We were a little nervous about hiking with two dogs in this area during hunting season, but we decided that it was getting late enough in the day to not pose much of a threat. Leave no trace means exactly that, and leaving shotgun shells on the trail is no different than leaving a granola bar wrapper – just don’t do it, okay? As we discussed how near or far the gunfire might be, we noticed a few shotgun shells on the trail near our feet – ugh! I have no problem sharing outdoor spaces with all types of recreationalists, but I have zero tolerance for those who litter. Around this time we started to hear gunfire in the area, reminding us that we were hiking in a popular hunting area during hunting season. Unfortunately it didn’t take very long for us to realize we were no longer following a marked trail and needed to regroup. We didn’t bring a trail map since we thought the trails looked pretty straight-forward from our internet research (ha!). We set out to hike up to an overlook with a view of Canandaigua Lake, checking out a bit of Conklin Gully along the way. We drove to the parking area off of Parish Hill Road to find a trailhead for the Hi Tor Blue Trail. The Hi Tor Blue Trail entrance at the parking area off Parish Hill Rd. Hikers are treated to steep wooded hills, eroded cliffs, gullies and waterfalls. Tor refers to a hill or rocky peak, which accurately describes the terrain of this area. The High Tor Wildlife Management area is located just east of Naples, NY, about an hour away from Rochester. So when I got a text message from a friend Friday afternoon asking if I was interested in joining a last-minute hiking trip to the area I just couldn’t say no. I’ve been interested in checking out the trails in the High Tor Wildlife Management Area for quite some time. A section of trail overlooking Conklin Gully.

High tor state park hike