Interloken Trail: Picnic Area Road to Searsburg Road

For this hike, I returned to the same trailhead along Picnic Area Road that I used when hiking the Interloken - Burnt Hill Loop back in November.  Today I set out in the opposite direction along the Interloken Trail, planning to use Searsburg Road as a turnaround point 3.9 miles to the north.  I was considering exploring some of the Forest Service trails on the way back to make small loops, but conditions proved more challenging than they appeared, so I mostly stuck to the Interloken Trail on the return, as well, except a slight deviation to walk around the other side of tiny Foster Pond.

FLT/NCT Roadwalk, M16: Trumbulls Corner Road to Griffin Road

For part two of this rifle season outing on the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT), I finally made it back to M16.  I parked at the trailhead at the Stevenson Forest Preserve, which I had used as a turnaround point for a hike that started in Robert Treman State Park back in January 2020.  From here I followed the white blazes southwest on Trumbull Corners Road, then turned right and hiked up Rumsey Hill Road.  Just after cresting the hill, the FLT turns south onto Connecticut Hill Road; when Connecticut Hill Road veers off to the southeast, the FLT splits to the right and continues south on Griffin Road.  I followed the twists and turns of Griffin Road until I got to the trailhead where I started a hike into Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area back in February 2020.  Having completed the orphaned roadwalk section, I turned back and re-traced my route back to the car.

FLT/NCT Roadwalk, M15: Burnt Hill Road to South Hill Road

With rifle season still going strong, my main goal for today was to complete a roadwalk on M16: the last section I needed to finish the map sheet.  Hurray!  But since the orphaned bit of M16 was not long enough to make the long drive down worth it, I decided to also knock out another short roadwalk on M15.  And since M15 is further from home, it made sense to go there first and work my way home.  I started part one of my outing at the southern-most Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) trailhead on Burnt Hill Road, where I'd turned around on a loop hike back in October. 

FLT Roadwalk: M23, M24

For the second stop in my two-part adventure, I parked at the corner of Fred Stewart and Hoag-Childes Roads, at the trailhead I used last March when I explored the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) to the north in deep snow conditions.  Today I walked south along Fred Stewart Road to complete the roadwalk I'd skipped, turning left (east) onto County Route 10, and then right (south again) onto North Tower Road.  I continued south on North Tower Road until I reached the trailhead where I'd parked last month when hiking the FLT through Bowman Lake State Park.  With the gap filled, I turned around and retraced my steps back to the car.

FLT Roadwalk: M24, M25

Today was another two-part adventure, designed to mop up some Finger Lakes Trail roadwalks I'd orphaned while hiking the adjacent off-road sections.  For this first stop, I drove to the trailhead on French Road on map sheet M25.  This had been my turnaround on a hike in May that started on State Route 12 to the east.  I hiked west along French Road for a short distance, then turned north and followed the blazes along Fred Wilcox Road.  When that teed onto County Route 3, I turned east, then took the first left onto Stone Quarry Hill Road.  This intersection is the border between two maps sheets; as I hiked up the hill, I was on M24 -- but just briefly.  The trailhead for the off-road section going north from Stone Quarry Hill Road was my turnaround point on another hike in May that started further north on Hoben (Hogan?) Road.  Having connected the dots, I turned around and retraced my steps back to the car.

Interloken-Burnt Hill Loop

I had planned to start this hike at the parking area on Burnt Hill Road where I turned around on my first Interloken Trail outing.  I intended to hike north on the Interlaken Trail to Picnic Area Road, walk east on the road perhaps a quarter mile past Blueberry Campground, then return south via the Burnt Hill Trail to make a lollipop loop.  However, as I was driving to the trailhead, following the Google map directions, I passed a sign for Blueberry Campground.  I pulled over and confirmed: it was one and the same.  There is day use parking there, and since Google said it was another 7 minute drive to reach the Burnt Hill Road trailhead, I changed my plans.  I could save almost 15 minutes of driving by starting here.  Brilliant!

FLT: North Tower Road to Bliven Sherman Road

I had been saving this hike for a while, intending to bring Frankie down with me so we could climb the nearby fire tower on Berry Hill.  However, I recently got a Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) passport book from a trail register, and Frankie has *really* enjoyed the couple passport rubbings he's done so far so.  I discovered there is a passport hike on an FLT spur trail within Bowman Lake State Park, the Kopac Loop Trail, and it seemed like that might be a more interesting pairing for Frankie.  Which put this section back on the table as a solo hike, and I decided to prioritize it before rifle season starts because it is my only off-road section left on M24.  By hiking this today, I can complete the M24 roadwalks during rifle season and finish another map sheet.  Exciting stuff!