Hammond Hill State Forest

The boys are all dressed up and ready to go! Here we are at the Hammond Hills State Forest parking lot, one of two parking lots at the north end and the only one accessible by actual cars, let alone trailers, we found by trial and error! Good thing Cordy's trailer is a gooseneck (and thus can make a more than 90 degree corner) otherwise we would have been stuck in the middle of nowhere at the end of a partially washed out dirt road... And guess who we meet crossing the road - Angelika hiking with kids and parents! And now I know why she had such a puzzled expression when we rumbled past, she knew where it ended! Maybe I should visit our next new trail with a small car and make sure it is what the map says it is... there might be something to that, hihi.

We both liked Hammond Hills, tho as the name says, Hills, the trails are either up, or down - there does not seem to be much flat area! Which is good for the horses as they get a good exercise, and not good for the horses as they are quite tired and ready to go home fairly soon. At least we had great weather, windy but sunny, and perfect fall leaf colors. If only Greni had not decided to do his donkey impression and take an hour and a half to load! We ended up backing the trailer onto a bank, pull a rope around his butt and just hauling him in. The ass.

One thing, if you decide to hike or ride there, make sure you have the map with the trail blaze codes! The DEC map does not, and without the trail blaze info I don't think Cordy and I would have made it back out... The trails are like a maze up there and with the winding trails and dense tree cover we had no idea which direction we were going :)

More information about Hammond Hills, from the NYS DEC website:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8204.html

Hammond Hill State Forest is located 3618 acres and is located in the towns of Caroline and Dryden in eastern Tompkins County.

The forest was established between 1935 and 1950 in an effort to reduce soil erosion problems, produce forest products, and provide recreational opportunities. Nearly half of the forest (1799 acres) was acquired by the State from the federal government. Most of the property was former pasture or tilled acreage that was suffering from poor agricultural practices. The DEC planted this land with 708,000 pine, spruce, larch, maple, cherry, ash and oak seedlings. The planting was accomplished between 1935 and 1940 using Civilian Conservation Corps labor. Today, almost 100% of the area is forested, the soil has been improved, and the harvesting of forest products supports all management activities, including recreation.

The Hammond Hill State Forest Multiple Use Trail System has been designed to offer family-based recreation for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and cross-county skiing. A snowmobile trail and the Finger Lakes Hiking Trail also cross the forest. The 16 mile trail system is a cooperative effort between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Lands and Forests, the Cayuga Nordic Ski Club, the Cayuga Nature Center, the Friends of Hammond Hill and the town of Dryden.

The trails are marked with circular trail signs. All trails are designated by color and number. Most of the trails are above 1800 feet in elevation; therefore, these trails are well suited for cross-county skiing. Trailed parking is provided in a parking lot on Cayuga Nature Center property on Hammond Hill Road. The trails are classified by the user's ability. Beginner trails have very gentle slopes and are fairly short in length. Intermediate trails have gentle to somewhat steep slopes and are moderate in length. Advanced trails have gentle to steep slopes and are usually longer in length than intermediate trails.

A very good map, in color, and with the trail codes can be found at:
http://www.cycle-cny.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/hammondhill1.jpg

Also a map, and other information can be found here:
http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeskiblog/
http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeskiblog/?page_id=891

Fingerlakes Forest Backbone Trail

Greni and I off to explore the Finger Lakes National Forest with Cordy, her Icelandic Horse Lysingur and her fancy big rig! The Finger Lakes Forest has real nice horseback riding trails with lots of different type of terrain and elevations. The only downside (could be) is that the Backbone Trail takes about 3 hours and does not really have any short cuts, at least not official ones, we found :)

  

 From the http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/66666.html DEC website:
The Finger Lakes National Forest lies on a ridge-called the backbone-between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes in the Finger Lakes region. New York State's only national forest, this multi-use land is reminiscent of western national forests with a great deal of open land and free-ranging cattle. The forest has over 30 miles of interconnecting trails that traverse gorges, ravines, pastures and woodlands. The forest is managed to provide a diversity of native forestlands, shrublands and grasslands, including areas of native older forests, diverse wildlife habitats, quality recreation areas and forage for livestock (no maps).

From the http://www.cnyhiking.com/BackboneTrail.htm website:
The Backbone Trail begins at the Backbone Horse Campground, and travels in the forest through shrub lands, pastures, old roads and many old homestead sites. It intersects the Interloken and Burnt Hill Trails to the south and the No-Tan-Takto trail to the north. It is a horse trail, however hikers are always welcome to walk the wide path.

It is a relatively flat primitive trail with natural tread, gravel in wet places and mowed paths through fenced pastures.  Please close gates behind you. From the north the Backbone Trail can be accessed at the corner of Ball Diamond Road and Wardner Corner Road or at the Foster Pond parking lot. Follow the signs and blaze marks. Caution: Trails are closed to horse users from March 15th thru May 1st due to muddy conditions. (small map on website)

Also from the USDA Forest service:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/greenmountain/htm/fingerlakes/links/recreation/seasonal.htm

With a GREAT map (pdf file):
www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprdb5318997.pdf

Plowing Day

An event to remember for next year!

Article from www.ithaca.com/news/ 
Photography by me.

Posted: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 1:43 pm

We’ve come a long way since the days of horse and plow, but this weekend, Interlaken will celebrate the rich history of agriculture during its Plowing Day, a throwback country fair, paying homage to field-tending tactics of yesteryear.

Brook Farm in Interlaken will come alive beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, with a full day’s itinerary for agriculturalists, craftsmen, history buffs and everyone in between. Lead by the Interlaken Historical Society, the event runs until 4 p.m. and is free to attend.

On the docket are a talk on grain farming at 10 a.m., given by the folks from Wide Awake Bakery, a parade at noon with tractors and farm animals, various exhibitors and vendors, and, of course, plowing demonstrations on the farm acreage. There will also be kids games, a gift-basket drawing and a grape-stomping demonstration, hosted by Lucas Vineyard and Winery, where fair goers are encouraged to roll up their pant legs and participate.

 John Hunt, one of the event’s organizers, showed off his family’s century-old barn at Brook Farm last week. Built in 1908, the big, red barn was owned by the Usher family until the 1950s. After a brief stint in the hands of the Cronk Dairy Company, the 40-by-100 feet barn was sold to the Hunts in the 1960s. Today, it’s recognized as one of 49 remaining Wells barns, named after the family of builders -- John Wells, Sr. and his three sons, who constructed barns throughout New York. The family’s calling card can be found on the trademark molding atop the highest windows, which feature a flattened or “lazy” W, Hunt said. Visitors will have a chance to peruse the barn as several demonstrations will be held there. “It’s great to see it alive out here with all the talking and enjoying,” Hunt said.

The nearby field yields a corn silage crop, and during Plowing Day the old farming machinery – horse-drawn plows, even a steam-powered tractor one particular year, tend to the land to both prepare it for next spring and provide a live history lesson.

This is the fourth such Plowing Day, which is funded through the Delavan Foundation and held every other year because, as Hunt said, it keeps the event fresh. Plus, it takes a lot of work to organize, he added. The last event drew a crowd of around 500 people.

In the past, the event has been themed around various aspects of agriculture. This year, organizers are concentrating on wheat, with an examination of grain, old and new mills and the changes in methods and equipment. Leading the day’s themed discussion is Liz Brown of Wide Awake Bakery, a Trumansburg-area bakery using locally grown grains and flour.

Brook Farm is located at 8228 Route 96 in Interlaken, just north of South Seneca Elementary School and Hipshot Products.