Anyone been out to the Virgil/Kennedy State Forest area lately and care to report on trail conditions? I might run there on Monday.
Pete, this past Monday I did a 10-mile loop of the Spanish/Swedish/FLT off of Daisy Hollow Road and found much of it covered with a foot of mushy snow still — a nice hike (in shorts and a T-shirt in sunshine and temps in the 60s, but not exactly runnable). More will have melted by now, but I doubt it’s clear.
I’m going to see what Shindagin Hollow looks like today. Ann Leonard reports that Hammond Hill is beginning to clear out, but still has some ice, snow, and frost heaves.
1 Like
Shindagin trails are in generally good conditions: free of snow/ice, but some muddy and wet sections here and there, and the creek crossings on blue 6 will definitely get your feet wet. Had a lovely run there. Note, however, that, aside from the FLT, these trails were built by and for mountain bikers. It would be great if runners and hikers made a particular effort be courteous and friendly to cyclists that you encounter.
1 Like
The Gorge Trail at Buttermilk is now open for the season. The park is continuing with the one-way traffic like that did last year. Signs direct people to go up the Rim Trail and down the Gorge. I think Treman is doing the same thing again, but I don’t know if their Gorge Trail and Red Pine Trail are open yet.
@CharlieF just mentioned on the High Noon list that the Flat Rocks suspension bridge is closed temporarily.
The pedestrian suspension bridge across Fall Creek upstream of “Flat Rocks” is temporarily closed for maintenance. Hikers and runners using the Cayuga Trail, trails from the R. T Jones Golf Course, and trails from the F. R Newman Arboretum and Natural Areas along Forest Home Drive will not be able to cross the bridge at Fall Creek.”
Cornell now says that the suspension bridge has been repaired and is once again open.
Yesterday 14th Nov up on Hammond Hill – the first light snow on the very highest elevations (microwave tower). Leaves all off and over the trails, watch for hidden roots. The big news is the completion of the Friends of Hammond Hill trail improvements. Relevant for Thom B are the lower ends of Y4 and Y5 near the small creek draining parallel to Caanan Road, the mucky sections have been covered with a nice gravel bed, this should take a few minutes off everyone’s Thom B time. I crossed several groups and individual hikers, all in bright yellow, orange or shocking pink. But in the middle of the day there is not much chance of hunters, they like dawn and dusk.
1 Like
Thanks for the update. I ran that loop a few weeks ago after some heavy rain, and the trail resurfacing work made a huge difference in keeping those sections drained and dry.
1 Like
In email @JoshB noted:
You may want to point out that there is a lot of water out on the Forest Frolic course. As soon as the downhill section starts the road became a creek with water flowing down that entire section. Running up the first part of the hill and the access road under the power lines also had flowing water almost the entire way. The bottom of the trail that comes out to the power line access road was washed out and we had to walk through the woods for a bit. The creeks were all high and we took extra time to find decent places to cross many of them. There was mud too but that’s to be expected. No one should set out to get a time PR on this course right now.
I ran the Frolic this morning and it’s now covered in water and light snow. I’d consider most of the loop runnable if you don’t mind having wet feet for the full duration. The only part I found tricky was the rocky uphill from Cortright Road to the crossroads (4-way trail intersection). The rest is slow going but doable.
I wasn’t too thrilled about running this in the snow today, but the run gave me 10 or more completions on all 10 Challenge courses. I didn’t want to wait on this one since it will probably only get worse.
1 Like