This Sunday is a trail-making and trail maintenance hike on the section of the Finger Lakes Trail in Naples that the club is responsible for. Mr. Hangii has built a magnificent new bridge over a deep gulley carrying a stream, a short distance downhill from the existing route. We will re-route the Bristol Hills Branch (BHB) of the Finger Lakes Trail to take advantage of this bridge, allowing hikers to avoid the present awkward crossing, and also to take in the superb setting of the bridge – it is sited below a lovely little waterfall, and above a larger one.

In order to get all the work done, we plan to get everyone to the work site with as much time as possible given to trail making. We’ll get there via Mr. Hanggi land rather than the one-hour hike to the site from either direction on the BHB. For those who can’t manage the steep climb to the top of the hill, Mr. Hanggi has offered to ferry people there in his 4-wheel drive vehicle – and back again of course for those who would like a ride! The site itself is on a slope, but it is manageable for all our hikers. The new route will follow the stream on both banks, which is also worth a good many photographs.

Please bring some tools with you to help trim back any brush that has grown into the pathway – loppers to trim brambles and roses are usually the most useful. Work gloves are also very necessary – roses can be sharp and mean! We’ll also clear away any fallen branches that we can manage. If heavier work is needed, such as mowing and tree removal then we’ll note what needs to be done and get it organized separately. It’s still early in the year, so we are not expecting any heavy encroachment of the undergrowth as yet. If anyone can bring a weed whacker, we’d like to get a crew of 2 people to walk up the trail from the cemetery in Naples and whack down some undergrowth about half way to the work site. This crew doesn’t have to walk all the way to the top of the hill if they don’t want to – the trail is clear for most of the way.

This hike is usually a dry hike, with good views at the higher elevations near Seman Road. The trail down to Naples follows a beautiful shale stream, with plenty of deep gullies and waterfalls – and there’s lots of water in the stream at the moment.

Climbers, Tourists and Naturalists:We’ll all stay together on this hike. Mr. Hanggi will transport anyone who needs help getting up and down the hill.

The social following the hike will take place at Bob and Ruth’s in Naples, where we are meeting.

Directions: From downtown Naples, follow Rt. 21 north past the junction of Rt. 245. Hanggi’s Tree Farm is marked by a large brown barn on the east side (that’s on the right as you drive north towards Canandaigua), a couple of hundred yards after the Rt. 245 junction, and Mr. Hanggi’s house is opposite. If you are coming from the south then you have already passed the meadow driveway, so take it slowly after Rt. 245.