca Soci al hour 12:30 p.m. Buffet luncheon 1 :00 p .m .

A genda A nnual Committee Reports

Election of Officers for 19 98 Oscar A wards for Distinguish ed Service to CTC

and ...

"The Cayuga Nature Center and the CommunityJJ a program by

Janet Hawkes Ex ecuti ve Director of the Cayuga Nature Center

The buffet luncheon w ill include scrambled eggs, home-fried potatoes , bacon and sausage, spinach quiche, fresh fruit salad, French toast with maple syrup, bagels with cream cheese, muffi ns . brownies, marinated torte ll ini sa lad, sliced roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, assorted juices, coffee, t ea. A ll th is for $14.00 inc luding serv ice charge and tax. Make check payable to Cayuga Trails Club and m ail it w it h the fo rm below to Cl iffo rd Abbott, T reasu rer, Cayuga Trails Club, P.O. Box 754, It haca, NY 1485 1-0754.

Reservation (Deadline January 10 , 1 998)

Your name{s) - ------- --- --- ------ --

Number of reservat ion s ____ @ $14.00 = $ _ _ _ _ _ _

January 11 , 1998 ........... Walk, Look , and Learn Hike #41 2. Hike or ski in Finger Lakes National Forest. Moderate pace. Meet at 1 :00 p .m. in t he P & C parking lot in Trumansburg. Robin Spry-Campbell , leader (582-6521 ).

January 7 8, 7 998 ........... Cayuga Trails Club Annual Meeting and luncheon. Ramada Inn Airport,

2370 N. Triphammer Road, Ithaca. Social at 72:30 p.m. and buffet lunch at 7:00 p .m. Reservations due January 70. Contact Linda Loomis for more information (266-0775).

February 2, 1998. . ... . .... .. In the interest of legally protecting those landowners who have permitted us to build our t rail across their land, t he Finger Lakes Trail System will be closed on all private lands for 24 hours.

February 15, 1998 ........... Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #413. Ski trip to Bear Swamp near Skaneateles Lake. Hike around Cornell Plantations i f no snow. Meet at 10:00 a.m. near Tompkins County Trust branch office at East Hill Plaza on Pine Tree Road in Ithaca. Dave Ruppert, leader (273-7064).

A pril 24 - 26, 1998 .. .. . ...... Annual Meeting of Finger Lakes T rail Confe rence . Genesee River Hotel, Mt. Morris, NY. Sponsored by Genesee Valley Hik ing Club. Contact Tom Reimers at 272-8679 for more information. All C.T. C. members are welcome to attend.

June 6, 1 998 .. ...... .. .. .. National Trail s Day.

Cayuga Trai ls Club P.O . Box 754 Ithaca, NY 14851 -0754

NONPROFIT ORGA NIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

ITHACA, NY PERMIT NO. 94

qa TIUlib Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club

Founded in 1962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands and places of natural beauty. .. "

March-April 1998 Early Spring Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 3 & 4

CTC Trail Maintenance Workshop: May 2

Learn Basic Trail-building and Maintenance Skills

A trail-maintenance workshop is being organized for all members of the Cayuga Trails Club who want to help with maintenance of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) and Cayuga Trail and for

those members and nonmembers who have adopted sec­tions of the FLT for maintenance. Trails Chairman Tom Reimers and other experienced trail builders and main­tainers will demonstrate their trail skills and techniques on Saturday, May 2, 1998, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The workshop will begin at the home of Cliff and Doris Abbott on Gunderman Road in Danby. Their garage and Tom's garage are repositories of trail-maintaining tools (e.g., weed whips, fire rakes, bow saws, log carriers, loppers, pulaskis) owned by the Cayuga Trails Club and the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. Cliff, Doris, and Tom will tell and show us what the tools are used for and how to borrow them. In addition, the Abbotts have several pieces of safety equipment including helmets, face masks, and shin guards. Cliff and Doris will demonstrate prep­aration of materials for building simple, but very useful, puncheon bridges to cross small streams and wet areas.

At about 2:30, we will move the workshop to the FLT crossing on Michigan Hollow Road to demonstrate use and safety of the club's power brushcutters, painting of proper blazes, placement of signs, and general main­tenance standards for the Finger Lakes Trail. Three types of footbridge construction- from sophisticated to sim­ple--in the area will be shown and described. The work­shop will end about 4:00.

This workshop will provide an excellent opportunity to learn basic trail-maintenance skills and standards for the trails we maintain. We will pools cars at 1:00 p.m. in the large parking lot of the Ithaca Shopping Plaza (across Route 13 from K-Mart) near Taco Bell. Participants will

receive free copies of the Field Maintenance Manual published by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference and the Trail Building and Maintenance Manual published by the North Country Trail Association. Trail adopters can pick up signs, paint for blazes, and other supplies during the workshop. Trails Chairman Tom Reimers will be available to solicit adopters for sections of the FLT that have not been adopted yet for maintenance.

-¢- • -¢-

7th Annual Earth Day Hike: April 26

Earth Day 1998 is on April 22. To commemorate this very important day, the Cayuga Trails Club will sponsor the 7th annual Earth Day Hike on the Cayuga Trail on Sunday, April 26, 1998. This 5-mile loop hike will go through the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas. Tom Reimers will lead the hike to include interesting conunents about the geology and history of the land the trail passes through. The Cayuga Trails Club started building the trail in 1964; it has been expanded several times in its history.

The Cayuga Trail takes hikers along the high banks and water's edge of Fall Creek, through ~orests, pine plan­tations, open fields, and interesting areas of lush fems and hawthorns. The trail goes through the Monkey Run (where did that name come from?) area and deep woods.

This hike promises early spring wildflowers, railroad history and lore, magnificent vistas, interesting geological features, and the beauty of very wild sections of Fall Creek. The Cayuga Trail is considered one of the most beautiful foot trails on a university campus.

We will meet for this hike at Liddell Laboratory at the top of the winding section of Freese Road at 1 :30 p.m. Call Tom at 272-8679 if you have any questions.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Oscar Award Winners! Each year, the Cayuga Trails Club awards two

"Oscars" to members of the club for dedicated service to the club and its goals. At the CTC Annual Meeting on January 18, 1998, the awards went to John Andersson and Tom Reimers.

The trophies are porcelain squirrels named Oscar Gray and Oscar Brown and they go back many years. Tradition has it that John and Tom will decide who wins next year's awards. They received their awards from the 1997 win­ners, John Rogers and Barbara Morse. John Andersson was recognized by John Rogers for his excellent first year at president of the club. Tom was given an Oscar by former editor of Cayuga Trails Barbara Morse for creating the successful new look of the newsletter.

~ ;}:;

Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #414

Explore Abandoned Boy Scout Camp on Seneca Lake

A few years ago, the Finger Lakes National Forest acquired an old, abandoned Boy Scout camp on the east shore of Seneca Lake. The March WLL Hike will explore this abandoned camp with a hike lead by Jack Van Derzee. The date is March 8.

The hike will be about 2- 3 miles. Administration of the national forest has not yet decided how best to use the camp. Come and explore the area and maybe we can come up with some suggestions how this area can be put to best use for the public.

There will be two meeting places for this hike. Meet at FLNF headquarters on Route 414 at 1:00 p.m. From Ithaca take Route 79 west to the stop sign in Burdett. Go straight at stop sign (Tug Hollow). This will take you to Route 414. Turn right on Route 414 and travel about 1- 2 miles to FLNF headquarters located on the right side of the highway. To carpool in Ithaca, meet at 12:00 noon in the parking lot oflthaca Shopping Plaza, Route 13, next to Taco Bell. Call Jack at 387-5810 for more information.

Early Announcement Jack Van Derzee will lead a series oflong, fast, and infor­mal hikes across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. More details will appear in the May-June issue of Cayuga Trails.

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John Ro7J;;;~ (;ight) presents Oscar Gray to John Andersson at the CTC Annual Meeting. Photo by Tom Reimers.

Mark Your Calendar Now for Volunteer Trail Maintenance

The first 1998 Cayuga Trails Club trail maintenance session will be held on Sunday, May 24. This is one month later than last year, thanks to the many CTC members who have adopted sections of trail for routine maintenance. Volunteers in May will be working on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) from Logan Road westward to the Village of Burdett, NY. Part of this section of trail is on the Finger Lakes National Forest, which the club will continue to maintain until the Forest Service develops a management for the area. If enough members show up, we will also work on the FLT in the Rumsey Hillff rumbull Comers Road area.

This will be a chance for members to apply their trail maintenance skills learned at the trail maintenance workshop (see page 1) on May 2. We will meet to get organized and pools cars at 1 :00 p.m. in the large parking lot of Ithaca Shopping Plaza (across Route 13 from K­Mart) near Taco Bell.

Please bring gloves, drinking water, and trail tools (bow saw, pruners, loppers) if you have them. Tools will be provided if you don't.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Clearing Trails John Andersson, President

This edition of the newsletter is my chance to say "thank-you" to everyone who supported me as president hist year and elected me again to that high office for 1998 ! As president, I don't always feel as though I do enough to support the CTC, so I send another "thank-you" to all the other volunteers who spend time during the year on club activities. Last fall, we recognized the trail workers and the highway cleaner-uppers with patches and certificates. Besides club officers, there are committee folks who find the time to organize the social functions, handle the applications for new members and renewals, write, edit, and publish the newsletter, mail the newsletter, publicize our activities, organize and lead our monthly hikes, represent us at Earth Day activities, the Ithaca Plant Sale, and other spots, usually without much recognition. If you would like to get to know some of these grand volunteers a little bit better, and have just a little time to spend, consider joining us on a committee. We have room for a few more volunteers. We meet only every other month (and you can miss a few!) and not all committees are busy every month.

Really, we can use you! Call me at home (898-3058) if you are interested in helping out, or want to try out the bimonthly meeting. It is a great way to learn more about the Finger Lakes Trail and the people that work at keeping it.

As I write this, we are in the middle (or, I hope the end) of a February thaw. While I enjoy walking outside without my parka, and rejoice at the full moon unob­structed by clouds, I still want to see that white stuff on the ground so I can ski. If I controlled things, we would have snow until the end of March. The sun shining on the snow this time of year has a quality not equaled in De­cember or January. Those months seem colder, and the snow crystals are like diamonds as they sparkle. It appears less solid then; casting a blue shadow when struck by light in a certain way. This time of year the snow crystals seem melted and the snow has a more solid white look and is a natural part of the landscape. I like to go out to the woods where the snow stays.

Around my house it retreats under the sun, moving to the edges of the yard by feet at a time, exposing the dirty gravel in the driveway, the sunflower husks under the bird feeder, and twigs and other detritus over the lawn. In the

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woods, even all the oak and maple leaves that made walking so crunchy last fall are peacefully covered in white. I can see where deer and turkey have traveled -here slow, there fast- and where wings beat against the snow as the heavy birds gained a little altitude. If I am lucky, I can spot chickadees. This past weekend I saw a pileated woodpecker, and I could hear cardinals whistling. Spring and mud time is soon here, but lets enjoy spring snow a few weeks longer!

Get outdoors and see the sights and hear the sounds! Experience what the trails have to give. And when you come back in and sit down with a hot cup of coffee or tea, thank the club volunteers. And when you do, I hope you decide to join them and spend an hour or two a month on a club activity. See you on the Trail!

Dear Mom

by John Andersson I've written before about Mom for this newsletter, and

those who have hiked with me have heard some of my stories. Mom moved back to her Schoharie County home (the last house on the road before it turns into a seasonal road) after Dad died last September. Therefore, she was not able to make our November dish-to-pass dinner and receive her Trail Worker patch or Certificate of Appre­ciation for helping clean up our section of Route 366. But I sent both to her, and she wrote back:

"Dear John and all the members of the Cayuga Trails Club. Thank you all for my Certificate of Appreciation and my beautiful Finger Lakes Trail patch. It is beautiful and I shall wear it with great pride. When I found it at the bottom of the big envelope, it brought tears of happiness and I shall wear it with pride. Thank you all again, and I hope that I'll be able to join you all again to keep the highway clean. Love and regards to all. Genevieve K. Anderson."

By the way, yes, my parents spell our family name differently than I do. And, Mom will be 80 next fall.

CAYUGA TRAILS

Third Day Out

by Doris Abbott Editor's Note: In December 1994, Betty Lewis and

Doris and Cliff Abbott finished hiking all 555 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail. They were FLT End-to-End Hikers 34, 35, and 36. From time to time, their adventures have appeared in Cayuga Trails. In the winter 1998 issue, Doris Abbott described day two of a backpacking trip on the FLT in the Catskill Mountains. Tom Reimers joined the threesome. Below is the story of the third and final day of the adventure.

Cliff got up before the rest of us and hiked the two miles (round trip) to the stream to get some water for breakfast. Later, he made another round trip to fill our bottles. The trail starts on a gentle slope then turns upward on a steep rocky trail. It is 700 feet to the top of Cabot Mountain. The temperature is in the lower sixties, and

viewpoint we have come across during the past three days. fu fact, it's striking. We are standing on a ledge of rock that split countless years ago, looking towards the southeast and some of the highest peaks in the Catskill Forest Preserve. There is a drop-off of several hundred feet below us and haze on the mountain peaks.

A turkey buzzard flies by, close enough, so it seems, for us to reach out and touch it. After the bird disappears from view, we turn our attention back to the high peaks on the distant horizon. One mountain is higher then the others. We wonder if it could be Slide Mountain, since it's in the right vicinity. Cliff suddenly realizes the bush in front of him is a blueberry bush, and there are ripe berries on the branches. We forget about the mountains and enjoy the berries. There is also an elderberry bush that is loaded with fruit growing on the edge of the ledge.

The trail leading off Cabot Mountain literally drops into the valley below. We lower ourselves down over the

large rocks and tree roots while

the humidity has returned. My ankle is very sore from my fall of yesterday and my forearm has a lump on it, plus it's turning black and blue down as far as my fin-

"The trail continues to be so treacherous, we decide to name this

section Suicide Hill."

holding onto bushes, trees, anything in sight. The mud is slick; Tom's feet slide out from under him. He lands on his back, but doesn't need anyone to assist him. He jumps up

gers. I stop occasionally to catch my breath and clean my glasses so I can see what we're walking on. Every time I stop, Betty and Cliff pause to rest, too. Whoever laid out the trail wants us to reach the top of Cabot Mountain in the shortest distance and time, for the trail heads straight up the side of the mountain with no switchbacks to lessen our pain. We pass by a beautiful rock that stands about 10 feet high and is 80% moss-covered. There is polypody fern, plus patches of small briars growing out of the moss­strange but very lovely.

