NCT: Durhamville and Cazenovia Roadwalks

This outing was all about filling in gaps.  I "hiked" two short sections of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) that I had orphaned when hiking the adjacent sections.  I originally skipped them because I was strategically leaving the Durhamville section to cover during hunting season, and in the case of the Cazenovia section, because I wasn't doing roadwalks at the time I hiked in this area.  Unsurprisingly, neither stretch was particularly interesting, but collectively they consisted of 7.4 miles outside -- a decent way to spend a morning, regardless of the scenery... or lack thereof.  And with this outing completed, I have now hiked the entire contiguous section of the North Country Trail between the outskirts of Rome and Interstate 81 (south of Cortland), the section shown between the two green asterisks on the map below.  Which feels pretty good!

screenshot from the North Country Trail Association online map

Erie Canal Trail > Canal Street > Broad Street > Church Street > Center Street
For this section, I started at the parking area on Route 46 where I had parked when hiking the adjacent section to the north toward Stacy Basin, only this time I hiked south toward Durhamville.  The first half mile of the NCT follows the old Erie Canal towpath; it is paved near the parking area and then surfaced with stone dust.  The trail then reaches Route 31, and crosses both the canal and the busy highway, jogging slightly onto Canal Street, which carries the trail south for 2 miles into the little village of Durhamville.  The NCT follows a number of small streets through the village, and isn't terribly well marked, but I had studied the maps ahead of time and knew what to expect.  When I came to Route 46, which had been my turnaround point when hiking the section to the south from Lenox Basin, I crossed the road to revisit the Oneida Creek aqueduct.  Then I re-traced my steps the way I came, stopping only briefly to check out a decrepit bridge across the canal.  The out-and-back totaled 5.8 miles roundtrip. 

heading south from the parking area on Route 46

approaching the intersection of Routes 46 and 31

the double blue blaze marks the jog to the left, making use of the Route 31 bridge over the canal

old bridge over the canal

faded signs in Durhamville

the Route 46 crossing

Oneida Creek

Chenango Street > Mill Street > Route 20
This Link Trail roadwalk turned out to be entirely on sidewalks.  I parked at the trailhead on Chenango Street where I had started out when hiking the section to the south through the art park.  Today I left the parking area by crossing the street and getting on a sidewalk, which I followed north into the village of Cazenovia.  Chenango Street dips down to cross a creek, then climbs slightly.  Shortly after the bridge, there is an intersection, after which the road name changes to Mill Street and there are sidewalks on both sides of the road.  At the intersection with Route 20, the NCT turns right, heading east for a few blocks before veering into the hardware store parking lot and joining the Gorge Trail.  This had been my turnaround point on a hike last fall of the NCT section through Cazenovia Gorge from Emhoff Road.  I turned around and re-traced my steps, for a total roundtrip out-and-back of 1.6 miles. 

heading north along Chenango Street

double blaze where the NCT leaves Route 20 at the hardware store parking lot

the same pole from the other side, looking toward Route 20 (same spot in October 2016)

intersection of Route 20 and Mill Street; double blaze marks turn onto Mill Street

crossing Route 20 to follow Mill Street south

looking back north into the village

Chenango Street trailhead