The Finger Lakes Trail in Letchorth Park, Mount Morris, NY

The glorious Fall weather inspired twenty hikers to attend last Sunday’s hike in Letchworth State Park.  This section of the FLT was new territory for most of the group.  As you can see from their smiling faces, the long and challenging trek left them feeling victorious.  The forest was full of color, the trail well maintained.  All agreed it was a successful venture.  The early start was a good choice as we did not finish until after 4:00.

About half of the group joined the Climbers for a vigorous scramble up and down some serious gullies.  There was some consternation when we did not find the park trail leading down to the riverbank for a view of St Helena.  However, no one whined about the extra mile down and up a rather steep trail.  The scenery did not disappoint.  A smaller group of Tourists did the hike in reverse, hoping to meet up with our faithful photographer, Char.  They encountered the steeper terrain towards the end of their journey, a true test of their stamina.  The Naturalists explored an easier route and one of the FLT’s famous lean-tos.

A huge thank you to volunteer hike leaders Mark and Gene, and to John for the group photo.  God bless Pam and Bill, Gene and Georgia for coming to the aid of a fellow hiker.

Several folks convened at Scovill’s Grill after the hike for some much needed refreshments.  Despite the shortage of beer, it was an enjoyable meal with some lively conversation.

It was overcast and a chill was in the air but, thankfully, it did not rain…our hike Sunday brought together 14 people (11 regulars and 3 new – Char’s co-worker and her two children) to explore the area. Resplendent with many varieties of mushrooms – some of which even Gene & Georgia weren’t familiar with – the trails were easy on us, thanks to the dry weather.

Two hikes were offered and each one provided much of the same terrain and views, albeit from parallel trails. Our biggest challenge was avoiding some pretty serious horse dropping piles… As we passed through a forest of thorn trees which emitted an aura of dark spookiness, there was a hush amongst the group; when we entered the pine tree forest with its peaceful softness, smiles abounded.

There were no awesome climbs or treacherous jumps over ravines – it was a much different side of Stid Hill, a nice, easy amble. Hunters are typically further south so we did not have to deal with that on our walk. Several hikers brought back “souvenirs” and there were numerous mushrooms slated for identification by the Rochester Mushroom Society in the near future.

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The following items were left at the All Western Tree Farm on Sunday.  Please contact Katherine to arrange to be reunited.

1. Bath towel in the kitchen
2. LL Bean walking stick outside back door

Table 1 including Chicken of the Woods (Yellow on right end) and Hen of the Woods (Gray at far end) both of which are edible

We had a successful mushroom hike on Sunday at Katherine Humphrey’s farm, as measured by the two tables full of different mushrooms, and the wonderful stories about each type provided by Dr. Randy Weidner of Bath NY and the Rochester Area Mycological Association.

Table 2 included some poisonous mushrooms which we were discouraged from trying.

Our group included many mushroom hunters taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the expert advice on identifying mushrooms.  We split into two groups with the climbers walking the perimeter of the farm and enjoying the trees and the views and the mushrooms about equally.  The naturalists spread out in the woods and went on their way individually or in pairs. with a resulting larger collection of mushrooms.

Following the hike, we enjoyed learning about the different mushrooms.  Randy showed us examples where cutting open the mushroom helps with the identification. One mushroom turned pink at the top of the stem and blue at the bottom when it was cut open – quite pretty.

A social on Katherine’s lawn completed a very pleasant hike to end our 2016 Summer season of hikes.  Our thanks to Randy and Katherine and to Douglas Kostyk for recording the sights.

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