You cannot adequately see Chenango County through a car or truck window. It requires boots on the ground. Oh sure, you can see something, but what you see is only what you get. All you can see are the superficial things near roads and many of those views are not very pleasant. Urban sprawl, disgusting litter, repulsive junk, snarly traffic, and the day to day slovenly clutter of hassled living all contribute to the generally dismal driving experience. Drivers have to tune out such stuff in order to notice whatever they might find attractive. Fortunately, there are still some roads which do provide great vistas. These are the ones where nobody, or hardly anybody, lives. But not for long, because Chenango County has been discovered by developers who are keen to recognize what most of our longtime residents do not.
The most spectacular beauty of Chenango County lies away from the roads, far enough away so that the irritating pollution is diluted and the infernal noise is muted, where the birds still sing and the brooks still babble, where the trees still whisper and the wildflowers still blossom. We are amply endowed with gorges, waterfalls, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, streams, forests, and fields galore. All we have to do is park our gas-guzzling machines and walk over to these beautiful places.
We are quite fortunate to have 72 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) running across our county from Lincklaen in the northwest corner to Bainbridge in the southeast corner. On its way the FLT cuts through Otselic, Pharsalia, McDonough, Smithville, Oxford, and Guilford, a total of eight towns in all. Supplementing the FLT we have many abandoned roads, which make dandy hiking trails. Plus, we also have “seasonal” roads, some of which cannot be driven in any season, except by off-road vehicles. These unmaintained roads make even better hiking trails and the traffic is nil or rare.
Whenever I mention hiking, most folks tell me they cannot walk, much less hike. I take them at their word, but I wonder if perhaps they have the wrong impression of hiking. Maybe they regard hiking as a painful ordeal where you are forced to march too fast for too long. Some hikers do indeed zip along at grueling paces for prolonged distances. But others amble along in slow shuffles over short distances.
