Today: another hike starting on the Appalachian Trail, this one beginning where the AT crosses NY route 301 in Clarence Fahnestock State Park. A friend and I met at the parking area where the trail crosses the road, and headed south (see map at right, click to enlarge (2 MB); I've marked our path on the map in blue).
We followed the Appalachian trail as it undulated through the woods, passing streams, fields of marsh grass, and trees of various kinds — maples, oaks, beeches, hemlocks, poplars, and others — some very big around, revealing their ages. We listened to the birds, checked out the other wildlife (see photos; we saw a couple of snakes, too, who didn't stay around to be photographed), and enjoyed the occasional waterfalls.
Around 4 miles in, the AT crosses the Three Lakes trail, labelled with blue markers. 
There's the ruins of an old house there, which we investigated before returning north on the blue trail. The Three Lakes trail passes the John Allen Pond and Hidden Lake before taking us back to Canopus Lake, back at route 301. The waterfall in the photo is of water coming off of Canopus Lake, near the end of the hike.
It was great weather for a hike, too. It had recently rained, and we weren't sure that wasn't coming back, but it didn't and we stayed dry throughout the walk (well, except for having to make it through a submerged section of the trail at one point). By the halfway point it had become fully sunny, and was a beautiful day. A very nice hike in all respects.
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