Visiting Ithaca today, I found this park close to the hotel and decided to try running on the trails to get the workout in for the day. My daughter, preparing for the fall high school cross country season, was ready to run as well. We decided to try the Rim trail and return the Gorge trail. It was a mistake to try running it. The trail footing was okay, the elevation rise was too steep for what we were prepared to do, especially with other hikers on the trail. We did make it up and down with a good fast hiking pace. The Larch Meadow trail was flatter and a grassy mile loop mostly through some woods. This was much better for us to run on. And run we did.
Comparing what we saw to the web site photo, we may have been at the wrong place. The water shown in the picture clearly was not present today. The drought being experienced in the Midwest may be having an effect here. An excuse to some back sometime in the late spring to see what the water flow is like then. It may be more like what is in the photo.
A good workout on different terrain. Not quite the mileage total that the log book will like but some good memories and stories to take their place.
