July 18, 2021
Ithaca Fall Crawl
We’ve lucked out again and have stumbled into an excellent time to be taking a multi-night stay. We had planned on staying three nights in Ithaca, just because Ithaca is Ithaca. It’s working out especially well for us though because we’re staring at another rainy day today. We’d be pretty unhappy if we were trying to break camp and bike north to Auburn this morning, which we won’t be doing until Tuesday instead. In fact, even taking a day ride somewhere looks unpleasant. But Nyah, Nyah, Nyah to the weather gods, we don’t have to. We can just sit around our comfortable motel room if we so choose.
Or we can go for a walk and see what Ithaca has to offer. “Ithaca is Gorges” as the local saying goes, so we map out a walking route to sample the many waterfalls that are right in town and within easy walking distance if you don’t take into account all the the hills and stairs. I whip out a six mile hike that walks up Cascadilla Gorge with its eight waterfalls, crosses the Cornell Campus, and walks back down Falls Creek past its five waterfalls before returning to our room. Now, all we need is a reasonable break in the weather.
We get one right away. It’s supposed to stay dry until about eleven but then rain for the rest of the day, so after breakfast we leave the room and head for Cascadilla Gorge. Twenty minutes later, it starts raining.
Before we give up and head back to the room though, we make it up Cascadilla Gorge far enough to be suitably impressed. It’s a beautiful waterway with one waterfall or rapid after another. There’s a fine trail beside it that serves as a back route from downtown to the Cornell campus, up on top of the hill a few hundred feet above downtown.
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Unfortunately we are only able to see about the lower third of the trail - not because of today’s rain but because it’s barricaded below the Stewart Street Bridge. Beyond that the signs say it’s too dangerous to continue with too much chance of getting brained by falling rocks. We double back to the beginning of the trail and walk up the detour route through the Cornell campus, but before long the showers turn to rain and we decide to just head back to the room.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lythrum_salicaria
White flower is our old friend queen Anne's lace (wild carrot).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daucus_carota
Blue flower is our old friend, chicory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
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https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/crocosmia/crocosmia-bulb-care.htm
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Four wet hours later and the day dries out again, this time for good. There’s still time so we set out on our interrupted fall crawl again, but this time in reverse to pick up the ones along Fall Creek that we missed the first time. Fall Creek feels sort of like Watkins Glen, if a city hadn’t grown up alongside it or if it were possible to build a creekside trail beside it. I think the terrain might be too rugged though, or the cliffs too hazardous and crumbling. You can walk right up to the base of Ithaca Falls, the giant final cascade spewing out the mouth of the gorge. But the others upstream are somewhat less accessible. You can get glimpses of them below from the rim trails, or climb back down to their bases and back up again at a few points, but in general the best views are from the series of bridges that span the gorge.
It’s a great experience though, and it’s amazing to have these spectacular features right at your doorstep. And I have to grudgingly admit that it’s even neater than having your very own volcano tucked inside your city limits, as Portland does.
And then there’s that sprawling university up there on the hill blanketing the high ground between the two cascading creeks, its spectacular ivied halls and elegant green spaces towering above the city. There’s a lot to like here. Ithaca looks like it would be a beautiful place to call home for awhile.
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Unsolicited advice: Use Ithacatrails.org for the best hiking maps. Get to the Arboretum because it is magic. And if you have time for it, do the Monkey Run hike that makes a loop from Arboretum out to 13 and back on other side.
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It's got scenery that never fails.
Up on the hill sits beautiful Cornell,
Blessed with prestige and a magical spell,
But Ithaca is Ithaca
'Cuz those falls are no mythica.
3 years ago
Glad that you and Rachael are liking Ithaca. I've found it a wonderful and stimulating place for short and longer term visits. The rain may dampen biking but it makes for wonderful cascading falls. Looking forward to reading more of your Empire State adventures.
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Ithaca is where I would have retired if I’d never seen Burgundy. What an idyllic setting, especially in summer. Of course as a native up- stater, I could not help but think of Cornell, which has some lovely architecture. Sailing on the lake or ice- boating in winter would complement cycling nicely.
Cheers,
Keith
3 years ago