Author Archives: happiness-in-hiking

October has arrived – 2015. (UPDATED) and also time to think Winter hike planning

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Yes, October has arrived in 2015!  That means fall foliage viewing (monikered “leaf peeping” by some folks), and things like the 50th annual Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival, Bristol Mountain skyrides, 40th annual Letchworth Arts & Craft Festival (also) in Letchworth S.P on Columbus Day weekend, fall foliage trolley rides  & pumpkins and trick-or-treating (on Saturday 10/24) at the NYMT and also RGVRRM train rides.   (Some S/T hikers may recall the April 19th, 2015 hike starting at NYMT and may also recall some hiker interest shown in seasonal train rides & trolley rides offered in both Autumn foliage season and also near Christmas, as well as summer.)

This October also brings a very unique opportunity in Western NY for hikers and historic canal appreciators.  The 2015 October Fall Field Trip of the Canal Society of NYS is focusing on the former Genesee Valley Canal, and more specifically the southern portion.  The Fall Field Trip scheduled for October 23&24, 2015, is based out of Mt Morris, NY, with multiple visits to substantial parts of the former Genesee Valley Canal.  Sound interesting?  The details can be found at the above hyperlink provided, or click ⇒ October 2015 Field Trip schedule details.

Also of note, for folks interested in canals in NYS, is an official website publication of the NYS Canal Commission. ⇒  New York State Canal System .                                        .
Of course, October conjures ghosts, goblins, witches, and Halloween at the end of the month. And too, October brings Jack-o-lanterns, quintessentially Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers’ MONSTER MASH (Yep, Drac’ is back with all his friends and is cool with being part of the band, despite not much play on that Transylvania Twist), and Pumpkin Spice beer.  October also brings high hopes of delicious homemade casseroles and wholesome healthy vegetable dishes, in sync with a bountiful harvest season, at S/T after-hike socials (hint), Just Sayin’.  Beautiful Autumnal colors can abound on trees and underfoot along hiking trails.  Fresh fallen leaves can bring beauty and hiking cushioning and the “crunching” sounds of treading on dried leaves, as well, slipping challenges may now exist in wet conditions.  Thus, October, November and December may bring to mind use of Traction Devices (TDs) for hiking which are easily donned and doffed upon hiking boots & shoes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           .
October, … ah yes, that “Turkish Carpet” on the ground surrounding the Finger Lakes certainly has its beauty in a multitude of ways.   Bright reds, oranges, and Yellows, and some tans & browns, all abound around us.                                                    .                                                                                                                                                                        .
On a different topic of salience, October is Disabilty Awareness month, and at least one S/T hike in October (the 10/18 Avon hike) has a routing suitable for Flatlanders (hikers and would be hikers with mobility limitations).  We’ve had others in the past and will have more in the future. Many hike locales do not lend well to limited mobility hikes, but when a locale does, … well, seize the opportunity may be in accord.                                                                         .                                                                                                                               .
 More hike thoughts – October 10th, 2015 brings the last Saturday series hike for the Ontario Pathways guided hikes, albeit a bit of a travel for many S/T hikers to northeastern corner of Ontario County. As well, October 2015 brings the seventh and last 2015 Genesee Valley Greenway State Park Interpretive Hike on second Saturdays of the month April thru October, but being the hike series runs for two years (2015 & 2016) there will be seven more hikes in the series starting in April 2016.            .                                                                                                                                                                                  .
Our own S/T hikes in October take a tour of various towns, with the first hike being a gully/creek hike, in yes Springwater. Then hike locales in South Bristol/Canadice, Avon/Caledonia, and Hornell/Almond (update – the trail section chosen for this hike has been shifted eastward, so we’ll be in Hornellsville only).   And speaking of hikes… what about Winter, not rushing things mind you.
                                                                                                                                                    .
October also is a time when fore-thinking hikers will start to consider Winter hikes for possibilities of Hike Planning.  Mendon Ponds Winterfest in January on (1/17/2016) the Sunday of MLK Jr holiday weekend is scheduled.  And a tentative hike/snowshoe/ski with a tenuous date of February 7th, 2016 at the Town of Rush Park at 6565 ERR and the adjacent NYMT at 6393 East River Rd is under consideration.  What favored hike as a reader of this article, might you like to see on the Winter 2016 S/T Hike Schedule.  OK.  Suggest it and hopefully Hike Plan it for benefit of your fellow S/T hikers!     .                                                                                                                                                       .
Please bring Winter 2016 hiking season (January-March) Hike Plan proposals and offers on October 25th to the Sunday hike and we will start putting the Winter hike schedule together on 10/25 and thereafter.
One last tidbit of potpourri. Remembering the hikes we’ve had in Letchworth State Park, and particularly the combo hike event (June 2014) that provided for a tour of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Mount Morris Dam for flood control, you may be interested to learn a bit about present day debris removal at the dam.  There were questions about this in hikers’ discussions following the dam tour & hike.
                                                           .
Now that you’ve read; if you’ve laughed, or learned, or are now thinking about Hike Planning a Winter hike for S/T, well, … then it would be an author’s success.

