Shindagin Hollow State Forest - Gulf Creek Loop
One of the more beautiful portions of the long-distance Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) journeys through a place called Shindagin Hollow State Forest, 5,318 acres of mainly wooded, hilly terrain southeast of Ithaca, NY by several miles. The impressive Gulf Creek also runs through the land, having taken eons to slice a gorge through the shale within the eastern half of the forest. To be honest, I've hiked the trail quite a number of times over the last 10 years or so, and each time it's never gotten old for me, nor boring. There's just something about this particular place that draws me back again and again; perhaps the size of the hills or variety of points of interest I find along the 3-mile long eastward stretch of the FLT . It could be, too, the invigorating reward of finding hidden waterfalls deep in the woods. Shindagin Hollow is most known in the region for its vast mountain bike trail network. Although I do not bike, I can see the appeal here because t