Is Ithaca GORGEous?

“If there is a little touch of heaven on earth, there are a lot of places on the globe where one can make that assertion. But, if nothing else, a small reference from that statement applies to the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Which brings us to this trip report for the weekend of July 20-23, 2006. Location: a 35 mile stretch that goes from Ithaca to just south of Watkins Glen.

It started with ¾ of the Tree Family systematically packing a tight station wagon full of needs for the 4 hour trip northwest of the city. Landstalker’s friend, Jesse (Boy Everest) joined us for the four-day jaunt, as he had two years prior. The journey took a few blows just prior to post time, in which, over a span of just one day, we saw our attendees dropping like flies. For all those that didn’t make it, you missed a wonderful time. For those that did, I think we were unanimous in the feeling of satisfaction that each of us walked away with, young and younger alike.

We finally hit the road at just shy of 11 AM on Thursday. With just a few stops, we were out and shopping in the local Wal-Mart and Wegmans by 3:30 PM. The weather was hot and humid and the thought of that very cool swimming hole, complete with a waterfall that runs down your back, was starting to become quite appealing. So, we got to our site, set up and headed down for a swim. Just sitting there with the water cascading down our backs was just one instance of that ‘heaven on earth’ feeling that I described earlier.

Later that evening, the Q-Man (Laqtis) and his wife, Kerry, made it down from Michigan. Great to see him again and to meet Mrs. Q. Helinka, Celtic Canuck and their three boys made camp shortly after midnight, but we didn’t see them until Friday. They have become veterans of the Ithaca area and had an agenda of their own, which didn’t include Watkins Glen, so we opted to meet up later with them.

Friday’s agenda was to be set aside for Watkins Glen. We didn’t make it there on the last trip and the Q’s haven’t been to the Finger Lakes at all. The gorge at Watkins Glen is as magnificent as it gets. Although there’s only 1 ½ miles between the entrances, you see 19 waterfalls along the way and watch the elevation either rise or drop (depending on which direction you’re facing) 600 feet!

The unspoiled beauty of this park was mind-blowing. The two-mile gorge trail along Robert Treman park, where we stayed in Ithaca, was beautiful in its own way and culminated with a climb along an overwhelming Lucifer Falls, a 115 footer with all the voracity of a scorned lover. But this one in Watkins Glen was a bit different. The gorge itself was a little more vibrant and dynamic. The angles that the water descended through were more animated than Treman’s. There were also some spots where you walk behind the waterfall, providing an interesting perspective from the trail. The trail was complete with a stone bridge or two and a spiral staircase that went through the rock and over the gorge.

After taking this wonderful walk, it seemed hard to be able to find something to do that would be comparable and not be considered a letdown. Well, we did it. I had come across a place called Havana Glen Park, which held the Eagle Cliffs Falls swimming area. A short walk in and we were in the water, where you had the option of swimming under or walking behind a fairly sizable waterfall. Choosing to go under it, it felt great for a while. After a little bit, though, I have to say that the pinging off my flesh started to smart a little in spots. Ahhhhh, refreshing nonetheless.

At that point, it was about time to head back to Treman to start some dinner. We did just that and then kicked off a night of partying that was to very much out-do the comparatively tame night we had the prior evening. At about 10:30, we got a call from Crash Bang and he informed us that he was en route and would be here sometime before dawn. At about three o’clock, we decided to pack it in and stumble off to our respective sleeping quarters. Crash had not arrived yet.

Saturday’s agenda was to go to the local sights in Ithaca. I wanted to take the Q’s to some of the must-do spots in the local area including the beautiful Lucifer Falls in Treman State Park. We also had to get to 215 foot Taughhannock Falls with its ¾ mile gorge trail that led to the falls. The only problem was that right after we broke up the party the night before, it started to rain hard and didn’t let up, even after we awoke the following morning. I was awakened to the sound of Crash’s voice. I said a quick hello and insisted that I sleep past 7, being that we only packed it in 3 hours prior.

Given the intensity of the rain, we felt lucky that none of us suffered any severe gear problems, due to the storm. So, we spent the remainder of the morning in a local restaurant, riding the storm out.
Luckily, we were able to salvage the rest of the day, as it proceeded to ease up and only burdened us with intermittent showers for the remainder of the day, allowing us to complete the tasks that I mentioned in the last paragraph. The only things I didn’t get to that I had planned on was to see Cornell University, walk a bit of the gorge on the campus, and see some of those sights. Oh, and I also wanted to get to one of the wineries, but that we couldn’t squeeze in either.

