Afterthoughts & Acknowledgements

For anyone thinking about trying the walks, here are a few suggestions, facts, and warnings:

In addition to the obvious—having the time to spare—be sure to have a hat, sunglasses, good sneakers, cell phone, fanny pack, snacks/fruit, and lots of water. Having a pedometer was important to me too. It gave me updates on how long I had walked. (I recently got an iPhone, and wish I’d had that while doing the walks.)

At the time, my iPod was invaluable. Even though the Finger Lakes region is beautiful, walking can become tedious without some music or recorded entertainment. I carried small cut out maps of each lake so I didn’t need to carry a large one. Sunscreen is another essential. On the other hand, if rain was forecast, I carried cheap disposable ponchos purchased at a local Army-Navy store. Changing socks and sneaker inserts halfway through the longer walks helped keep my feet more comfortable.

I was sixty years old when I began, and I walked a total of 435 miles in 127 hours around the lakes.

Including training, I walked 2,200 miles in 2010—an average of 6 miles a day, lost several pounds, and wore out four pairs of sneakers.

You’d be surprised how many drivers ignore stop signs and fail to use turn signals. Don’t assume they will follow road rules.

Dogs barking from passing cars can be a real shocker. They often scared the bejesus out of me.

Many thanks to Kathleen Kelly, whose expert writing and editing skills made each lake description much more interesting than my original prose.

Finally, thank you to my wife Toni for putting up with my quest to walk around the Finger Lakes. Not only was she a good sport, she created this wonderful web site. She also accompanied me on a couple of scouting trips to investigate the best walking routes around the two biggest lakes: Seneca and Cayuga. Later, she encouraged me to retrace the routes by car so that she could take pictures and create the slide shows that accompany the text. In fact, for the Canadice Lake pictures, she actually completed a second walk with me, as there is no road access to the west side of the lake. We also took the time to do the walk to the falls in Taughannock Falls State Park, which was lovely.

We continue to walk together.