Blueberry Patch LbNA #2447 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Cock o' the Trail  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | May 20, 2001 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Watkins Glen |
| County: | Schuyler |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | celtic hound |
|---|---|
| Last found: | May 23, 2012 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFm |
| Last edited: | May 20, 2001 |
(Missing 5-22-15, but a somewhat scraggly pink azalea was in bloom directly over the old well-rotted stump, as though in memoriam.)
New York’s only national forest occupies more than 16,000 acres in the south central Finger Lakes region, famed for its lakes arranged finger-like amid intervening hills that rise 1,500 ft higher. Only recently designated as such, it had formerly been the Hector Land Use Area, formed in the late 1930’s by federal acquisition of worn-out farms during the Great Depression. A model recreational area for multiple-use from the start, it still includes grazing lands, stocked fishing ponds, and trails for horseback riding, snowmobiling, and hiking. Drilling for natural gas, after a public hearing, has been set aside for now.
The Interloken Trail traverses the highest ridge, known as the Hector Backbone. It serves also as a branch of the 540-mile long Finger Lakes Trail that passes through the Forest’s southern tip. A small fee-area campground that features several acres of managed but wild blueberries - both low-bush and high-, a group camping area, horse camp, lean-to shelter (near the junction of the two trails), and several isolated campsites provide camping possibilities. With such diverse attractions, the Forest sees recreational use throughout the year. The Hector Ranger Station is located a mile south of Hector on NY 414 and can be contacted at (607) 546-4470 or by e-mail to mtwarkins@fs.fed.us.
DIRECTIONS:
NY 414 goes south from the NYS Thruway (I-90) north of Waterloo-Seneca Falls, jogging eastward a couple of miles through the latter past the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and Hall of Fame. Then, on a gradual climb through Amish farmlands and the village of Ovid with its Three Bears, it emerges with grand views from high above Seneca Lake. Passing a succession of wineries for which the Finger Lakes region is much celebrated, you reach the hamlet of Hector in an area of orchards and vineyards. Even the Iroquois had extensive plantings here. Peaches, grapes, and cherries – both sweet and sour - are to be had at the several roadside stands in season.
Starting at the church in Hector, drive 0.4 mile south on NY 414 (the Ranger Station is a half-mile farther). Turn left (east) onto CR 2, where there are signs for both the National Forest and The Red House Country Inn - an attractive bed-and-breakfast located convenient to the Forest. Climbing strongly uphill for 0.3 mile over the abandoned Lehigh Valley RR, you’ll find the tiny hamlet of Logan at a four-corners 2.25 miles from NY 414.
As you continue to climb eastward up the hill, the Red House Country Inn is passed at 3.3 miles. The top of the hill and the Blueberry Patch Campground is reached just beyond at 3.9 miles, and there is a small parking area just off the road. The north-south Interloken Trail crosses here.
Alternatively, the Blueberry Patch may be reached through Watkins Glen, 12.4 miles southwest, most simply by way of NY 414 and turning right a half-mile past the Hector Ranger Station. Or, coming west from Ithaca on NY 79, if you can then find the hamlet of Reynoldsville on NY 227, it is only two miles from there via the Potomac Road. The search is part of the adventure.
THE BLUEBERRY PATCH LETTERBOX
Fruit is never so sweet as when nature’s bounty is unexpectedly encountered in the wild; however sparse it grows or well guarded it may be by thorny thickets – not true in this case, you may gather it in delight, eating with a special satisfaction as you pick.
1. The nearby bulletin board provides some information about the surroundings, including a free map of the Forest; start your quest here.
2. Setting your compass on 205 degrees, march off through the picnic area for 50 paces. If you brought a lunch, this will be a fine place to tarry while enjoying the forest.
3. From there, proceed directly south for 63 paces. The twins found here may even suggest another stop. Nearby, one of the two boulders offers a better seat than the other; take advantage of it while you set your compass - this time at 232°.