The climb up this mountain is as grueling as any that came before. I'm huffing and puffing and taking ad­vantage of every log I see down along the trail to stop for a few seconds to rest. Neither Betty nor Cliff pass me, so I guess they are hurting, too. AB he has been during the entire hike, Tom is out ahead of all of us.

We're now back in the midst of weeds, briars, and what not. We plow through the tangles. I can't see the trail ahead but the terrain has leveled off for the time being. Even ;he little rises are now a challenge. I think my body is trying to tell me it's time to get off this trail, but we still have several miles to hike before dropping our packs! We catch up to Tom who is waiting for us at the Beaverkill Vista which is indicated on the map as being just east of the summit of Cabot Mountain. This is by far the best

4

quickly and continues on, unharmed. The trail continues to be so treach­

erous, we decide to name this section Suicide Hill. When we finally reach the bottom of the mountain, the

slope levels off. We have just finished a descent of 570 feet and it seems great to be able to stretch out our legs once again. We find a log on which to sit and enjoy a gorp break, thanks to Tom. He's the only one who brought along a bag filled with goodies . The temperature is hov­ering around 72 degrees and as we sit the flies are all over us.

The Little Pond Trail with its yellow markers veers off to our right, but we continue to follow the red disks of the Touch-Me-Not Trail. We are into nettles again. I think I know, as I pull down my shirt sleeves to protect my arms, how this mountain received its name. We stop on our way up Touch-Me-Not Mountain to let Tom fill his water bottle and for lunch. While we are eating, we notice some­one working on the trail ahead. It's Gary Klee. He had told us he'd very likely do some trail maintenance while wait­ing for us to finish our hike (he's helping us with trans­portation). He is using hand equipment in clearing trail because power tools are not allowed here in the Catskill Forest Preserve. He chats briefly with us, asking about our hike and reminding us to take the new reroute leading to Big Pond. He returns to his work, and we hike ?n up the side of the mountain. He'll be along soon. It is a short

CA YUGA TRAILS

distance to the top of the mountain, and we've discovered a lot of energy since we have less than a mile left to hike and it's all downhill! It has started to rain, but we don't mind as we 're hot and sweaty and can use a little washing off. Unfortunately, the rain only lasts long enough to add more moisture to the tread of the trail.

The trail was rerouted on what used to be an old farm road. Hiking on it proves to be a bit tricky with rocks and ·slick mud underfoot. Tom's feet slide out from under him twice. I've been crawling at a snail's pace since my fall. A clap of thunder rumbles in the distance. I can see the road through the tree, so we 're almost down. The trail is littered with broken glass. Weekenders must come here to party.

We made it! The time is 1 :30 p.m. and our Bronco is parked at Big Pond waiting for us. There are a few people fishing from shore, and an older couple is fishing from a boat. The pond is beautiful. I announce that I wish I had my bathing suit so I could go for a swim. Someone replies, "You don ' t need a bathing suit, you know." Betty saves the day. She suggests that she and I find a bush and change our clothes. We do better than find a bush, for there's a dirt road across the way leading uphill toward a deserted house. We head in that direction. After ten minutes or so, we emerge cleaned up and ready to start our hike all over again. Auf Wiedersehen !

$ * $ Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #41 2 Report Date: January 11, 1998 Location: Finger Lakes National Forest Distance: 4.6 miles Leader: Robin Spry-Campbell

Partly sunny, a little windy, temperature around 28° F. No snow except in isolated patches. Underfoot was frozen mud. We started at Shannon Comer, walked south on newly widened horse trail (No-Tan-Takto Trail) to junction of Back­bone Trail (also newly wid-

ened and drained). East uphill to junction of Interloken trail by Foster Pond. Continued around pond on Interlaken Trail to Potomac Trail, which eventually crossed Potomac Road to Potomac Group Campground. Returned via Back­bone Trail west to Interlaken Trail. North on Interlaken Trail to Backbone Trail and west downhill to Shannon Comer.

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Cayuga Trails is the official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P. 0. Box 754, Ithaca, NY 14851 -0754.Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Thomas J. Reimers, Editor, by mail at 3C Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 6071272-8361, or by email at treimers@aol.com.

Report on Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the Cayuga Trails Club met on February 3, 1998, for a regular meeting at the Tompkins-Ithaca 1ransit Center. Here are a few of the reports as recorded by Secretary Betty Hansen. ~ Treasurer Cliff Abbott reported that the checking

account balance was $3,111.48 and the savings . account balance was $7,104.38.

> Jack Van Derzee will lead the March hike at the former Boy Scout Camp now owned by the Finger Lakes National Forest. The April hike will be the 7th annual Earth Day Hike on the Cayuga Trail led by Tom Reimers.

~ Membership chairwoman Doris Abbott reported that 127 members have renewed their memberships so far in 1998. New membership brochures were being prin­ted to indicate the new dues.

~ Trails Chairman Tom Reimers reported that he is organizing one or two trail maintenance workshops for this coming spring. A Boy Scout from Owego will build a footbridge across Boyer Creek on the new reroute of the Finger Lakes Trail west of Old Seventy­Six Road. This will be his Eagle Scout project. Directional signs to a campsite for backpackers on the Finger Lakes Trail have been installed on Rogers Hill west of Route 228 in Schuyler County. Landowner Carl States offered the campsite with a nearby pond and outhouse.

~ Jack Van Derzee reported that the Finger Lakes Trail Conference is organizing a trail work week to be based at the Cayuga Nature Center's Hammond Hill camp from June 22- 26, 1998. Plans are to work on correcting drainage problems at the Kimmie Lean-to, among other trail projects. Peter Harriot suggested another project might be to build a footbridge on the FLT west of Logan Road.

~ It was decided to have the first 1998 Adopt-A­Highway litter clean-up session on Saturday, April 18.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Cayuga Trails Club Annual Meeting January 18, 1998

.... Photos from Annual Meeting by Tom Reimers.

1998 Cayuga Trails Club Executive Board President: John Andersson 898-3058 Newsletter Editor: Tom Reimers Vice President: Philip Dankert 257-2578 Trails Maintenance: Tom Reimers Secretary: Betty Hansen 546-2812 Membership: Doris Abbott Treasurer: Clifford Abbott unlisted Publicity: Lois Chaplin Member-at-Large: Jay Zitter 835-6268 Archives: Frances Lauman Member-at-Large: Suzanne Cohen 539-6858 Social: Linda Loomis

Walk, Look & Learn Hikes: Jack Van Derzee 387-5810

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272-8679 272-8679 unlisted 844-3935 257-6272 266-0715

CA YUGA TRAILS

Trails Chairman Report

by Tom Reimers The year 1997 was a great year for volunteer main­

tenance of our sections of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) System and the Cayuga Trail. The Cayuga Trails Club is responsible for 80 miles of the FLT System and the 7-mile-long Cayuga Trail. Highlights of the year are as follows: • All but two miles of the trails we are responsible for

were maintained in 1997. Most of the two trails was re blazed.

• We had six organized trail maintenance session from April to October in which 32 different members participated. Many members participated in more than one session.

• Twenty-five sections of the FLT and Cayuga Trail were adopted by CTC members and a few non­members for maintenance.

• New signs were installed for the Abbott Loop Trail and Diane's Crossing.

• A new puncheon bridge was built on the FLT north of West Jersey Hill Road in the Town of Danby.

• A new off-road reroute of the FLT was completed between Black Oak Road and Tower Road.

• A new reroute of the FLT was completed at the intersection of State Route 228 and County Road 10 in Schuyler County.

• A new reroute of the FLT was completed west of Old Seventy-Six Road.

• A new trail register was installed on the FLT west of Steam Mill Road. .

• The section of FLT over Satterly Hill in the Finger Lakes National Forest was mowed, cleared, and re­blazed. The national forest has responsibility for the section, but it was badly neglected. The CTC has of­fered to maintain the section for another year until a management plan for the land through which the trail passes is completed by the Forest Service.

• Landowner Carl States near Odessa offered to have a campsite for FLT backpackers on his property. The site has been designated and there are now signs pointing to it.

• CTC volunteers put in 565 hours of field work on trail maintenance, 168 hours traveling to the work sites, and 20 hours planning trail work in 1997.

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About Our Members Welcome to the following new CTC member.

Cora Ellen Luke

" New Adopt-A-Highway Season Begins

Since 1994, the Cayuga Trails Club has been proud to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway Program by keeping a two-mile section of NYS Route 366 clean of litter. This program, sponsored by the New York State Department of Transportation, relies on volunteers to pick up litter at least four times each year. The first CTC highway cleanup session of 1998 will be on April 18. Volunteers are needed for this "spring cleanup." Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the comer of Route 366 and Caldwell Road at 10:00 a.m. There, we will be issued orange trash bags, vests, and hard hats. We should have everything cleaned up by 12:00 noon.

Photo by John Andersson.

Sunday, March 8 .... .. ...... Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #414 to explore abandoned Boy Scout Camp on the shore of Seneca Lake. Meet at FLNF headquarters on Route 414 at 1 :00 p.m. or in Ithaca at 12:00 noon in the parking lot of Ithaca Shopping Plaza, Route 13, next to Taco Bell. Details on page 2. Jack Van Derzee, leader (387-5810).

Saturday, April 18 ... . ..... .. Adopt-A-Highway Program. Spring cleanup on two miles of Route 366. Meet at 10:00 a.m. in Cornell's "O" parking lot at intersection of Route 366 and Caldwell Road. John Andersson, leader (898-3058). Details on page 7 .

Friday-Sunday, April 24-26 .... Annual Meeting of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. Genesee River Hotel, Mt. Morris, NY. All CTC members are welcome to attend. Call Tom Reimers for information (272-8679). Registration deadline is April 1.

Sunday, April 26 ........ . ... Seventh annual Earth Day Hike on the magnificent and wild Cayuga Trails (WLL Hike #415) . Meet at the Liddell Laboratory at the top of the winding section of Freese Road at 1 :30 p.m . Details on page 1. Tom Reimers, leader (272-8679) .

Saturday, May 2 ....... . .... Trail maintenance workshop for all CTC members and trail adopters. Meet at 1 :00 p.m. to pool cars in large parking lot of Ithaca Shopping Plaza, Route 13, near Taco Bell. Details on page 1. Tom Reimers, leader (272-8679).

Sunday, May 24 . ....... ... . First 1998 trail maintenance session on the Finger Lakes Trail from Logan Road westward to the Village of Burdett, NY. Meet at 1 :00 p .m. in the large parking lot of Ithaca Shopping Plaza, Route 13, near the Taco Bell. Details on .2. Tom Reimers, leader (272-8679).

Saturday, June 6 ... .. ....... National Trails Day.

Cayuga Trails Club Barbara Morse, Cayuga Trails Mailing P.O. Box 754 Ithaca, NY 14851-0754

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ITHACA, NY

PERMIT NO. 94

qa TIUlib Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club

Founded in 7 962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands and places of natural beauty ... "

May-June 1998 Late Spring Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 5 & 6

Trail Maintenance Session # 1 Sunday, May 24

The first 1998 Cayuga Trails Club trail maintenance session will be held on Sunday, May 24. Volunteers will be working on the Finger Lakes Trail from Logan Road westward to the Village of Burdett, NY. Part of this section of trail is on the Finger Lakes National Forest. If enough members show up, we will also work on the FLT in the Rumsey Hill Road/Trumbull Corners Road area.

This will be a chance for members to apply their trail maintenance skills learned at the trail maintenance work­shop on May 2. However, no prior training or experience is necessary. We will meet to get organized and pool cars at 1 :00 p.m. in the large parking lot of Ithaca Shopping Plaza (across Route 13 from K-Mart) near Taco Bell. Please bring gloves, drinking water, and trail tools (bow saw, pruners, loppers) if you have them. Tools will be provided if you don't.

Adopt-A-Trail Sections Available

The following sections of the main Finger Lakes Trail need volunteers for routine maintenance. Please contact Trails Chairman Tom Reimers at 607/272-8679 or treimers@aol.com if you would like more information on adopting these sections for maintenance. Adopters receive a copy of Field Maintenance Manual for the Finger Lakes Trail, signs, trail markers, and instructions. Paint and other supplies are reimbursed by the club. • South end of Middle Road to the twin tunnels on

Satterly Hill Road north of Burdett. This 3.4-mile­long section is all on road. The volunteer adopter would maintain blazes marking the trail route.

• The twin tunnels on Satterly Hill Road north of Bur­dett to the top of Satterly Hill Road. This section is 2.1 miles long and follows old railroad bed on private property and goes through abandoned vineyards, now part of the Finger Lakes National Forest, and privately owned woods. See the Executive Board meeting report (page 4) regarding future management of the vineyards.

• Satterly Hill Road to Logan Road. This section begins on the west in abandoned vineyards that are part of Finger Lakes National Forest. After crossing a creek the trail is on private property until Logan Road. Spectacular woods! The distance is 1.3 miles.

,.,,.--- .--• Route 79 in Bennettsburg to Texas Hollow Road. The trail follows road south of Bennettsburg and then enters privately owned woods to Texas Hollow Road. Distance is 2.1 miles.

• Rumsey Hill Road to Trumbull Corners Road (2.5 miles). The trail goes through privately owned woods, follows road a short distance, and goes through the Stevenson Forest Preserve owned by the Finger Lakes Land Trust.

• Trumbull Corners Road to Porter Hill Road. This 1. 7-mile-long section includes Rieman Woods, which is owned by the Cayuga Trails Club, and private property.

• Blackman Hill Road to NYS Route 79. The western end is on Fire Tower Road requiring occasional blazing. It then passes through privately owned woods to Route 79. Distance is 2.4 miles.

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Cayuga Trails is the official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P. 0 . Box 754, Ithaca, NY 14851-0754.Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Thomas J . Reimers, Editor, by mail at 3C Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 6071272-8361, or by email at treimers@aol.com.

Simple Pleasures of Taking a Walk

by Jack Van Derzee Editor's Note: The author is Walk, Look, and Learn Hike chairman and has hiked all 555 miles of the main Finger Lakes Trail. This article is reproduced with permission from the Ithaca Journal, where it appeared on April 14, 1998.

I am a strong believer in the power of walking. Walking is not only good for you physically but also mentally and is a good reliever of stress. When I have a problem weighing on my mind I go take a walk.

This allows me to think with a clear mind and see the problem in the proper light. Unfortunately too many people in this country do not walk enough. Many think of walking as exercise which should be avoided at all costs.

