Today's hike is located on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) Map M15, which I started in June. However, the section I hiked today is not contiguous to where I hiked previously. I decided to skip ahead and hike it now because the private land between South Hill Road and Texas Hollow Road has a hunting closure from October 1 to December 25. Now or never! Or not until after Christmas anyway. The FLT mapping describes the South Hill Road access as having "limited shoulder parking" and Texas Hollow Road access as having "wide shoulder parking" so I chose the latter, and hiked out-and-backs in both directions.
I started out going west, toward South Hill Road, as this is private land with the hunting closure. The trail climbs steeply initially, gaining about 270 feet in 0.2 miles. Once cresting the ridge, the trail levels off for a bit, then descends gradually all the way to South Hill Road. There was an incredible bounty of red efts out today: I counted over a hundred in the first mile before abandoning the tally. My fear of stepping on them slowed me down considerably as I scanned the ground continually and contorted my steps to avoid them. I can't bear the thought of crushing one of the adorable creatures.
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American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides)
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my first turnaround point on South Hill Road, looking south
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looking north along South Hill Road, where the FLT continues
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From here I turned around and retraced my steps back toward where I started. The trail follows the edge of a field for the portion of the trail closest to the road. Blazing was hard to see coming down through in this section, but I had data here and confirmed that I was on the correct route. The blazes were easier to spot on the way back up when I already knew the way.
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rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) normally flowers in early spring
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looking back up the FLT near Texas Hollow Road (the trail briefly follows a driveway)
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FLT crossing of Texas Hollow Drive, looking south
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There is what looks like a sizeable parking area on the east side of Texas Hollow Road (photo below). However, I did not park here because of the "No Parking Any Time" sign. I found this particularly confounding given that it is state forest land, part of Texas Hollow State Forest. I wonder if it is a snow plow turnaround? But those are typically posted as such and allow parking during non-winter months.
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heading east from Texas Hollow Road
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After a short distance, perhaps half a mile or less, on a well-marked trail segment through the forest, the trail marking vanished and I got off course briefly following a herd path that petered out. I retraced my steps and got back on track -- I should have turned sharply to the left on a gravel access road instead of continuing straight on the footpath. Other hikers had clearly made the same mistake, judging by the footprints, etc. The two track leads down to a narrow pond. The FLT passes through an open meadow at the north end of the pond and re-enters the forest. It is relatively level (rolling) for the next half mile or so, and then begins to climb steeply again.
I had hoped to continue east as far as Newtown Road before turning back, but it became clear that this wasn't going to happen today. In addition to the delays due to the rampaging newts and me losing the trail, I had encountered lengthy construction-related delays on my drive here that I would also have to navigate on my drive home. I was looking for a distinctive landmark when I realized I would soon reach the border of the state forest, and decided to use that as my turnaround point. I also marked it as a waypoint in GaiaGPS so I could verify I made it back to the right place when I return on the adjacent section. Then I returned the way I came back to Texas Hollow Road (minus the off-trail detour).
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my turnaround point
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campsite near the pond
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MapMyRide tracked these two out-and-backs at a combined 6.0 miles roundtrip with approximately 1,035 feet elevation gain. Given the odd no parking sign in the Texas Hollow Road lot, I feel like the parking on South Hill Road is just as good. One out-and-back seems more logical than two -- it's odd to pass your car mid-hike. But still a great hike! I love this trail.
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