Ontario Pathways walk from Wheat Road
We will meet at the Ontario Pathways parking area on Wheat Road in Phelps, NY at 9 AM to enjoy a morning walk south along Ontario Pathways and the Flint Creek loop trail.
It was a warm and hazy morning when we met at the Wheat Road parking area of the Ontario Pathways. Betsy Russell gave us the history of Ontario Pathways in which she initiated back in 1992. Property was purchased from Penn Central for Rails to Trails and OP became the first privately owned strictly volunteer rail trail in NY. Since the trail goes through eight towns, there were different requirements and complications with each area.
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| We took the Flint Creek loop to the left just beyond the parking area |
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| Well maintained bridges |
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| White trail markers on the trees |
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| Flint Creek - quiet and low |
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| Our field guide books were left in the van |
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| Goldenrod, meadow rue, and trillium leaves |
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| Hickory Tussock moth caterpillar |
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| Northern or pearl crescent butterfly |
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| White striped black moth |
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| Virginia tiger moth? |
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| Brown hooded owlet caterpillar |
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| Buckthorn - invasive |
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| mugwort - introduced |
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| Tree of Heaven (notice the indents on the leaves) |
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| Plantain or White Mans footprint |
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| introduced from gardens? |
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| American Germander |
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| American hog peanut (three leaves that vine on anything) |
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| baneberry / dolls eyes |
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| basswood tree |
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| Lots of very happy bladdernut trees |
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| last year's bladdernnuts? |
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| bloodroot leaves |
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| chickweed |
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| Clear weed |
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| more Canandian clear weed, coolwort |
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| ditch stonecrop |
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| dogwood |
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| enchanters nightshade |
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| false solomon seal (fruits on end of leaves |
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| ostrich fern |
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| fleabane |
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| giant ragweed |
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| herb robert |
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| honeysuckle |
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| horsetail |
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| horsetail and poison ivy |
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| horsetail and solomon seal |
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| very happy horsetail |
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| iron wood / American hop hornbeam |
| Joe Pie weed and Sensitive fern (below) |
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| Mostly yellow jewelweed, and some spotted orange |
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| yellow fringed loosestrife |
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| many May apples with fruits |
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| Mayapple and wild ginger |
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| meadowrue, poison ivy and Virginia creeper |
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| monkey flower |
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| Monkey flowers were smaller than I expected |
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| wild mulberry tree |
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| I believe this is tall meadow rue |
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| nettle |
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| This is where we turned back onto Ontario Pathways |
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| Very healthy poison ive |
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| purple flower raspberry |
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| mile marker along the old rail line |
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| sedge |
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| Saint John's Wort |
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| Sumac |
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| sunflowers |
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| tall meadow rue |
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| large burdock |
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| wild ginger |
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| large violet leaves |
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| snakeroot |
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| wild cucumber |
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| wild geranium leaves |
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| wild ramps blossoms |
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| wild mint |
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| yellow clover |
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| zig zag goldenrod |