Some people go to the extreme of stopping their car at the end of the road to get their mail in order to avoid walking to the mail box. While in parking lots, I see people waiting up to five minutes to get a parking place close to the door. I, on the other hand, go out of my way to

find excuses to walk. I park my car at the edge of the parking lot so that I can get more walking in.

I will walk to the post office in order to mail a letter, and the nearest post office to my house is five miles away. When running errands in town, I will park at a central location and walk to each rather than driving to each separately. I would not expect most people to walk as much as I do, but it would be nice to see people walking more.

If you do not walk now you may wonder how to get started. • Most important is to get a pair of comfortable shoes.

You do not need expensive shoes, but rather some­thing that is comfortable to walk in.

• Find partners to walk with. On days you do not feel like walking, they will help you get motivated.

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Go for a walk. You should not overdo it in the beginning. If you have not walked far in a long time, start out walking short distances. The amount of time you spend walking is more important than the distance you walk. You should walk for at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace for you. A brisk pace is the fastest you feel comfortable walking at for 30 minutes. This will differ from person to person.

• Look for excuses to walk. When you park your car, look for a parking place far from the entrance. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. Walk rather than drive to do errands close to your house.

•

•

•

•

•

Don't always walk the same route every day. It will become boring. Take walks in the woods. There is something very soothing about walking in the woods. There are many great parks and woods around here you can walk in. Notice the environment as you are walking. By look­ing as you walk, you tend to forget about the physical part of walking. Make walking a part of your everyday routine. Many people tell me that they do not have time to walk. By making it a part of their everyday routine they would be creative in finding the time to do it. Lastly, start today. Each day you put off starting makes it that much harder to get started.

~i~. Hike Across Tompkins County: 56 Miles

Jack Van Derzee will lead a series of hikes with the goal of crossing Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. These hikes will be long, fast, and informal. Just show up at the designated meeting places. Hikes will begin on time at 10:00 a.m. May 17: Meet at the junction of NYS Route 228 and Schuyler County Road 10, 2 miles east of Odessa. 9.6 miles. June 14: Meet at the junction of NYS Routes 13, 34, and 96 (Shady Comers). 11.3 miles. July 19: Meetanhe juncti.Qn ofNYS Routes 13, 34, and 96. 10.8 miles. September 20: Meet at the FLT crossing on Michigan Hollow Road, 3 mile~ south of Danby. 12. l miles. October 4: Meet at the parking area on NYS Route 79 one mile east of Caroline. 12.2 miles.

For more information, call Jack at 387-5810 or send email to vanderze@ithaca.edu.·

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Spring Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes

Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #416 '1May10: Wildflowers! Kay Durant will lead Walk, Look, and

Learn Hike #416 on Mother's Day, May 10, 1998. The site will be Mulholland Wildflower Preserve on Six Mile Creek in Ithaca. Meet at the preserve entrance on Giles Street (look for preserve sign) at 1 :30 p.m. The Mul­holland Wildflower Preserve, part of Ithaca's Circle Greenway, is noted for its rich woodland flora. The hike will be about 3 miles long. Kay is a Master Gardener and will identify the flowers, if needed, and present fact and fiction about them along the way.

-'~'bl) ~~~k#~~;k, and Learn

" ~ IJ June 14: Black Diamond Trail and "Hospital Loop"

Out-and-back hike of2 miles each way, with a loop of about 2 miles (6 miles total). Additional mileage may be available. Walk along a portion of the future Black Diamond Trail and the ''Hospital Loop" through the forest between Cayuga Medical Center and Cayuga Lake. See WP A works of art, refreshing waterfalls, and stone tables. Meet at the first parking lot north of the new Route 89 bridge in Cass Park at 1 :30 p.m., Sunday, June 14. You can hike only half the route by calling John Andersson, the trip leader, in advance so a vehicle can be spotted. For information call John at 898-3058.

Next Highway Cleanup Saturday, June 13

The second 1998 highway cleanup session for the Cayuga Trails Club will be on June 13. Volunteers are needed. Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the comer ofNYS Route 366 and Caldwell Road at 10:00 a.m. There, we will be issued orange trash bags, safety vests, and hard hats. We should have everything cleaned up by 12:00 noon.

3

See the 11Grand Canyon of the East" on FLT Hike

All members and friends of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (i.e, CTC members) are invited to take part in a superb nine-mile loop hike in Letchworth State Park, the "Grand Canyon of the East." The hike will start from the Parade Grounds parking lot located on the east side of the Genesee River, off NY Route 436, about a mile north of Portageville. The date and time is Saturday, May 9, 1998, at 9:30 a.m. The hike will view the three major waterfalls of the Genesee River located in the park. Other points of interest will be the railroad "High Bridge," the slide area, remains of the Genesee Valley Canal, and several other interesting locations. Linda Mattice will be leading the hike and can be reached at 716/768-6167 if you have any questions.

Where on the Finger Lakes Trail was this photo taken?

Can you identify where this photo was taken? Hint: It's on the Finger Lakes Trail in the Town of Caroline. The answer is on page 5. Photo by Tom Reimers.

CAYUGA TRAILS CLUB

Clearing Trail John Andersson, President

In the last newsletter, I wrote, "If I controlled things, we would have snow until the end of March." Remember the adage, "Be careful what you wish for ... ?"Well ... when Gillis Cat sent out invitations for my birthday celebration on March 18 (he is rather smart), he included a sledding party. Of course he wasn't going sliding, and many people made fun of him for thinking there would be snow. Not only did it snow, it blew so hard we had to tie the plastic sleds to a tree when we weren't using them, and the full moon that was supposed to light our way was totally obscured by the storm clouds. We could not see where the sleds and toboggan were heading down the hill. But it was an evening the brave (or crazy) ones won't forget. It brought to mind pictures of the adventurers on Mt. Ev­erest.

Then on April 10, three of us headed out to Corbett to hike a few miles on the Finger Lakes Trail. The day was sunny and bright, but the hills above the Pepacton Reservoir saw snow the night before. We hiked through about two inches of the stuff until it melted later in the day. I won't tell you how two of us made a 12.9-mile hike into a 17.5 one (you can use your imagination) but we did see a nice lean-to and pond we wouldn't have otherwise. The trail markers were hidden under a coating of frosty snow on the trees (but that is not our excuse) that rpade all the maples and oaks look like paper birches! So my r?mantic notion of late winter snow was busted by the truth.

But the real truth, as you all know, is the magic the trail works on us that keeps us out there hilcing and working on Cayuga Trails Club business. By the time you read this, the first 1998 highway cleanup, the Earth Day celebrations on the Commons, Tom Reimers's Earth Day Hike, and the trail maintenance workshop will all be history. But, there is still the first trail maintenance work day (May 24), May's and June's Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes, and the second 1998 highway cleanup to go! If you haven't already, I encourage you to check for the activities elsewhere in this newsletter and make plans to enjoy one or more. But if you can't make a CTC actj~ity, I surely hope you get out and enjoy the outdoors in your own way. See you on the trail!

4

Report on Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the Cayuga Trails Club met on April 7, 1998, for a regular meeting at the Tonipkins­Ithaca Transit Center. Here are a few of the reports and actions as recorded by CTC Secretary Betty Hansen. • Treasurer Cliff Abbott reported that the checking

account balance was $3 ,280.68 and the savings account balance was $6,658.00.

• Vice President Phil Dankert reported that he, Betty Lewis, and Tom Reimers conducted an audit of the treasurer 's books and found all to be in order.

• Betty Lewis reported that half of the copies of the 8th edition of Guide to Trails of the Finger Lakes Region, published by the Cayuga Trails Club, have been sold in 1 Yi years. This is the usual pace.

• Trails Chairman Tom Reimers was absent. President Andersson read Tom's written report. On March 3, postcards were mailed to adopters of 24

sections of the Finger Lakes Trail System asking them to contact Tom before April 1 if they did not want to con­tinue maintaining their section of trail this year. None contacted him. Twenty Carsonite trail markers were pur­chased for places where there are no posts or trees to blaze.

The first 1998 trail maintenance session on the Finger Lakes Trail will be from Logan Road westward to the Village of Blirdett. If enough volunteers participate, we will work in the Rumsey Hill Road area also. The date is May24.

Tom received a call from Chris Zimmer of the Finger Lakes National Forest informing him that the Finger Lakes Trail on the forest east and west of Satterly Hill Road will soon be classified as Management Prescription 8.1 like the Finger Lakes Trail and Interloken Trail east of Logan Road are classified now. Prescription 8 .1 means the Finger Lakes Trail on Satterly Hill will be managed as a "Special · Area." It will be a hiking/cross-country ski trail only. • Betty Hansen reported that the first Management Plan

Revision done by the Finger Lakes National Forest has proposed that the Satterly Hill area of the forest be managed as grasslands (ungrazed) and shrub land. This includes the areas that currently are abandoned vineyards. The yineyards will be burned to maintain this area as grassland and shrub land. At a meeting in March, District Ranger Martha Twarkins asked if the Cayuga Trails Club would have an interest in saving some of the vineyards along the Finger Lakes Trail.

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Since the Forest Service does not have the personnel to maintain the vineyards, they would have to be maintained by members of the club. Martha and Chris Zimmer said that the national forest would like to maintain its cooperative relationship with the club. They would like us to continue to maintain the Finger Lakes Trail in the Satterly Hill area after a man­agement plan is in place, which may be by the end of September this year. Members of the Executive Board expressed much interest in preserving the vineyards along the trail because they are popular destinations for hikers in the fall when the grapes are ripening. A motion that the Cayuga Trails Club maintain some of the grapevines along the trail in the Satterly Hill area of Finger Lakes National Forest was moved, sec­onded, and passed by the board.

• Archivist Fran Lauman displayed some old Finger Lakes Trail markers and plaques. The old markers in­cluded some that were used to identify the old Seneca Trail.

• Summer cleanups forour Adopt-A-Highway activities on Route 366 have been scheduled for June 13 and August 1.

• The annual Spring Garden Fair and Plant Sale at Ithaca High School will be on May 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 1 :00 p.m. The club will have an exhibit.

• Cliff Abbott reported that hang gliders are putting pressure on the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to open the old road that leads to the Pinnacles on the Abbott Loop Trail. President An­dersson will contact the DEC to express the Executive Board's concern about the impact this would have on

the area. ~'.,:

,,N,. ~(-. I/(/ t1 Vr,

Report on Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #414 Date: March 8, 1998 Location: Abandoned Boy Scout Camp on Seneca Lake Distance: 3 miles Leader: Jack Van Derzee

Due to rain, only two people, including the leader, hiked this adventure. We explored the old Boy Scout camp now part of the Finger Lakes National Forest. Many camp lodges and the central building still exist in fairly good condition as far as we could tell from the outside. All windows and doors were boarded up. What would the Forest Service want to do with the camp? We were unable to decide.

About Our Members Welcome to the following new CTC members.

Jonathan Leichter

Ithaca, NY 14850

Matthew R. Valaik

Freeville, NY 13068

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1998 Cayuga Trails Club Executive Board

President: John Andersson 898-3058 Newsletter Editor: Tom Reimers Vice President: Philip Dankert 257-2578 Trails Maintenance: Tom Reimers Secretary: Betty Hansen ) 546-28 ·j 2 Membership: Doris Abbott Treasurer: Clifford Abbott unlisted Publicity: Lois Chaplin Member-at-Large: Jay Zitter 835-6268 Archives: Frances Lauman Member-at-Large: Suzanne C,ohen 539-6858 Social: Vacant

Walk, Look & Learn Hikes: Jack Van Derzee 387-5810

5

272-8679 272-8679 unlisted 844-3935 257-6272

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

The Dryden Lake Park Trail

by Alex Gonzalez The Dryden Lake Park Trail is one of the finer

rails-to-trails projects in central New York. The easy grades make the trail attractive ~ers with _Y~~g children. At its southern end the Finger Lakes Trail JOIDS

for about 0.6 miles. Bird life is abundant, substantial banks of violets are common in the spring, and beaver activity is evident throughout the trail ' s route, especially at its more remote southern reaches. Several impressive old bridges cross Dryden Lake Creek, and various sorts of vlys, bogs, and swamps create an environment that is not only beautiful but also interesting to those who study birds, flowers, and animal activity. Although some seasonally muddy patches exist, the entire trail is accessible to those with sturdy wheelchairs. Otherwise, all motorized traffic is prohibited. Bicycles and horses are permitted. Miles Description 0.00 West Main Street (NYS Route 13), Dryden.

Bench and plaque, next to Agway, opposite Rochester Street.

0 .20 Cross Mill Street. 0.50 Oid Borden milk plant. Bench. 0.55 Cross NYS Route 38 and then Weber Street.

DRYDEN L ft I<. E

PAR I< TRA I L

6

1.00

1.50 1.60 1.80 1.85 2.00 2.05 2.10 2 .20 2.25

2.50

2.65

2.90 3.00 3.35

3.50 3.75

4 .00

Large swamp on right. Bench. Gas pipeline

crosses soon after. Power lines cross. Bench. Cross Keith Lane. Parking area. Footpath, left (private). Bridge. First view of impressive vly, left. Footpath, right (private). Bench. Enter state land. Second view of vly. left. Footpath, left, onto state land. Cross Chaffee Road. Cross West Lake Road. Dryden Lake Park, left: parkirig, picnic tables, pavilions, toilets, observation deck. Dryden Lake. Bench. Footpath, left, back to Dryden Lake Park. Observation deck overlooking lake, wheelchair accessible (parking for disabled drivers by permit). Footpath, left, to attractive small promontory on lakeshore. Carib Pond, right. End of Dryden Lake. Bench. Cross East Lake Road. Parking. FLT joins from the left. Bench. Bogland views. Giant talking trees. Beaver ponds. Willow Crossing. Bench. Parking. FLT turns · right and continues onto Purvis Road .

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB /

Schuyler Scramble: A Hike Across Schuyler County in the Warmer Part of 1998 Reprinted with permission from Finger Lakes Trail News.

This will be the hike series for those who either missed the 1994 Schuyler County series [organized by the Cayuga Trails Club and Adirondack Mountain Club­Finger Lakes Chapter], as we did, or as a continuation of the hikes of the past three years so beautifully organized by Irene Szabo. There will be several differences, however: This series will attempt to do Schuyler County in five hikes, rather than six, which will average out to approximately 10 miles per hike, very much in the distance range of those other ventures. The format will be similar to the hike series before 1995 which used the hik­ers' cars to do the shuttling.

The hikes tentatively will be on the following Sat­urday dates: May 2, June 6, July 18, August 8, and September 5. The somewhat erratic spacing is the result of previous commitments and wanting to miss Watkins Glen race congestion in July.

