Good morning!
Grandma's oatmeal cookies, purchased from Young's gas station near Robert Tremen State Park, make a poor breakfast. Luckily the sun is shining, so we're running on solar energy today.
Beautiful trail down to Highway 38, near Dryden. Here we find a couple of good apples, just within reach. Then we're shunted for a quick spell onto the Jim Schug Trail, an old railroad bed turned bike path through the swamps above Dryden Lake.
Jim Schug has provided us with benches every half mile, and we take advantage for a long sunny lunch, spreading out all our moistened possessions to dry, to the amusement of a few passing joggers.
It works, though; we're dry down to the boots. It eases the toes and the mind, not to mention the weight savings!
Here's a pair of nice looking horses on the way back into the woods:
Unfortunately, as we proceed eastward, the trail takes on a less pleasant character due to a large logging operation. Shouldn't be a surprise, since the land is actually owned by a lumber company, so really it's pretty delightful that they let the trail through here at all. But trudging through the muddy ruts in our just-dried boots is a bit of a heartbreak.
Also jarring, a short run along the right-of-way of some deafening power lines. My theory that the electric field somehow attracts and hypnotizes a large population of invisible crickets seems to be false, according to Scientific American. This is just something that high-voltage power lines do, especially older designs, especially in bad weather. The weather's great so these must be quite old.
Soon back in the state forest again, to our great relief. A wide and gentle path winds slowly up a crystal-clear creek. We make a splendid campsite and dinner at the top of Owego Hill.
We fall asleep to an elaborate conversation hooted by surrounding owls. Going by the sound samples at owlpages.com, I'm going to guess Great-horned.
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