That night, instead of the cook-off, the Q’s and the Trees and the Crash-man decided to pool our food and eat steadily until about 11 PM. I made egg rolls and they came out rather scrumptious, if I must say so. First time I ever heard of anyone making those on a camping trip! Then, we put together some shrimp, steak and vegetable kabobs and Laqtis made some ginger/plum chicken breasts that were simply fantastic. A little ramen by the Q-man to round things off and we were humming, washing it down with some Crystal Light orange w/vodka and beers. Crash fell asleep in the chair in mid-bite. I’m still wondering if he finished chewing upon awakening! :)

The Royal Canadians (Helinka and the Canuck and the youngins’) joined us later on, and we had a nice little party, a bit more subdued than the previous night, but fun nonetheless. Fatigue overtook us a little after one o’clock and we all crashed.
We awoke to a gorgeous day and I directed my question (Why wasn’t yesterday like this?) to the sky. Getting no answer, but grateful for the sun, I made breakfast and started to organize for the big car packing project that was to follow. I noticed a little note on my windshield from the Q’s saying bye bye. Then the Canadian crew made their way over. After talking for a little while, we said goodbye to those folks also and got out of there around noon. A little stop at the falls at Buttermilk with Crash and then we were off, too. Great to see all these folks again and to meet Kerry, Andrew (Celtic Canuck) and his boys. Pictures will probably be up tonight.
last edited: 7/24/06 6:58:57 PM”

“THIS weekend:

http://www.fleszar.org/flt2.htm

There's at least 1 free tent site now since someone had to back out due to a death in the family. If you're interested, E-mail footpaths@fleszar.org”

“sounds like I missed a good trip, sorry I didnt get over that way, I stayed in fingerlakes nat. forest friday night. the rain began that night and became torrential. I took a ride to Watkins Glenn sat. and tried to wait out the rain, everything I had was wet and muddy so I picked up and left for home sat afternoon.”

“Double dang!!

I do believe that your weekend was way more fun than mine, Treebeard!”

“pictures! i want pictures!”

“Weren't you there?”

“pictures! i want pictures!”

“What he said.”

“How about these?

http://community.webshots.com/photo/164679084/1180658585057597171EfFumO
http://community.webshots.com/photo/164679084/1180659071057597171qcGUbD
http://community.webshots.com/photo/164679084/1180661704057597171NGrFZw#”

“got stranded again sat.

they still hadn't had a chance to clean out the culverts near my house from the last storm so my road got flooded again pretty good.

glad to see you guys made out ok!”

“names! i need more names!”

“Hmmmmmmmm. Looks familiar.......Bison?”

“

(psssssst.........its ENS)”

“Great TR. Glad to hear everyone had a good time, sounds like a beautiful place.”

“Ah, 'tis a wonderland, LS! A proverbial paradise!

I'm readying the pictures for posting within abnout 1/2 hour (if all goes well with the computer). Sorry it took so long. Time seems to be at more of a premium than ever these days...”

“Looking forward to the pics...still sad to have missed this one.”

“Great TR Tree man! Very sorry I missed it, but it was unavoidable. I've been looking forward to this trip since the Harriman wash out. Hope I can get out soon!”

“I find the title to be sexist.”

“the title offends me. its obviously racist”

“Both of you clowns are obviously communists.”

“Ran out of time and energy dealing with those pics last night. Will post tonight, for sure..”

“Hey Folks! Webshots took the pics and rearranged them in alphabetical order, not in the order I had them when I named them. It's ok, but it screwed up the progression and rendered some of the captions "out of context." I apologize, but the pics are real nice. There's going to be two albums. It's quite a few pics, but they are pretty good, if I must say so myself. The second one will be posted in a few minutes.




http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=552565424&security=mwwJIb”

“Nice shots, thanks. Last time I was there it was '97 or '98”

“Other album is up...

once again, alphabetized by Webshots and captions out of sync with original order

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=552566206&ran=13185”

“wow this is the first time I have had a chance to read the TR and see the pics.

what a fun trip. I am looking forward to going back next year.
the end of july as always!”

“Ha!

Mr. Q Ball sent me a link by way of email yesterday.

Dang, Linus and I were looking forward to hoppin' in the waterfall pool!!”