Please join us for the historic opening of Rob’s Trail—Hemlock Lake

Rob’s Trail links Hemlock and Canadice Lakes, the last two undeveloped Finger Lakes

9:30 AM Refreshments available
10:00 AM—Dedication & Ribbon Cutting
10:30 AM—Inaugural Hikes

Parking available at intersection of South Old Bald Hill Road and Rt-15A

Please RSVP or call 585-546-8030 ext. 7927

PLEASE DONATE! Your donation will support trail development work! Visit nature.org/cwny

A Through-Hike of the Colorado Trail

The Little Lakes Sustainability Network and Springwater Trails are pleased to co-host a program on the magnificent Colorado Trail on Thursday, October 27, 7:00 PM at the Jack Evans Community Center (old Hemlock school) on Main Street in Hemlock. Light refreshments will be provided and everyone is welcome, free of charge. Donations to defray costs are encouraged.

Hemlock resident Bill Cooke will present information about the trail followed by a 25 minute slide show with music showing photos from his 2011 “through-hike.” He will share his deep appreciation of the natural environment fostered from many years of experience in long-distance hiking.  Bill will also have copies of his book narrating the hike – Shades of Gray, Splashes of Color – A Thru-hike of The Colorado Trail – available for your perusal and purchase.

The 486-mile Colorado Trail wends its way through the Rocky Mountains of the Centennial State, traversing a landscape as changing and diverse as the swirling afternoon clouds presaging the daily summer thunderstorms.  A common expression among long distance backpackers is “no pain equals no gain.”  In this program, you’ll hear of the “pain” manifested in the struggle of acclimating to high elevations, of hiking long and steep ascents, of coping with a wide range of climatic conditions from freezing cold mornings to hot baking afternoons, to near daily thunderstorms and to long stretches of limited water.  And you’ll see the “gains,” the triumphs as Bill and his hiking companion Keith “Northern Harrier” Bance savor the many rewards of this enchanting trail:  alpine meadows whose wildflowers cover every range of the spectrum, bewitching groves of aspen trees resplendent with the morning glow of the sun, the glistening of snowy peaks, stately conifers including the massive Douglas firs, high mountain passes, dry foothills, sparkling mountain streams, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets where both the skies and the rocks shine like beacons from the low sun alpenglow, and much more.

Along the way, you’ll hear of the delight bestowed by such simple pleasures as a refreshing swig of Rocky Mountain water or a wildlife spotting.  You’ll hear of fascinating near-daily cloud formations with their myriad shades of gray and ever-changing patterns.  You’ll meet “Trail Angels” who emerge at the right place and time, unplanned and unexpected, to assist hikers with their basic needs, such as rides into towns for re-supplying or offers of water and snacks.  And you’ll visit communities along the trail corridor, meeting the people in them, and enjoying the amenities that we all take for granted, such a hot shower, bed with linens, and meals of “real” food, all of which are especially appreciated by hot, dusty hikers.

Bill Cooke recently moved to Hemlock after living for seven years in Lexington, KY.  He has backpacked for nearly 40 years.  In addition to the Colorado Trail, he has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, Vermont’s Long Trail, the Black Forest and Susquehannock Trails of nearby Northern Pennsylvania, and other trails around the country.

You need not be an experienced hiker to enjoy this program, as Bill explains much of the terminology and peculiar habits of long-distance backpackers.  Even those whose experience is confined to short strolls in the park will sense the challenges and the rewards of a trek in the Rocky Mountains.  Come and take a trip to the summertime Rockies!

The event is co-sponsored by the Little Lakes Sustainability Network and the Springwater Hiking Group, and is free and open to the public.

This Sunday, come back to a familiar hike for Springwater Trails, and see the changes that have taken place. The first thing that regular Springwater Trails hikers will notice is that the town has paved Schribner Rd. For those of you nostalgic for the old road, check out the summer directions and come in the back way.

The Climbers will be following logging roads up to the top of the hill. We then will cross the fields to explore various views across the valleys. The Tourists will take a bit more time climbing the hill. The new logging trails go across the hill, giving hikers some respite from the climb and a change to view more of the forest. And the Naturalists will follow a more level trail through the White Pines, then up to the Red Pines and then will cross the valley to see the Oaks, Maples and Beach forest.

Following the hikes, join us for a Dish to Pass social at the house. Depending on the weather, we will have the option of being outside for the last social before the end of Daylight Savings.