A busy latter half of September 2015

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Well, Springwater Fiddlers Fair 2015 is now history, and so too the rains that periodically fell on the day of Saturday, Sept 19th, 2015.  Thanks go to all volunteers and participants!

Now, looking ahead in time-frame ’til the end of September, we find other activities and options on the Springwater Trails calendar plentiful, as evidenced by the listings on the righthand column of the website homepage.

And too, for hikers looking to take in a unique opportunity on Sunday, Sept 27th, 2015 just prior the 2:00PM S/T hike in Nunda, there is the long standing annual community celebration of St Michael’s Day (St Michael’s Feast Day) in form of a community Pig Roast and music by Steel Alchemy community steel drum band and also by The Geneseo String Band.  All held on the front lawn of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Geneseo, at 23 Main Street, starting approx 11:45AM or so (commencing following the 10:30AM worship services).  This is a free community outreach event, no admittance fee or donation required.   All are welcome, to church worship services and/or the St Michael’s Day Feast celebration, whether “dressed to the nines” or in hiking attire or work clothes.  – – A number of S/T hikers have indicated interest and intent to go prior to the hike.  If you go, you may find yourself torn in prying yourself away in time to make it to the hike, with all the great music, food, and community celebration. – –   (If you really want to make a donation in appreciation of this celebration, one would guess that a non-perishable donation for the community food drive would be greatly appreciated, albeit not even suggested in the event announcement.)

Some other happenings. *** In 2015, Autumnal Equinox is Sept 23, Wednesday. (The S/T website has an article of the kin Vernal Equinox.)    ***A full moon, this one also sometimes called a blood moon, as the moon turns red, will delight in a Total Lunar Eclipse on Sept 27th-28th, Sunday into Monday, visible in our Finger Lakes Region of NYS.   (Total eclipse event starts at 8:11PM Sunday, is at maximum at 10:47PM Sunday, and ends at 1:22AM on Monday.)    And perhaps also of interest to S/T hikers Sunday, Sept 27th Sunset is 6:59PM, while Moonrise is 6:51PM.   (This full moon is a “supermoon”, so moonrise will be spectacular for viewing).

National Hunting & Fishing Days are Sat & Sun 9/26 & 27/2015, and in recognition an event will be held at Mumford Sportsmen’s Club, 8667 Gulf Rd, Mumford, NY, both days 10AM-5PM.  Co-sponsored by NYSDEC and organizer Livingston County Federation of Sporting Clubs.  Numerous vendors, displays, and activities related to conservation/wildlife take place during these two days.

One last note on celestial bodies, light, hiking, and after-hike socials.  Sunday, Nov 22, 2015 (three days from full moon) with sunset at 4:41PM and moonrise at 3:29PM could possibly work for an outdoor after-hike social, if conditions otherwise lend themselves. At discretion of the Hike Planner of that day’s hike. Of course, for such possibilities having in place a “Plan B” is always a good thing.  Autumn 2015 (Springwater Trails hiking season) Full Moons: Oct 27, Nov 25, Dec 25 (Christmas Day).

Latitude/Longitude for navigation and your GPS unit

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Information herein about Latitude and Longitude coordinates applies for use with a GPS unit, whether using in road travels or hiking.  The info also applies for map reading (and map & compass pursuits).  Herein is an easily explained primer about Latitude and Longitude.

