Today we cross through Klipnocky State Forest and on into Bully Hill State Forest. There were small bits of State Forest around Franklinville, but these are much larger and make for some very nice sections, without the worry about private landowners closing the trail on a whim. These are actually almost all abandoned farmland, bought up by New York State in the early 20th century and replanted with seedlings for "for watershed protection, the production of timber, and for recreation and kindred purposes." These forests form the backbone of the FLT in this area, and have a very liberal camping policy -- you can camp anywhere you want, for up to 3 days, as long it's 150 feet away from roads, trails, and water. In addition, there are designated shelters and campsites that are just offtrail and usually near water.
But clean up your trash, people! It's horrifying to see a porcupine with his face stuck in a tin can, stumbling blindly around the trail with his quills quivering in terror. If you've ever left a tin can in the woods, feel bad! Now! And never do it again!
On a short bit of road walk between Klipnocky and Bully Hill, we're suddenly swarmed by humans: some buzzing by on dirt bikes, some picking guitar on the porch, even some fellow hikers. Weekend, I guess. Though it's not popular or crowded, the FLT crosses lots of roads and so hasn't really given us much in the way of long-term solitude. It's probably been about 24 hours since we saw our last humans in Garwoods, and that's about as good as it gets on this trail.
The hikers are a couple of Daves (popular name around here) from Ithaca headed westbound to Portageville where, they tell us, there's a lovely little inn. How did we miss that? Portageville is literally just three streets, and we walked them all. Oh well.
Despite the blue skies and sunshine, it's cool all day. Autumn may be upon us. We make a cozy camp on the far east end of Bully Hill, about 155 feet from the trail. (Can't be too careful.)
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