4. A mere twenty-two paces away stands one of those trees - or what is left of it - that ostensibly straddled the stump of the one it in time replaced; you will recognize the peculiar architecture of its foundation. Look for what you seek in the basement.
(#2 by Cock o’ the Trail)
New York’s only national forest occupies more than 16,000 acres in the south central Finger Lakes region, famed for its lakes arranged finger-like amid intervening hills that rise 1,500 ft higher. Only recently designated as such, it had formerly been the Hector Land Use Area, formed in the late 1930’s by federal acquisition of worn-out farms during the Great Depression. A model recreational area for multiple-use from the start, it still includes grazing lands, stocked fishing ponds, and trails for horseback riding, snowmobiling, and hiking. Drilling for natural gas, after a public hearing, has been set aside for now.
The Interloken Trail traverses the highest ridge, known as the Hector Backbone. It serves also as a branch of the 540-mile long Finger Lakes Trail that passes through the Forest’s southern tip. A small fee-area campground that features several acres of managed but wild blueberries - both low-bush and high-, a group camping area, horse camp, lean-to shelter (near the junction of the two trails), and several isolated campsites provide camping possibilities. With such diverse attractions, the Forest sees recreational use throughout the year. The Hector Ranger Station is located a mile south of Hector on NY 414 and can be contacted at (607) 546-4470 or by e-mail to mtwarkins@fs.fed.us.
DIRECTIONS:
NY 414 goes south from the NYS Thruway (I-90) north of Waterloo-Seneca Falls, jogging eastward a couple of miles through the latter past the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and Hall of Fame. Then, on a gradual climb through Amish farmlands and the village of Ovid with its Three Bears, it emerges with grand views from high above Seneca Lake. Passing a succession of wineries for which the Finger Lakes region is much celebrated, you reach the hamlet of Hector in an area of orchards and vineyards. Even the Iroquois had extensive plantings here. Peaches, grapes, and cherries – both sweet and sour - are to be had at the several roadside stands in season.
Starting at the church in Hector, drive 0.4 mile south on NY 414 (the Ranger Station is a half-mile farther). Turn left (east) onto CR 2, where there are signs for both the National Forest and The Red House Country Inn - an attractive bed-and-breakfast located convenient to the Forest. Climbing strongly uphill for 0.3 mile over the abandoned Lehigh Valley RR, you’ll find the tiny hamlet of Logan at a four-corners 2.25 miles from NY 414.
As you continue to climb eastward up the hill, the Red House Country Inn is passed at 3.3 miles. The top of the hill and the Blueberry Patch Campground is reached just beyond at 3.9 miles, and there is a small parking area just off the road. The north-south Interloken Trail crosses here.
Alternatively, the Blueberry Patch may be reached through Watkins Glen, 12.4 miles southwest, most simply by way of NY 414 and turning right a half-mile past the Hector Ranger Station. Or, coming west from Ithaca on NY 79, if you can then find the hamlet of Reynoldsville on NY 227, it is only two miles from there via the Potomac Road. The search is part of the adventure.
THE BLUEBERRY PATCH LETTERBOX
Fruit is never so sweet as when nature’s bounty is unexpectedly encountered in the wild; however sparse it grows or well guarded it may be by thorny thickets – not true in this case, you may gather it in delight, eating with a special satisfaction as you pick.
1. The nearby bulletin board provides some information about the surroundings, including a free map of the Forest; start your quest here.
2. Setting your compass on 205 degrees, march off through the picnic area for 50 paces. If you brought a lunch, this will be a fine place to tarry while enjoying the forest.
3. From there, proceed directly south for 63 paces. The twins found here may even suggest another stop. Nearby, one of the two boulders offers a better seat than the other; take advantage of it while you set your compass - this time at 232°.
4. A mere twenty-two paces away stands one of those trees - or what is left of it - that ostensibly straddled the stump of the one it in time replaced; you will recognize the peculiar architecture of its foundation. Look for what you seek in the basement.
(#2 by Cock o’ the Trail)