You will need FLT maps M-13 through M-16, preferably the latest issued, so our meeting and finishing places will make sense. [Maps are available from FLTC Service Center, 202 Colebourne Road, Rochester, NY, 14609-6733; phone 716/288-7191; email fltc@axsnet.com. Our own Guide to Trails of the Finger Lakes Region also describes the route with maps.] Sturdy shoes with good tread are a must. These are not city sidewalks, folks! Past experience indicates there will be enough hills and slippery slopes to suit everyone, not mentioning wet.

Obviously you need to be in shape for this, and though we can accommodate differences in speed, we need people with the stamina to finish what they begin. At this point, there 's no guarantee of a sag wagon.

No discussion has been made yet in which direction the hikes will go. Be assured it will be either east or west! More details will appear in the registration materials.

For now we need a written or phoned response as to whether you want registration materials sent. It would be helpful to know how many people you intend to have. There will be a small fee to cover mailing and copying. The other decisions about patches, informal picnic, etc. can be worked out as we go along. Contact Ernest or Heide Mahlke, 303 Mary Brown Hill Road, Laurens, NY 13796. The phone number is 607/432-2583.

7

Finger Lakes Trail Conference 1998 Alley Cat Trail Crew Schedule

The ALLEY CAT Trail Crews are organized and sponsored each year by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. Members of the Cayuga Trails Club are invited to par­ticipate. Food and a place to skep are provided at no charge for crew members staying overnight. At locations where tents are required, crew members are asked to bring their own tent. Tools and local transportation are provided. Crew size is limited to 12 persons staying overnight. Persons who live close enough to commute are welcome on any day(s), but we do need all participants to register ahead of time. Because of the popularity of these crews, early registration is advised for those planning to stay overnight. Preference is given to those requesting to work the entire week.

. Crew #1 June 22- 26, Dryden, NY. Hammond Hill campsite of the Cayuga Nature Center. Tent (you provide) or lean-tos. Work will include correcting the drainage problem around Kimmie Lean-to and improving the trail on FLT map M-18.

Crew #2 August 17- 21, DEC Little Pond Camp-ground on FLT map M-31 in tent (you provide) or at new Mill Brook Ridge Lean-to. We will work on map M-3 lA to improve the Mill Brook Ridge Trail (FLT) by side­hilling, stone steps and waterbars.

Crew #3 September 21- 25, Allegany State Park. Cabins. We will build a new lean-to replacing existing one near access point 6 on map M-1/CT-1.

Interested persons may request an announcement and application from the FLTC Service Center, 202 Cole­bourne Road, Rochester, NY 14609-673 3. You can call the center at 716/288-7191. The email address is fltc@axsnet .com.

Food for Crews #1 and #3 is being provided by the National Park Service under the Volunteer-In-The-Parks program. Food and campsites for Crew #2 are being provided by the New York State Department of Envi­ronmental Conservation which will also have on-site supervision by foresters and forest rangers. Cabins for Crew #3 are being provided by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Allegany State Park will also be providing a supervisor for the lean­to project.

Saturday, May 9

Sunday, May 10 . . . . .... .

Sunday, May 17 ..... ... .

Sunday, May 24 . .... . .. .

Saturday, June 6 ........ .

Saturday, June 13 ...... . .

Sunday, June 14 ........ .

Sunday, June 14 ........ .

Monday-Friday, June 22-26

Cayuga Trails Club

Finger Lakes Trail Conference 9-mile loop hike in Letchworth State Par~. Meet in the Parade Grounds parking lot located on the east side of the Genesee River off NYS Route 436 at 9:30 a.m. See details on page 3 . Walk, Look, and Learn hike #416. Mother's Day wildflower walk in Mulholland Wildflower Preserve on Six Mile Creek in Ithaca. Meet at the preserve entrance on Giles Street at 1 :30 p.m. See page 3 for details. Katherine Durant (539-7688), leader. Long, fast, and informal hike #1 across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. 10:00 a.m. Details on page 2. Jack Van Derzee (387-5810 or vanderze@ithaca.edu), leader. First 1998 trail maintenance session. Work on Finger Lakes Trail between Logan Road and Village of Burdett. Meet to pool cars at 1 :00 p.m. in Ithaca Shopping Plaza near the Taco Bell. See page 1 for details. Tom Reimers (272-8679), leader. Hike #2 of a series across Schuyler County on the Finger Lakes Trail. See page 7 for details. Ernest and Heide Mahlke (607/432-2583), leaders. Second 1998 Adopt-A-Highway litter cleanup on NYS Route 366. Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the corner of Caldwell Road and Route 366 at 10:00 p.m. Safety gear and trash bags provided. Long, fast, and informal hike #2 across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. 10:00 a.m. Details on page 2. Jack Van Derzee (387-5810 or vanderze@ithaca.edu), leader. Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #417. Black Diamond Trail and "Hospital Loop." Meet at the first parking lot north of the new Route 89 bridge in Cass Park at 1 :30 p.m. See page 3 for details. John Andersson (898-3058), leader. Finger Lakes Trail Conference ALLEY CAT Trail crew. See page 7 for details. Howard Beye, FLTC Trails Chairman (716/288-7191), leader.

Barbara Morse, Cayuga Trails Mailing P.O. Box 754

NONPROFIT OR Canoe1800s '\J

Ithaca, NY 14851 -0754

r. PEP.

Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club Founded in 7 962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands

and places of natural beauty ... "

July-August 1998 Summer Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 7 & 8

Windstorms Demolish the Finger Lakes Trail: DEC Crews Clear Path

by Tom Reimers, CTC Trails Chairman As the two photos on this page show, sections of the

Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) that our club maintains were severely damaged by windstorms at the end of May. All trnil adopters have been alerted to potential damage and have been asked to check the sections of the FLT they maintain as soon as possible. The most severe damage seems to be on the FLT in Potato Hill State Forest west of Blackman Hill Road in the Town of Caroline where these photos were taken.

I initially went out and assessed the damage on June 13 and found the trail to be impassable with major blowdowns, particularly between Blackman Hill Road and Level Green Road. An "expert" team of CTC members was to have hiked the three-mile-Jong section of trail on June 27 to assess damage and consider options for reroutes or clearing the existing trail route. I called the Bureau of Lands and Forests of the New York State Department of

Environmental Conservation (DEC) in Cortland to see if a DEC forester could accompany us on the 27th to offer advice and approve any major reroutes that may have been necessary. On June 19, I received a call from DEC Su­pervising Forester Dave Forness to inform me that he had already organized a DEC work crew with chain saws, safety equipment, and the professional expertise to clear the FLT beginning on June 22. He said the work should be completed by the end of the week

On behalf of the Cayuga Trails Club, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, and the many hikers who enjoy the FLT in Potato Hill State Forest, I extend my sincerest "Thank you!" to Dave and others at the DEC for their much­needed assistance. I am very please to see close coop­eration between the DEC and CTC continue.

Photos by Tom Reim ers.

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Cayuga Trails is the official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P. 0. Box 754, Ithaca, NY 14851-0754.Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Thomas J . Reimers, Editor, by mail at JC Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 6071272-8361, or by email at treimers@aol.com.

Clearing Trails - Jann Andersson, President

In the last couple of columns, I talked about snow; now it is time for rain. Not by my choice but by nature's, my world has been a bit soggy lately. Twister Sunday I spent traveling on Route 88 from Cobleskill to Bainbridge admiring the lightening but fearing the wind and feeling really glad windshield wipers work as well as they do. I didn't have any problems, but was ignorant of the con­ditions. Ifl was a bit smarter, I would have spent the night at Mom's. I had a good day with her (and she says "hello" to all who met her last summer). Her house sits on the Long Path above the Middleburgh Cliffs and not far from Vrooman 's Nose. She enjoys seeing the hikers on that trail and likes to tell them her son is a hiker. She shared water and lunch recently with backpacker Mary Ann Nissley (who says "Hi" to Ed Sidote).

The rain continued on June 12 when we hiked from Black Bear Road to the Balsam Lake area and back again to the car. It rained all along the long drive there, all along the hike, and most of the way back. I usually don't mind a bit of warm rain; while it didn't rain too hard, it was consistent. I couldn't look around very well because the hood on my poncho keeps dropping down around my face, and if I push it back too far, the rain gets on my glasses. And even my waterproof boots are not waterproof from rain trickling into them from my legs.

While I'm complaining about the rain, I want to mention a strange effect on my car's brakes. When I set the parking brake, they freeze so that ifl don' t drive it for a few days afterwards, one of the rear wheels won't turn

until I hit the pavement leaving a long gouge in my gravel driveway. On the other hand, I haven't had to water my garden or the lawn I recently seeded. And on our recent hike, we did observe closeup a doe and white-spotted fawn and a woodcock flushed out from under my feet who followed his extra long beak into the woods. He was a soggy bird, though; he was so close I could see that his feathers were dark with water. While the consensus was

2

that hiking in the rain was still better than working, that feeling was not unanimous.

One of these days the rain will end, and then we can complain about the bugs and heat and dust. That is the good thing about complaining: there is no lack of subject matter. But the hiking experience is a little different each time and we need the rain and the sun. After all, nothing out there is solely for our benefit, but we can surely benefit and enjoy and respect all that is out there. So I urge

you to do that! ~~ See you on the trail! T

Last Chance: Only Two Adopt-A-Trail Sections Still Available

The following sections of the main Finger Lakes Trail still need volunteers for routine maintenance. Please contact Trails Chairman Tom Reimers at 607 /272-8679 or treimers@aol.com if you would like more information on adopting these sections for maintenance. Adopters receive a copy of Field Maintenance Manual for the Finger Lakes Trail, signs, trail markers, and instructions. Paint and other supplies are reimbursed by the club.

NYS Route 14 in Watkins Glen to entrance of Excelsior Glen on NYS Route 414. This section includes blazing along streets in Watkins Glen, through Clute Park, and along Route 414 plus clearing along Glen Creek in the village. The distance is 2 miles.

NYS Route 79 north of Watkins Glen to the twin tunnels on Satterly Hill Road north of Burdett. This 3.4-mile-long section is mostly on road. The volunteer adopter would keep the trail blazed and cleared through the woods between Route 79 and Middle Road and maintain blazes marking the trail route along Middle Road, streets in Burdett, and the southern end of Satterly Hill Road.

~ ~ ~

Trail Work Sessions Almost all of the 80 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail we

maintain have been adopted by CTC members. Therefore, no regular trail maintenance sessions are planned for July and August. Men:ibers will be notified by postcard later if special work sessions are needed.

CAYUGA TRAILS CLUB

Cayuga Trails Editor Receives FL TC Award

Tom Reimers, editor of this newsletter, received the prestigious Wallace D. Wood Distinguished Ser\rice Award from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC) during its annual meeting in Mt. Morris, NY, on April 25 , 1998. Tom has been a member of the Cayuga Trails Club since 1984. He served as president from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1993 to 1996. He also was president of the FLTC for two years and North Country Trail Association for three years. Besides this newsletter, Tom is edi­tor/publisher of Finger Lakes Trail News, the 20-page newsletter of the FLTC. He also is CTC's trails chairman, recruiting trail adopters and organizing trail maintenance sessions. He has adopted the 7-mile-long Cayuga Trail and a short section of the Finger Lakes Trail west of Robert Treman State Park for maintenance. Previous recipients of the Wally Wood Award from the Cayuga Trails Club are Laura McGuire in 1986 and Edward Sidote in 1993

Tom Reimers (center) displays the award plaque he received from the Finger Lakes Trail Confer­ence during its annual meeting on April 25, 1998. Joining him are CTC members who attended the event. From left, Clifford Abbott, Frances Lauman, Edward Sidote, Kurt Seitz, Betty Lewis, Doris Abbott, John Andersson. Present but not shown: Sheila Ferrari.

3

Summer Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes

Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #418 July 12: The Old 600

Long-time hiker and CTC member Peter Harriott will lead the Walk, Look, and Learn Hike on July 12. Hikers will

visit the Slaterville 600 Cornell nature preserve and ex­plore the upper reaches of Six-Mile Creek. Wear sneakers or boots and be prepared to wade as we cross the stream a few time. If you haven'tbeen on one of Peter's hikes, you don't know what your missing! The Old 600 or Slaterville 600 refers to the size of what was once a magnificent old­growth forest. The parcel was a military lot of 640 acres or one square mile. These lots were given to soldiers of the Revolutionary War in lieu of payment. The old-growth forest was a favorite nesting site of the now extinct pas­senger pigeon. Meet at 1 :30 p.m. at the Caroline Elemen­tary School on NYS Route 79 east of Ithaca. Call Peter at 607/273-6049 if you have questions.

\ ''~Ul&I ~=~k#~~~k, and Learn

\\~ gl August 9 : Robert Treman State Park

Robert H. Treman State Park is the location of the WLL Hike on August 9 lead by John Rogers. We will hike the Finger Lakes Trail downhill from Woodard Road and the Gorge Trail uphill from the lower park. Meet in the upper Trcman Park parking lot off

NYS Route 327 at 9:30 a.m. (before the parking fee is charged). Distance is about 4.5 miles. Hikers who wish a shorter distance can leave their cars in the lower park area. We will pause a few moments at the Sierra Lean-to and nearby outhouse built by the Sierra Club on the Finger Lakes Trail in 1996.

In 1920, Robert and Laura Treman donated 387 acres in Enfield Glen to the state, which established the Enfield Glen Reservation. In 1924, the reservation came under management of the newly-formed Finger Lakes State Parks Commission. Mr. Treman was the first chairman of the commission. Upon his death in 1938, the park was renamed in his memory. Today, the park's area is 1,070. Call John Rogers at 607/898-3058 for more information about the hike.

CAYUGA TRAILS CLUB

Finger Lakes National Forest: Volunteers Wanted

Would you like to work on trails on Finger Lakes National Forest? The Recreationffrails Committee meets on the sec­ond Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the U.S. Forest Service head­quarters, 5218 State Route 414,

Hector, NY 14841. Everyone is welcome to attend! In addition to coordinating volunteer work, the committee is looking at current and foreseeable demands on the trail system in the forest. For more information, contact District Ranger Martha Twarkins at 607/546-4470.

*** Route 366 Cleanup

by John Andersson The Cayuga Trails Club's two mile stretch of Route

366 near Cornell University is several bags of trash clean­er thanks to the efforts of dedicated CTC members. They walked and stooped on April 18 and again on June 13 filling bright orange bags with cigarette and candy wrappers, lighters, beer, soda and juice bottles and cans, rags, pieces of cars, a blue rubber ball, and even men's jockey shorts!

