Monthly Archives: February 2014

Hiking the Snowmobile Trail in the Fog

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foggy hill at top of C-4

foggy hill at top of C-4

“It’s pretty foggy in Honeoye! Are we still hiking?” asked one hiker on his way south to our scheduled Sunday hike on the C-4 Snowmobile Trail. This area is known for it’s high elevations located in the far southeastern section of Livingston County, bordering Ontario and Steuben Counties. My eyes kept looking at the fog covered hills thinking…. what if we can’t see in front of us and get lost up there? Should we tie a rope to everyone to keep them together if visability is poor? I think I have read some survival stories about people getting lost in the fog and it was definately hypothermia weather.

Schum Acres Dairy Farm milks 1000 cattle

Schum Acres Dairy Farm milks 1000 cattle

As I approached our designated meeting spot at Schum Acres my fears quickly passed as I felt a little more confident that Rick and I previewed the trails a few days before, scanning the area in detail for over 5 hours, identifying the C-4, S44 and HVC 14 trails, following the markers, fields, woods and structures that could guide us if there were no snowmobile paths to follow. The scenic views were beautiful on the preview day, but the fog today would not allow the valley, hills and windmills of the surrounding area to be visible. Luckily a wet snow and 26 degree temperature with no wind created a beautiful day for hiking with no need of snowshoes.

hiking in the fog

hiking in the fog

Our car poolers got a little confused at the beginning of the hike as to the location to start our hike.  We intended to start at the intersection of Lanning and Richards Road which is accessed from Garlinghouse Rd in Naples, Ontario County. But some drivers thought we were starting at the Springwater end of Richards Road on the Livingston County side of the mountain. A quick phone call (good thing cells worked in this area) allowed the lost cars to eventually find us. Lanning Road was a little slushy, allowing only 4 wheel drive vehicles to make the climb to our starting location.

preview hike of surrounding area with no fog

preview hike of surrounding area with no fog

Climbers took off while Tourists and Naturalists got a bit late start assisting others. Thanks Bob! A reminder to drivers that park on hills in icy road conditions…make sure your emergency brake is on, stay away from the back of the car and if it starts to slide, don’t try to stop it, you’re not superman or superwoman (although Pam and Rick think they are!)

C-4 snowmobile trail 0166 Naturalists hiked the flat seasonal road of Richards Road to Pardee Hollow and returned. Comments included beautiful, peaceful, quiet, an easily traveled secluded road also perfect for cross country skiing, led to enjoyment by all. Tourists and Climbers got a strenuous hike right from the start, hiking 200′ up Richards Road to the top of the Arena Farm. From there Climbers turned left to find the HVC 14 feeder trail that definitely passed through Wolfs Gull, rather than dropping into another section of the upper gull as was done last year. Good hiking boots, ice traks, moleskins and poles helped to make our winter hikes more enjoyable, especially descents into deep gully areas such as Wolfs Gull.

richards road and brenin's BD 014Tourists came upon several interesting structures following the main C-4 snowmobile route, including a lean too, outhouse, elaborate tree stands, a logging operation, old fashion windmill, and corn fields. Mac enjoyed being carried most of the way which put another 30 pounds on Mark front. Although evidence of snowmobiles had passed through the area, none were seen or heard.
Tourists finished their hike in a little over an hour and proceeded to walk into Wolf’s Gull at it’s exit on Garlinghouse Road to meet the climbers.

returning climbers out of wolf's gull

Tourists met the climbers coming out of Wolf’s gull

After hike social and chicken and biscuits were enjoyed at the Mountain View Restaurant in Atlanta where a long lost hiker found us. Missing for 3 months with a knee injury, welcome back Norm!
Bye to one of our regular hikers, Marty, who is off to New Zealand for 3 months. Thanks to Schum Acres, Mike Arena, Mr. Shipman, and Mr. Bauer for allowing us access to your land and to the Honeoye Hill and Valley Riders for allowing us to use the snowmobile trail. We’ll be back to do another section of the snowmobile trail from Coates Road to Warner Road on Feb. 16th.

Add Color! Put pictures into your posts.

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AddPostThere is a saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  At least a picture makes your post more attractive.

Adding a picture is quite easy. First you want to save the picture on your computer and resize it so you can upload it quickly and so viewers don’t have to wait long to see it.

  1. Load your pictures onto your computer.  (Remember where they are!!)
  2. Use a simple image editor to create a low resolution picture for the web.  This will speed things up.  In Windows, I use Paint to open the picture and use the Resize command to make the picture about 600×800.  For HD pictures from my phone,I scale the picture to 25% of the original.  Use the Crop command to get rid of parts of the picture you do not want.
  3. Then save the picture with a new name (like IMG1023_Web.jpg if the original is IMG1023.jpg).  That way you don’t lose the high resolution picture if you want to print it.

addMediaNow you can upload the picture to the website as you edit your post.

