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.

Did you enjoy the neat hike on the Bristol Trail on July 19?  Did you notice the work that’s needed to make it into a real neat trail, friendly not only for hikers, but also for the Twisted Branch mega marathon runners on August 29, many of whom will be entering this part of the trail in the dark?

So, grab your work gloves, loppers, weed eaters, bowsaws, etc. and join us on Tuesday, August 4 or, if it’s raining, the following day.  We’re starting at 8 AM, so we can get done before it gets too hot.  We’re meeting at the picnic tables outside Bob and Ruth’s in Naples, to plan our workday.  You can get a cup of joe, or anything else you’d like, from their fine breakfast menu.  Most important, you can use their plumbing facilities, to start out with an empty storage tank.  Donna Noteware is meeting us there, to get us access to the middle of the trail, through Longsdorf Rd.  This is where those omnipresent multiflora roses are constantly encroaching on the trail

Hope to see you there.  Let’s show how nice our organization can make this trail for our hikers and runners.

Springwater Trails will be working with the Nature Conservancy to clean up trails at West Hill Preserve and the FLT Bristol Branch connection to Naples.

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There are seven separate scheduled hikes in recognition of North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) Day for 2015 (Saturday, September 26th, 2015).  The locales are spread throughout NYS and in North Dakota, Michigan and Pennsylvania if you are traveling.

There are three hikes accessible from Springwater this year

• Hike #1 FLTC Map M1, Allegany State Park at 8:30am – Hike from New York to Pennsylvania!
• Hike #6 Three Preserve Hike – Enfield, NY in Tompkins County at 10:00am – Lead by Roger Hopkins from the Cayuga Trails Club
• Hike #7 FLT Map M4, Boyce Hill State Forest, Franklinville, NY at 10am – Get directions here.

Some unique hike opportunities exist if you wish to get in some hiking beyond a weekly S/T hike.

Details can be found on the North Country website and on the Finger Lakes Trail Conference website.

Please check and confirm start times and locations.  The time listing in this Springwater Trails listing is used as a foothold approximation only!  So, be sure to check the posting on the FLTC website for more exacting details, and further hike options.

Hike Leader – Cate Concannon, catrina616@gmail.com

Hike Description – Map B3, Access 18 to Map 12, Access 2.

This hike will start with a steep uphill at Access 18 off Mitchellsville Road on the Bristol Hills Trail. We will follow the BHT through the forest, past Lake David and through gullies for a total of 3.6 miles, then cross over to the mail FLT with a short road walk on Harrisburg Hollow Road. We should have some nice views of the area and finish the hike on 2.1 miles of the main FLT trail. A hike encompassing two maps and two different trails – how fun! Perhaps someone will know if this is the first time this has been done on the Named Hike series.

Car Pooling: Springwater Trails will organize a car pool from the parking area behind the Wayland Fire House.  Be at the parking are at 9:15 – we will leave promptly at 9:25!

Meeting time – 10 am, with a departure time of 10:10. We’ll need to place cars for the car shuttle.

Meeting place – We will meet at the Hickory Hill Campground (click for map and directions) . From there we will drop cars at our end point and proceed to our starting point, Access 18 on Route 13. From exit 38 off I-86 (Route 17), follow signs to Route 54. After following Rt 54 through town including a 90 degree left turn, Route 13/Mitchellsville Road will branch off to the left. Prominent signs for the campground, which will be on your left off Rt 13 just north of Bath.

Notes – Please dress for the weather, but as a general rule of thumb, dress in layers and bring extra clothes. Waterproof jacket & pants will most likely come in handy, plus hat and gloves. Pack a lunch that can be eaten quickly on the trail, plus lots of water.Be prepared for steep ascents and descents! E-mail hike leader with your interest in joining the hike – carpooling is encouraged and she will help to organize.

Updates:  Check for updates at the FLT website.

Springwater Trails is the maintenance team for the section of the Bristol Branch of the Finger Lakes Trail between Access Point 3 on Clement Rd and Access Point 6 on NY 245 in Naples.

