Reynolds Gully - Livingston County

A place to discuss waterfalls. Including the parks that house them and the hikes to get to them.

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Rate Reynolds Gully

1 - Ugly, Not worth the trip
2
50%
2 - Could be better
1
25%
3 - OK, See it if you are in the area
0
No votes
4 - Beautiful, worth the trip
1
25%
5 - Must see, worth revisiting
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 4
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Matt
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The owner contacted me and told me they have a huge problem with tresspassing. I guess a lot of people have gotten hurt or stuck in there.
They've adopted a no tolerance policy on the tresspassing.
So be careful in that area.

I think the section that is acessible is pretty nice, but not really worth a trip. I haven't been beyond the posted signs. The falls don't look like it's worth risking tresspassing or getting stuck.

County line falls seems to be a better bet when in that area.

Thanks for posting the pictures.
wtd

Indeed, I don't want to encourage trespassing. I've also heard of folks getting hurt there, so be careful and don't trespass, it can be a rather difficult hike, especially when it is wet out, I've taken many a fall (on the public side of course). Now that I think of it, I'm not sure how I obtained the photo of the high falls there, must have been someone else...

Although, the thing that is nice about this spot is that for all those folks who live in Hemlock and the surrounding community and can't legally swim in Hemlock Lake on a hot summer day, you can legally take a dip into one of the cold pools on the public side of the gull, which can be quite refreshing.

On a similar note, I noticed that the top banner on your homepage of nyfalls.com looks like it was taken from the north end of Hemlock Lake looking south... is this correct? I think I could identify that view in my sleep if I had too. Again, thanks for the lovely site.
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Matt
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good eye!
Yes, the waterscape is Hemlock looking south. It's combined with lower falls from Letchworth, and the bottom of the site is the base of the American Niagara Falls.

So how familiar are with the Hemlock shore? Are there any more gullies dumping into it?
When I look at the Topo map there are some possibilities. Here's a marked map. MAP
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cbobcat49
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Those MAY have intermittent falls on them. Not to discourage you but I know that area is VERY steep and thick with brush. We did a canoe trip with Pack Paddle & Ski 2 summers ago and we hiked down (slid, stumbled) to the lake from right around that area that you have marked. The streams don't seem like they have much of a watershed either. But hey, part of the fun is checking it out. :) Who knows, there may be something interesting there.

If you click to the right and down on that map you posted, there is a promising looking gully flowing into the southeast part of Canadice Lake that I've got on my to do list to check out.

Also, my wife noticed once that the surface elevation of Canadice Lake is WAY higher than that of Hemlock. Is there a falls on Canadice Outlet? I've gotta check that out some time too!

Chris
wtd

Reynolds Gull is certainly the biggest gully with waterfalls in the area. I believe the highest "70 ft" falls is one of the larger ones throughout the entire state,,, but there are also some other gullies running into the lakes, certainly not as big or with as much water as Reynolds. A lot of the land is public and I believe the parts you have marked may belong to the Nature Conservatory, so it is okay to go for a stroll, but you also have to be careful about some restricted areas surrounding the two lakes. One of the parts you have marked, if you follow the gull all the way up to the mission you will encounter a system of catacombs in the hillside, they are off limits and the sign says they are patrolled by the sheriff.

I've lived in Hemlock for 24 years, so I don't want to give away all the secrets on a public forum, & leave the rest of the adventuring up to you, but if you would like to read an article about hemlock history and stuff about the area then you should check this out:
<a href="http://yorkstaters.blogspot.com/2006/10 ... vocal.html">
Hemlock, New York: An Unequivocal Exclamation</a>
and, maybe this too
<a href="http://yorkstaters.blogspot.com/2006/12 ... loped.html">
Hemlock & Canadice: The Last Two Undeveloped Finger Lakes Face Possible Development</a>
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Matt
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Ok, I did some research.

that rock formation is referred to as a rock cairn.
They are commonly round and were used to denote landmarks such as property boundaries, springs, wells, etc. They are not mortared and are even built today in the form of small piles of rock as artwork.

This particular one may have served a few purposes. There may have been another, identical one, that held a log making them posts in a fence of sorts.
or a marker to denote the location of the gully. Probably because its importance to the landowner at the time.

sometimes rock cairns are built simply to have a place to put rocks that are cleared out of areas they are not wanted. Native Americans would have done so for crops- and found that the cairns also served as landmarks.
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cbobcat49
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I've heard of cairns before but I'm not completely convinced that this is one. I mean it definitely could be though. I suppose I'd have to go look at it again. If it actually is one though, that would explain the open area on it facing the creek. If there was once a corresponding one on the other side, a log could have been held in place there. Possibly as a boundary marker, or a "posted" sign. The cairn would be half built, the log laid in place, then the cairn finished above the log. The only way to get the log out would be to cut it or dismantle one of the cairns. Maybe that's why there isn't one on the other side of the creek? I guess it might be worth checking to see if there's evidence or remains of one there.

Chris
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Matt
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I pretty sure it's mostly likely a place marker.
The more interesting question is from what time period.

Many of these in NY, OH and PA are from native Americans and early colonialists who would remove them from crop fields and stack them as landmarks (denoting home). if there were many rocks when clearing a field, there may be many stacks lining the field. the next logical step was to link them and create a fence.

Many are found near springs, which is some good evidence of using them as landmarks.

they are also the possibility it is a burial site, but probably not at that shape and in this area.

Maybe a collection of these and their locations would make a great page.
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