Day 37 (Sept 19)

A cold, restless night and a chilly breakfast. We're beginning to doubt the wisdom of travelling with no stove. No way to warm up except to quickly pack and hit the trail. The forest is crisp and quiet.

Leaving Connecticut Hill, we're surrounded by private land and mostly on roads for four miles, but as we get further east a few landowners have embraced the trail and allow passage. One includes a lively homemade map of the grounds, with notes on particular tree groves and other trails and campsites planned for the future.

We're closing in on Ithaca, NY, which sits at the south end of Cayuga Lake, the second largest of the Finger Lakes after Seneca. The trail doesn't get all that close to town (or to the lake), but perhaps some of the famous sharing-is-caring peacenik ethics of New York's "most liberal city" have begun to influence the surrounding land use choices. Works for me.

As of now, though, there's only one place that actually welcomes us for the night -- a shelter at Robert Tremen State Park, specifically reserved for Finger Lakes Trail hikers. 

Again, it's iffy to be putting the tent in there, especially in such a small lean-to, but the nights have been getting quite cold, and there really don't seem to be any other hikers around. (Deb is worried, of course...)

Unfortunately, the lean-to (and the whole state park) is very near to some noisy major highways. Fortunately, one of these highways sports a gas station convenience store within walking distance. Unfortunately, the food they serve is hard to keep down. Fortunately, they sell lemonade, which we mix with our trail-magic vodka for a stomach-soothing nightcap.