Each year, the FLTC cooperates with affiliate organizations to sponsor a Cross-County Hike Series. The series includes several organized hikes, about one per month, that are intended to promote hiking on the Finger Lakes Trail. Many members use these hikes in their quest for End-to-End awards. When you register for a series and participate in all of the hikes, you will have crossed a major section of the Finger Lakes Trail. There is a modest registration fee that covers the cost of transportation between the ends of each hike.

2013 Schuyler County Hike Series

by Jet Thomas, Schuyler County Hike Series Coordinator

Download the Registration Form here. Registration deadline is April 1, 2013 The 2013 FLTC Cross-County Hike Series will follow the 49.5 miles of trail in Schuyler County in six hikes from April through September. The Series will begin in April at the western side of the county on Monterey Road, which is located just over the county line near the eastern edge of Steuben County, and will continue eastward for four hikes. Hikes #5 and #6 will be made westward, finishing the trail to the eastern edge of the county on Ridge Road in western Tompkins County and finally ending in September in Clute Park on the shore of Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen, where we will celebrate the completion of the Series with a picnic and awards ceremony.

Schuyler County was named in honor of General Philip Schuyler, one of the four major generals of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, and is noted for its diversity of terrain and beautiful scenery. The trail passes old stone walls and foundations; two historic sites, the Six Nations Cemetery and the Buck Settlement Cemetery; travels along a pre-1850s road; follows the southern edge of the gorge through Watkins Glen State Park; shares part of the Interloken Trail, one of the branch trails of the FLT; and skirts the edge of the Schuyler County Veterans Memorial Park.

A substantial portion of the trail winds through five State Forests: South Bradford, Goundry Hill, Sugar Hill, Texas Hollow and Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area. The Finger Lakes National Forest, the only National Forest in NY, contains nearly four miles of the trail. Hikes will vary in length from 6.7 to 9.7 miles and will occur rain or shine. If you have not been exercising yet during this winter, please begin conditioning your muscles soon to prepare for the hilly terrain and long distances.

The series is scheduled for the third Saturday of each month on the following dates: April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17 and September 21. The fee is still being determined and may possibly remain at last year’s amount of $40, covering transportation by bus, a completion patch, supplies for the sag wagons and the picnic. The registration form will soon be available on this page; please check this back periodically.

If you have any questions, please contact the hike coordinator, Jet Thomas, at [email protected] or by phone at 585-671-8949. And remember: It’s always a glorious day to be in the woods!