Many folks these days refer to latitude and longitude coordinates as GPS coordinates or GPS coords (or GPS cords) for short.  They also can be referred to as map coordinates, and have been so long before the advent of the GPS unit.  (GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System.)

[ For mindset, an example of a listing of latitude and longitude coordinates is:  42.637310, -77.596007 ].  This coordinate notation method utilizes degrees in a full decimal notation or format.

[The same locale listed differently (using degrees ° , minutes ‘ , seconds ” and a decimal included within seconds) is: 42°38’14.3″N 77°35’45.6″W .  For sake of ease for right now, let’s stick with the full decimal form of degrees (which has 6 decimal places s listed above) for our first identification of latitude and longitude.]

In coordinates, latitude is listed first (and then longitude), so consider the coordinate listing system as alphabetical. And if you use the mnemonic “changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes”, as Jimmy Buffet proffers in his song, you can remember that changing of seasons and temperatures is associated with latitudes (thus further north or further south). Continuing further explanation, alphabetically North comes before South, and likewise North is over South, thus the southern hemisphere (southern latitudes) being below the equator has an assigned minus (-), while the northern hemisphere (northern latitudes) where we in New York & all of the US are has no preceding minus (-) in latitude.

In coordinates, longitude is listed second (read last). In longitude, the US is in the minus (-) half of longitudes, it lies west of the Prime Meridian. (The Prime Meridian is an imaginary north/south axis line labeled as longitude zero; it passes thru Greenwich, England the site of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.) Being that the continental US (and Hawaii, most of Alaska, and North & South America) lies to the West of the Prime Meridian, the US is in the western hemisphere and considered West Longitude. Again alphabetically, East is before West so logically the latter (West Longitude) gets a minus (-) assigned to it in longitude, while East Longitude (think Europe, Asia, Africa) has no preceding minus (-) in longitude.

What lies 180 degrees, half way around the globe from the Prime Meridian, you ask? Well, it is the antimeridian aka the 180th meridian aka 180th parallel. What about the “International Date Line” (IDL)? Well, the IDL roughly approximates the antimeridian, but deviates to pass around some island groups and territories. No time herein to start talking about “time zones”, but there are commonalities to meridians. What about Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)? Yep, related to that Prime Meridian, but again not talking about it herein.

Close to home, utilizing this latitude/longitude coding system in degrees and decimal, the “four corners in Springwater, NY” can be represented as approximately 42.637310, -77.596007   This decimal notation is but one of a number of ways to code latitude and longitude. Utilizing degrees, minutes, and seconds of measure is but another, and it is this system (degrees, minutes, seconds) that is more likely utilized on a traditional paper map.

You can see the latitude/longitude system as a type of grid. Visualizing can make for easy, “ah-ha” understanding. Cropped from an article, the latitude/longitude grid of the continental US (below) may help you to easily identify with the concept. The cropped segment is provided chiefly for viewing the grid, but if you wish you can take up on the accompanying prose, and even take a look at the article in entirety. The prose accompanying this grid does not utilize decimal listing of lat/long, it uses degrees, minutes (‘), and seconds (“). The decimal listing of lat/long is most easily utilized in a GPS unit geared toward driving destinations.

If you know more than you did before reading this segment, Great!, … and now you can consider it as a primer for when S/T hikes may utilize navigational coordinates (aka Lat/Long coordinates, aka GPS coordinates), … perhaps a future hike with a Geocaching or Orienteering component.

—- cropped segment of an article (below), including the lat/long grid of the US —-

It is worth taking a few seconds to memorize the following numbers. It will help you to use latitude and longitude more effectively:

1 degree = 70 miles
1′ = 1.2 miles
1″ = .02 miles
united-states-latitude-longitude
Example:
Los Angeles
34° 3′ 8″ N / 118° 14′ 34″ W
34 degrees 3 minutes 8 seconds North / 118 degrees 14 minutes 34 seconds West
The map shown above only shows the major degrees. However as you can see, even the coordinates 34° N / 118° W will enable you to sight fairly quickly on the map where Los Angeles is located. If we had a map which indicated ‘minutes’, then you could distinguish down to approximately a mile. If the map indicated “seconds”, then you could pinpoint the exact center down to approximately 100 feet. Think of it as grids within grids… It’s just a matter of having the right map which overlays latitude and longitude down to the resolution that resolves for your purpose.

