NCT: Canastota Creek

For this hike on the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT), we parked at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Canastota and hiked to Nelson Road and back, for a total of 4.8 miles.  I hiked this same stretch of trail in April 2016, but hadn't brought Frankie there before.  I knew he'd enjoy it because so much of the hike follows Canastota Creek.  It is a basic hiking equation: kid + water = fun.  Upon arrival, I was pleased that the gate to the cemetery was open, as it contains the hiker parking lot.  When I was here last January, there was a sign saying the cemetery was closed in winter, so I'd been planning on parking at the nearby Aldi's instead, but this was much better.  The trail starts off good right away with some bog bridges across a wet spot.  Bridges are another feature that Frankie enjoys. 

Jones Hill, Tinker Falls, Labrador Hollow

My original plan for the day was to park at the Tinker Falls trailhead, and hike the spur trail to the top of Tinker Falls, then pick up the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) south toward Shackham Road.  This did not work out, because although it was cold today, and snowing rather hard, yesterday it was 50 degrees and raining buckets, meaning a lot of our lovely snow melted off, raising the creek levels.  I didn't feel comfortable attempting the creek crossing solo in high water conditions with the frigid temperatures.  I scouted upstream a bit, but there isn't much space before hitting private property, and downstream is Tinker Falls with it's 50 foot drop.  No thanks!  So what to do instead?  I decided I would climb Jones Hill as Plan B.

Three Rivers in the Snow

After a long stretch of bitter cold weekends, we finally got a gorgeous winter Saturday, sunny and mild.  Erin and I were determined to get the out with the boys.  After much hemming and hawing, we decided to go to Three Rivers and park on Sixty Road, following the "turtle hike" trail west from the parking lot.  We wanted to go somewhere the snow wouldn't present too much of a challenge for Alden and where the trailhead was plowed, but after two Bog Trail hikes in December, we also wanted some variety.  We hike at Three Rivers frequently, so it's not terribly exciting, but it's woods (which always beats paved trails) and we've been avoiding it all fall because of hunting season, so hadn't been in a while. 

Jones Hill on Snowshoes

After last winter's dearth of snow, I was super excited to finally have enough snow for snowshoeing, and determined to get out and enjoy it.  I was also longing for the peace and solitude found along the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) and/or Finger Lakes Trail (FLT).  However, many access points are along rural roads with limited snow removal, and I didn't want to get stuck.  I decided I would hike part of the Onondaga Trail, because it passes right across the top of Tinker Falls.  The Tinker Falls trailhead is along State Route 91, so is reliably accessible.  These trails are the busiest on the entire FLT/NCT network (at least of the parts I've hiked so far), and I did encounter six other hikers, but the guarantee of clear parking made the tradeoff worthwhile.  Plus, I'd never been up Jones Hill in deep snow before, and was excited for the winter views. 

New Year's Day at Woodchuck Hill

Another cold day, colder even than our Bog Trail hike the other day.  Too cold for Erin, Alden, and Keith, but Mary and I both wanted to get out, and Frankie always has energy to burn.  My mom and I were waffling about whether to drive somewhere or just walk in the neighborhood.  This issue resolved itself tidily when Erwin spoke up and volunteered to drive us to Woodchuck Hill Preserve.  Like the rest of us, he had cabin fever and wanted to get outside.  Plus, we'd gone to Woodchuck Hill a few weeks ago with Frankie, and found an interesting crossing: a passage.  We started exploring the other side of the drainage, but had to turn back as we approached White Lake.  Erwin and I were both very curious about what lay beyond our previous turnaround point, and were eager to explore further.