I discovered the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) due to its partnership with the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT), which follows the FLT from the Pennsylvania state line in western New York all the way to Cuyler Hill State Forest, where the NCT diverges, following the Onondaga Trail north while the FLT continues east. I hiked all of the Onondaga Trail, which is itself a branch trail of the FLT, in 2016, and started my explorations west along the FLT in Cuyler Hill State Forest. Ever since then, I have been hiking new sections of the FLT, but always westward, on the portion followed by the NCT. As I have fallen in love with the NCT, I realized that all the parts I love best are actually part of the FLT. And as my drive times to reach new sections of FLT to the west have increased, so has my desire to start exploring the FLT east of Cuyler Hill.
