You cannot adequately see Chenango County through a car or truck window. It requires boots on the ground. Oh sure, you can see something, but what you see is only what you get. All you can see are the superficial things near roads and many of those views are not very pleasant. Urban sprawl, disgusting litter, repulsive junk, snarly traffic, and the day to day slovenly clutter of hassled living all contribute to the generally dismal driving experience. Drivers have to tune out such stuff in order to notice whatever they might find attractive. Fortunately, there are still some roads which do provide great vistas. These are the ones where nobody, or hardly anybody, lives. But not for long, because Chenango County has been discovered by developers who are keen to recognize what most of our longtime residents do not.
The most spectacular beauty of Chenango County lies away from the roads, far enough away so that the irritating pollution is diluted and the infernal noise is muted, where the birds still sing and the brooks still babble, where the trees still whisper and the wildflowers still blossom. We are amply endowed with gorges, waterfalls, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, streams, forests, and fields galore. All we have to do is park our gas-guzzling machines and walk over to these beautiful places.
We are quite fortunate to have 72 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) running across our county from Lincklaen in the northwest corner to Bainbridge in the southeast corner. On its way the FLT cuts through Otselic, Pharsalia, McDonough, Smithville, Oxford, and Guilford, a total of eight towns in all. Supplementing the FLT we have many abandoned roads, which make dandy hiking trails. Plus, we also have “seasonal” roads, some of which cannot be driven in any season, except by off-road vehicles. These unmaintained roads make even better hiking trails and the traffic is nil or rare.
Whenever I mention hiking, most folks tell me they cannot walk, much less hike. I take them at their word, but I wonder if perhaps they have the wrong impression of hiking. Maybe they regard hiking as a painful ordeal where you are forced to march too fast for too long. Some hikers do indeed zip along at grueling paces for prolonged distances. But others amble along in slow shuffles over short distances.
For a comfortable, enjoyable hike, pick the appropriate hiking companions. Our FLT-Bullthistle Hiking Club conducts hikes for all types of hikers, from super-fast and extremely long to agonizingly slow and mercifully short. I recently led a leisurely hike that covered a mere mile and a quarter. If distance is a perceived obstacle, see how far you can safely walk in an urban setting or in a shopping mall. If you have a medical problem, consult your doctor first.
As an amusing aside, one guy told me he could not hike because he was too old. “How old are you?” I inquired. “66,” he stated. “I’m 73,” I replied. He responded incredulously, “You don’t look like it.” I told him, “Yeah, well that’s the point. Hiking retards the aging process.” He did not seem to believe me and hobbled away, presumably back to his couch.
The older you get, the more exercise you need. Kids do not need exercise, because they are always in motion. What do you tell kids? “Stop fidgeting.” However, with older folks, the opposite occurs. We are usually still and when we do move, something hurts. So we continue to remain motionless. We tend to hunker into painless positions and hold them until some unwelcome agent forces us to budge. Regular daily exercise, such as walking, keeps us from solidifying. In other words, it is refusing to hike that can be detrimental to your health.
This is supposed to be a history column, so why am I writing about hiking? Because you cannot see much history just by looking through a car window. Most of the historical structures along roads have already been destroyed or are being targeted for destruction. If you want to see historical remains, you have to hike to remote areas where they have, at least so far, escaped the destroyers.