Directions:

From Springwater: Head north on Rt 15A from the light in Springwater.  Take the first right on Wheaton Hill Rd (Co Rd 16).  Turn right on Wetmore Rd at the stop sign at the top of the hill.  At the end of Wetmore, bear right on Tabors Corners Rd.  After 3.5 miles turn right on Scribner Rd. (There is no road sign at Schribner, but this is the first right off of Tabors Corners Rd.) The driveway is the 2nd driveway on the left one mile up Schribner Rd and about 10 feet before the intersection with Giles Rd. Turn around at the intersection and park on the west side of Giles Rd.

From Wayland: From Rt 15, head east on Rt 21 toward North Cohocton for 3 miles. Turn left on Tabors Corners Rd (Steuben Co Rd 37). (Note the road sign says Bowles Corners, although maps all say Tabors Corners)  After exactly 2 miles, turn left on Schribner Rd (the second left – again, no street sign).  The driveway is the 2nd driveway on the left one mile up Schribner Rd and about 10 feet before the intersection with Giles Rd. Turn around at the intersection and park on the west side of Giles Rd, or come in the driveway and park on the grass near the barn.

From Honeoye: From Rt 20A, head south on Ontario Co Rd 37.  At Canadice, continue straight ahead on Canadice Hill Rd as Co Rd 37 turns right. Bear to the right onto Ross Rd. Take the first left turn onto Tibbles Rd (formerly Springwater Town Line Rd). At the end, turn right on Wetmore Rd. Stay on Wetmore up over the hill to the end. Bear right on Tabors Corners Rd.  Take the first right in 3.5 miles on Scribner Rd (sorry, no street sign).  The driveway is the 2nd driveway on the left one mile up Schribner Rd and about 10 feet before the intersection with Giles Rd. Turn around at the intersection and park on the west side of Giles Rd, or come in the driveway and park on the grass near the barn.

From the East Lake Rd in Honeoye or From Naples: Rather than traveling north to reach 20A or Co Rd 37, hikers from east of Honeoye Lake may go south to Ontario Co Rd 36 and follow Co Rd 36 to Naples. Turn right on Rt 21 south.  Turn right to stay on Rt 21 for 4.5 miles to N Cohocton.  Turn right to stay on Rt 21 towards Wayland.  After 3.8 miles turn right on Tabors Corners Rd (Steuben Co Rd 37). (Note the road sign says Bowles Corners, although maps all say Tabors Corners)  After 2 miles, turn left on Schribner Rd (the second left) (Again, no street sign).  The driveway is the 2nd driveway on the left one mile up Schribner Rd and about 10 feet before the intersection with Giles Rd. Turn around at the intersection and park on the west side of Giles Rd, or come in the driveway and park on the grass near the barn.

Volunteers from Springwater Trails are needed to pick up roadside litter along NY Rtes 15 and 15A in the Town of Springwater.   There will be a short information meeting at the Springwater Fire Hall parking lot at 9AM on Tuesday November 1, 2016 prior to getting started.   Bags, safety vests and hard hats will be provided.

Hike Description 

We will hike the FLT Bristol Hills Branch Trail (Map B3) to Huckleberry Bog and the Bog Nature Trail Loop.  This upland bog is located on a plateau west of Keuka Lake in Urbana State Forest, Steuben County.

Climbers will start from the trailhead at Bean Station Rd and take the trail past an old cemetery and climb steadily uphill through a hemlock and oak woods to the state forest and onto the top of the plateau.  Climbers will then follow the Bog Nature Trail Loop clockwise and return to Bean Station Rd by way of the main trail (4.5 miles).

Tourists and naturalists will start at a higher elevation from the access at Glen Brook Rd and take the trail northeast to the southern register of the Bog Nature Trail Loop.  Tourists will go around the Bog Nature Trail Loop and return to Glen Brook Rd (~3.5 miles).  Naturalists will retrace their steps back to Glen Brook Rd (~ 1mile).

Directions to Meeting Location for All Groups

From Springwater: Head south on NY 15 to Wayland. Turn left onto NY 21, Turn left in N Cohocton to stay on 21 into Naples. Turn right onto NY 53. Stay on 53 for 13 miles. At 10.4 miles on your trip odometer, you should pass through Prattsburgh. Follow the directions below.

From Prattsburgh, take NY 53 South for 2.6 miles to Bean Station Road.  Turn east on Bean Station Road at the site of a large white warehouse for onions. Go 2.6 miles to the yellow trailhead sign on the right (south) side of the road at a little footbridge over the roadside ditch.  Park on the opposite shoulder but not on the lawn or pull inot a small mowed spot marked “FLT Parking” about 200 feet further east, on the left (north side of the road).  After breaking into groups, tourists and naturalists will caravan to the Glen Brook trailhead.

