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. 

The trail is a narrow single track at this point, winding through the woods skirting the cemetery.  Frankie has outgrown his hiking boots so wore rain boots, which were not the best choice given the slippery ice spine.  His winter boots have better traction, but the temperatures were mild and he wanted to wear the rain boots, so I allowed it, although I find them somewhat useless (except for basic puddle jumping).  I am hoping it is a novelty thing, and their charm will wear off; he hasn't had any in a while, but his school requires them for elementary students, so he is still reveling in the joy of them.  Also perhaps influenced by Ramona Quimby?  There is a whole story line in one of the books about the excitement of new rain boots.  Anyway, it gave him the chance to practice with his microspikes, haha.  Now I just have to decide whether to order new hikers right away or wait a bit longer. 

The trail briefly follows an old two track, then turns back onto a single track.   

After about 0.6 miles, the trail reaches a long set of wooded stairs that descend into a ravine.  There is a bench and a register built into the landing halfway down, so we stopped for a snack here.  I put Frankie's microspikes away at this point, since they weren't really necessary anyway. 

At the base of the stairs, the trail turns left and follows a small stream that drains into Canastota Creek.  There is a nice bridge over the creek, from which we played a few rounds of Pooh sticks.  

 

The trail then winds through the floodplain, crossing another small bridge before climbing up to the old rail bed where the former Lehigh Valley Railroad has been converted to a rail trail. 

installing sticks in holes in the ice - these were retried later for additional rounds of Pooh sticks

up on the rail trail

pretending to be a sled dog (i.e., pretending to pull a sledge on ice skates, like the characters in Winter Holiday)

throwing a snowball into Nelson Road at our turnaround point

There is a small pond alongside the trail near Nelson Road, Canastota Reservoir, so of course we poked about it's shores and checked out the small waterfalls at its outlet.

Frankie had fun scrambling up and down the narrow ridges along the sides of the rail bed.  

another snack at the bench on the stairs

almost back