Location: Chimney Bluffs
Date: June 17, 2011
Leader: Becky Olson
Duration: Day Trip

On Friday, June 17th, five hikers from the "women's gang" carpooled out to Chimney Bluffs. The day started off cool and cloudy, which felt refreshing as we made a brief stop at the first entrance and walked out to the lake to see where we were headed. Continuing to the "old" entrance, we began the hike, starting off with an uphill climb. As we reached the most scenic parts of the bluffs, the sun began to shine, making for stunning views. A pair of eagles flew over our heads several times, and even perched on the tops of the sandstone formations. Later in the hike, one swooped down to the water and flew up with a fish. Partway through the hike, we reached a path that seemed too close to the edge for comfort, so took what we thought would be a brief detour. It turned out to be another trail and wound through the woods for quite a while before reaching the other end of the park.

After lunch, we hiked back along the ridge (no detours!). The first 10 minutes was a challenge as we had to wind through and climb over over many downed trees. Before heading home, we spent a little time on the beach, wading, sitting on logs, or just walking.

As one participant said, "I feel like I had a REAL hike!"

May 27, 2011 -- Wesley Nature Preserve
Leader: Peg Jacobs

Another very very muddy, rather wet, lovely Friday hike!!!  5 of us plus one dog weathered the raindrops and hiked for 2 hours.  Every now and then the sun would try to shine and we would take off the rain coats, then of course, it would rain a bit more! We stopped at the little cabin midway for snacks then continued on.  It was a great "walk in the woods" and a great way to start the Memorial day Weekend.

Participants: Peg, laurel, Nadean, Joan, Marilyn

Location: Canal Path/Brighton
Date: April 28, 2011
Leader: Martha Blair/Peg Jacobs

A bit muddy and very very windy but a great day for a walk.  We changed the location from Mendon Ponds to the canal path hoping to not have to deal with quite so much mud - probably a good plan!!! Lots of signs of spring - little snakes along the path, spring flowers, the beginnings of water in the canal and a nice warm sunshine.  The 2 hours went very quickly.

"Rob's trail" - Hemlock/Conesus
Date: April 22, 2011
Leaders: Peg Jacobs/Laurel Baker

Our "women's hiking group" is off to good start - exploring muddy trails today!!!  6 of us hiked the "Rob's trail" from Rt. 15A down to Canadice lake and along the lake.  The sun tried hard to come out as we balanced ourselves through the mud and water (at times).  A great trail with a lovely view of the lake this time of year.  Of course, with 6 women chatting we didn't see much wildlife but we had a great time in the out of doors!!! The water level of the lake is very high and water is cascading over the spill at the north end.   Next week we'll be at Mendon Ponds on Thursday - come join us for a leisurely 2 hour hike!

Location: Mendon Ponds
Date: April 8, 2011
Leader: Becky Olson
This hike was the first for the new Womens' group.  On cloudy but pleasant day, we hiked in the area of the Bird Song Trail, stopping to feed chickadees, and spending a little time in the lovely quiet space created in memory of a hiker.  We looked for signs of spring and noted the skunk cabbage on the swamp boardwalk. Next, we walked through the woods to the Devil\'s Bathtub, then back up to the Nature Center.  For anyone interested, these hikes are on Thursday or Friday mornings, generally from  9:30 to 11:30.  On the 4th Friday of each month, Peg Jacobs leads a hike in the Finger Lakes area.  The hikes are leisurely as we take time to enjoy our surroundings.

Location: Letchworth (east side)
Date: February 20, 2011
Leader: Ken Reek
Trip Report: 12th Annual Pancake Hike

Sunday Feb 20 was beautiful -- sunny, in the mid-20s and no wind -- a perfect day for snowshoeing in Letchworth Park. Seven hikers joined leader Ken Reek on the two-falls hike. Starting from the Parade Grounds entrance, we hiked the Finger Lakes branch trail along the east side of the river. The snow on the trees and icicles on the walls of the gorge were beautiful in the bright sun. We saw the upper and middle falls (each had a rainbow near it), and the mist from the falls had coated the nearby trees with ice.

After our hike we drove to the nearby Maple Tree Inn for the traditional all-you-can-eat-pancake-and-syrup lunch. We were seated without waiting, and the buckwheat pancakes and syrup were delicious (as usual). We probably ingested far more calories than we had burned off, but after all this is a rite of Spring and must be observed properly.

Leader: Donna Dinse
Duration: Over Night
Type: Ski/Snowshoe

On a sunny Friday afternoon, Thomas and Donna Dinse, Lois Dannenberg, Sue Sciortino, Deni Charpentier and Margaret O'Keefe drove to Keene Valley Hostel for a potluck dinner and socializing. Regrettably, Judy Immesoete was unable to co-lead the trip because of a death in her family. Barb Brenner and Lydia D'Amato arrived later that night.

After breakfast the next morning, Karl Pleger joined us and we were on the trail to Porter and Cascade mountains by 9:00 am. The trail was broken and packed and not too slippery so we make good time. We climbed to the summit of Porter first, and then stopped briefly for lunch in the col between the peaks before continuing on to Cascade. It was very windy at the top and we had some difficulty in clambering over rock faces swept bare by the wind (crampons don't work well on bare rock). We all made it to the peak and although clouds were low and visibility poor, we still enjoyed the experience.

The trip down was easier and much faster, especially for the one of us who went butt-sliding on the steep areas (she knows who she is). The round trip distance was 5.9 miles.

It was nice to return to the warm hostel for a shower and change of clothing. We then went to the Ausable Inn for dinner.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Noon Mark Diner, packed up and headed home.

I had a great time on this trip and enjoy the company of the other mountaineers. Thanks to Donna Dinse for leading.

Written by Lois Dannenberg

Leader: Reinhard Gsellmeier

On Fri. Eric Boxer ("Boxer"), Andy Caselli, Eric Gsellmeier, Mike Gsellmeier & Reinhard Gsellmeier started out from the gate at the Ausable Club at 2:00 PM.  We proceeded down the Lake Rd. trail in snowshoes, crossed the bridge just below the dam, and headed up the Weld Trail.  A suitable camping area was found at approx. El. 3,200', and we got our tents pitched just before darkness fell.  Overnite temperatures dropped into the single digits, not too bad for the Dacks in Feb.  

Sat. we were on the trail at 6:45 AM.  The trail was broken out to Pyramid thanks to a group that had been through the day before, but our group broke trail through deep snow from Pyramid to Gothics & on to Armstrong.  Our "rolling thunder" technique worked pretty well, with a lot of the heavy lifting (or should we say heavy breaking) being handled by Boxer & Mike.  I think we each managed to find a spruce trap or two before the day was over, but we were rewarded by clear skies and fantastic above treeline views.  Eric & Reinhard returned to camp after summiting Gothics, while Boxer, Andy & Mike continued on to Armstrong and then grabbed Sawteeth on the way back – arriving at camp around 4:30 PM.  

Sat. nite temperatures were mild (mid/upper 20s), and we received about 8" of wet, heavy snow overnite.  We were also "treated" to an overnite lightning storm that kept us all awake intermittently.  

Sun. morning was a 4:00 AM wake-up, and we broke camp and were on the trail by 5:30 AM.  We stopped for breakfast in Schroon Lake, dropped Eric & Andy off at the train station in Albany, and all of us were home in time to participate in our various Super Bowl parties, etc.