While April's cleanup was cool (50s) and windy but sunny, the highway was very busy because of the open house at the veterinary college. The June 13 event was nearly canceled. but at the last minute the group decided to go ahead in spite of the constant rain all morning. However, the trash gods favored the CTC group and allowed no rain to fall for the 1 Yz hours necessary.

Many thanks go to Suzanne Cohen, Phil Dankert, Hollis Erb, Betty Hansen, Peter Harriott, Frances Lauman, Betty Lewis, Susan Merrill, Tom Reimers, and cleanup coordinator John Andersson. The next event is scheduled for Saturday, August 1, at 10:00 a.m. Meet in the Cornell University "O" parking lot. Call John Andersson at 607/898-3058 for details.

4

CTC Officer Honored by Trust Company

Cayuga Trails Club Vice President Philip R. Dankert recently received Tompkins County Trust Company's Annual Award for Excellence according to an article in the Ithaca Journal. Phil was recognized for outstanding volunteer work within the community. He was singled out for his 16 years of service with the Tompkins County Youth Bureau.

0

Trail Tools Available Cliff and Doris Abbott's garage is one of the storage

sites for trail tools owned by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. Below is a list of the tools that are available for CTC trail members who want to do a little trail main­tenance. To borrow any of these tools, please contact Tom Reimers at 272-8679 or treimers @aol.com. One comealong One wheelbarrow Four nylon straps for use with continuous puller One grippuller One posthole digger One 3-lb. and one 8-lb . mallet Six helmets with eye protectors Two fire axes (pulaski) One first-aid box Two saws One 1-man cross-cut saw, 3 Y2 feet long with handle Three malleable clasp cant hook for handling heavy logs Two bark knives for removing bark Two Pro Guard logger's caps Two green Kevlar chaps, 32" and 36", 3-ply One gear-driven tree pruner Two shin-instep leg guard One 6-ft. crowbar Three fire rakes Two grass whips, loppers anvil type One spoon shovel 84" handle Four timber carriers Four plastic saw wedges Three 3-ton jacks

The CTC also owns many loppers, bowsaws, and three power brushcutters. In addition, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference owns a self-propelled DR Mower® that is stored at the Finger Lakes National Forest and available for CTC trail workers.

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Report on Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes

#415 Date: April 29, 1998 (Earth Day Hike) Location: The Cayuga Trail Distance: 4 miles Leader: Tom Reimers

Despite the cold and rain, four CTC members and six guests enjoyed a wonderful hike with abundant rain showers. Hikers had wet feet and cold fingers but there were no complaints. Everyone had a good time. Spirits were high as indicated by continuous conversation and occasional laughter until the very soggy end at 4:30.

#416 Date: May 10, 1998 (Mother's Day) Location: Mulholland Wildflower Preserve, Ithaca Distance: 0 miles Leader: Katherine Durant

Rain that began before daylight and continued all day caused a washout of this Mother's Day walk, as no one except the leader came to the wildflower preserve to look for wildflowers under such moist atmospheric conditions. On a scouting trip along the path beside Six Mile Creek a few days earlier, Kay observed wild geraniums, may­apples, Solomon's seal, white, yellow, and purple violets, bellworts, white trilliums, blue cohosh, false Solomon's seal, wild parsnips, waterleaf, wood hyacinths, wood cherries, toothworts, pussytoes, wild ginger, viburnum in bloom, bittersweet, barberry, garlic mustard, maiden hair fems, Christmas fems, and wicopy.

#417 Date: June 14, 1998 Location: Black Diamond Trail and "Hospital Loop" Distance: 6 miles Leader: John Andersson

Eleven hikers enjoyed a six-mile walk along the future Black Diamond Trail from Cass Park in Ithaca up to and including the "Hospital Loop." Rain all morning left the grass wet, but only drizzles fell on the hikers. Remains of the Works in Progress Administration from the depression era were found-stone picnic tables, a stone bridge, and playful concrete animals. Natural wonders included waterfalls, a huge white oak, lots of sassafras trees, a

·· broad-winged hawk, and voices of redstarts, catbirds, and other. Girds pointed out by Meena Haribal. A white-tailed deer approached the group along the trail. A trio, led by Bob Cornell and including Alisha Philips and Pauline Baquirin, traveled from Midland, Texas, to join this hike.

5

Report on Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the Cayuga Trails Club met on June2, 1998, fora regular meeting at the Ithaca-Tompkins Transit Center. Here are a few of the reports as recorded by Secretary Betty Hansen. • The Treasurer's report as submitted by Cliff Abbott

showed a checking account balance of $2,700.61. The savings account balance was $6,948.74.

• Walk, Look, and Learn Hike Chairman Jack Van Der­zee reported that Peter Harriott will lead the July hike and John Rogers will lead the August hike (see page 3 for details). The May wildflower hike was canceled due to rain. Tom Reimers reported that 10 people attended the Earth Day Hike on April 26 despite the cold and rainy weather.

• Membership Chairwoman Doris Abbott submitted a report that total club membership is now 168. No new members joined in the past two months.

• Social Chairwoman Linda Loomis asked for ideas regarding future social events. Tom Reimers suggested that landowners with sections of the Finger Lakes Trail on their property be invited as guests to this year's dish-to-pass supper in November and that they be asked to bring any special requests or issues they would like discussed and clarified.

• Trails Chairman Tom Reimers reported that 18 mem­bers participated in the trail maintenance workshop on May 2. Three of those people have adopted sections of the FLT for maintenance. Twenty people participated in the trail maintenance session on May 24: main­tenance was done in the Satterly Hill area and the FLT east of Town Line Road was rerouted.

Three Eagle Scout projects are underway or being planned for the FLT. A footbridge will be built west of Old 76 Road. A second bridge will be built across the stream west of Logan Road. The landowners have been contacted and have approved of the projects. In Shin­dagin Hollow, puncheons will be built on the trail and shingles fixed on the lean-to.

• Suzanne Cohen reported that the CTC exhibit on the Ithaca Commons on Earth Day was quite successful. Many who stopped by expressed gratitude for the well­maintained trail.

• The next Executive Board meeting will be on August 4 at the transit center.

CA YUGA TRAILS CLUB

Lyme Disease and Human Ehrlichiosis

The Tompkins County HealthDepartmentremiIJldS area backpackers, hikers, and all residents who spehd time working or playing outdoors about the possibility that a locally acquired tick bite could result in infection with Lyme disease. The deer tick vector for Lyme disease has been present in Tompkins County for three years. During 1997 there were seven cases of Lyme disease reported in Tompkins County, most of which had a history of travel to an endemic area. To decrease your risk of acquiring Lyme disease and another tick-borne illness called ehrlichiosis ' learn to identify the symptoms of these diseases and how to prevent exposure to ticks. Lyme disease

Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease affecting many body systems. In its early and localized form, it affects the skin, causing a rash (erythema migrans) which is a dynamic lesion that can have a bull's eye appearance, a central red area surrounded by normal skin color that is in tum surrounded by an expanding red band. There are variations in the appearance of the rash and it occurs in 60% to 80% of individuals affected. The rash and/or flu­like symptoms occur from 3 to 32 days after a bite from an infected deer tick. Late Lyme disease affects other sys­tems, in particular the joints and the nervous system. Human ehrlichiosis

Most commonly, ehrlichiosis causes fever, muscle aches, wealrness, and headache. Individuals infected may also experience confusion, nausea, vomiting, and joint pain. A rash is not common with ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichiosis may occasionally be life threatening or fatal. Symptoms usually occur within 1 to 3 weeks after a bite by an in­

fected tick, including the deer tick, the dog tick, and the lone star tick. Prevention of Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis • Wear light-colored clothing to make the ticks easier to

see and brush off. • Tuck pants into socks to prevent ticks from reaching

skin. • If repellents are used, apply according to label

directions (never on hands or near the eyes). • Carefully check for ticks at the end of any day in which

you have engaged in outdoor activities. Parents should examine their child's skin carefully for ticks at the end of each day that the child has played outdoors.

• Remove ticks that have attached to the skin as soon as possible. Transmission of Lyme disease is unlikeiy if · the tick is removed within 24 hours of attachment.

6

Ticks may be brought to the health department for identification by placing in a small amount of rubbing alcohol in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. For more information about Lyme disease, call the Tompkins County Health Department at 607/274-6604.

• Live Longer by Walking

Reprinted with permission from Finger Lakes Trails News.

A report published in the January issue New England Journal of Medicine empha­

""""'.,.-..,.,~~~~b sized the benefits that walking has on reducing mortality rates.

