Camp Cutler FLT

I had forgotten what a rip the Finger Lakes Trail is through the Camp Cutler Boy Scout Camp is. A steep climb gets you up on top - then a rolling trail along the top takes you past a glacial boulder and on to two great overlooks.  The descent is serpentine.  Hike it, run it, bike it.  Camp Cutler keeps its trails open to mountain bikes.

First overlook - view to the east.

From the top looking east

View south from overlook

Looking south

Seating on the overlook bench

A morning on the Finger Lakes Trail.

Some images from my 2.5 hour run from Naples creek to Italy valley. Orange flt - a bit dicey off wood hill due to logging, but a great day.

Pond in the morning. High Tor.

Top of Parish Gully

Gully Crossing

FLT top of Wood Hill looking down into Italy Valley

Tannery Creek Falls

Nothing better than a cool, ok - cold, shower on a hot day.  These two young hikers enjoy playing under the falls.  Hot weather plus so much rain, there has never been a more beautiful time to explore the waterfalls and gullies of Naples.

Waterfalls up close.

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Another reason to unplug and go for a hike.

A 2012 study, Creativity in the Wild, demonstrated that immersion in nature improved a person's ability to solve creativity problem solving tasks.

Attention Restoration Theory (ART) puts forth the notion that spending time in nature can improve higher order cognitive function - thinking skills - such as selective attention, problem solving, and multi-tasking. 

The study unplugged people and immersed them in nature for four days as part of an Outward Bound Course.  Participants were then tested in the field and demonstrated a 50% improvement in creative problem solving tasks.

Is it being in the woods or is it just being unplugged - who cares.  Either way you are out of your sterile world and actively moving in our natural environment.

You may not have four days, but four hours is a start to rewiring your brain.