For this hike, I parked at the snowplow turnaround on Telephone Road that had been the starting point for a spring hike through Taylor Valley State Forest. Today I hiked west and south instead of north and east. The Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) carries the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) throughout the area, so the white blazes are periodically punctuated with blue NCT discs. The first 1.8 miles of my hike were a roadwalk, along Telephone Road and NY Route 41. I decided to do this hike today so that I could complete a 0.2-mile section of trail I had orphaned this spring when I hiked the FLT/NCT through Baker School House State Forest. There has long been a hunting closure on the private land this section of trail crosses, but unfortunately there was an announcement this week that the closure would be permanent effective October 1st. So today would be my last chance.
The signs along Route 41 for the section of trail down to Trout Brook had been removed, and the white blazes painted over, but there were no closure signs contradicting the October 1st date posted on the Finger Lakes Trail website, so I felt OK hiking the trail. Once I got away from the road, the white blazes were no longer painted over and the trail was clear and easy to follow. When I reached Trout Brook, the water was just as high as it had been this spring. It's hard to imagine this trail in a passable condition; there must be beaver activity in the area or some other significant disturbance, because a large bridge would be required as is. I wonder if hikers wandering upstream looking for a safe place to cross led to the closure. Anyway, once I notched my belt by completing this section, I headed back to the road, retracing my steps back to the car via the roadwalk.
When I got back to the car, I'd covered only 4.1 miles and had been out only an hour and 20 minutes. I wasn't ready to go home yet. I decided to walk over to where the trail enters Taylor Valley State Forest and check out some signs I'd seen on the south side of the road. At some point in the recent past, the roadwalk I had just completed wasn't necessary -- the paper maps I bought from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference last year show the trail continuing south from Telephone Road over Mount Tego before crossing Route 41. Unfortunately, a different land closure on private land created the roadwalk. Apparently, the first part of the trail that leaves Telephone Road is still within Taylor Valley State Forest, and remains open as a spur trail, only closing at the border of the State and private lands. Perfect! Some nice woods hiking to balance out my roadwalk.
It turns out there is 1.5 miles of gorgeous trail going up and over Mount Tego within Taylor Valley State Forest. There is a nice bridge over Pritchard Brook, and some really beautiful forest. I am so happy I decided to explore there while connecting my dots with the roadwalk and Trout Brook orphan. Reading the register, it is obvious that many people are hiking through the closed section. To be fair, the closure is very poorly marked. Aside from the initial sign at Telephone Road, there is nothing later to indicate that the clearly marked trail is now closed. These blazes are not painted over, and there are no additional closures signs. I overshot the State Forest line myself and trespassed by hiking part of the closed trail. I do not suggest this, of course! The situation could be remedied by better signing the closure, including some signs where the closure actually starts.
Interestingly, the online mapping for the FLT now shows both closures, with a long roadwalk from Telephone Road to Baker School House Road. However, the online mapping for the NCT only shows the closure on the private land near Trout Brook; the entire route over Mount Tego, on both public and private land, is still shown as the designated route. So confusion definitely reigns! Either way, it was a great day out exploring new trails. My round-trip hike was 7.4 miles with about 1,000 feet elevation gain.
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| Telephone Road |
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| looking downhill to intersection with Route 41 |
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| Route 41 |
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| painted over blaze where trail splits off Route 41 at Pritchard Brook |
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| Pritchard Brook is pretty dry by Route 41 |
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| white blazes are still visible away from the road |
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| Trout Brook still flooded; I was on the other side of this water in the spring |
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| Telephone Road |
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| the only sign about either closure, at Telephone Road crossing where trail heads south |
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| register on the Mount Tego spur |
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| bridge over Pritchard Creek |
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