EXPLORING CHENANGO
COUNTY BY HIKING – APRIL 2016
Donald A. Windsor
The best way to
explore Chenango County is to walk it. I lead hikes every Sunday
morning, year around, for the Bullthistle Hiking Club and report them
on our Yahoo group site. Here are my reports for April 2016.
3 April 2016 –
Whaupaunaucau State Forest, North Norwich
A nasty forecast turned out to
be accurate and, as a result, we had only 4 hikers on Sunday 3 April
2016: Anne Altshuler, Joyce Mosher, John Nesbitt, and Don Windsor. We
went to the Whaupaunaucau State Forest in North Norwich and covered
3.5 miles in 3.1 hours for a speed of 1.1 miles per hour.
We parked at the lower gate
and hiked up Post Road to Jeffrey Pond, where we searched for Daphne
in bloom. Finding none, we continued up Trail 4 to Forest Road, where
we headed southerly to Trail 8 and then on the upper Forest Road. We
ambled southerly on that to Trail 13 and took our well-deserved break
in Clements' leanto. As we dined, the snow fell and the scene
resembled a normal winter (finally!). We then hiked Trail 13 south to
Trail 15 and took it to Trail 17 and took it to Trail 20 and back to
our car.
A perfect day for a winter
hike is temperatures in the mid twenties with alternating glorious
sunshine and gloomy snowstorms. Today was such a day, a beautiful way
to end a winter that was stingy with snow.
10 April 2016 –
Genegantslet State Forest, Smithville
Nothing else makes me feel the
magic arrival of spring than taking a leek in the snowy woods. On
Sunday 10 April 2016 we had 15 hikers in the Genegantslet
State Forest in Smithville: Anne Altshuler, Joe Angelino, John
Briglin, Bruce Coon, Peg Fuller, Joe Jackson, Sue McIntyre, Joyce
Mosher, John Nesbitt, Joyce Post, Art Sandberg, Sharron Sandberg,
Carol Smith, Maryann Weiss, and Don Windsor. We covered 5.1 miles in
3.1 hours for a speed of 1.6 miles per hour. Our vertical ascent was
965 feet.
We parked in the DEC lot along
State Route 220 by the Genegantslet Creek and Art Lake Road and
ambled east up Art Lake to the Perkins Cemetery, where we paid our
respects. We the continued east to the state boundary and followed
the yellow blazes south to Stone Quarry Hill Road. We then took that
road west to a two-story log cabin, where we took our well-deserved
break. We admired the splendid stone work in a deep dug-well. We then
got on a snowmobile trail and headed northeasterly to Art Lake Road
and then west to our cars.
In spite of the recent cold,
the fragrant green leaves of the leeks were abundant along the
snowmobile trail. The recent logging left the trail a mud hole, but
we saw over 3 dozen clumps of salamander eggs in the puddles. The
increased sunlight due to logging will make this a wildflower
extravaganza in May. Disturbance enhances biodiversity, indeed.
17 April 2016 –
Melondy State Forest, Afton
On a glorious Sunday morning
17 April 2016, we had 5 hikers in the Melondy State Forest in Afton:
Joe Angelino, Peg Fuller, Joyce Mosher, May Ann Weiss, and Don
Windsor. We covered 3.6 miles in 2.9 hours for a speed of 1.2 miles
per hour. Vertical ascent was 496 feet.
We parked on the Truck Trail
about 1.5 miles easterly of Melondy Hill Road and then hiked
northerly on the rebuilt logging trail, veering to the east and then
taking an old ATV trail to the northwest and the DEC northern
boundary. We then bushwhacked east to the stone pile site, where we
took a refreshing break. Afterward, we examined the individual stone
piles. We returned via an unnamed brook and backtracked to our car.
We did pause to checkout a barn and a house foundation, and a spring.
The stone piles are still
present, but the adjacent private land is being logged. While no
state trees have been cut down yet, some of the stone piles could
well be on private land and are being ruined in the process (see
attached photo). While the DEC yellow blazes are clearly visible I am
not sure where the actual survey lines are.
24 April 2016 –
FLT, Oxford + Smithville
A nice, sunny mid spring hike
on Sunday morning 24 April 2016 had 8 hikers on the FLT doing a
quasi-loop in Oxford and Smithville: Anne Altshuler, Joe Angelino,
John Carhart, Warren Johnsen, Joyce Post, Sharron Sandberg, Maryann
Weiss, and Don Windsor. We covered at least 7.1 miles in 4.7 hours
for a speed of 1.5 miles per hour.
We were warned about the
logging and so it was no surprise. What did surprise me was the
demolition of the mysterious stone encased mounds. This was a harsh
reminder that the wanton destruction of historical remains is not
limited to the radical middle east terrorists. It occurs right here
locally.
We parked on Fred Wilcox Road
by the FLT trailhead and walked down Winner Road southerly to Buckley
Hollow. We paused to observe a large dead beaver and then took the
FLT easterly through the logging area and beyond. We did not reach
State Route 12 because another operation was in progress. We took our
well-deserved break and then went back west. This time south and
uphill of the logging. We paused to marvel at the numerous
rectangular rock blocks. We picked up a fresh, muddy logging trail
and took it back to the unlogged FLT and Buckley Hollow. When then
hiked the FLT northerly and upwardly to our cars.
The unlogged portions of the
FLT were in good shape. In accordance with our regular practice, we
flicked deadfall off the trail. There are some large fallen (not cut)
trees which will need a chainsaw to remove.
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