In the study, 707 nonsmoking, retired, physically capable men between 61 and 81 years of age were asked about the average distance they walked per day between 1980 and 1982. Data on overall mortality (from any cause) were collected over a 12-year period after this base-line examination. During the 12-year follow-up, 43% of the men who walked less than one mile per day had died. In contrast, 21 % of the men who walked more than two miles per day had died. The researchers concluded that regular walking is associated with a lower overall mortality rate.

~~~

Finger Lakes Trail Conference Hikes: CTC Members Welcome!

Cayuga Trails Club members are invited to the FLTC President's Hike on July 25. Meet at 9:30 a.m. in the

parking lot of the Skyline Diner on NYS Route 11 in Polkville south of Cortland. We will hike from Under­wood Hill Road to Hoxie Gorge. The hike will be about 5 miles with a possible loop at Hoxie Gorge. Nice view looking west from a lean-to. Bring lunch and water. Call George Zacharek, leader, at 315/635-8438 for more infor­mation.

The FLTC Erv Markert Memorial Hike will be on the Abbott Loop on September 26, 1998. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Park and Ride lot in Danby at the comer of NYS Route 96B and Gunderman Road. Jack Van Derzee will be your leader (607/387-5810). The Abbott Loop is 8.4 miles long.

CAYUGA TRAILS CLUB

1998 Cayuga Trails Club Executive Board President: John Andersson 898-3058 Newsletter Editor : Tom Reimers 272-8679

272-8679

unlisted 844-3935 257-6272 266-0715

Vice President: Philip Dankert 257-2578 Trails Maintenance: Tom Reimers Secretary: Betty Hansen 546-2812 Membership: Doris Abbott Treasurer: Clifford Abbott unlisted Publicity: Lois Chaplin Member-at-Large: Jay Zitter 835-6268 Archives: Frances Lauman Member-at-Large: Suzanne Cohen 539-6858 Social: Linda Loomis

Walk, Look, & Learn Hikes: Jack Van Derzee 387-5810

A Brief Report on the First "Schuyler Scramble" Hike

by Heide Seaman-Mahlke Reprinted with permission from Finger Lakes Trai l News.

Twenty-four intrepid souls braved a steady, unre­mitting drizzle for the first hike of the "Schuyler Scram­ble," which lived up to its name. By the time the sweeps emerged from the woods, only three cars remained. These were quickly occupied by the dampened and muddy hikers for a fast getaway. One participant mentioned that a wet and soggy start for a hike series is always a good omen. We certainly hope so!

The group was ably served by Joe Vieira with his Tootsie Roll sag wagon and by Nancey Wilbur, our sub-sag. Newly painted blazes were of immense help to the hikers. We thank the trail maintainers. See you on July 18 for hike #3.

About Our Members

Welcome to the following new member.

Gail Blake 61 0 Plain Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Address Change Carol LaBorie

1 9 Lancashire Drive Ithaca, NY 14850-9388

7

LAKES

Remaining 1998 ALLEY CAT Trail Crew Schedule

by Howard S. Beye Chairman, FL TC Trail Management Committee

If you have been a part of an ALLEY CAT Trail Crew before, you know the work and fun we have making the FLT a better trail for all those who use i.t, whether for a day hike or a 5-week end-to-end backpacking trip. For those who have thought about helping improve the trail, there is no better way to do it than on an ALLEY CAT Trail Crew. Food and a place to sleep are provided at no charge for crew members staying overnight. At locations where tents are required, crew members are asked to bring their own tent. Tools and local transportation are provided. Crew size is limited to 12 persons staying overnight. Persons who live close enough to commute are welcome on any day( s ), but we do need all participants to register ahead of time. Because of the popularity of these crews we advise early registration for those planning on staying overnight. Preference is given to

those requesting to work the entire week. Crew #2: August 17- 21, DEC Little Pond

Campground, FLT map M-31 in tent (you provide) or at new Mill Brook Ridge Lean-to, FLT map M-3 lA. Improve Mill Brook Ridge Trail (FLT) by side-hilling and building stone steps and waterbars.

Crew #3: September 21- 25, Allegany State Park. Cabins. Build lean-to replacing existing one near access point 6 on FLT map M-1/CT-l.

Interested persons may request an announcement and application from the FLTC Service Center, 202 Colebourne Road, Rochester, NY 14609-6733. You can call 716/288-7191 or emailjltc@axsnet.com.

Mark Your Calendars

Sunday, July 12 ...... . ..... Cayuga Trai ls Club Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #418 . The Old 600 nature preserve. Meet at 1 :30 p .m. at the Caroline Elementary School on NYS Route 79 east of Ithaca. See page 3 for details. Peter Harri9tt (273-6049), leader.

Saturday, July 18 ...... . .. .. Hike #3 of a series across Schuyler County on the Finger Lakes Trail. See page 7 of the late spring issue of Cayuga Trails for details. Ernest and Heide Mahlke (607 /432-2583), leaders.

Sunday, July 19 ......... . .. Long, fast, and informal hike #3 across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. 10:00 a.m. Details on page 2 of the late spring issue of Cayuga Trails. J ack Van Derzee (387-5810 or vanderze @ithaca.edu), leader.

Saturday, July 25 .. .... .... . Finger Lakes Trail Conference President's Hike. Meet at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Skyline Diner on NYS Route 11 in Polkville south of Cortland. See page 6 for details. George Zacharek (3 15/635-8438) , leader.

Saturday, August 1 .... .. . . . . Cayuga T rails Club Third 1998 Adopt-A-Highway litter cleanup on NYS Route 366. Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the corner of Caldwell Road and Route 366 at 10:00 p .m . Safety gear and trash bags provided. John Andersson (898-3058), leader.

Saturday, · August 8 ..... .. . .. Hike #4 of a series across Schuyler County on the Finger Lakes Trail. See page 7 of the late spring issue of Cayuga Trails for details. Ernest and Heide Mahlke (607 /432-2583), leaders

Sunday, August 9 ........... Cayuga Trails Club Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #419. Finger Lakes Trail and Gorge T rail in Robert H. Treman State Park. Meet in the upper Treman Park parking lot off NYS Route 327 at 9:30 a.m. See page 3 for details. John Rogers (898-3058), leader.

Monday- Friday, August 17-21 .. Finger Lakes T rail Conference ALLEY CAT Trail crew. See page 7 for details. Howard Beye, Fl TC Trails Chairman (716/288-7191 ), leader.

Cayuga Trails Club Barbara Morse. Cayuga Trails Mail ing P.O. Box 754 Ithaca, NY 14851-0754

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ITHACA, NY

PERMIT NO. 94

qa TIUJib Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club

Founded in 1962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands and places of natural beauty ... "

September-October 1998 Early Fall Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 9 & 10

Scout Builds New Foot Bridge on FLT

by Tom Reimers, Trails Chairman Jason Chobot, of Boy Scout Troop 38 in Owego, NY,

completed an Eagle Scout project this summer building a new foot bridge across the creek west of Old 76 Road on the Finger Lakes Trail. The 17-year-old Scout graduated last spring from Owego Free Academy and plans to attend Broome Community College this fall majoring in land­scape architecture. Jason planned and designed the bridge, solicited donated materials, organized work crews, and completed the bridge in July. Eighteen to twenty fellow Scouts, leaders, and parents worked with him on the bridge.

Jason began planning the bridge last fall. He estimates he spent 48 hours planning, obtaining donated supplies, and recruiting helpers. The building project itself took 25 hours over a period of five days. His father Bob quickly pointed out the many recycled materials that went into the bridge construction. On behalf of the Cayuga Trails Cl~b and the many hikers who will stay dry crossing the creek, I thank Jason very much and wish him success in college.

I'd also like to thank Robert and Sophie Daloia for grant­ing permission to build the bridge on their property.

Jason Chobot proudly enjoys the new foot bridge with his father Bob. Photo by Tom Reimers.

The new foot bridge west of Old 76 Road on the Finger Lakes Trail. Photo by Tom Reimers.

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

Cayuga Trails is the official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P. 0 . Box 754, Ithaca, NY 14851-0754.Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Tom Reimers, Editor, by mail at 3C Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 6071272-8361, or by email at treimers@aol.com.

Clearing Trail John Andersson, President How has your summer been going? I hope it has been

grand with family, friends, yard projects, reading, travel, and all the other things that make life rewarding and interesting. The Cayuga Trails Club fits right in there. Our Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes, trail maintenance projects (especially the big one for the "Big Blowdown" high­li?hted in the last newsletter), cleanup of our adopted highway, and numerous unannounced hikes with small groups of CTC members provided lots of opportunities. It was tremendous to be at the spring meeting of the Finger Lakes Trails Conference (FLTC) on April 25 to see our own Tom Reimers win the Wallace D. Wood Dis­tinguished Service Award (not to mention the great hiking around Letchworth State Park). I was at Alder Lake in the Catskills when my hiking pal Phil Dankert received his patch from Ed Sidote after completing his hike of the Finger Lakes Trail on Father's Day. Congratulations a­gain, Phil!

If you have been missing these kinds of experiences, don't fret! There are lots left! We have the fall FLTC

campout at Hickory Hill Campground near Ham­mondsport on October 9- 11, a WLL Hike the second Sun- \ day of every month, our last 1998 highway cleanup on November 7, and our annual members' meetings in No­vember and January. I don't have the date for the No­vember meeting yet, but I expect you will find it else­where in this newsletter. At this dish-to-pass dinner meeting, we elect a nominating committee for the 1999 slate of officers. As I said last year at this time, if you have any interest in serving on the CTC Executive Board now is the time to cultivate that interest. You don't n;ed to commit to be an officer; you can serve on a committee with others.

Do you think we should sponsor more hikes? Have more other kinds of outings? Work harder on trails? Publicize our club and events better? Please let me know

2

how you think our club should grow-and help it grow by volunteering a little extra time. You can call me at home at607/898-3058, write to me at P.O. Box 185, Groton, NY 13073, or come to any Executive Board meet-ing (usually at 7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the even months at the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transit Center). You might just find a treasure to keep for the rest of your life: At last year's general membership meeting in No-vember, we ran . out of chairs at the Ellis Hollow Com-munity Center. I had to sit on the piano stool and I can't play a note. This year I hope I have to eat standing up!

See you on the trail! ~

CTC Volunteers Wanted for National Public Lands Day September 26, 1998

The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation and the Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF) near Burdett, NY, are pleased to announce the upcoming National Public Lands Day. This is the fifth year the event has been held nationally and the first year that the FLNF has been invited to host. On National Public Lands Day, thousands of volunteers gather at national parks and forests, reservoirs, and other public land areas to improve and enhance the resources of those special places where Americans go to enjoy the outdoors. Volunteers work with public land managers on needed projects which would not have been accomplished without National Public Lands Day.

Volunteers build bridges and trails, plant trees, improve wildlife habitat, repair cultural resources and recreational facilities, and carry out hundreds of other priority projects. They also learn about the importance of public lands to the nation's environmental, economic, and social heath and about specific environmental issues facing local managers. Finally, the FLNF would like to off er some educational seminars such as orienteering, Leave No Trace backcountry ethics, birding, horseback trail riding, plant identification, and a natural treasure hunt.

The day will be Saturday, September 26, 1998. The meeting place will be at the Potomac Group Campground on Potomac Road in the Finger Lakes National Forest. For more information, call the FLNF office at 607/546-4470.

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

A Message to Landowners Since 1962, private landowners have given permission

to the Cayuga Trails Club to build and maintain the Finger Lakes Trail on their property as a walking/hiking trail. In recent years, there has been an increase in other uses on the trail landowners did not authorize, such as mountain biking, ATV riding, and horseback riding. These other uses are a concern to us because of excessive trail damage, reduced safety, and disrespect for landowner property. We have specially made signs available for landowners stating what uses are allowed and what uses are not (see below).

Landowners, if you would like any of these signs posted on the Finger Lakes Trail on your property, please call CTC Trails Chairman Tom Reimers at 6071272-8679. The signs are free and will be posted by CTC members. Each sign is 12" x 12" and made of sturdy plastic. We appreciate very much your allowing people to hike on your property and do not want to jeopardize our "hand­shake agreement" with you by unauthorized uses of the trail.

POSTED PRIVATE PROPERTY

FOOT TRAVEL ONLY ON MAR KEO lRAIL OF THE FINGER LAKES TRAll SYSTEM

HO HUNTING. FISHINC. TRAPPING oR TR£SPASSING FOR OTHER REASONS

USE OF BICYCLES. HORSES. MOTOR1zi::o VEHIClES OR SNOWMOBILES ON TRAIL

OF T»E FINGER lAKES TRAIL SYSTEM OR AOJACENT POSTED LAND rs PROHIBITED

VIOLATORS WILL SE PROSECUTED - -·--- ----

FINGER LAKES TRAIL

MOTOR VEHICLES PROHIBITED

HORSES PROHIBITED

Finger Lakes Trail BICYCLES ON THIS PRIVATE PROPERTY ARE PROHIBITED

USERS ARE SUBJECT TO ARREST AS TRESPASSERS

Finau l.AJ,w. Tn.i.I Confmn~. lac. r. 0. Box 11041. Rochutu, NY 1~618-0041

WARNING NO CAMPING

OR FIRES IN THIS AREA~

m10IR lAK£S TRAIL COtfFIRlNCf.. IHC. IOX 11041 lltOCJ-(ESTUt. HY Ul11 -

3

Report on Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes

#418 Date: July 12, 1998 Leader: Peter Harriott Location: Old 600 Nature Preserve

Peter Harriott led eight CTC members on a hike through the upper part of Six-Mile Creek, which is Cornell's Old 600 Nature Preserve. The group started on Irish Settlement Road and walked one-half mile along a path through a wildflower field (part of the Baldwin Preserve of the Finger Lakes Land Trust). A trail near a steep wooded ravine led to a nice pool where two streams join to form Six-Mile Creek. Going up through the gorge, we crossed the stream several times and waded around obstacles. In one straight section, 90-degree cracks in the shale led to large rectangular blocks in the stream bed hke a paved highway. In another place, a large part of the gorge wall had collapsed almost damming the creek. Hikers surprised a bird nesting in a crevice in the gorge wall, and there were four tiny spotted eggs in the nest.

#419 Leader: John Rogers Date: August 9, 1998 Distance: 3 miles Location: Robert Treman State Park

Thanks to the shade provided by mixed hardwoods traversed on the Finger Lakes Trail, seven CTC members enjoyed a Sunday hike along the glacially featured landscape south of Enfield Glen. Conditions were excellent, 70° with low humidity and a light breeze caught in spots. The children along were surprised by the large grapevines seen arching into the white pine crowns--over 5 inches in diameter. The hike ended at the Sierra Shelter and a swim at the waterfall pool at lower Treman.

Finger Lakes Trail Conference Hike September 26

All CTC Members Welcome! The Finger Lakes Trail Conference 's Erv Markert

Memorial Hike will be on the Abbott Loop in Danby State Forest on September 26, 1998. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Park and Ride lot in Danby at the comer of NYS Route 96B and Gunderman Road. Jack Van Derzee will be your leader (607 /387-5810). The Abbott Loop is 8.4 miles long.

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

Be Careful Answering Newspaper Ads

by Jack Van Derzee One evening six years ago, Phil Dankert was reading

his newspaper when he came across an interesting ad­vertisement. It was for a series of hikes across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. Though he had not hiked in several years, he thought this sounded like fun so he signed up. Little did he know at the time what he was getting himself into.

He enjoyed the hikes across Tompkins County enough that, when there was a series the next year across Cortland County, he decided to do that one also. When asked if he would hike the whole Finger Lakes Trail, he would quickly reply, "No!" In 1994 he made his second mistake. He signed up for the Schuyler County series. There he got in with the wrong group of people: Nick Vandam and myself. We talked him into hiking the Steuben and the Genesee River valley hikes. It was during the Genesee River valley series when his great adventures began. On the day before Mother's Day, he almost drowned while crossing the Slater River, a.k.a. Slater Creek. Although I was not there, I have heard the story so many times that I feel I was. It rained all day, and by the time the group reached the creek, the water was deep and wide. Each time the story is told the water becomes deeper. I believe the last time I heard the story, it was up to hikers' necks.

Also while hiking across the Genesee River valley we introduced Phil to longer hikes. Most of the hikes in the cross-county series were about l 0 miles long but, since we knew that we could not make the August hike, we decided to hike half of it after th e July hike and the other half after

the September hike. This gave us two 15-mile hikes. After we found out that he could hike that far, all of our hikes became longer.

By this time we showed Phil that he had almost completed the whole Finger Lakes Trail (i .e., he had fewer than 250 miles to hike). So last year we got him to hike Chenango County, part of Delaware County, and most of the western part of the state-over 200 miles of new trail. It was while hiking in the Catskills that Phil discovered his love for the mountains. I cannot repeat his comments about the three-peak hike we did in May since it is not fit ~o print. Last ~ear ~hi! also slept in a tent for the fµ-st time m years and did his first solo hikes. \

This year on Father's Day, Phil finished hiking all 565 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail. This was fitting since he began hiking the trail on Mother's Day. He says that he is

