A myriad of commitments has kept me from my solo weekday hikes, and when a free day finally arrived, I was far past ready for it. I have been impatient to continue my explorations on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT), which carries the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) westward. After my long absence, I hadn't exactly forgotten the challenges of winter hiking on the FLT, but let's just say I was in denial. The problem is access, since many of the trailheads are on narrow country roads, often seasonal dirt roads, with limited shoulder parking. Even where such roads are plowed, the narrow shoulders are often filled with snow, leaving no space to safely park. I experienced this difficulty today, and wasted a lot of time driving around after the first two spots I tried were completely inaccessible. Then I remembered the small parking lot that served as my turnaround point on my last FLT hike in Robinson Hollow State Forest. It has a southern exposure and was available. Phew! Finally I could get out of the car and start hiking.
From the parking lot, I hiked south on Robinson Hollow Road, then west on State Route 79. If I had easy access to my first choice of parking areas, I might have saved this roadwalk for hunting season, but it passed quickly enough. I was in such a hurry to get moving I didn't take any pictures until I turned off into Tarr-Young Natural Area, managed by Cornell University. I quickly crossed the grassy field by the road side, scrambled down a deep snow drift, and crossed a beautiful bridge. Since it was dry, I sat down here and put on my gaiters. I wasn't sure what conditions would be like down here, and after learning the hard way, I was carrying gaiters, snowshoes, and microspikes -- ready for whatever I might find. The snow seemed shallow enough on the other side of the bridge, so I continued bare-booting.
Conditions were a bit challenging though. The snow was crusty, holding my weight in some places, but I soon started sinking through it with almost every step. As I climbed the ridge, the snow got deeper, and I eventually stopped and strapped on the snowshoes, hoping to make things easier. Unfortunately they didn't help much, as I was still breaking through quite frequently. No one had been high up the ridge recently; the only footprints turned back much lower down. I love that feeling of being alone in the woods! It's magical. However, breaking trail can be slow.
Eventually I realized I would have to turn back without reaching a logical turnaround point, or risk missing school pick-up. I had simply wasted too much time driving around looking for parking, and did not make up any time in my slow slog up the ridge. When I came to this distinctive sign, I decided it would be a good spot. I have yet to encounter a sign like this in all my FLT miles, so I knew when I came back in from the other side, I would easily find this spot to use as a turnaround. Back down I went...
I kept the snowshoes on past where I had put them on while climbing up, but did stop and and remove them on the lower slopes, when they became a hindrance again.
Then back across the footbridge, up the snow drift cliff, across the field, and back along the roadwalk to my car.
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| State Route 79 |
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| approaching the turn onto Robinson Hollow Road |
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| Robinson Hollow Road |
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| approaching the parking area at the edge of the State Forest |
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