So what do the Hilltown Hikers do when there is over two feet of snow on the
ground in the Hilltowns? Stay home…never! The deep snow that has
blanketed our area from this weeks snow storm has made any kind of hiking
impossible without a groomed trail so we loaded up our snowshoes and cross
country skis and headed out to Maple Corner Farm in Granville. Not everyone
in our club owns the gear so hikers were able to rent gear here. Groomed
trails are the only way to get out and enjoy the winter weather with this
much snow on the ground. The folks at Maple Corner use snow machines to
pack down the deep snow so skiing is manageable. The trails here are a mix
of old farmstead fields and a mixed forest of both evergreens and hardwoods.
There are many trails, we spent the entire day here and totaled about eight
miles! The Ripley’s are eighth generation land owners in Granville and also
do their own sugaring, tapping their own trees and boiling the syrup in the
modern sugar house. We started our day with pancakes then hit the snowshoe
trails to Ripley Falls and along Ripley Brook then over Porcupine Hill. We
headed back into the lodge for lunch, more pancakes! The second leg of the
day was spent on cross country skis touring every trail including Pine Ridge
and Brookside.
Photos by Liz Massa and Karen Karen Sikes McTaggart

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