New York State of Mind
HEAD UPSTATE FOR FOOD & FISH Photos and Words by Dustin Doskocil
As a native Texan, the famous Finger Lakes have never been on my bucket list of travel destinations. Heck, I knew nothing about the place until my best buds, brothers Clint and Jordan Garrett, moved to Ithaca, New York. Clint is a chef and Jordan is a baker. They pulled up shop in Arlington, Texas, and headed to the food-and fish-rich Catskill Mountains a few years ago. Since then, all I hear is how great the area is for farm-to-table food and quiet pace of life. One night, on a visit home, Clint and Jordan turned up the heat. Over a crack-
ling campfire and a few cold ones, they described how the area was carved by glaciers leaving long, deep lakes full of bass and bluegill and rolling mountains cut by clear, cold trout streams. Curiosity got the better of me and I planned a trip for the climax of fall colors; something I had never seen before. I packed my bags and my fly rod and hopped on a plane headed for adventure. I flew into Rochester ready to get up early the next morning and make the drive
down Seneca Lake and into Ithaca. On the way, I made a last minute decision to cruise through Finger Lakes National Park. The 16,212-acre park is between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake and has over 30 miles of trails to explore. Glossy red, orange and yellow leaves colored the trees, fell from the sky and blanketed the ground. I couldn’t get a half-mile without stopping and shooting photos of the scenery. Eventually, I gave in to the landscape. I found a trailhead, packed a bag and started hiking. Rain and leaves fell from the sky.
I stopped at the Trumansburg Farmers Market where I ran into Rachel Ostllund, who I met through Clint when she visited Arlington. She owns Iron Owl Kitchen (
www.ironowlkitchen.com) and had a booth at the market, preparing delicious orchid bowls with local and organic ingredients such as homemade soy pick- led mushrooms and beets. Running into Rachel at the market proved how small the world is.
Jordan’s old farmhouse sits on a peace- ful plot of open land with a three-acre pond. Throwing woolly buggers and having a couple of Ithaca Beer Co. Green Trail IPAs, I ended up catch- ing about 30 of these little bass before calling it a day.
48 PADDLING MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54