Springwater Trails had a busy day on Sunday.  The day started before 8:00 AM when Char, Pati and Bob headed north from Springwater to serve pancakes at Stoney Ridge Maple Farm.  They were joined by John, Linda and Mark who traveled from Fairport. In spite of the wind and cold, and all of our nervousness, the weekend proceeded smoothly.  But looking back, how can you fail will a meal consisting of fresh Maple Syrup supported by pancakes.

The afternoon hike was made possible by Bob, Joe, Char, Patti and the Masterson’s who held the fort at Stoney Ridge.  Fifteen hikers “enjoyed” an icy and windy hike to the top of the Giles/Schribner hills for views of the Springwater valley and then met for a social and the 2nd Annual Meeting for Springwater Trails, Inc.  Gene provided a lively discussion about the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.  Over the next 5 hikes, Springwater Trails will be looking for signs of this invasive insect that attacks Hemlocks as close to Springwater as Watkins Glen and Letchworth Parks.

Official business of the Annual meeting included the adoption of By-laws from the group and election of officers for 2014.  Thanks to Rick, Melissa, Katherine, Joan and Mark for agreeing to serve.  And thanks to everyone who has volunteered with the group to coordinate and plan our hikes, to help build and maintain our trails, to help with our fund raising, or most importantly to share some time with us during our hikes.

Canadice and Hemlock Lakes are true gems in the Springwater area.  We are so fortunate that these lakes have been preserved in their natural beauty for everyone to enjoy.  On Sunday we had a good turnout for what was a challenging hike on a beautiful clear day.  I like to think everyone came because of the great variety of the environments we hiked through from frozen lake, to evergreen forest, to the early succession plants at the top of Bald Hill.  But it may be the variety of delicious foods everyone looked forward to on Joan’s tables after the hike.

Here are some additional pictures of the hike.

The wind is howling outside, either it’s a nor’easter, a chimney fire, or the crackling of ice coming from the outlet or Canadice Lake. Being unable to sleep with the unusual sound of a storm and predicting a power outage, I might as well reflect a little about this past week’s adventure into the Canadice Outlet. We had a great turn out with over 25 hikers, mostly all prepared with ice clamps (which are a little difficult to get on)to explore an area of the outlet we have never experienced before.

Welcome back Pati, Joan, Bob and new hikers Dave and Sherri.

20 hikers began their hike at the Canadice Hollow Cemetary looking for Mary Wintermoot’s gravestone. She was 83 when she passed and was born in 1761. Another woman, Olive Spencer was 93 when she passed and was born in 1771. Could she be related to Harriet Hollister Spencer Park in Honoeye? We diligently followed our fluorescent leader Rick through the narrow snow covered DEC logging trail, cutting through private lands with permission, and picking up the Hemlock/Canadice State Forest again that followed the rim of a very steep gorge. Far below the rim we caught glimpses of the frozen Canadice Creek. Some dam hikers actually made it to the end of the outlet, a restricted zone, being picked up by their favorite chauffer Bob on Rt. 15A. Other hikers chose to hike the woods back, rather than hiking the road, and unfortunately missed seeing the water from the creek flowing at the dam location. An underground tunnel actually takes the waters from Canadice Lake through the Canadice Outlet to Hemlock Lake. Maybe I can post the video on u-tube for all to see.

Naturalists followed the old Dixon Hollow Road, lead by Jim and Pati’s wonder dog, Goose. I’ll have to find out what they saw so I can post more. Jim said they hiked down to the Hemlock Grill, had a beer and hiked back when we ran into them. Gene confirmed. Wow they are fast! I did hear a few hikers did make it to the creek and indicated it was ice covered with some open spots of flowing water. Naturalists met up with the Climbers and Tourists at the Dixon Hollow Road to exchange stories.

After hike social was enjoyed by all leaving their boots dancing by the door. A variety of fruit and vegetable salads, brussel spouts, kale, maple barbacue pulled pork and chicken, and yummy chocolate desserts. You don’t loose weight on our hikes.

Thanks to the City of Rochester for giving us permission to hike in the restricted area by the dam, Dan Bock and Lydia Edlund, Mary Jane and Mike Bowman, for letting us cross their property.

Special thanks to Rick and Ellen for leading our hikers on a very well planned route
that avoided many deep ravines that would of been slippery this time of year. Make sure you watch the outlet during the spring thaws to learn why the old mills of Hemlock were located here and why the City of Rochester wanted this land in 1910. It’s quite powerful!

HINT: This post has several small thumbnail size pictures. Click on any picture to see it full size.

Last Sunday, 10 hardy souls discovered something many active outdoor groups are doing, all across the country, converting former railroad beds into hiking trails.  The Ontario Pathways Organization has created such a 23 mile trail throughout Ontario County and Springwater Trails member, Georgia Binder, significantly contributed to this project.

We hiked a small portion of the western part of this trail.  Starting at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, and going east from there, one group hiked about 2 miles, the other, close to 4.  Mother Nature can be a sweetheart, if you don’t try to fool her with margarine.  The night before, she gave us a couple of inches of snow, which gave us just enough traction so we didn’t have to try to keep our balance, walking on the bumpy ice beneath.  Also, although the temperature, at hike time, was about 15, she held the wind down, making a most pleasant winter hike.  Among the observations was a groundhog burrow, woodpecker nest holes in trees and last summer’s polypore mushrooms.

After the hike, most of us went to the Beehive Bar & Grill in Canandaigua where many enjoyed a sample from the wide selection of beers, and their nice dining menu.

Around Halloween, those of you with young grandkids, might think about taking them on the great pumpkin walk, on the trail portion between Routes 10 and 46.  Members of OP carve real neat original jack-o-lanterns, and place them at intervals along this section of the trail.  The small admission charge you pay is used to maintain the trail.

Remember your little job next Sunday, or you’ll be an hour late for the hike.