Episode Transcript
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Host - Lindsay (00:00):
Today, we're
setting out on an adventure
close to home yet hidden inplain sight at the Genesee
County Park and Forest.
It's a place seldom mentioned bylocal equestrians, but rich with
trails that offer more thanmeets the eye.
Will the paths prove to befriendly to our carriage wheels,
or will the steep slopes have usbracing for a wild ride?
(00:21):
Grab your helmets and join us aswe explore this lesser known
park, because you're listening.
To Rochester Trail Riders.
The Genessee County Park andForest in East Bethany is a
remarkable example of humaninitiative and natural beauty.
Spanning 430 acres purchased in1882 and established as a nature
(00:47):
preserve.
In 1915, the land initiallyserved as a lumber resource for
subsidized housing.
In the 1920s, a man named GeorgeFleming had a vision to preserve
and reforest this parcel.
Fleming's foresight led to aplanting of over 200, 000 trees
by 1935, shaping the landscapewe see today.
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The idea to designate thisforest as a county park emerged
in 1949, but it took until 1966.
When the forest's growthnecessitated thinning for the
plan to be put into action.
This period marked theappointment of the park's first
full time supervisor andforester, ensuring professional
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care for the thriving woodland.
The park owns its developmentand maintenance to a collective
effort between community groupsand organizations.
Their dedication is evident inthe ongoing tree planting
projects, construction ofpavilions, and playgrounds.
And the maintenance of extensivetrail systems as a resource for
recreation and a testament to anenvironmental stewardship.
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The Genesee County Park andForest stands as a prime example
of how community can effectivelycreate.
and manage a natural space forthe enjoyment and benefit of
all.
I've been around the greaterRochester area my entire life
and it's really wild that I'venever come across this park at
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all until recently.
It took a random photo ofsomebody else's trail ride that
popped up on my interwebs thatcaught my eye and just like
that, boom, I was hooked.
I took a deep dive into Google,and it gave me all the goods.
Maps, photos of horses ontrails, you name it.
It looked like a really awesomeplace for a carriage drive, so I
(02:37):
decided to take my mighty littletuna for an adventure.
What is an adventure without apartner in crime, right?
So I shot a message off to Ray.
Hey Ray, you free for a traildrive on Saturday?
Um, you know, cause I'm ready tosquash any hesitation with the
promise of a fun day with Hey,no problem.
I'll pick you up.
I got this.
(02:58):
Let's go.
I mean, you're on my way afterall to this park.
So, guess what?
Ray agreed, and we were settinga date for a little trail drive
and an adventure with our twominis.
So, that Saturday morning wasoff to a lively start with Tuna.
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She was being a little morestubborn than usual.
Probably annoyed that I gave herthat, uh, shark fane look on her
mane to tip away her beautifullocks.
But, a bit of wooing, and shewas on the trailer.
Next stop, Painted Charm Farm,and we grab Ray and her mini
equine, our house, Harley.
Now, Harley might be a pintsized 29 inches.
(03:42):
He is no stranger to road trips.
So it kind of threw us for aloop when he planted his little
hooves firmly and said, Nuh uh,not getting on.
And we, we tried everything, youknow, the usual.
Coaxing, pushing, tempting withtreats.
But just about the time we wereabout to give up in sheer
frustration, That cheeky littleguy made his move and jumped
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right on, as if to say, Hey, mybad, just joking, haha, wasn't
that funny, ugh, whatever.
Like that, we popped into thecab of the truck and we're off
down to the park.
So there I was, you know,playing a game of trust your gut
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over the GPS.
You know, classic ADH move,where, you know, your gut's got
a mind of its own.
A horse trailer parking lot,marked clear as day on the map,
might as well have beencamouflaged for all the
attention I paid to it.
A quick whoopsie daisy.
Hey, how well involved a littlenifty big rig hey turned into
somebody's driveway.
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Hey man, thanks for thehospitality.
Yeah, we were back on track.
Well, Genesee County must haveknown folks like Ray and I would
be rolling on in because rightthere at the horse trailer
parking area was the port acrafter.
