Binghamton, NY (USA)

[up at 0800 - breakfast with Eileen at hotel - it was VERY cold (3 degrees F) - this made it hard to get started for the day - map printing and planning in the business center - left Binghamton around 0900 - drove north on I-81 to NY-26 in Whitney Point - continued northeast to South Otselic - got off the main road at Stage Road - found trailhead around 1100 (parked on a snowy road) - started south on the Finger Lakes Trail, bound for the Waterfalls of Pharsalia - hiked in knee deep snow up a big hill - had a hard time following the trail - got lost several times but found it again with our rudimentary map - once, we got so sidetracked, we simply trailblazed up to the top of a big hill and had to search a road for a long time to find the trail again - as a result, we missed the waterfalls - undeterred, we kept going south - I had fun hiking with someone else - of course, Eileen is much more experienced at this type of hiking - I was feeling pretty lucky to be able to keep up with her and was amazed at how my two layers of socks, regular hiking boots, three layers of leggings and two layers of shirt, gloves, etc. held up - my beard had icicles in it and my water bottle kept freezing whenever I didn't drink regularly - we hiked until we couldn't find the the trail markings anymore - after that, we doubled back on our trail (headed north again) - Eileen pointed out evidence of a porcupine and I spotted him (balled up) in a tree - we also saw lots of other amazing images of the winter wonderland but never saw any other people - talked again for hours: it was great - on the way back, we diverted to the Perkins Pond Shelter and rested for a bit (using the privy was interesting - very cold) - we found the Waterfalls on the way back, so we felt like the hike had been a success - arriving at the car (1600), I was soaked and covered with ice - overall, I felt so exhilarated from this day - saw beautiful views all around - after we were done, we decided we had probably put in around 10 miles - warmed up in the car, we drove north on NY-26, following it all the way until we switched to NY-5 - headed east into Utica - found an Applebees in Utica - got drinks at 1830 - ate a great meal until 2000 - more great conversation - made a reservation with my phone again at the nearby Holiday Inn Express - we then had some "fun" getting turned around by the difference between Wells Road and Wells Avenue (goose chase) - stopped for the night at 2100 - spent the rest of the evening reading and playing on the internet - bed around 2230]