Finger Lakes National Forest - Foster Pond Area

     New York State, it turns out, is home to only one national forest, a large tract of land totaling 16,259 acres in between Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake.  This forest is definitely one of the outdoor draws of the Finger Lakes region, even though many people may not be as familiar with it as they are with other state parks and their gorges and waterfalls.  In spite of this fact, there's some great hiking to be found here, and a kind of varied scenery you won't often find elsewhere.
     Through Finger Lakes National Forest, almost right down the middle, runs the 12-mile long Interloken Trail, blazed orange its whole route, and connecting with the long-distance Finger Lakes Trail at its southern end.  To be clear, there are many other trails running throughout the forest, adding up to more than 30 miles of hiking.  So this is a place where it helps to have a map when you visit, many of which can be found online.  Because of the number of trails and distinct sections to this forest, it's enjoyable to make multiple trips so more can be seen each time.
     One of my favorite stretches of the Interloken Trail passes by a complex of freshwater ponds, the largest of them named Foster Pond.  Since the hike to get there, if you're traveling from north to south, is quite level, this makes for an easy jaunt in the woods.  There are a few small hills, but nothing like I described in other posts.  The entire hike I'm about to describe took me about 3 and a half hours to complete, yet I also stopped a few times to take photos, so, at a faster clip, I'm confident most people could finish it in under 3 hours. 

     I began the hike at the point where the Interloken Trail crosses Searsburg Road, a route traveling east-west between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes.  North on the path it enters cow pastures that are managed by the US Forest Service, but in order to get to Foster Pond, I had to go south.  The trail, well-cleared and well-marked, delved into a mainly flat-terrain forest of lots of tall oaks, some maples, shagbark hickories, and beeches.  Because the ground is always a bit swampy in places, puncheon bridges have been placed here years ago, some of which are showing signs of their age.  But they are helpful, nonetheless, as passing though here without them would be muddy and challenging (more on that later). 

 Farther along, I was lucky to find this lone Trillium flower in the understory.  

     After passing some natural vernal pools (recall my first post about Sterling Nature Center), I soon reached the intersection with the Backbone Trail, and, as you can see, the forest on the other side of the crossing immediately transitioned to stands of red pines.  The Backbone Trail is used mainly by horseback riders and is a little wider.  I like the fact that these wooden signs are here to tell you where you are going. 

     Continuing south, this peaceful walk brought me past more puncheon bridges and then, off to the right side (after some bushwhacking), views of a farm field.  On the clearest days, you can almost see the ridges on the west side of Seneca Lake way in the distance.  I snapped the field photo and then kept going on the orange trail, following it as it bent snake-like around more wet areas and passing lone-standing young hemlock trees.  The topography is still pretty level here, even by the point where I reached the outskirts of Foster Pond.  

     It started clouding over some, much to my dismay.  But I kept on, turning left onto a path that has no name since I knew, from previous hikes, that it wraps around the pond, meanwhile passing under some beautiful stands of aspens.  The end of this short path hooked up with the Interloken Trail again, and it's here where I was able to enjoy the edge of Foster Pond. 

     There are usually people fishing here, which I wound up seeing on my return trip past this pond later in the afternoon.    It's a nice freshwater spot, flanked by the forest to its north and marshier land to its south.  
     The second segment of this day hike brought me onto the blue-blazed Potomac Trail.  The Interloken Trail keeps heading south, and I would end up returning on that trail later.  As much I enjoy the pond complex, the paths here can get very muddy and, in some spots, almost impassable.  This being a wet area combined with all the rain we've had in May, I'm guessing there's no way to avoid it.  But the mud doesn't detract from some interesting scenery.

     I found more ponds back this way, a total of five, all of them smaller than Foster Pond but still tucked-away little retreats.  The last time I came this way, it was summer and there was an active beehive dangling from one of the branches directly over the trail.  I had to bushwhack through thick woods to get around it, so I was glad to see it gone this time around! 

     Continuing along the blue trail, I next came upon a clearing where a peculiar ground plant that I couldn't identify greeted me.  Maybe someone reading this knows what it is . . .  

     The trail went uphill from here, and since it was wet and muddy, this was probably the least enjoyable stretch of this hike.  But I eventually reached a picnic area and grassy field, trekked through more mud, and came to the fifth and last pond in this section.  I suspect there are more ponds here, because I always seem to find another one every time I visit.  There was also a point where I lost the trail and started heading the wrong way, but, fortunately, I ran into a group of hikers who were happy to point me back in the right direction (the blue blazes of the trial are somewhat hard to spot in the picnic area). 

     After reaching the end of the Potomac Trail, I found myself back at the orange-blazed Interloken Trail and turned right, heading northward, the opposite direction of where I started this whole trek.  North along the trail would take me back past marshes and bridges, Foster Pond, long stretches of mature deciduous trees, the stands of red pines, the crossing with the Backbone Trail, and, at last, my car.  The return leg on the orange trail, I noticed, was mostly straight, save a few turns, and passed over more puncheon bridges and attractive wetland plants.  Oh, and, of course, there was the "mother" of all mud sections that lasted for a few feet.  It seems like a bridge here would be a good idea!

     This was a fun, relaxing hike.  Relaxing mainly because I saw different scenic areas and didn't have to work very hard to get to them.  This place has an almost wild park-like feel.  I also consider it a great anchor to the spectacular Finger Lakes wine region and all it has to offer.  Some of the local wineries are only a couple of miles from the boundaries of this forest, believe it or not.