From Geneseo and Dansville: Take I-390 South to I-86East. In 1 mile,take exit 37 for NY-53. Turn left onto NY-53 and head north for 8.9 miles. Turn right onto Bean Station Road. Continue with the directions From Prattsburgh.

Car Pool

Car pooling is recommended.  You can set up your car pool ahead of time or meet at the parking lot for the Mountain View Inn at 12:30.

After Hike Social

The after hike social will be at the Mountain View Inn, 34 Main Street, Atlanta.

This week we will hike the Wesley Hill Nature Preserve which was founded in 1999 by the generous donation of 90 acres by the children of three artists- John Weinrich, James Havens and Colburn Dugan to the Finger Lakes Land Trust.  Since that time the preserve has grown to over 390 acres by the way of the purchase, by the land trust, of three parcels and a gift of the fourth.  Click on the trail map to the right if you want a larger trail map.

We will all meet at the preserve parking lot, on the west side of Gulick Road at 1:45 pm.

In case of snow or muddy trails, please wear correct footwear.  Crampons and poles will be helpful.

Climbers led by Charlotte will follow the Red trail on the right of parking lot to Green Trail down to the Gully and back on the Green trail to the Red trail to the left to the cabin and past the pond and back to parking lot.   4+ miles

Tourists led by Nanette will follow Red trail on the right of parking lot to the cabin, past the pond and to parking lot.  3 miles

Naturalist led by hiker will follow the Red trail to cabin and back to parking lot.  2 miles

Our social will be at Honeoye’s Boat House (Trident Marina) on 5226 East Lake Road, Honeoye 14471.  Was voted as one of the best in five Happy Hour Bars in the Rochester area.

Directions:

A word of caution – do not try to access Wesley Road from down on East Lake Road, in spite of what your gps might tell you. The road is closed from East Lake Rd up to the Wesley Road Trail Head. If you try it you will readily see why.

[envira-gallery slug=”wesley-hill-preserve-winter”]

The Finger Lakes Trail from Naples to Conklin Gully

The Sunday hike on December 11th 2016 will cover several trails on Hatch Hill in Naples. The hike will start at the Bob North bridge at the bottom of Ontario Street in Naples. There is a small parking lot there, and all groups will start at the same place. The naturalists will walk along Matt’s Meander to the Naples Community Park and back, while the Tourist will walk south along Hatch Hill above the town to the south end of Naples. The Climbers will walk north on Hatch Hill to Conklin Gully. Both Tourists and Naturalists will walk back to the parking lot, while climbers will end up at the DEC parking area at the bottom of Conklin Gully and be shuttled back to Naples.

There is a DEC display board at the parking lot with a map of all the trails that meet there; all the day’s hiking trails are shown.

The social will take place at the Neapolitan Pizzeria in downtown Naples.

Naturalists

The Naturalists will cross Naples Creek on the Bob North bridge and bear to the left. It is a broad path through woods with the Naples Creek flowing to the left of the path. This trail is called “Matt’s Meander”, and it follows Naples Creek to the Community Park on Route 245. It is about a mile to the end of the trail and back.

Tourists

The tourists will cross the bridge and bear to the right. The trail runs south along Hatch Hill above Naples Creek, and goes parallel to both Naples Creek and Naples Main Street, though a lot higher up the hill. This path is not blazed or marked at all but it is well trodden for most of the way; it becomes a little harder to see at the southern end, but once the Turkey Federation parking lot is in sight then it’s not hard to find a way down to it. The trail passes through land that was once grazed and then terraced for vines, but is now returning to woodland. Traces of the shallow terracing for the vineyards can be seen all along the trail, and occasionally an abandoned farm building. The creek can be seen in the valley below the trail all the way along. This trail ends at the south end of Naples, on Mark Circle, where several streams come together to form the Naples Creek. There is water supply facility there, a swimming hole, and an antiques shop. The group will return to the Ontario Street parking lot via Naples Main Street. This walk is 2.1 miles. with just one short modestly steep section.

Climbers

The Climbers will take the Finger Lakes Trail to Conklin Gully through the High Tor Game Management Area. They will cross the bridge and bear left along with the naturalists, and then about half way down Matt’s Meander the FLT branches off to the right. The group will follow the ORANGE blazes on a long uphill section; it’s steep in places with some switchbacks – the trail seems to be going the wrong way at times. There are some ponds at the top of the hill (it’s a mystery – where does that water come from?) with the Howard Beye memorial bench on one of them. It’s important to stay with the orange blazes here – there are several logging roads that make it easy to take the wrong path. Where the trail meets the top of Conklin Gully there is a lookout with a fine view of the Naples Valley and a well organized scout camp, complete with fire pit. The path down the hill from the camp is broad and easy walking. The group will leave the FLT where it branches off to the right over a bridge to the memory of Tom Noteware and follow the BLUE blazes down the hill to the DEC parking lot at the bottom of Parrish Hill.