4

not finished hiking either. There are still the branch trails of the Finger Lakes Trail System and a trail that runs north-south in the eastern part of the country that he wants to hike. Congratulations Phil, if I could only get you to stop looking at the darn map while hiking!

Note from Phil: Without the encouragement and support of individuals such as Jack Van Derzee and Nick Vandam, I would still have become a Finger Lakes Trail end-to-end hiker, but it would have taken me longer to finish.

Phil Dankert (center) receives his end-to-end patches from hiking companions Jack Van Derzee (left} and Nick Vandam (right) after completing the Finger Lakes Trail. Photo by Ed Sidote.

.. -¢> .. -¢>

About Our Members Welcome to the following new members.

David Alexander Ill

Ithaca , NY 14850

Linda Mattice

LeRoy, NY 14482

Ben Petryszak

Buffalo, NY 14220

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

Report on Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the Cayuga Trails Club met on August 4, 1998, for a regular meeting at the Ithaca­Tompkins Transit Center. Here are a few of the reports presented at the meeting as recorded by Secretary Betty Hansen. • The Treasurer's report as submitted by Cliff Abbott

showed a checking account balance of $2,404.28 and a saving account balance of $7 ,842.67.

• Walk, Look, and Learn Hike Chairman Jack Van Derzee reported that the September hike will be led by Robin Spry-Campbell in the Finger Lakes National Forest and will include the Ravine Trail. The October hike will be led by Betty Lewis. Both will be on the second Sunday of each month. Tom Reimers sug­gested having a WLL hike at the Finger Lakes Land Trust's Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve in West Danby lead by Betsy Darlington. This could be a CTC-FLLT jointly sponsored hike.

• Membership Chairwoman Doris Abbott reported that there were three new members. Membership total is now 172.

• The annual dish-to-pass supper and general member­ship meeting was set for November 15 at the Ellis Hollow Community Center, if available.

• Trails Chairman Tom Reimers reported the following: A trail work session has been scheduled for August

9 primarily to repair or replace three foot bridges in the Michigan Hollow area. They all were severely damaged during the early July flash floods in the southern part of Tompkins County. The foot bridge across the road ditch cast of Shindagin Hollow Road

on the Finger Lakes Trail has been undermined by water but is not in imminent danger of collapsing.

A painted wooden sign has been posted on the Finger Lakes Trail just west of Blackman Hill Road to "commemorate" the windstorm that briefly closed the Finger Lakes Trail there. The signs read:

The "Great Blowdown" May 31, 1998

Cleared by the NYS DEC and Cayuga Trails Club

Many reports were submitted from CTC trail adop­ters after the windstorms regarding trail cmiditions. Most of the wind damage on the Finger Lakes Trail was isolated between Old 76 and Blackman Hill Roads.

5

Jason Chobot of Boy Scout Troop 38 in Owego, NY, has completed a wonderful foot bridge on the Finger Lakes Trail across the creek west of Old 76 Road. This was his Eagle Scout project. Dan Hart from Ithaca will build a foot bridge this summer across the creek west of Logan Road for his Eagle Scout project. • Archivist Fran Lauman displayed a list of charter

members of the CTC. She thought it should be given to the DeWitt Historical Society rather than placed in the CTC archives at Cornell.

• Volunteers are needed Wednesday, September 23, to work at the CTC display during the Cornell University Expo ' 98.

• Tom Reimers wrote a letter to the Town of Ithaca Supervisor stating his opposition to zoning that would allow an adult entertainment business area on Route 13 near the Finger Lakes Trail and Robert H. Treman State Park. President Andersson indicated that a decision on this proposal is expected in October.

CTC volunteers rebuilt two foot bridges on the Finger Lakes Trail in the Michigan Hollow area during the special trail work session on August 9. From left to right: Michael Kazarinoff, Jim Harriott, Tom Reimers, Linda Loomis (back), Zachary Kazarinoff (front), Betty Hansen, Peter Harriott. Photographer Suzanne Cohen not shown.

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

Route 366 Cleanup The third cleanup of the CTC's adopted highway near

Cornell University came off without any problems on Sat­urday, August 1. It was a great start to a beautiful day, sunny and warm. While two garage sales were found along the road, no one succumbed to any impulse buying. The best treasure found was a book of 15 first class stamps. Check the next letter you receive from CTC. If it's brought to you by a Liberty Statue stamp, look for Route 366 dirt! Thanks to Suzanne Cohen, Phil Dankert, Hollis Erb, Betty Hansen, Frances Lauman, Betty Lewis, Tom Reimers, and cleanup coordinator John Andersson.

11 Keeping Track" Trains Citizens in Wildlife Monitoring

The Keeping Track program, headed by wildlife biologist, Susan Morse, is coming to our area this fall. Keeping Track is a non-profit organization that trains volunteers in the identification of animal tracks and signs, and documentation of important habitats for wildlife. The focus is on certain species termed "area sensitive." These are animals like bobcats, bears, and minks, which are the first to be affected negatively by harmful human influ­ences. The data collected by local citizens can be used by landowners and planners in their decision making. Cayuga Nature Center and Rune Hill Earth Awareness Center are co-sponsoring the program. A public information session, the K eeping Track Wildlife E vont , 'Will be h e ld o n

September 17 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Ithaca Youth Bureau atrium. There will be an admission charge of $3 per person or $5 per family. This is a must for anyone interested in animals. There will be a slide show plus six tables of skins, bones, skulls, and other materials, and Susan will explain the kinds of techniques used in Keeping Track to monitor the presence of various animal species. Your whole family will enjoy this event!

,., • /

6

Asian Long-Horned Beetle Attacking Trees

.From News, New York State Department of Environ­mental Conservation, Region 8.

A long-homed beetle has been discovered recently attacking trees in Brooklyn and Amityville, NY. Its scientific name isAnoplophora glabripennis and this is the first time it has been seen infesting trees in the United States. This insect is native to Japan, Korea, and southern China where it kills trees. In New York, the beetle has been attacking maple (Acer) species, including Norway, red, sugar, silver, boxelder, and sycamore maple. Horse chestnut (Aesculus) trees have also been attacked heavily. In China, it attacks other hardwoods including elms, poplars, willows, and fruit trees. In the United States, it is important to limit its spread because it may become a significant tree pest here. A quarantine has been placed on moving raw forest products from the New York City/Long Island area to prevent spreading the insect pest to upstate New York. If you see the insect or sign of its presence, call the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation forestry office in Cortland. The number is 607/753-3095.

What to look for: • Adult beetles have 1- 1 '14-inch-long bodies with 2-

inch-long antennae. Their bodies are black with white spots, and their antennae are black and white.

• Large (Y2 inch) round holes on the branches, trunk, or roots are places where the beetles leave the trees.

• Oval, darkened places in the bark where females chew out a spot to lay their eggs.

• Large piles of sawdust around the base of trees or hnmche~ cau~ed hy b eetles exiting: from inside the trees.

1998 Deer Hunting Seasons Hikers are strongly urged to wear safety orange

clothing during deer hunting season. Deer hunting seasons for New York's Southern Zone, including the Cat-skills, are as follows: Archery: October 15 through November 15 and December

9 through December 13 Firearms: November 16 through December 8 Muzzleloader: December 9 through December 15

Please keep in mind that hunting may be allowed in parts of state parks with dates that differ from above . For more information about hunting seasons call 518/457-3521. For information about hunting in state parks call 518/474-0456.

CA YUGA TRAIL CLUB

Early Fall CTC Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes Feature New York's Only National Forest!

The Finger Lakes National Forest consists of 13,232 acres of forest, pasture, and shrub land in south central New York. The forest lies between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, which are just two of the many finger-shaped lakes formed by glaciers in this region. The Finger Lakes National Forest is the only national forest land in New York State. The Cayuga Trails Club maintains 1.8 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail that pass through the forest. The U.S. Forest Service maintains the rest of the Finger Lakes Trail as well as the 12-mile-long Interlaken Trail, a branch of the Finger Lakes Trail System.

Walk, Look, and Learn

I Hike #420

a~t~ ~ September 13: Finger U ~ ft" Lakes National Forest Ill il- Meeting Place: Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13

from K-Mart Plaza. Meeting Time: 1:00 p.m. Robin Spry-Campbell will lead the September CTC

Walk, Look, and Learn Hike in Finger Lakes National Forest. Much of the hike will be on the Ravine Trail. The Ravine Trail is about 1 mile long, including a 0.6-mile­long loop. It was originally designed to demonstrate in a short distance various types of management that have occurred at FLNF and also provide a pleasant hike through the scenic ravine area. The trail goes through shrub openings maintained for wildlife, fir plantations that were planted for Christmas trees but grew beyond usable size, native white pine stands, and a steep ravine with hemlock-covered slopes. The trail loop is located along one of the main branches of Tug Hollow Creek. Because of the steep terrain and sensitive soils, the Ravine Trail is managed by the national forest as a hiking/cross-country skiing trail only. The trail provides a short scenic hike

with opportunities to learn about natural features and past and present management practices. Call Robin at 607 /582- 652 l if you have any questions.

Walk, Look, and Learn

t Hike #421

ft ft L October 11 : Finger Lakes u uuer Nation~! Forest and adja-cent private property

Meeting Place: Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart Plaza. Meeting Time: 1 :00 p.m. Leader: Betty Lewis

This 4.5-mile hike will be on the Finger Lakes Trail from Burnt Hill Road to Satterly Hill Road near Burdett, NY. Lake views, vineyards, great vistas of forested hills, and, possibly, late leaf color. The leader will be Betty Lewis. Other high points of this hike will include beautiful woods west of Logan Road on private property, plentiful grapes, and a new foot bridge across the creek west of Logan Road (if the building plan is on schedule until then). Call Betty at 607/273-9274.

Fall FL TC Campout, Or ... What You Needn't Miss!

LAKES

Save the weekend of October 9, 10, and 11 for a Finger Lakes Trail Conference campout at Hickory Hill Campground near Bath, NY. A separate mailing to members of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference later this summer will provide registration materials and details. Members of the Cayuga Trails Club who are not members of the FLTC can call Tom Reimers (272-8679) for information and registration materials. Meanwhile contemplate spending a weekend in the hills of Steuben County during peak fall colors, hiking on t~e beloved Finger Lakes Trail, sampling the staggering views from Mossy Banks Park, and visiting nearby Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves. Indoor evening programs will include show-and­tell Friday and a Saturday slide show by published photographer, Department of Environmental Con­servation forester Jim Peek.

7

I

September 13 . . . . . . . . . . . .

September 20 .... . .... . . .

September 23

September 26

September 26

October 9 - 11 ..... .. .. .. .

October 11 ...... .. .. ... .

November 7

November 15

Cayuga Trails Club

Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #420. Finger Lakes National Forest. Meet at 1 :00 p.m. at Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart . Robin Spry-Campbell (582- 6521 ), leader. See page 7 for details. Long, fast, and informal hike #4 across Tompkins County on the Finger Lakes Trail. 10:00 a.m. Meet at the FLT crossing on Michigan Hollow Road 3 miles south of Danby. Jack Van Derzee (387-5810 or vanderze @ithaca.edu). Expo '98 at Cornell University. Volunteers needed to help with CTC display. Call John Andersson for information or to volunteer (898-3058). National Public Lands Day, Finger Lakes National Forest. Volunteers wanted. See page 2 for details. Finger Lakes Trail Conference Erv Markert Memorial Hike on the Abbott Loop. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Park and Ride lot in Danby. Jack Van Derzee (387-5810 or vanderze@ithaca.edu), leader. Finger Lakes Trail Conference Fall Campout at Hickory Hill Campground near Bath, NY. Cayuga Trails Club members welcome! See page 7 for details. Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #421 . Finger Lakes National Forest. Meet at 1 :00 p.m. at Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart. Betty Lewis (273-9274), leader. See details on page 7. Cayuga Trails Club fourth and final 1998 Adopt-A-Highway litter cleanup on NYS Route 366. Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the corner of Caldwell Road and Route 366 at 10:00 a.m. Safety gear and trash bags provided. No experience necessary. John Andersson (898-3058), leader. Cayuga Trails Club dish-to-pass supper and general membership meeting. Ellis Hollow Community Center, Genung Road, Ithaca. More information in November-December issue of Cayuga Trails .

Barbara Morse, Cayuga Trails Mailing P.O. Box 754

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID ITHACA, NY

PERMIT N0.94

Ithaca, NY 14851 -0754

Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club Founded in 1962 "to explore, enjoy, and preserve wild lands

and places of natural beauty ... "

November-December 1998 Late Fall Edition Vol. 38, Nos. 11 & 12

All Members and Guests Invited! CTC General Membership Meeting

November 15, 1998

All members of the Cayuga Trails Club are invited for socializing and a dish-to-pass supper at the General Membership Meeting on November 15, 1998. The gathering will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m. and supper at 6:00 p.m. The place is the Ellis Hollow Community Center on Genung Road between Ellis Hollow Road and Ellis Hollow Creek Road near Ithaca. Bring a dish to pass and your own place setting. Beverages will be provided.

After supper we will elect a nominating committee to propose a slate of officers to be elected at the annual meeting in January 1999. New 1998 trail adopters and maintainers and Adopt-A-Highway cleanup volunteers will be recognized with Finger Lakes Trail Worker patches and special certificates of appreciation. Members' slide presentations will then follow. You are invited to bring a maximum of 10 of your favorite slides that you think everyone would enjoy. Call Linda Loomis at 266-0715 for more information. .

Another Reminder: 1998 Deer Hunting Seasons

Hikers are strongly urged to wear safety orange clothing during deer hunting season. Deer hunting seasons for New York's Southern Zone, including the Catskills, are as follows: Archery: October 15 through November 15 and December

9 through December 13 · Firearms: November 16 through December 8 Muzzle loader: December 9 through December 15

Please keep in mind that hunting may be allowed in parts of state parks with dates that differ from above. For more information about hunting seasons call 518/457-3521. For information about hunting in state parks call 518/474-0456.

Final 1998 Route 366 Cleanup The fourth and final 1998 litter cleanup ofCTC's adop­

ted section ofNYS Route 366 will be held on November

7. This is a very important public service event for the club and volunteers are requested to participate. We will meet at 10:00 a.m. on November 7 in the Cornell "O'' parking lot near the intersection of Route 366 and Caldwell Road. Safety equipment and plastic litter bags will be provided. Bring gloves and dress for the weather.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Clearing Trail John Andersson, President

Who wants to go to meetings? Usually I don't. I have meetings at work every day and I often feel I could get more done ifl could just skip those dam meetings. Boring agendas. Telling me things I already know. Telling me things I don't want to know! Listening to poor speakers. Watching barely legible overheads. Crummy refresh­ments. You all know. So why do I sign up for meetings outside of work? Because that is where I can work for and see friends who have a common interest-hiking, of course. As an officer I have to participate in our Cayuga Trails. Club bimonthly meetings. I get to put together scintillating agendas! And we have meetings all members and guests can attend. The first is the dish-to-pass dinner on Sunday, November 15, at the Ellis Hollow Community Center. Bring a plate full of something good to eat, some tales of the trail to share, and maybe a few slides to show. I promise it won't be boring and the refreshments will be delectable.

Remember that in January we have our annual brunch and all-member annual meeting where we report on our activities for the year and elect officers. We will have an entertainment program, too! Please pencil both on your calendar and come rub elbows with fellow hiking en­thusiasts. These are two perfect opportunities to celebrate, contribute to, and plan for the Cayuga Trails Club's future.

John Andersson (left} and George Zacharek relax after a hard day's hiking during the Fall Campout of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.

2

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the an­nual Fall Campout of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference at Hickory Hills Campground near Bath, NY. Besides great meals, a really interesting dinner speaker, and the FLTC Board of Managers meeting (a meeting, yikes!), we hikers had to hike. The views from Mossy Bank Park, overlooking the city of Bath and the surrounding valley and hills, were outstanding. We also hiked along part of the Finger Lakes Trail where we saw the fall colors celebrating the change of seasons. This is one of the best times of the year to hike for temperature, humidity, views, and color. It is fun and interesting to meet fellow hikers from around the state. Over 100 hikers (a record, I'm told) enjoyed the weekend-but only three represented CTC! Next year we will do better. Ah, how do I know? Because we volunteered to host Campout 1999! And you don' t need to belong to the FLTC to participate! And we need volunteers to lead hikes and help organize the event. That' s why!

