Springwater Trails hikers have opportunity to hike with other hikers at the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC) 2015 annual Howard Beye hike to be held Saturday, January 10th 2015, 10:00AM start time.  Finish time best guess is perhaps around 1:00PM or so.  (Participation in the Howard Beye Winter Hike by Springwater Trails has become a tradition, an auxiliary Springwater Trails event.)   This year the hike is an approximately 6 mile hike on the Letchworth Branch Trail of the Finger Lakes Trail; between access point C at Hogsback Overlook and Access point E on River Rd; located in the north end of Letchworth State Park on the eastern side.   Meet at access point C for the hike start. More details by “clicking on” the hyperlink provided above or by viewing the fltconference.org website.

Trail terrain in this area is mixed rolling hills and relatively flat with some small creek crossings, NO big hills!  Springwater Trails hiking group hiked some of this trail route previously, most recently on our 6/1/2014 hike.

This hike is being held on the eastern side of Letchworth State Park; there is no park admittance fee on the eastern side of the park.

Hogsback Overlook is on Visitor Center Road a short distance south of the Mt Morris Dam Visitor’s Center.  Visitor Center Rd is accessed via NYS Rt 408 south of the Village of Mount Morris.

Mendon Ponds Winterfest held annually on a Sunday in mid-January (Sunday Jan18,2015 will be the 20th annual) at various venues in Mendon Ponds Park, provides a gambit of winter outdoor activities and possibilities.  Free admission. Hiking, snowshoing, orienteering (free), opportunities to try some winter equipment, skiing, ice fishing, ice kiting, and much more.    2014 activities list and schedule is included as a sampling to whet you appetite.  Highly suggest scheduling our S/T hike that can coincide with this event.

If you love Winter, don’t miss this week’s hike. Springwater Trails will be exploring a portion of Mendon Ponds Park in conjunction with the annual Mendon Ponds Winterfest. Activities at the park begin at 11:00 AM and continue throughout the day until 4:00. The weather promises to be a toasty 40 degrees, perfect for enjoying the outdoors. For a listing of events go to www.mendonpondswinterfest.org.  You are sure to find something exciting.

Our hike will begin later than usual, to allow folks to sample the myriad of events, and also to avoid some potential parking congestion.  Hikers should convene at the HopkinsPoint Lodge at about 2:45, to depart on our hike promptly at 3:00. If there are no parking spots you can park at the Pond View Shelter or on the access road. Our after hike social will be a the Hopkins Point Lodge so if you are bringing a dish to share you can leave it there. (Please label it as belonging to Springwater Trails or else it might be mistaken as belonging to the ravenous Rochester Orienteering Club).

Naturalist Hike 

Leaving the lodge, Naturalists will climb a short hill to access the West Esker Trail, Orange blazes.  This loop is 1.5 miles.  The hike can be extended by .67 miles continuing along the shore of Deep Pond on the green Devil’s Bathtub Trail to the Algonkian Shelter with a return to the Hopkins Point Lodge.  At this time of year there is minimal flora and fauna to observe, but knowing our group they will find some interesting items. The trail is mostly level.  Mark has offered to lead this group.

Tourist and Climbers Hike

This group will begin climbing up  to the West Esker Trail then branching off on the Devil’s Bathtub (Green) trail to the Grasslands Trail (Blue).  There are a couple of short climbs, with a total of 3.5 miles. There are some nice views of the “bathtub” on the return trip. The loop will return us to the Hopkins Point Lodge.  Melissa will lead this group.

Trail Conditions

As of Monday afternoon, there was enough snow for the use of snow shoes.  Traction devices are advisable.

Directions

Note: As of Monday afternoon Hopkins Point Rd is not plowed from Rt 65 to the lodge access.

To Hopkins Point Lodge from points south: NY 65 north to Canfield Rd. turn right.  Turn right on Hopkins Point Rd follow to lodge on right.

From North:  NY 65 south.  Left on Canfield Rd..  Right on Hopkins Point Rd,   Follow to lodge on right.

Map of Mendon Ponds Park available at http://www2.monroecounty.gov/files/parks/Maps/MendonPark.pdf

After Hike Social

We will meet at the Hopkins Point Lodge at about 5:00 following the hikes.  Please bring a dish to share or make a contribution.  Please label all items left at the lodge prior to the hike,  There should be  a fire going as well as electric if you need to plug in a crock pot.

Hope to see you all there!

4th Annual Hiker’s Jamboree, Saturday, February 14th, 2015 10:00AM ’til approx 12:00Noon.  Sponsored by Penfield Trails Committee, to be held at Penfield Town Hall, 3100 Atlantic Ave (aka NYS Rt 286), located just east of Jackson Rd and west of Fairport Nine Mile Point Rd (aka NYS Rt 250).

This  is a free event, no admittance fee.  This event is not an actual hike itself, it is about hiking topics and concerns, etc.

				Penfield Trails Penfield Trails
				View on penfieldrec.org	Preview by Yahoo

 If you look at the guided hikes schedule for 2014 – Guided Hikes Schedule

				Guided Hikes Schedule Guided Hikes Schedule
				View on www.penfieldrec.org	Preview by Yahoo

you will find that Saturday Feb 15, 2014 10:00-12:00Noon was the 3rd annual Hikers Jamboree and a bit of a description is given.   I just thought to look this up & include after I already gave my above dissertation.]

We will be trying something new on the last Sunday of Winter Break for our schools: a family outing at the winter lodge located in the southern end of Letchworth State Park. There is a tubing hill behind the lodge and the lodge provides inner tubes for the kids (or kid wanna-be’s). There are numerous trails to ski, snowshoe and hike, encompassing the general area around the winter lodge.

The lodge offers a warm cozy atmosphere with a large round fireplace to escape the blistering winter cold that we’ve been experiencing this year.  There are 12 picnic tables inside the lodge with 120 AC outlets located nearby for crock pots. There is also a concession stand that is open on the weekends. There are heated restrooms with inside and outside access.

We will have our social in the lodge after the hike. Bring a dish to pass or feel free to contribute a small donation. The wood-burning fireplace is fired up for anyone that wishes to try  cooking a hot dog over the open fire(my favorite).

Things to note:  The workers leave at 4:00pm and lock up the tubes but the hill is still open to sliding provided you have your own tube. CAUTION; only inflatable sleding devices are allowed on the hill.

Directions:

From Dansville; at second red light downtown, turn onto 436 and drive 20.7 miles. Turn right onto Rt 19A (outside Portageville). drive 2 miles and turn right onto Denton Corners RD. ; follow signs for Castile Park Entrance. Enter park and turn right at the “T”.drive about a mile and turn right into the lodge road entrance. follow signs for the Trailside Lodge.

From Geneseo:  Take RT 39 West for 18 miles;In the village of Castile, turn left onto East Park RD. which changes to Glen Iras RD. , for 2 miles then turn left onto Denton Corners RD. Enter Castile Park entrance and turn right at the “T”. Drive about a mile and turn right into the lodge road entrance. Follow signs for the Trailside Lodge.