Please note; IT’S STILL HUNTING SEASON! Please wear bright clothing, preferable hunter’s orange!

The Meeting Place

We will meet at the trail head parking lot on Ontario Street, Naples, at 1:00pm on December 11th 2016. The climbers will shuttle some cars to Parrish Hill before starting off.

Getting There

From Springwater and Wayland, come south on Rt. 15 to the traffic light at Rt 21. Turn left on 21 and keep going all the way to Naples. Go through the downtown business area and turn right on Ontario Street, opposite the school. Go to the bottom of the hill and the parking lot is on the left.

From Dansville, follow Rt. 63 to Wayland where the road turns into Rt 21; continue on 21 all the way to Naples. Go through the downtown business area and turn right on Ontario Street, opposite the school. Go to the bottom of the hill and the parking lot is on the left.

From Naples, go to the school on Main Street (Rt. 21). Turn down Ontario Street opposite the school, go to the bottom of the hill and the parking lot is on the left.

The Social

The social will take place at the Neapolitan Pizzeria in downtown Naples.

Springwater Trails is relaxing after a busy 2016.

Please join the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park on New Years Day for a hike on the Greenway.  Or, check the rest of the calendar for organized hikes near Springwater.

For those Springwater Trails hikers who revel in hiking Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area (HHSSRA aka HHSMRA where M is Memorial) with snow, well the ST hike on Sunday 1/22/2017 did not support that as the ground was devoid of the white stuff.  But then it snowed on Tuesday 1/24/2017 and is predicted to do so again before Saturday 1/28/2017.  Which leads me to citing a second chance for participation in a group hike where perhaps there may be snow, albeit this one on Saturday 1/28/2017 a mere 6 days since ST Sunday 1/22/2017 hike.

This hike is a scheduled hike on the Genesee Valley Hiking Club (GVHC aka GVHG where G is Group) hike schedule, and Ryan B. is the Hike Leader (& Planner).  Some ST hikers are acquainted with Ryan as result of his hike leads and shared hiking enthusiasm.

The salient info for this hike is below in quotes, from the GVHC website.  Hike start time is 10:00AM, likely most folks from ST will not benefit from use of the 9AM carpool as it is in Bushnell’s Basin.  Please know that there are no dogs allowed on this or any other GVHC hike.

“January 28/Saturday  Strenuous/hilly 6-7 mile hike. Harriet Hollister Spencer Memorial Recreation Area. Meet at Bushnell’s Basin Park & Ride at 9 a.m. Hike starts at 10 a.m. at Harriet Hollister. Ryan B. 802-999-8554 #6016″

( #6016 is the GVHC assigned sequential hike number for this hike.)

Rules for hikers on GVHC hikes are much the same as are rules for ST hikes, with the most glaring contrast perhaps being the no dogs rule.  Please note the 12:30PM hike end time listed in this ST post is a mere guesstimate.

Of course, no guarantee that there will be snowpack on Saturday, and if not, well,  no blamin’ the local meteriologist or weather-person. The adage … any hike is a good hike.

– – – And regardless of snow or not, Traction Devices (TDs) may be in order as trails can be icy even if there is no snow.   There was a comment for the Sunday 1/22/2017 ST hike that trails were in fact icy!

Directions to the hike:

From Springwater:  From 1 mile north of Springwater on  Rt. 15A, turn right onto (and up) Wheaton Hill Rd. Drive all the way to Wetmore Rd. and turn left. Continue straight onto Canadice Hill Rd. and drive another 2 miles to the HHSSRA entrance road parking lot on the right.

From Honeoye: Take County Road 37 and continue straight onto Canadice Hill Rd. to the HHSSRA entrance road parking lot on the left

Note: The entrance road parking lot is siutate at Canadice Hill Rd & the entrance road (aka Overlook Rd) .  This time of year the entrance road (aka Overlook Rd) may be gated to restrict “road vehicle” access past the entrance road parking lot.  Regardless (gated or not), the hike meet point & start point is at the entrance road parking lot (Canadice Hill Rd & Overlook Rd), not the entrance road terminus which is much further “inside  HHSSRA”.