We need to refresh the blazes between Seman Rd (Access 4) and the blue overlook trail. We also have five or six trees across the trail, and need some general spring cleaning.

Join us at the outside tables next to Bob and Ruth’s restaurant in Naples at 8:00.  We will review our tasks and break into work crews.  Bring gloves, clippers, loppers and if available, a bow saw.

Directions:

From the north come iinto Naples on NY 21. The park is 6.2 miles south of the intersection of NY 64 and NY 21.  Turn right on My Pleasant St across from the intersection of NY 21 and NY 245.

From the west (Springwater and Wayland): Follow NY 21 North from Wayland, through N. Cohocton.  Starting at the NY 21 and NY 15 intersection in Wayland, follow NY 21N for 6.8 miles to N Cohocton.  Turn left to follow NY 21 for 4.5 miles into Naples.  Turn left onto Main St to continue on NY 21 for 1.4 miles. The park is on the left.

It’s spring time and a good time to help clean up our hiking trails before the summer season. This Sunday, Springwater Trails will be cleaning up the Wheaton Hill Trails.There are two loops on each side of the road. We will split into four groups, with each group taking one of the loops.  We will hike the loop, clearing any branches on the trail, clipping anything that is interfering with with hiking the trail, and we will take notes concerning larger items that need to be done on the trail in the future.

Bring gloves to protect your hands, loppers to cut branches and if you have one, a small saw for branches that are too large for the loppers. It’s still early in the spring, so the grass doesn’t need cutting yet, so we are going to skip the weed wackers this time.

Since we expect most of you to want to get back home for additional spring cleaning, we aren’t planning a social to follow trail maintenance. Lunch at Sammy’s may be organized by attendees.

Directions: Wheaton Hill is the first right turn north of the intersection of Rt 15 and Rt 15A in Springwater (0.9 mile north of the intersection).  The trail head is 0.5 miles up Wheaton Hill just before the road turns straight east and heads up the main hill.  More details are on the directions page.

What to bring:

• Gloves and clippers – hand clippers or long handled loppers for larger branches.
• Small bow saw.
• Plastic grocery bags in case you find any litter.
• Water to keep hydrated.

ILMPD 2016 – – – I Love My Park Day, is an initiative of New York State Parks celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May which in 2016 falls on the 7th of May.  It is an effort to improve NYS Parks from a grassroots perspective.  Many NYS Parks hold an ILMPD event and activities may vary greatly from one state park to another.  – – – Checking the NYS Parks website is one way to ascertain where and what some activities will be for this May 7th 2016 event.   two web addresses are:  parks.ny.gov  -and-  www.nysparks.com     Parks and Trails New York ( ptny.org ) also is a website to check for info.

This “event post” speaks specifically to – 2016 ILMPD on the GVGSP with Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG) who will be working on clearing debris at one specific extant former Genesee Valley Canal (GVC) lock situate on the GVG.  This locale is situate in the southeastern reaches of Letchworth State Park, essentially at the hamlet of Oakland.   Any hikers interested in joining in to clear the extant lock of the former GVC which has now become the GVG should feel free to join in this effort. (Of note: lock 60 is a very short walk in from Oakland Rd, so this is mostly a maintenance event and not much of a hike event.)

Plans are to start the day at 9:30am, working and providing for snacks and breaks as apropos, and work until Noon, with lunch provided to volunteers at 12:30pm in nearby Nunda.  All volunteers are welcome, and if you need to leave early you are welcome to do so, easily accomplished since the ILMPD – Oakland Locks site is very near the car parking area.

ILMPD is coincidentally the same day that one of Springwater Trails’ own, Katherine (Secretary of Springwater Trails, and hiker/hostess extraordinaire), will be honored with an award at Livingston County’s 30th Annual Seniorama 2016, in recognition of the many community volunteer activities she has been involved in throughout many years.  So, … if you wish to attend both the ILMPD event at Oakland locks and the Seniorama event honoring Katherine, you’ll need to make  the ILMPD lunch at Nunda Historical Society pavilion at 12:30pm a quick lunch stop and be on your way by ~12:40PM to make it to Seniorama for the 1:30PM start time.

