Susquehanna Chapter ADK

Our "Spring" walk became a "Winter" walk on Tuesday. The temperature was 36 degrees the entire time, with strong winds, snow showers and about 30 seconds of sun before each shower. We were fortunate to see many Spring flowers and ferns. They were, however, all cuddled up against the cold - just like us hikers. All 19 made the four mile walk without any trouble. We did walk a little fast in order to keep warm. After years of searching, we found the Woodland Pond. It was a lovely area with a picnic table, a lean-to and hitching posts for horses. There were geese nesting on the pond.

We had typical Winter weather on Tuesday which means that a lot of consideration went into whether or not to proceed with the outing. We did, and sixteen hearty souls, plus one Professional Photographer, showed up. A light snow fell throughout the ski/snowshoe, which made the woods road at Basswood Pond State Forest feel like a magical place. Anita Briggs, a Freelance Photographer, walked along, in and around us, taking photographs. She says to look for them in the Daily Star on Saturday. Some of us had trouble getting our cars out of the parking area at the end.

Thirty people showed up for our hike at Hick State Forest (also known as The Roseboom Nordic Ski Trails). We all did the first part of the walk to a pond. There on a beautiful September day, we ate lunch. Monica and Irv Peters planned to walk the remainder of the trail, and graciously invited the rest of the group to join them. So 14 happy hikers went off with the Peters, while the rest of us backtracked on the trail to our cars. I did miss one trail for a few minutes, but realized it before we went too far. It is so nice to be outside on these wonderful days we've had lately.

It was not the hike that was promised, nor was it the hike that anyone expected. The leader was the most surprised walker of all. That is because, as the ADK Steward for the trail, she thought she knew the place well. However, I did get off the marked trail onto an unmarked, but obvious other trail, getting all twenty three of us totally turned around. The woods were lovely, and there were many, many Canada Mayflowers along the trail.

Surprisingly, eighteen people showed up for a walk on the Oneonta Greenway on Tuesday. We had to cancel our trip to Hick State Forest/ Roseboom Nordic Ski Trails because of icy conditions. The Greenway had some icy spots as well, but all were prepared with crampons and/or snowshoes, so everyone made it. The walking was a bit of a challenge. The Susquehanna River water was high for February, probably due to melting snow. A brand new member, Serina Bangilan, was along. She wants to learn about hiking spots in our area. It was a pleasure to have her with us.

The 50 degree temperatures on Monday, December 15, destroyed the beautiful skiing conditions at The Brookfield Horse Trails. Fourteen hikers did show up, in spite of not knowing what we would find when we got there. The walking was tricky. We had to watch every step we took. Everyone was in good humor and made the best of the situation. There was an attempt at reaching the Lean-To on Trail 17, but as we got farther into the woods, conditions got worse. We turned around and went back to the road to return to our cars. Some of us stopped for lunch at the New York Pizzeria in New Berlin.