Rob’s Trail Oct 30, 2011

This Sunday’s hike is a special hike from the west side on Hemlock Lake to the east side of Canadice.  How often can you hike around two Finger Lakes on a single one day hike?

Here is the schedule:

• 10:00 am: Meet at Hemlock Lake Park.  Carpool to the DEC parking area on Blank Rd, just north of Niver Rd. Start hike on left branch. Bushwhack down to the Walnut trail along the west side of the lake.
• 10:45 Break at Hemlock Lake Park. Replenish water. Continue walk to North Boat Launch on the east side of Hemlock Lake.
• 11:20 Continue on road after the boat launch to the end of the maintained road. Stay on the old road for about a mile.  Bear to the right, following orange survey tape blazes to bushwhack up the hill to the corner of the Nature Conservancy land.  From there, follow yellow blazes until in sight of the road.  Finally cross 15A at Old Bald Hill South.
• 1:45 Break at Rob’s Trail parking area. Replenish water.
• 2:00 Continue onto Rob’s Trail, heading to the right around the top circle.
• 2:40 The Naturalists continue around the loop on top, and back to the parking area.
• 2:40 The climbers and tourists turn right to head onto DEC land and down to Canadice Lake.  After crossing the bridge at the bottom, turn right and follow the lake side trail to the inlet and the southern entrance on Canadice Lake Rd.
• 3:20 The Naturalists return to the Rob’s Trail parking area and drive to the southern entrance on Canadice lake.  If time permits, they may hike in on the lake-side trail to meet the climbers and tourists.
• 4:00 Car pool back to the Rob’s Trail entrance and then on to Hemlock Lake Park for a social.

Hikers are welcome to join the hike at 10:00, 11:30 or 2:00 depending on their schedule and interest.

The hike from Blank Rd on the west side of Hemlock Lake to the east side of Canadice is about 11 miles and will require that we move right along to keep on schedule. The hike starts on an existing trail from the north-most parking area on Blank Rd. At the lowest point of this trail a previous hiker has marked a trail down the hill to the Walnut Trail along the edge of the lake.  At this time of year, the trail down the hike is relatively easy with no underbrush, although it is steep and good hiking shoes are required. We will find there are a couple of missing culverts on the Walnut Trail but these are easy to cross.  Then the route literally becomes a walk in the park to the boat launch road to the bench providing a nice view to the south. But no time to stop, we will continue to follow the overgrown old road.  A few shallow gullies to cross and a few brambles to watch for. We will pass an old foundation about a mile south of the bench, and soon after that we will pick up a trail marked by the Nature Conservancy up Bald Hill to Rob’s Trail.  Look for Orange tape heading up the hill.  Just as you are about to give up and impeach the hike planner, a pretty waterfall will appear ahead.  This is a good time to drink some water and enjoy the view.  We are fortunate to be seeing the falls in the spring with water flowing over them.  About half way up, we cross a small creek and the tapes switch to yellow.

Heading down from Rob’s Trail to Hemlock Lake in June 2012. We will climb the hill on Sunday.

The Nature Conservancy is planning to make this a Rob’s Trail extension to eliminate some of the bushwhacking.

At about 1:45 we plan to be at the Rob’s Trail parking lot for a small snack and to meet up with the rest of our hikers to continue the hike around Rob’s Trail and down to Canadice and out the south end of the lake.

Now, please pay attention.

If you wish to hike all the way from Blank Rd to Canadice Lake Rd (about 11 miles), then meet us at the Hemlock Lake Park at 10 am.  We will carpool to the start point on Blank Rd. Please pack a lunch and bring water. Additional water will be available at the park and at the Rob’s Trail entrance.

If you wish to only hike Rob’s Trail (3.5 miles), then meet at the trail head on Old Bald Hill Rd South between 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm. The Tourists will hike Rob’s trail starting to the right, then to the steep trail down to Canadice Lake.  At the bottom, we will turn south and hike to the inlet of the lake. Meanwhile, the Naturalists will continue around Rob’s Trail on the top of Bald Hill.  When they return to the cars, the Naturalists will drive to the south end of Canadice and hike on the west trail to meet the Tourists.  The Naturalists will help to carpool hikers back to their cars at the Rob’s Trail trailhead.

Following the hike, we will have a pot luck social at Hemlock Lake Park at the north end of Hemlock Lake. Please bring a “dish to pass”, or make a contribution to the S/T social fund (suggested $5) to help defray expenses.  Also bring a beverage of choice.