Port a crafter.
This is just live in the port acrafter.
Well, anywho, back on trackhere.
Uh, yeah.
(05:04):
Well, they hit a port a crapper.
It totally had these, um, cinderblocks inside of it to keep it
weighted down, and I mentallyhigh fived the county for their
foresight.
With our micro dragons out ofthe trailer and looking every
bit as fiery fuzzballs that theyare, we got them harnessed up,
but not without a festive twist.
Santa hats on our helmets,jingle bells, jingle bells,
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jingle all the way.
Christmas, yay! And we're allabout jingling down the trail.
I hitched up Tuna first and wewere ready to go and then I
played the role of, uh, equineair traffic controller.
We'll be experiencingsilhouettes.
Petting both ponies while Raywrangled her increasingly feisty
four legged speedster into gear.
Sudden arrival of a carload ofGreat Danes all off leash and
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eager to explore.
Definitely spice things up abit.
Kind of had to make a mentalnote.
Those giant pups are bound to bepart of today's adventure at
some point.
Both of us seated comfortably,we started our stroll down the
bounty trail.
And our first challenge was avery wide wooden bridge.
But the horses first focused ona rebellious set of reeds that
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fell onto the ground 20 yardsout.
Tuna gave them the s Well,Harley went for the big,
dramatic, worthy of an Olympicevent.
Well, the actual bridge was apiece of cake and we crossed it
without any fanfare.
As we trekked forward, the pathteased us with the prospect of a
steep climb up.
But as luck would have it, thetrail navigated around with its
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much more gentle path, slowly,steadily climbing up.
Driving along the BoundaryTrail, the wide wheel width of
our hyper bikes became oursaving grace.
We both felt the urge to hold onto something on the high side as
the carriages tilted on unevenground.
For fellow carriage drivers thatare attempting to consider this
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route, word of caution.
Steer clear of bringing standardeasy entry carts, road carts,
metal bricks, or similar models.
They are just not cut out forthis terrain like you would find
yourself in a wreck prettyquick.
Those of you with marathonvehicles might have a better
time of it, but it is notnegotiable.
You need a gator sitting on thehigh side to prevent tipping
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over.
If you're not up for that kindof thrill, a safer and
alternative route is to take thepark road and join the trail via
the wetland route.
It's the only bypass thischallenging section of trail
has.
Assuming you're in a carriage.
As if the trail itself wasn't atest, our great Dane friends
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decided to up the ante.
They popped out of nowhere, andthen just as quickly
disappeared, right out of sight.
When we got closer, we foundthem, off the trail, blending
into the woods like some sort ofcanine commando unit.
Not exactly a relaxing sight forhorses.
But, a quick hello from ushumans helped everybody relax.
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The dog's owners, they had theirhands full, and we were able to
move on without much more of anysurprises.
The trail had been leading usupward this entire time, and
naturally what goes up must comedown.
A sign warned us of Blind Hill.
I guess that was a polite way ofsaying, well, really steep, dead
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drop off ahead.
And we're talking downhill.
that was sharp enough to make analpine skier giddy, and to make
any rider even think twice.
Especially with a grass cutshort enough to invite a
mudslide.
But, fortune was on our side,and the Norway Spruce Trail
branched off to our left,offering a less intense route
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down with a good cover of pineneedles for traction.
At the bottom, we reach thewetlands.
A pond held back by an earthdam, complete with a couple of
bridges.
Those bridges are closed tohorse traffic, but, but
thankfully, Right next to themwas a mowed path with good
footing for our carriages topass.
Beyond the pond, we hit a splitin the trail and decide to play
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it straight, hoping to link upwith the trail network across
the road.
But, as it turns out, the trailsnorth of the park road are off
limits to horses.
Something the printed mapsforgot to mention.
The signs weren't clear enough,but it would have been nice for
a heads up before we chose theroad direction.
A quick left turn took us up thepark road where we learned
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something new.
Memory Lane is now closed off tocars when the snow hits.
