Morgan Hill State Forest - Shackham Brook to Hemlock Lean-to
Earlier this year, I blogged two of my hikes in Morgan Hill State Forest, a large area of mostly forested hills southeast of the Syracuse metro area and the small village of Tully, NY. My last outing here ended at where the Onondaga Trail crossed Shackham Road and reached a beautiful wooden bridge over scenic Shackham Brook, and I promised to return to that spot and continue hiking beyond, further southward on that blue-blazed pathway. So in late November, the weekend before Thanksgiving where unexpected clear skies came about, I took the drive out to Shackham Road and picked up the trail head with the goal in mind to reach at least dirt Morgan Hill Road, 1.55 miles one way from the starting point. I got a late start for this 3.1 mile out-and-back hike and, on top of that, I was faced with earlier sunset time because of the shrinking daylight. But it still turned out to be a great chilly fall day spent in the woods. Although much of the autumn color was gone, the scenery did no