We owe a big thank-you to Elisabeth (Ebets) Judson who organized and led our hike yesterday at Ganondagan State Historical Site in Victor NY.  Ebets talked with Pam nearly a year ago about having a hike at Ganondagan and on the Victor Hiking Trails.  The wait was definitely worth while – we had a gorgeous day walking through land that was a beautiful as historical.

Ebets is a volunteer hike leader at Ganondagan so she was able to briefly relate the history of Ganondagan to our lives today. According to oral tradition, The Peacemaker established the Constitution of the Haudenosaunee. The foundation of this law was that thinking and negotiations can replace violence and warfare as a means of settling disputes. Benjamin Franklin was inspired by this union when he told they 13 colonies that they must unite.

I walked with the Climbers.  Ebets and her husband Tom led the group of 13 hikers and Amy was our careful sweep – no one got lost!

We headed west toward Fort Hill, the site of a 1680s Senaca Granary. From the top of Fort Hill, there is a wonderful panaromic view to the south. From Fort Hill, we headed south on the Seneca trail to Ebets Judson home where they were ferried back to the start of the hike.  Along the way we walked along the creek, saw another beaver pond, and a large White Oak.   John DeSeyn, Tom Judson and I were just able to reach around the trunk – thats about a 17 foot circumference.

The hike ended by walking across the yards of the Judson home.  The man made horse jumps and the glacial drumlins provided a fitting end to a fantastic hike.

The hike was followed by a social hosted by the Friends of Ganondagan with white corn soup and dishes provided by the hikers.

Last Sunday we broke our chain of rainy hikes, and with a wonderful fall hike along the shoreline of Hemlock Lake.

There were six naturalist who hiked along the north boatlaunch trail and the adjoining shoreline.  Gene indicated he did not find any mushrooms, however they found witch hazel and identified different kinds of trees.  I found a giant puffball but following DEC rules and regulations for state forest did not pick it.  I also found what I thought were shaggy manes, so I was pleased when Gene confirmed the identification.

It was impossible to miss the incredible amount of crunchy zebra mussels exposed along about 2-3 feet of shoreline.

According to the City of Rochester, the lake level is low due to a lack of rain this summer.  It will be interesting to see if it helps with killing off the zebra mussells.  It would also be interesting to know if there has been an increase in Kodak usage or demands for watering lawns in Rochester, or a new policy to ultimately lower the levels of the lakes.

13 hikers  walked entire shoreline, north boat launch to south boat launch, a distance of about  6 miles which was completed in slightly less than 3 hours.

When the climbers reached the south boat launch, the lack of water was clear all across the inlet.

Chuck met the hikers with the red Sugarbus and crammed all hikers and dogs for a return trip back to the cars at the North Boat Launch.

Three lonely touristy women grazed the shoreline and north boat launch trail for a about a 4 miles hike.  We photographed the lake, felt a strong wind pick up and were concerned for those that might be in the middle of the lake in kayaks or canoes. We stood where we haven’t been before because of the water level, searched for artifacts,  and hiked to the cliffs where I speculate the Legend of Onnolee (about 1350) took place on Bald Hill.  We talked about the poet W. S. Hosmer’s legend of Onnolee and read the lyrics of a song written by Joe Crookston at the point where we suspect Onnolee jumped from a crag overlooking the lake.  Since there is no crags on Canadice Lake that we know of (maybe there were  more 760 years ago) and since the water level on Hemlock Lake beneath the cliffs isn’t very deep, we are almost sure Onnolee met her death on Hemlock Lake, although the Legend notes Canadice Lake.  Look for the Full Moon this month, when the spirit of Onnolee is predicted to hover over the lake.

Lastly 17 hikers joined for a social at the Hemlock Grill.  The hamburg was the best I have ever had.  Thanks to Todd Emerson and his sister Melissa, we were well taken care of.

I just got back from the hike at Katherine Humphrey’s Tree Farm.  This hike also included a special research project. Twenty-five hikers from the Springwater Trails hiking group and from the Rochester Mushroom Club RAMA hiked in three separate groups.

The climbers hike to the labyrinth

I joined  Char’s Climber group that walked south across Katherine’s, enjoyed the views from Swartz Rd (the colors would definitely have been brilliant with the sun out), and traversed the labyrinth at the Kerr’s house on Carney Hollow Rd.  John and Colleen created a labyrinth through the spruce trees behind their house, obtaining in one spot a hiking trail and a perfect spot for meditation and reflection. By the way, you may be interested in reading about the definitions of labyrinth and maze (they aren’t the same!)

The research project

Prior to the hike, Gene Binder explained the special research project. Since tree roots can not, by themselves, take up enough water and minerals from the soil to meet the requirements of a tall tree, fungi, in the soil, attach themselves to the roots, spread out hundreds of feet in all directions, take these products from the soil and transfer them to the tree roots.  These products then go from the roots, up the trunk, and into the branches, leaves, flowers and seeds.

Since fungi lack chlorophyll, they are unable to convert water and carbon dioxide into the sugar and organic compounds they need to survive. This process (photosynthesis) is done in the tree leaves. These products are transferred down the trunk and into the roots, where they are taken by the attached fungi. The 2 organisms thereby form a dependent relationship, where one is unable to survive without the other.

This is a specific relationship.  Specific trees have specific mycorhyzal fungi, and can not survive without them.  When Katherine purchased her Western stock from a nursery in the Western part of the US, the fungi that were mycorhyzal on those species may have come with them so, as well as Western trees, Western fungi may also be thriving on her farm.

After hiking the Tree Farm, members of RAMA returned to the farm house and displayed the mushrooms they had collected.

Eight members of the Rochester Area Mycological Association (RAMA) and four Springwater Trails hikers, collected several dozen different species of mushrooms from Katherine’s nursery and woodlands.  The mushrooms collected were displayed on tables and the the great variety collected on the farm, in 2 hours, was impressive.

Dr. Randy Weidner of Bath and RAMA club president Dave Wolf of Rochester shared their extensive knowledge of mushrooms and identified many of the species collected.  Of special interest were the beautiful fly agarics, Amanita muscaria.  Two varieties are known, one golden yellow and the other bright red.  The former occurs commonly in the East, especially around here.  The red variety is, likewise, very common in the West, but quite rare in the East, and was collected in the nursery.  Also, of similar interest, were some specimens of the genus Inocybe (fiberhead).  Although definite determination to species is quite involved, in this genus, it didn’t look like any species previously collected or known to exist in this area.  Randy and others are conducting closer microscopic examinations.

After hikers collected mushrooms all around the tree farm, experts identified most of the mushrooms and mentioned which ones were poisonous, which appeared only in the fall, and which were unusual to the Eastern US.

Our thanks

On behalf of Springwater Trails, we express our appreciation to Katherine Humphrey, for her usual wonderful hospitality (and delicious home made soups) and the members of RAMA for sharing their expertise with us and providing us this experience with the fascinating world of fungi.

And of course, special thanks to Gene who provided the mushroom information in this post, and to Char who took the pictures.

On Sunday, September 30, the Springwater Trails hiking group walked the FLT from Ontario Park to W Hollow Rd. As recalled by Pam, the most outstanding part of the Bristol Branch trail was the huge beaver pond towards Rt. 33 coming down from the park.  The entire pond was made by the beavers damming up the creek. They had their lodge in the middle.  It was beautiful, and it was nice that at this time it wasn’t pouring.  Pam and Gene stopped to identify several mushrooms along the trail.