That was a stroke of luck.
It meant that we could trot downthe road without dodging traffic
as we discovered.
All the trails in this directionare closed to horse traffic.
With that, we swung a U turn andmade our way to the southeast
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trails marked as fire breaks onthe map.
We found our way back to theboundary trail via a horse
friendly access spur nearCluster Pavilions.
It was a welcome sight.
The fire break trails were adream.
Wide, well footed, perfect forhorses and carriages.
The landscape today was rollingwith hills, and that challenged
our minis.
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We decided to loop back,sticking to the boundary trail,
rather than venturing back outinto the road again.
The spruce trail was our allyonce more, offering a gentler,
although demanding, ascent.
Kudos to the minis who tackledthis challenge like pros.
They saved us the effort ofhaving to get out and walk.
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The final stretch back to theparking lot tested our patience
once again.
I could have sworn this sidewaysslope got steeper.
Now the drop off was to ourright, but those minis?
They just kept on going.
Unfazed, with a steady pacecarrying us safely back to where
we started.
Our journey concluded with around trip of 3.
7 miles and 2, 918 feet ofelevation gain overall.
(10:52):
It.
Is.
Illy.
Back at the trailer, the ponieswith a picture of two very
different post adventurestories.
Tuna?
Colossal cucumber.
Barely broke a sweat.
Harley?
Fiery little dragon that he iswas drenched.
A clear sign he had been eagerto take up the pace even more.
I'm convinced he would haveprobably tackled that gigantic
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steep hill like it was nothingif given the chance.
While Harley cooled off underhis towel, we got everything in
order for the ride home.
You'd think with all thatexcitement Harley would have
been ready to call it a day andjump right back on the trailer,
but no.
He decided to be stubborn,giving the trailer a cold
shoulder once again.
With the clock ticking on myafternoon plans, I had to get
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creative.
So I maneuvered the trailer neara pile of soil and, with a
gentle, ugh, nudge, I coaxed alittle miniature renegade
aboard.
Making our way back to Rey'sfarm, we couldn't stop talking
about our day at the park.
Our verdict?
We are absolutely in love withit.
We're already planning our nextvisit.
There's still a good enoughstretch of the Boundary Trail
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left to be explored, not tomention several fire breaks that
we hadn't even ventured down.
One thing we agreed on?
The Boundary Trail isn'tcarriage friendly until you
reach the wetland area.
Best for carriages to take thepark road to the Pink Wetlands
Trail or further to the firebreaks for access.
Heads up to follow equestrians.
The park staff tends to mow theBoundary Trail grass down to the
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nub, which then could lead tosome slippery situations.
We noticed signs of slippagefrom other riders too,
especially on that first sectionof the Boundary Trail.
If you plan on riding, maybewait for a dry spell to ensure a
safer trip, or pick up the trailafter the park road on the
wetland area.
All in all, it's an adventure wesoon won't forget and we're
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eager to repeat.
Time for some raiding! Parking,three hooves.
Easy to get to if you followyour GPS.
It's not a big lot, but notsmall either.
You could probably handleseveral big trailers for a small
group if people park smart andback in from the road.
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Maps and signage, three hooves.
Man, I really wanted to givethis four hooves.
I so badly wanted to.
There's no information on themaps on which trails are open to
horses and which ones aren't.
The signage on the trailthemselves is great and it's
nice and it's clear, but I dowish they'd open up more of the
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trails for hoof traffic.
They looked so inviting.
Maintenance for hooves.
It is clear this park is wellused and loved by many and great
care is taken to keep the trailsmaintained and open.
Downed trees are cleaned up andI couldn't find so much as a
widow maker hanging in a tree.
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Well done, park staff andvolunteers.
That's a wrap! If you enjoyedthis week's podcast, please take
time out to like, subscribe, andshare with your friends.
This helps keep me motivated tocontinue providing you with all
this information andentertainment.
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As always, respect the trail,we're up in a bull brain bucket,
and remember to clean up afteryour horse at the trailer site.
Until next time, happy trails!