What a summer this has been! Eleven of us braved the rainy conditions to hike this section of the Conservation Trail. The misty rain brought out the colors of the woods and the smells too. This writer loves hiking in rain in the summer: no bugs and the refreshing feel of rain is much nicer than hot, humid and oppressive! The ravines were beauitful with their shale creeks, little waterfalls and impressive descents. The Alley-Cat crews of volunteers from Foothills Trail Club, our chapter of ADK and the others from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference have done a very impressive amount of trail work on this 8 mile stretch! A tip o’ the hat to them all! The rain stopped by 11:30 and we enjoyed a pleasant lunch interlude. A nice time to chat and get to know each other. As the hike continued the sunshine came streaming through the leaves with the beautiful dappled effect that we love so much. It was a good day and place for a hike! Submitted by Cheryl Peluso