So I look forward to seeing you on November 15, in January, and next fall, but before then I hope to ... See You On The Trail!

Cayuga Trails is the official publication of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. It is published six times each year by the Cayuga Trails Club, P.O. Box 754, Ithaca, NY 1485 1-0754. Comments and original contributions are welcome and may be submitted to Tom Reimers, Editor, by mail at 3C Wildflower Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850, by fax at 607 /272-8361, or by emai l at treimers@aol.com.

#When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. "

Mark Twain

CA YUGA TRAILS

CTC Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes: Go Outside and Play!

I Walk, Look, and Learn

~ar Hike #422

~f lm~u ~~~;:~~a~~a~~~g~~~:s! Finger Lakes Trail: Bruce

Hill Road to Shady Corners Meeting Place: Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart Plaza. Meeting Time: 1 :00 p.m.

Tom Reimers will lead this 5-mile-long mostly down­hill hike from Bruce Hill Road on the Finger Lakes Trail to the junction of NYS Routes 13, 34, and 96 south of Ithaca, commonly called Shady Comers. This hike will feature great woods, wonderful gorges, and fantastic views westward towards Connecticut Hill, the highest point in Tompkins County. The hike also will pass along the relatively level stretch of Lick Brook and then take a steep downhill tum along the amazing Lick Brook Gorge on the Sweedler Nature Preserve. There's also a mile-and-a-half road walk with great views as well. Bring your binoculars and camera because this hike will be an autumnal highlight for everyone. Contact Tom (607/272-8679 or treimers@aol.com) for more information.

ftft8ftl\t~ftl ~=~#~~~k, and Learn UUUUYl~u1· ~~~~m!i~r it!~es~~~:~-

Meeting Place: Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart Plaza. Meeting Time: 1 :00 p.m.

Jack Van Derzee will lead a cross-country ski trip in Hammond Hill State Forest south of Dryden. Length of the trip will depend on the ability of the skiers who show up. In case there is no snow, we will hike instead. Ham­mond Hill State Forest is located in the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County. The 3000+ acre state forest includes many types of woods, creek valleys, and hilltops. The Cayuga Nature Center has a 90-acre rustic camp adjacent to Hammond Hill State Forest. Cross-country skiing is a major winter activity on Hammond Hill. Contact Jack at 607/387-5810 or vanderze@ithaca.edu if you have any questions.

3

About Our Members Welcome to the following new members.

Sarah Elbert

Ithaca, NY 14850

Joan Jedele & Jack Rueckheim

Freeville, NY 13068

Lisa Joyce

Ithaca, NY 14850

Ann Kugler

Ithaca, NY 14850

Robin, Osker, & Ellen Schmidt

Ithaca, NY 14850

Reyer Sjamaar

Ithaca, NY 14850

$ * $ Temporary FLT Section Closings

Two sections of the Finger Lakes Trail on private property west of Satterly Hill Road in Schuyler County will be closed temporarily during spring and fall. Hikers are asked to hike on Satterly Hill Road instead. The specific dates the trail sections are closed are May 1 through May 31 and October 12 through December 17. Signs indicating when the trail is closed have been posted.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Report on Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board of the Cayuga Trails Club met on October 6, 1998, for a regular meeting at the Ithaca­Tompkins Transit Center. Here are a few of the reports presented and actions taken at the meeting as recorded by Secretary Betty Hansen. • Betty Lewis presented the treasurer's report in the

absence of Treasurer Cliff Abbott. The checking account balance was $1,641.49; the savings account balance was not available.

• Walk, Look, and Learn Hike Chairman Jack Van Der­zee reported that Tom Reimers will lead the November hike on the Finger Lakes Trail from Bruce Hill Road to Shady Comers (NYS Routes 13, 34, 96). Jack will lead a ski or hike, depending on snow conditions, on De­cember 13 in the Hammond Hill area.

• Betty Lewis, guidebook and publications chairwoman, reported that guidebooks are continuing to sell. More sales are anticipated because of the considerable in­terest from people at Cornell's Expo '98.

• The Executive Board agreed that the annual meeting should be combined with a luncheon rather than an evening dinner. Some dissatisfaction was expressed about the food for the annual meeting at the Ramada Inn last year. A new location should be explored.

• Tom Reimers, trails chairman, reported the following. Cornell Outdoor Education students repaired a foot

bridge on the Finger Lakes Trail west of Fisher Settle­ment Road. The bridge was washed out during last spring's floods.

A landowner on Satterly Hill Road requested that the Finger Lakes Trail on property he owns and leases be closed temporarily in spring and fall. Laminated signs have been posted stating that the trail is closed May 1 through May 31 and October 12 through De­cember 17. Satterly Hill Road, with its great views south and west, was designated as an alternate route for hikers.

Repair work needs to be done on the foot bridge at Diane's Crossing before further damage occurs. Vol­unteer work will be done on October 31.

• Archivist Fran Lauman asked that any old records of club activities be saved for her to place in the club's archives in the Cornell University Library.

• Publicity Chairwoman Lois Chaplin and board mem­bers discussed difficulties in getting club activities lis­ted in local newspapers and on radio stations. The

4

Cornell Daily Sun is being considered as an additional publication to list our club activities .. • The next Adopt-A-Highway cleanup will be on

November 7. See page I for details. • Many people stopped to view the CTC exhibit and ask

questions during Expo '98 at Come! Univer~ity on September 23 at the field house. The event was called a great success for letting people know about the club.

• The club's bylaws were last reviewed and revised in 1988. President John Andersson wants them reviewed again. Tom Reimers suggested that John appoint a committee to review the bylaws and then present any revisions to the board.

• Peter Harriott suggested that someone from Cornell 's American Indian Program be invited to speak at the annual meeting in January. He recently attended a very interesting tour of Akwe:kon residence at Cornell.

Where on the Cayuga Trail was this Photo Taken?

CA YUGA TRAILS

Across Tompkins County

by Jack Van Derzee, leader The hike series across Tompkins County this past

summer was very successful. There were between 10 and 19 people on each of the five hikes. The weather was very delightful and it did not rain on any of the hikes. There were five people besides myself who completed all of the hikes. The highlight of the series was the last hike when Lucille Vieira completed her end-to-end hike of the Finger Lakes Trail. Next year I am planning to do a similar series across Cortland County. More information on that later.

Three CTC members completed a series of hikes across Tompkins County on October 4. They are (left to right) Betty Hansen, Joan Jedele, and Jack Van Derzee. Photo by Suzanne Cohen.

5

Report on Walk, Look, and Learn Hikes

#420 Date: September 13, 1998 Leader: Robin Spry-Campbell Location: Finger Lakes National Forest

Robin reported that the weather was pleasant, warm, and hazy as she led four CTC members and one guest in New York's only national forest. Hikers took the Ravine Trail to the Interlaken Trail, then north on the Interloken Trail to Foster Pond. They then headed west on the Back­bone Trail to the No-Tan-Takto Trail past the horse camp. Hikers continued on Burnt Hill Road to the Ravine Trail again. This was a nice sample of FLNF's attractions, in­cluding lovely deep ravines on each side of an esker, wild­life ponds, deep hemlock forests, numerous campsites, some views of hills to the west, and blueberries (un­fortunately not in season). No one in the group had hiked in the FLNF before.

#421 Leader: Betty Lewis Date: October 11, 1998 Distance: 4.5 miles Location: Finger Lakes National Forest and adjacent private property

October 11 was a beautifull fall day for the six hikers, including two visitors from Toronto. The drive to and from the Satterly Hill area was a constantly changing panorama of fall-colored hills and forests. From Burnt Hill Road in the Finger Lakes National Forest to Logan Road we hiked in a totally golden woods on a dry trail in spite of the rains of the previous day. Other highlights were the distant views of surrounding hills and Seneca Lake as we hiked up out the valley and over Satterly Hill. Even the sometimes daunting stream presented no challenge on this day. Although it was too late for the grapes in the aban­doned vineyards, it was reported that many quarts had been picked earlier.

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CA YUGA TRAILS

CTC Member Elected to NCT A Board of Directors

Long-time CTC member Tom Reimers was elected recently to the Board of Directors of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA). The NCTA and affiliate organ­izations, chapters, and members are responsible for or­ganizing trail construction and maintenance projects, en­listing volunteers, securing the resources needed for building trails, training trail workers, and promoting de­velopment and use of the North Country National Scenic (NCT) through outings and special events.

The NCT is one of eight national scenic trails in the U.S. When completed, it will extend approximately 3,200 miles from eastern New York to central North Dakota, having spanned seven states. Since authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1980 as the longest National Scenic Trail, almost two-thirds of the NCT is available for use. The trail is a non-motorized pathway, pnmarily used by hikers. In New York, parts of the long-established Finger Lakes Trail have been designated as official components of the NCT. Many additional miles will soon receive the des­ignation.

Tom has been a member of the NCTA since 1986 and served on its Board of Directors from 1991 to 1995. He also was the association's president for three years.

'{;:( * {;:{ Finger Lakes Trail Web Site

If you have a computer and access to the World Wide Web, be sure to check out the Web site for the Finger Lakes Trail. You can learn much about the Finger Lakes

Trail, contact officers and managers of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, plan a hike, learn what to talk along on a day hike or an extended backpacking· trip, and much more. You an even order FLT System maps and trail guides, coffee mugs, T-shirts, etc. online. The URL for the recently improved Finger Lakes Trail Web site is ...

www fingerlakes. net/trailsystem

LAKES

6

Headstart for Turtles From News, New York State Departmellt of

Ellvirollmelltal Collservation, Region 8. "Headstarting" of young turtles is a process by which

accelerated growth is achieved (in a controlled captive set­ting) by manipulation of photoperiod, length of growing season, and the use of highly nutritious diets. The process results in turtles several times larger than normal for their age, making these animals far less susceptible to pre­dation. Predation and certain other mortality factors, related to size and nutritional status, normally take up to 80% of young turtles in their initial few years of life. It is very difficult for depleted populations to recover while this bottleneck inhibits recruitment.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is a cooperator with The Nature Conservancy and the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in a project which has contributed dozens of headstarted Blanding's turtles to a study population in Dutchess County. The DEC also is coop­erating with the Burnet Park Zoo in Syracuse and SUNY Oswego in a project to return headstarted bog turtles to a wetland in Seneca County and with the Cold Spring Harbor Hatchery and Aquarium to release more than four dozen headstarted wood turtles on a wildlife management area in Albany County.

FL TC Erv Markert Memorial Hike

by Jack Van Derzee On Saturday, September 26, I lead a group of nine

hikers on the Abbott Loop for the Finger Lakes Trail Con­ference' s Erv Markert Memorial Hike. The day was excellent and the trai l was in good condition. The Abbott Loop is a hike everyone should do at least once. It is one of the nicest trails in the area. The highlight of the day was seeing fellow CTC member Joe Donovan from Auburn, NY, hiking again as strong as ever. The only negative aspect about the hike was that the leaves had not yet turned colors. I guess I will have to hike it again aft~r they do change.

CA YUGA TRAILS

Hiking and Camping Rules for DEC Public Lands

From the New York State Department of Environ­mental Conservation's Web site (www.dec.state.ny.us /website).

The rules associated with using Department of En­vironmental Conservation managed public lands in New York State for recreational purposes are relatively simple and straightforward. Hiking and backcountry camping are allowed on Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks as well on state forest areas. Generally, camping is prohibited on Unique Areas, Wildlife Man­agement Areas and other categories of state land. Hiking is generally permitted anywhere, but special requirements apply to mountain biking and horseback riding. For in­formation about specific land areas, contact the Regional Office responsible for the area.For information about state campgrounds visit that page on the DEC's Web site [see above]. The rules and guidelines for the use of New York State's public lands are in general as follows. • Except where marked by a "Camp Here" disk, camping

is prohibited within 150 feet of roads, trails, lakes, ponds, streams, or other bodies of water.

• Groups of ten or more persons or stays of more than three days in one place require a permit from the New York State Forest Ranger responsible for the area.

• Lean-tos are available in many area on a first-come first-served basis. Lean-tos cannot be used exclusively and must be shared with other campers.

• Use pit privies provided near popular camping areas and trailheads. If none is available, dispose of human waste by digging a hole 6"-8" deep at least 150 feet from water or campsites. Cover with leaves and soil.

• Do not use soap or wash yourself, clothing, or dishes within 150 feet of water.

• Drinking and cooking water should be boiled for 5 minutes, treated with purifying tablets, or filtered through a filtration device to prevent instances of giardia infection.

• Fires should be built in existing fire pits or fireplaces if provided. Use only dead and down wood for fires. Cutting standing trees is prohibited. Extinguish all fires with water and stir ashes until they are cold to the touch. Do not build fires in areas marked by a "No Fires" disk. Camp stoves are safer, more efficient, and cleaner.

• Carry out what you carry in. Practice "leave no trace" camping and hiking.

7

• Keep your pet under control. Restrain it on a leash when others approach. Collect and bury droppings away from water, trails, and camp sites. Keep your pet away from drinking water sources.

• Observe and enjoy wildlife and plants but leave them undisturbed.

• Removing plants, rocks, fossils, or artifacts from state land without a permit is illegal.

• The storage of personal property on state land is pro­hibited.

• Except in an emergency or between December 15 and April 30, camping is prohibited above an elevation of 4000 feet in the Adirondacks.

• Except in an emergency or between December 21 and March 21, camping is prohibited above an elevation of 3500 feet in the Catskills.

• At all times, only emergency fires are permitted above 4000 feet in the Adirondacks and 3500 feet in the Catskills.

Moose on the Loose No More

From News, New York State Departme1tt of E1tvironmental Conservation, Region 8.

A female moose was returned successfully to suitable habitat in the Adirondack Mountains from suburban Rochester on July 16 by a team of law enforcement and wildlife professionals. Residents of suburban Webster were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife experience by this 2-year-old wayward moose which wandered further west in New York than any moose had ever been. Concern for public safety, as well as the moose's well being, prompted Bureau of Wildlife professionals to relocate this 700-pound animal back to the Newcomb, NY, region.

Capture was accomplished successfully by remotely tranquilizing the animal and lifting it into a modified horse trailer. The moose was released later the same day at Huntington Forest, a forested preserve and research area managed by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The moose was fitted with a radio collar and will be followed from time to time to be sure the relocation is successful.

There are believed to be nearly l 00 moose in New York. Suitable habitats exist in the Adirondack region of New York where forest cover and less human settlement combine to off er homes for a growing moose population

Saturday, November 7 ........ Cayuga Trails Club fourth and final 1998 Adopt-A-Highway litter cleanup on NYS Route 366. Meet in the Cornell "O" parking lot at the corner of Caldwell Road and Route 366 at 10:00 a.m. Safety gear and trash bags provided. No experience necessary. John Andersson (898-3058) , leader.

Sunday, November 8 ...... ... Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #422. Finger Lakes Trail from Bruce Hill Road to Shady Corners. Meet at 1 :00 p.m. at the Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart. Tom Reimers (272-8679), leader. See page 3 for details.

Sunday, November 15 ... . ..... Cayuga Trails Club General Membership Meeting and dish-to-pass supper. Ellis Hollow Community Center on Genung Road, Ithaca. Social at 5:30 p.m. and supper at 6:00 p.m. See page 1 for details. Call Linda Loomis at 266-0715 for more information.

Tuesday, December 1 .... . .... Executive Board meeting. Ithaca-Tompkins Transit Center on Willow Avenue, 7:30 p.m . Members welcome.

Sunday, December 13 ....... . Walk, Look, and Learn Hike #423. Hammond Hill State Forest. Cross­country ski. Hike if no snow. Meet at 1 :00 p.m. at the Ithaca Shopping Plaza near Taco Bell across NYS Route 13 from K-Mart . Jack Van Derzee (387-5810), leader.

Tuesday, December 15 ...... . . Deadline for submitting materials for the January-February 1999 issue of Cayuga Trails.

Sunday, January 17, 1999 ..... Cayuga Trails Club Annual Meeting with luncheon buffet. More information in the January-February issue of Cayuga Trails.

Cayuga Trails Club, Inc. Barbara Morse, Cayuga Trails Mailing P.O. Box 754 Ithaca, NY 14851 -0754

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S . POSTAGE

PAID IT HACA, NY

PERMIT NO. 94