  1. When adding your post, click at the spot where you want to insert the picture and click on Add Media at the top.
  2. You can drag your picture to the popup window or click on Select Files to find your picture.

alignment

You will want to select an Alignment – either the left or right side of the column.  I find I like to alternate between right and left alingment. Also, set the Size to Medium.  And enter a caption if you wish.

Updated Feb 3, 2014

Pam is getting proficient at adding reports about our hikes. However, the pictures are still frustrating to her.  So here are some hints to help with pictures.

The most common problem I have seen is caused by how the pictures are displayed.  In order to support different width browsers, pictures will float.  I have suggested that you alternate between aligning on the left and right.  This staggers the pictures and tends to avoid getting them on top of each other.  Since the setup doesn’t actually allow pictures on top of each other, the lower one will often float down (I guess I should say sink down) with results that can be surprising.  So, here is my hint:

Put in your words first.  This allows you to focus on your story.  Get the flow right.  Edit your story until you are happy with it.  You may want to use your favorite editor and paste it into the blog editor when you like how it reads.

Add one picture per paragraph.  This separates your pictures and makes it easier to read.  To add a picture, click at the beginning of the paragraph, and then click on the Add Media button.  The paragraph will get pushed to one side to make room for the picture.

Add more pictures as a gallery.  If you have more than one picture per paragraph, you can add a picture gallery at the end of your post.

  1. Click your mouse after the last bit of text.
  2. Press the Add Media button
  3. Click on Create Gallery on the left sidebar.  You still will be looking at the Media Library, although it will say Create Gallery at the top, rather than Insert Media.  You can upload more pictures by dragging them from your computer to the browser.
  4. Click on the pictures you want to include in the gallery.  You will see that they are checked.
  5. Click on Create Gallery button in the lower right corner.
  6. There are three settings:  Link to Attachment Page, Columns: 3, and Random Order.  

    1. Link to Attachment Page means that when a user clicks on the picture, they will get a page with a title and your caption and a larger picture.
      Link to Media File will bring up just the picture at full resolution.
      Since Link to Attachment Page is faster, I prefer it.
    2. Columns 3 is clear.  Don’t go above 3 columns because our newsletter column is narrow.
    3. Checking Random Order causes the gallery to rearrange each time you view it.
  7. Finally click on the Insert Gallery button in the lower right.

February 9th Hike at Ontario County Park – 2:00 to 4:00 PM

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Weather Update:  Lots of snow up on Gannett Hill.  Snow shoes are highly recommended for our hike. Skiing will be difficult through the deep snow. Check the temperature before you head out and dress in layers.

Ontario ParkOntario County Park is a gem hidden in our own back yard.  I am anxious to reveal it to those who have not explored its beauty. The fields and forests are peaceful in winter.  The view from atop Gannett Hill is inspiring.   Our groups will all begin their hikes from there. Not to worry, you will get to do some climbing on the way back up.  With so many trails available it is difficult to select the routes.  But as hike planner I must make these difficult choices. Of course hike leaders are free to diverge from the plan. Please take a minute to read some history of Ontario County Park.  You may also want a brochure showing all of the trails inside the park.To access a brochure with photos and maps of the park trails please go to the following link.

Please come prepared for the weather.  It can be cold and windy in February, especially at 2,160 feet elevation.  Bring Snowshoes if there is snow cover. Micro spikes or Yax trax would be a good idea in case of slippery footing.  Skis would be OK if you ar going to stick to the park and day trails.

The easiest route is to take NY 64 to Bristol Springs and turn west on Gannett Hill Rd.  There is a sign indicating Ontario County Park.  At the top of the hill turn right onto  South Gannett Hill Road.  The  park entrance is straight ahead.    Follow the park road for about .5 miles to our meeting place which is the parking area along the park road near the information kiosk.  Look for the Springwater Trails sign.

Naturalists will wander through the park trails in the shelter of hardwoods and pines, following the  purple and green loops for approximately 1.5 miles.  If they are feeling ambitious, there is also a loop of about .5 miles around a pond near the park entrance.  Hopefully Gene will be available to head this group.

Tourists will explore the moderately hilly mountain bike trails that traverse the hillsides, for a total of about 3 miles.  Melissa will lead this group.

Climbers can test their endurance on the Finger Lakes trail and/or the yellow loop that leads down the mountain and then back up fro a two hour journey. We will need to recruit a leader for this group.

Social:  After our hike, weather permitting, we will picnic in the park at one of the pavilions.  Please bring something yummy to share.  We will have camp stoves on which to cook or heat things up.  If the weather is not conducive to alfresco dining we will convene at Brew and Brats  http://www.brewandbrats.com/ in Bristol Springs.  Directions will be available at the hike.

By the way, the Ontario Pathways Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner will be held at the Holiday Harbor Club House, Canandaigua, from 4:00 to 8:00 Sunday. Speaker will be Marty Dodge, former FLCC conservation professor.   Any hikers interested in attending their meeting (with their yummy dish to pass) are encouraged to do so.