Mariposa State Forest - Paradise Garden Lean-to Loop
The rolling country southeast of Syracuse, NY, over time, has become perhaps my favorite area to explore when I'm in the mood to seek out the forest. The hills here become a little higher, steeper, and more angular, hinting that the Catskill Mountains are becoming closer with each mile further east along the Finger Lakes Trail one takes. Nearly 77,000 acres of protected state lands cover this area, loosely bounded by Interstate 81 to the west, NY Route 20 to the north and, eventually, Interstate 88 to the south (I haven't made it that far yet. . . ). Rural Madison, Cortland, and Chenango Counties make up this verdant region that, to this day, is still a decently remote of corner of upstate New York. And getting to it isn't a far drive from Syracuse, where I happen to live. In previous blog entries, I detailed my hikes in Morgan Hill State Forest, which I almost could consider the "gateway" to this patchwork of forests. The blue-blazed Onondaga