View Full Version : Finger Lakes Trail
Jay H
10-01-2006, 06:35 PM
While staying at the Fall Brook Leanto in the catskills, apparently this leanto is part of the "Finger Lakes Trail". Any good websites/books to find out what the route is for this long distance trail. From reading the leanto journal, the FLT seems to go from Denning trailhead (by the Slide Mtn Wilderness area and perhaps the LP) via a roadwalk to the yellow Neversink-Hardenburg trail all the way to Alder Lake and beyond. Would be curious to see an overview of where this trail goes...
Jay
Antlerpeak
10-01-2006, 07:17 PM
Here is a link to the website. It may answer your qusetions.
FLT (http://www.fingerlakestrail.org/)
mudhook
10-01-2006, 07:45 PM
From the web site it sounds like its worth exploring.
There are a lot of nice spots on the FLT, there are also a lot of side-hill slabbing spots, overgrown farm fields old and young forests. I am not knocking it by any means and hats off to the FLT They have done a wonderful job of getting much of the trail off roads and into forests. (I dropped my membership a few years back simply because I belonged to too many other outdoors orgs) , but having hiked quite a bit of it from the NCT to Watkins Glen over the years, I found it harder than I thought it would be. There are definitely some ups and downs especially when you remember that most of the hills, drumlins and eskers in western and central NY seems to run N&S.
Not at all like these easy AT ridges in PA and NJ :D
Mark Schaefer
10-01-2006, 09:42 PM
The eastern terminus of the Finger Lakes Trail is in the Catskills at the junction of the Long Path and the Phoenicia - East Branch trail near the infamous Neversink / Deer Shanty log bridge. It is all part of the grand plan of National Park Service and others to connect the long distance trails. The western portions of the FLT trail will also be part of the North Country National Scenic Trail. The Conservation Trail, a major FLT branch trail, connects with the Bruce Trail in Canada.
In the Catskills the FLT currently has a long road walk section from the Denning trailhead, past Claryville. and up to the Neversink - Hardenburgh Trailhead on Black Bear Road. The proposed Wildcat Mountain trail is part of the plan that would replace that long road walk. There would still need to be another trail built to connect the Pine Hill - West Branch trail to the Neversink - Hardenburgh trail. I expect that the Catskill 3500 Club and others would lobby to keep this later link some distance from Doubletop. Perhaps it might go over the 3211' High Falls Ridge in order to retain the Fall Brook lean-to on the FLT route. These new trail sections may not be built for some time as the DEC region 3 has other trails projects on its plate.
MattC
10-01-2006, 10:00 PM
There are a lot of nice spots on the FLT, there are also a lot of side-hill slabbing spots, overgrown farm fields old and young forests. I am not knocking it by any means and hats off to the FLT They have done a wonderful job of getting much of the trail off roads and into forests. (I dropped my membership a few years back simply because I belonged to too many other outdoors orgs) , but having hiked quite a bit of it from the NCT to Watkins Glen over the years, I found it harder than I thought it would be. There are definitely some ups and downs especially when you remember that most of the hills, drumlins and eskers in western and central NY seems to run N&S.
Not at all like these easy AT ridges in PA and NJ :D
Rick, could you recommend maybe one or two "sample" dayhikes of 8-10 miles that would give one a good taste of the FLT? And if so, what would be the associated map (s)?
Matt
Jay H
10-02-2006, 07:30 AM
The proposed Wildcat Mountain trail is part of the plan that would replace that long road walk.
HA! This has been a dotted line for quite some time now! When I bushwacked to Wildcat, I left from the junction of the Curtis Ormbee trail and the PE trail, followed what was really a nice trail for a bit but then it petered out. Camped on East Wildcat for the night and met Matt in the woods the next day to do West Wildcat and then Hemlock, spruce, and Winnisook Peak. It was one of my favorite bushwacks in the catskills, it's really a fun loop.
Jay
Jay H
10-02-2006, 11:01 AM
Back to the Finger Lakes trail.
OK, it makes sense that a lot of the folks I read in the leanto journal are FLT hikers. Not much in that region for peakbaggers and there are much shorter ways to Balsam Lake mtn than that. I noted somebody mentioned this was their first night on the trail so I guess it makes sense that the eastern start of the FLT there is not far away.
At first, I was thinking Fall brook LT, but then that just seemed silly until I read somebody spell out what FLT was and then I put it all together...
Jay
Rick, could you recommend maybe one or two "sample" dayhikes of 8-10 miles that would give one a good taste of the FLT? And if so, what would be the associated map (s)?
Matt
Matt, if you can PM me your email addess, I can send you some scans
Rick
MattC
10-03-2006, 08:57 PM
Matt, if you can PM me your email addess, I can send you some scans
Rick
Just sent it, thanks in advance.
Matt
ADKJack
10-04-2006, 10:18 AM
Matt,
I have done several sections of this trail, some more rewarding than others however not very travelled in a lot of areas and a good break from "hard" climbing from time to time.
Here are some shots I tool back in July when I did a section in the Finger Lakes region just off the southwest end of Canadagiua Lake.
FLT (http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/554568815LKRpOf)
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