 

Letchworth State Park, historic 1919 report for use in a Hike Plan

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An historic 1919 report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, transmitted (published) to the NYS Legislature in April 1920.  Each year the Society published an annual report reviewing activities in each of the parks and historical sites they oversaw.  One such report was the 25th annual report, which contains a interesting look at the young Letchworth State Park.  The Society operated Letchworth State Park from the time of William Prior Letchworth’s death, (December 1, 1910) until 1930.  Letchworth had gifted the park in 1907 to NYS, subject only to his life use and tenancy.

Perhaps an interesting reference for inclusion in a Hike Announcement for a Letchworth State Park hike, and/or impetus to Hike Plan in a particular area of the park.   hyperlink is —   http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/AHSPA%201919%20Report.html

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Additionally of note about Letchworth State Park area and its history:  Friends of Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG) some years back (June 15, 2002) sponsored two guided interpretive hikes of eastern Letchworth State Park, including some info about the geology of the area and info about Genesee Valley Canal of long ago.  A June 3, 2002 article about these hikes ran in the Westside News (a newspaper of Spencerport and perhaps some other outlying western suburbs of Rochester).  The article contents are here:

(start of newspaper article)⇒

Canal history focus of two Greenway Walks

Two of the area’s most well known and respected canal historians will both be leading walks on the Genesee Valley Greenway within Letchworth State Park on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15. Each event will focus on a separate aspect of the history of the Genesee Valley Canal which played a major role in the development of western New York and transported passengers, agricultural products, gypsum, lumber, and manufactured goods from 1840 to 1878 between the Erie Canal in Rochester and the Allegany River near Olean.
At 2 p.m., Dave Kipp, Genesee Valley Canal historian, and author of Locking the Heights: The Rise and Demise of the Genesee Valley Canal, will share his extensive knowledge of the canal’s history during a walk along the canal towpath next to stone canal locks #54 to 60. The locks are located within the one-mile section of Genesee Valley Greenway between Oakland and Short Tract Roads in the Town of Portage and are visible from Route 436 between Nunda and Portageville. This series of seven locks is the best preserved of 17 locks built to negotiate the change in elevation between the Keshequa Creek Valley in Nunda and the glacial moraine in Portage. This walk will begin at the Greenway’s Oakland Road parking area, located at the intersection of Oakland Road an Route 436, 1.5 miles west of Nunda.
At 3:30 p.m., Tom Grasso, Genesee Valley Canal historian and lecturer and president of the Canal Society of New York State, will lead a two-mile walk along the former canal towpath (now Genesee Valley Greenway) from the Letchworth State Park Parade Grounds to the famous Slide Area and Portage Hill Tunnel. Grasso, a geologist, will explain how the land forms and geology of the area challenged and directed the efforts of canal builders. Grasso will describe how the Slide Area was formed and why it created never-ending maintenance expenditures for canal and railroad operators. Grasso will also discuss the tunnels envisioned and started by the canal builders, the pinning of the canal to the top of the gorge walls, and the means chosen to cross an ancient river bed. The walk will begin at the Letchworth State Park Parade Grounds parking lot on the east side of the park.
After the walks, the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway will host a silent auction, chicken barbecue and barn dance at Ravenwood Farms, located on-half mile north of Route 436 at 9174 Short Tract Road in the Town of Portage. Short Tract Road is 2.5 miles west of Nunda. Funds raised will help support the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway’s public outreach, interpretation, and trail maintenance efforts. The Silent Auction will begin at 5 p.m. The chicken barbecue will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. From 8 p.m. to midnight, the Starlight Ramblers will entertain at a square dance in the large hay barn at Ravenwood Farms.
Tickets for the chicken barbecue are $7/person or $4/person for a half portion. Take-outs will be available. Barn dance tickets are $5/person. A special barbecue and barn dance ticket can be purchased for $10. Tickets can be purchased at Byrnes Pharmacy, and McMaster Pontiac-GMC in Nunda, from Nunda Kiwanis members and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway office, or at the door. ⇐(end of newspaper article)