CAYUGA LAKE
Tuesday and Wednesday, August 24 and 25, 2010
As I had done at Seneca Lake, I found a motel and stayed there the night before, starting the longest of my lake walks with a very early morning drive north from Ithaca’s Meadow Court Motel to the visitors’ parking lot at the Chiropractic College near Seneca Falls. Again, I left an explanatory note under a wiper blade before striking out in total darkness at five AM. I walked north on Route 89 to Rout 20/5, skirting the Montezuma Wildlife Preserve, where I sighted a majestic bald eagle.
From there, I turned to Route 90 and south down the eastern side of Cayuga Lake through the villages of Cayuga and Union Springs. At Aurora, the site of Wells College, I paused for a snack and rested on a hill overlooking the lake. At the junction of Route 90 and Lake Road (County Route 1570), I actually took time for a restaurant lunch before continuing south on Lake Ridge Road and on to Lansing and Ithaca where Route 34 merges with Route 13.
The route provided some excitement, changing from a narrow, shoulder-less country road to a four-lane divided highway that presented a challenge. Finally I timed my crossing of two lanes, median, and two additional lanes between the speeding cars. Having successfully negotiated this passage, I was surprised when an Ithaca police officer flashed his lights and signaled me to stop. He drove off after I explained that I was merely walking around the lake. Despite my strange behavior and disreputable appearance, he determined that I was no threat to the Ithaca community’s security.
A friendly bicyclist saw this encounter and accompanied me for the next mile, offering advice about local highlights, especially the great takeout dinners offered by Wegman’s supermarket. He suggested a side trip in Taughannock Falls State Park, apparently oblivious to the hiking distance I already faced the next day. I politely thanked him for his interest and staggered on to my motel, showering before I tried his Wegman’s tip. By then, the “meals to go” had been removed from their cases, but I did find a nice baseball cap with the Cornell University logo. After fifteen hours and fifty-one miles, I settled for a pizza dinner and fell into bed, thankful that the high temperature had been a comfortable seventy-four degrees.
Dawn of the second day at Cayuga Lake arrived about six as I went north to Route 89, the road I would follow along the entire western lakeside.There are two great parks near the lakeshore: Cass and Allen Tremain State Parks both offer picnic areas and walking trails.
Route 89 then becomes a grueling climb, an uphill route complicated by road construction that closed one lane and made passing traffic hazardous. I actually had to step into the roadside ditch to avoid approaching cars. Up and down hills, I continued to Taughannock Falls State Park, stopped to eat an apple, and made a mental note to return for that hike to the falls.
Another long hill climb was broken up by a stop for lunch and an ice cream that energized me enough to pick up my pace. Unfortunately, my shin began to ache, and I was forced to slow down, fearful that I might not be able to finish the walk.
Cayuga’s roads were notable for the sheer quantity of roadkill I saw, mostly dealt with by shoving the mangled corpses into roadside ditches. I passed the town of Canoga and was distracted in Cayuga Lake State Park by recalling a youthful visit there which may have included my first beer consumption. Memories…
One more mile brought me back to my car in the Chiropractic College lot. Relieved, I drove to Ithaca for my stuff and on home to Syracuse. The forty-two mile walk had taken twelve and a half hours with another temperate high of seventy-two degrees.