It rained all night Monday night. Marie and I were dry, warm, and safe from the mosquitoes in the tent. Her brother Larry came the next morning and we set off to put out the cars- one at each end- and to begin hiking 12 miles.
The rain had ended and left the tree trunks dark and the leaves bright.
The terrain in this section of New York is very hilly and the trail goes up and over each ridge. Every large valley has a road; every valley has a stream. Most of these are small enough to cross on stepping stones. Many of the streams fall over steep jumbles of shale. I'd love to have this one in my garden!
Once in a while, the waterway is significant enough to need a bridge. But it's not significant enough to have a name!
The rain actually stayed away and the temperature was perfect for walking. We got back to the campsite in plenty of time to fix a campfire dinner while there was lots of light. Since a lot of the trail food I fix has to be dehydrated to make it light enough to carry, it was a lot of fun to make a different kind of dinner. It consisted of bacon, potatoes and onions fried up in a cast-iron skillet. Turned out yummy! But you need to have patience to give the potatoes time to cook.
The evening wound down as the sun reflected off the surface of the water. First the peepers started to sing. (Small frogs whose combined voices sound almost like sleigh bells.) After dark the tree frogs added their voices, chirping like birds from above the tent. A few geese honked their way across the sky.
I slipped into sleep with friends beside me, surrounded by fresh, clean air and the sounds of creation ringing in my ears.
 | See Hiking- Cuyler Hill to Paradise Hill |
11 comments:
Excellent blog. I felt like I was there. I want to hike this one day.
What a truly terrific day!!!
:-)
What lovely refreshing views on your hike ...... the water especially is a magical picture.
I admire your last sentence.
What a beautiful place for a hike. I love that second picture. I can hear the water gently flowing over the rocks. I can also hear the wildlife orchestra playing in the background.
I would love to hike in a place like this, too! Beautiful place and beautifully captured through your blog post. It felt like I was hiking with you!
Happy Tuesday! :)
Janski- The Finger Lakes Trail is a well-maintained and loved route across New York State. Hope you get to sample it.
Ferd- Any day on a trail is a good day, but yes, this was a nice one.
Polly- NY has been getting so much rain this spring that every little trickle is a full-fledged stream. Makes for beautiful rivulets, but the farmers can't plant their fields.
rainfield- those moments are always so special.
Ann- I really like the tree frogs. They can be exceptionally loud, but it seems so unexpected to hear so much sound in the trees at night!
Vi- you can come hike with me whenever you want. Thanks for stopping by!
It all sounds magical, Joan. I would have loved sharing your camp meal and hearing that lovely serenade as you fell aslep! I remember the Puerto Rican tree frogs - or coqui, as they call them there. What a noise those guys can make!
Carmen- It's amazing how much noise they can make! I'd like to hear the coqui.
Guess what I'm going to have for dinner? LOL.. Happy hiking
Joe! Frogs? Oh, wait... maybe our dinner menu. I hope so.
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