Jones Hill & Tinker Falls

This was our first weekend home after returning from Europe, and Frankie and I wanted to meet up with Erin and Alden.  Alden is about the same age Frankie was when he first climbed up to the hang glider launch spot on Jones Hill, so I suggested that.  Labrador Hollow is a substantially longer drive from Erin's house than from mine, so she drove to our house and then rode with Frankie and I the rest of the way.  I was last up here in January 2018, so was pleased to return after such a long absence.  Jones Hill is a hike worth revisiting again and again.

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.

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. 

Group Hike: Jones Hill and Tinker Falls

One of Frankie's best friends is a little girl named Holly who has been a classmate of his for three years now.  I got an email Thursday from Holly's mom, Megan, inviting us to join a group hike with families from Frankie's school at Tinker Falls today.  The hike was organized by a family with two elementary-aged children, and their daughter is best friends with Holly's older sister.  The few names I recognized on the invite list were parents of other elementary students.  Because of the mixed age classrooms at Frankie's school, he could be in the same class with some of these kids next year when he moves up to elementary.  Plus I knew he'd have fun hiking with Holly!  

North Country Trail: Spruce Pond to Jones Hill

This summer has been hot.  Not just regular old summer hot, but really freaking ungodly hot.  HOT hot.  I've mentioned this before (broken record alert!), but heat is not my friend.  I am immeasurably thrilled that the forecast for later this week and into the weekend is for significantly cooler weather.  But between appointments and birthday parties and non-compatible travel, it has been far too long since I'd been out hiking, and I just couldn't wait another week to get in the woods.  Since I knew temperatures were going to exceed 90 degrees today, I wanted a shorter hike, so we went with Option 3 from the hiking menu I made Frankie a few weeks ago.

North Country Trail: Shackham Road to Tinker Falls

On a lark, I wrote up a "hiking menu" last night after Frankie went to bed.  I included some brief descriptive information about four different sections of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) and showed it to him in the morning.  While he ate breakfast, he read through the menu and announced he wanted to do hike number 2.  This was welcome news!  All the options were of interest to me, of course, or I wouldn't have included them.  However, I was most looking forward to this one, even though we hiked the adjacent section of trail last week.  Options 1 and 4 follow the abandoned Lehigh Valley Railroad, and as a result, are quite flat.  They are also located in a more developed landscape, closer to roads and houses and such.  Option 3 is a lovely hike that is also adjacent to last weeks hike (on the other side); Frankie and I did it last summer and will certainly repeat it at some point.  Morgan Hill State Forest, especially, and the abutting Labrador Hollow Unique Area, has a remote rugged aspect that really appeals to me, and Option 2 was all new territory for me.

North Country Trail: Tinker Falls & Jones Hill

Bolstered by our successful mini-adventure at Clark Reservation on Wednesday, I was finally ready excited to head out for a summer hike in Central New York.  I gave Frankie the choice of a few different sections of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT), showing him maps and pictures from previous hikes.  He decided he wanted to go to Tinker Falls, which is part of Labrador Hollow Unique Area, then hike up to the hang glider launch pad on Jones Hill.  Last year when we hiked here, we took the service road up to Jones Hill, but this year we stuck to the blue-blazed NCT the whole way up and down.  The NCT does follow a short section of the service road, but the majority of the hike is on a narrow single-track in the woods.  It was so charming, I question why we ever went the other way!

Skyline Trail

Erwin doesn't hike with us very often because he operates on a completely different schedule.  However, he does enjoy hiking and is prone to the inevitable restlessness pulling so strongly toward the outdoors this time of year.  When he saw today's weather forecast for unseasonably warm temperatures, he decided to sacrifice some sleep and come out for a hike with me.  As soon as he mentioned the idea, I knew immediately where I wanted to go!  The Skyline Trail is 6.1 miles.  I've wanted to hike this trail for a long time, but logistically, it hasn't been feasible, since it is beyond Frankie's current range.  To accomplish it solo, I'd have to do an out-an-back totaling over 12 miles with significant elevation gain, which is not something I could realistically do in the window between dropping Frankie off at school and when I'd need to be back to pick him up.  Two cars would let us complete this hike as a traverse, making the distance more manageable in our available time window.

Jones Hill Via Spruce Pond

When I suggested a hike this weekend, Frankie was delightfully enthusiastic.  However, he had an unusual condition: he insisted we go somewhere new.  I suggested driving 2 hours to hike a fire tower in the Adirondack foothills, but he rejected the long drive, leaving me scrambling.  I had to think pretty hard before I finally came up with a couple of ideas.  [We hike much more than I record here, and he's already been to most of the places reasonably close by.  I've considered adding a monthly roundup of hikes that don't get a full length feature, but I just haven't got around to it.] 

Jones Hill via Tinker Falls

 
Sunday Frankie and I had a lazy morning around the house before heading out for a hike.  I couldn't bear not being in the woods; it was simply too beautiful outside to stay home.  Tinker Falls and the hang glider launch pad on Jones Hill have long been a favorite spring hike of mine, one I haven't indulged in since Frankie was born.  In 2013, we took a family hike to the base of Tinker Falls, out and back, no further.  In 2014, it was a combo hike with Erin: a Tinker loop behind the falls, then the boardwalk loop at Labrador Hollow.  This year I decided Frankie was finally ready: he could handle the hike to Tinker Falls, and then continue on to the top of Jones Hill.