Sunday, August 24, 2008
Town of Perinton Crescent Trail page
In 1996 Perinton was named one of the top ten "Trail Towns" by the American Hiking Association, in recognition of the 35 mile Crescent Trail system which runs throughout the town and gives hikers access to a wide variety of terrain and habitats. I picked the Mason Valley trails (called the Wetlands Section in Rich and Sue Freeman's Take a Hike! Family Walks in the Rochester Area) out as a nice place to go for a short walk this weekend. The description said that the trails passed through streams and woods, near several ponds and streams, and an active beaver area, as well as varied bird habitat, so I hoped we'd have the opportunity to see some wildlife.
Well, the trails did pass through fields and woods and near three ponds and some streams, but overall this was a fairly disappointing walk. It didn't help that the weather turned hot and extremely humid today. The trails are essentially at the edge of the large housing development, so for part of the time we were walking just beyond peoples' backyards. Didn't see much in the way of wildlife... robins, some small frogs and toads, and one snake. Oh, and lots of mosquitoes and in one spot a large group of honeybees. Ann didn't realize it, but she disturbed them as she walked through the area where they were gathering pollen, so I ended up waiting a bit to carefully pick my way though and hope I wouldn't get stung again this weekend... my swollen toe is annoying enough!
We did have a decent view of one pond, but the rest were pretty well hidden behind marsh grasses and cattails. Maybe this would be a nicer walk in cooler weather, when the bugs and bees are gone and there's more visibility. Perhaps we'll try coming back in a different season and see if it's more enjoyable then...
JMH