Below (between the triple arrowheads) is the info copied from the FOGVG website relevant to ILMPD – GVGSP at Oakland Locks.

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2016 I Love My Park Day – Saturday, May 7, 2016 

I Love My Park Day (ILMPD) is an exciting statewide event to celebrate and enhance New York’s state parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire state park system and its needs. Volunteers from across the state will participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events at New York State parks and historic sites.   
This year the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG) have selected one work site rather than three for the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park.  Volunteers will clear the last lock (#60) in the flight of Genesee Valley Canal locks that begin at Oakland Road in Oakland.  We will gather at the work site at 9:30 am.  Parking is available at the parking lot on Oakland Road and along Rt. 436 or Oakland Road.

Volunteers should bring water, gloves, pruning shears or brush cutters, insect repellant, and wear heavy shoes and protective clothing to guard against heavy brush, poison ivy, and ticks.  Snacks will be available and lunch will be provided at about 12:30 pm at the nearby Nunda Historical Society pavilion.  Volunteers will receive ILMPD T-shirts.  If questions: email fogvg@frontiernet.net or call 585-476-2354.

Volunteers are encouraged to register at the PTNY website at http://www.ptny.org/ilovemypark/ or by calling 585-476-2354.  Registering in advance on the website is strongly recommended since it avoids the need to complete Volunteer Service and Photo Release Forms on May 7th.

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hyperlink –  http://nysparks.com/parks/189/details.aspx

The flight of Oakland Locks where lock # 60 is situate is accessed via Oakland Road just north off NYS Rt 436, in the hamlet of Oakland in the Town of Portageville (just a bit west of the Village of Nunda, NY).

Of note: On the 4/24/2016 Springwater Trails hike on the GVG, hikers learned about the former Genesee Valley Canal (GVC) and also learned some about the GVG too, at the AP&HS program presented by Tom S Cook on the GVC at the Avon Opera Block on April 24th, 2016 and then following the presentation we furthered some knowledge on the S/T hike in the Town of Caledonia on the GVG .  In fact in traveling to start points all hikers paused at and one group of hikers started their hike on the GVG at NYS Rt 5 trailhead, which was the same locale used for the 1840 party celebrating the opening of the first section of the Genesee Valley Canal.

Additionally, the following paragraph is copied from The Genesee Naturalist, a quarterly periodical about Letchworth State Park, the Genesee Region and surrounding area.  This ILMPD info is about the broader Letchworth State Park effort for ILMPD, as delineated from the Oakland locks of the GVGSP at the southeastern reaches of Letchworth SP.

“Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at 8:00am  I LOVE MY PARK DAY.  A variety of volunteer projects are offered throughout the day: tree planting, invasive species removal, landscaping, leaf raking an canal locks beautification.  Lunch and programming with Friends of Letchworth.  Trailside Lodge.  Volunteers may preregister at www.ptny.org  (4-6 hours) (led by park staff and others)”

Below (between the triple arrowheads) is the info copied for Letchworth SP – ILMPD (copied from the NYS Parks website).

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Saturday, May 7, 2016 09:00 AM – 02:00 PM
Letchworth State Park

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hyperlink – http://nysparks.com/events/event-results.aspx?pk=79

If perhaps you are interested in ILMPD efforts for another park location – you can start at www.nysparks.com and select the park and then select upcoming events.

Also of note, here are three upcoming hikes on the GVG.  All three are led by NYS Park staff.

* on Saturday April 30th, 2016

Nature Hike from Fowlerville Road to York Landing
Saturday, April 30, 2016 10:00 AM
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

** on Saturday May 14th, 2016:

Quaker Road to Lehigh Valley Trail (Wegmans Hike Number 4)
Saturday, May 14, 2016 10:00 AM
Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

This hike is located in Monroe County just south of the Village of Scottsville. Take River Road South from the Village, or north from Route 20. Turn east onto Quaker Road (Rt. 251). The trailhead is approximately ¼ mile ahead. Meet at the trailhead. (3.1 miles)

*** on Saturday June 11th, 2016: