Write-up: Dianna MorrisLeader: Dianna MorrisCo-Leader: Russ Myers

Eighteen hardy Tramps braved the scorching sun and headed from eastward from the Ilion Marina along the Erie Canalway Trail. We were pleased to have 4 new hikers joining us. Initially, due to an early morning start, the hiking was easy. However, soon we broke out of the shade and began wondering when we would find another shady area of the trail so we could rest out of the sun to cool off. At the 1.5 mile point, 4 hikers decided that they had had enough of the heat and returned back to their cars. They might just have been the wisest ones that day!

Unfortunately, a shady area of the trail didn’t happen until we arrived at the underpass right before Mohawk when we had gone almost 2 miles. After a rest, we opted to continue onward and soon were heating up, back once again on the sun-covered trail. At the 2.5 mile point, we all agreed we needed to turn back to avoid getting heat-sick.  However, now, despite the brutal heat, we were eager to head back as we were all eagerly looking forward to ice-cream at Voss’ at the Marina where we had started.

We arrived back at the marina shortly after 11 – perfect timing since Voss’ opened at 11:00. Much to our disappointment, Voss’ was serving all sorts of goodies – but no ice-cream for another week! The Tramps are nothing if not resourceful. We soon decided to hop in our vehicles and drive to Stewarts in Ilion where we got to enjoy our ice-cream and cool off.