The second most important thing I want to get out of the Rose Scholars Program is seeing the natural world of Ithaca. With that in mind, last week I went to see the Cascadilla Gorge for the first time. I was expecting to amble through and learn a few facts about it, but I actually got something much more. The tour guide, Todd Bittner, was an expert and explained its history. I appreciated how he was able to specifically describe the differences between the current gorge and the one before reconstruction at each part of the trail. Not only did Mr. Bittner know of the man-made changes the gorge went through, he was also able to detail the geological events that happened within it.

One fact I thought was cool was how the rocks change shape due to stress from ice. Water gets between the walls of the gorge and when the weather gets cold enough for the water to form into ice, it expands and cracks the rocks. The continuous warming and cooling of the water over however many years within the gorge creates the fracture lines.

I appreciate how everything at Cornell, even and especially the natural world, is incessantly working. It makes me wonder about all of the things I don’t know about that are happening while I’m doing whatever it is I do.

I recently went on the Cascadilla Gorge Hike for the Rose Scholars program. I had actually  never been down into that gorge before our trip last week. This is why I was so surprised to see how amazing it was when I went down there. You would never suspect how beautiful the gorge is because you really can’t see it at all from up in Collegetown. The Cascadilla Gorge is a wonderful place to get away from the stress of classes and immerse yourself in nature for a while.

One aspect of this event that I wasn’t expecting was that we actually learned the history behind the gorge. It was interesting to hear that an alumni of the school actually bought the gorge and donated it to Cornell for educational purposes. That is a very generous gesture. This happened an incredibly long time ago and that is when the trails around the gorge were first made. Since I am a sophomore, I also didn’t realize that the gorge had been shut down for eight years prior. They did this to rebuild all of the trails because it had become dangerous. One fun fact that I enjoyed was that when the trails were first made decades ago, the estimated cost of the project was $2.8 million. When they rebuilt all of the trails a few years ago, the cost came out to be $2.8 million as well.

I’m glad that I was able to come to Cornell after everything was rebuilt so that I could enjoy the gorge during my time here. I wish that I had visited the gorge sooner, but now that I have gone and seen what the gorge really looks like, I am excited to go back.

I was really happy that we were able to go down to the gorge because it was something that I had not done before. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I think it is a great place to go to get away from work and take time to reflect and relax. It is a hidden treasure that we have on campus. I am happy that it was recently reopened because it has a lot of history and it is an important piece of Cornell. I was also surprised to find out that Cascadilla used to be a hospital and was bought by Ezra Cornell and A.D. White and was thus the first building that started Cornell.

There were many observable differences in what the gorge looked like now compared to the gorge in a picture taken at the start of Cornell. The drop in the gorge has moved back. These changes are a direct result of erosion from the water over time. Also the banks of the gorge had many parallel lines that that are rare in nature. I greatly enjoyed the experience and will definitely be making a trip back there and to the other gorges in Ithaca in the near future.

As I step on the charcoal stones, I can feel myself losing my balance. How will I be able to walk down these steps without falling head first into the rocky stream that lay before me. I couldn’t control my nervousness as I stumbled my way down the steps into the grounds of the breathtaking Cascadilla gorge. I couldn’t control my admiration for the raging waters that were rushing into the ground and settling into a stream of serenity. I wanted to touch the water and feel it against my hot skin. I wanted to cool my sore feet in the stream. However, as soon as I set foot on the rocks, I could feel my feet slipping against the stone, so I decided that I was better off being a safe admirer. I knew that the gorge wasn’t safe enough to  bathe in, so I focused my attention on hearing the sound of the waterfall to calm the tensions in my body. I felt so refreshed after completing the whole trail. My groggy morning was replaced with an afternoon bliss, and I was ready to attack my day head on.

Even though I have constantly been told about the beauty of the trail, I have been too cynical to believe that it could actually live up to my expectations. I mean I have seen the Niagara falls and what could ever beat that view. However, completing the trial has made me realize the difference between seeing something and actually experiencing it. I have absorbed so much knowledge and energy walking along the trial that I felt like I had completed a big journey. I never felt so close to the natural landscape of Cornell; therefore, I didn’t want the hike to end. The hike allowed me to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of my everyday life, so that I could experience the serenity of nature  and see a different part of my community. I will definitely recommend this trail to all my friends and family in the future.

Saturday morning I was more concerned about my CS lab due the next day than I was about going on a two hour hike through Cascadilla gorge. I had promised my suite mates I would go on it with them though, and I didn’t want to do the typical Cornell student thing and bail on something fun for my stream of school work. So off we went through from West Campus to Collegetown and finally to the stairs at the top of the gorge. As we descended the stairs, the bustle of Collegetown faded out. The sound of water splashing over the rock formations took over while we gathered on the path. I never noticed how large and solid the bridge between campus and Collegetown looks. The new point of view felt totally entrenched in nature despite the busy streets just a few hundred feet above. It was also impressive how deep the gorge was. I couldn’t believe that every 50 feet lead to another set of stairs.The guide gave some intriguing background on the geology of the gorge and how it has changed since the 20th century, when it was much higher under the bridge. We continued down, stopping every hundred feet to hear more on the geological formation and the past repairs Cornell has done on it, since it has been closed for 7 of the past 8 years. It was amazing to see this area I walk over all the time but have never thought about how it felt to walk through it. I was grateful to be at Cornell when the gorge was reopenned since it had been closed for so long.

I was most in awe of this massive rock formation that was hanging off the side of another bridge. There was a pile of jagged rock on the gravel under it that had fallen off from rain’s erosion. The guide said that the whole hanging rock would eventually fall down, and ominously said, “hopefully not all at once”. Standing underneath this gigantic piece of gorge, the overwhelming power of nature struck me, its majesty and its danger. It made me glad that I had come along on this excursion instead of doing the same old library routine and being sucked into my to do list all day. It is always good to step out of the small picture hustle of your Cornell workload and see what else awaits you on this beautiful campus.

Last Saturday, I joined the group led by Yashira and Todd Bittner to the wonderful Cascadilla Gorge.

Todd introduced the history of the gorge, which we have never learned before and there were some interesting facts like how the gorge came into being. Also by showing us the previous picture of the Cascadilla gorge, Todd compared the differences between the past and the present. We can imagine the gradual change that happened to the Cascadilla gorge due to water erosion and some other factors.

During the trip, we noticed the plants along each side of the gorge are among different types and the cliff is composed of many layers which were formed over a long period of time. What also amazed me was the fact that the university spent a lot of money into the project of the Cascadilla gorge, but we cannot trace the man-made signs without taking a close observation. The stones which are concreted with cement are integrated into the background of the gorge cliff. According to Todd, the success of this project is that nothing seems changed after spending lots of money into it.

This entire trip is more like a vivid geography and biology class which made me learn a lot, but it is more than a class because it is really relaxing and much more fun.

BTW, I am sorry for posting the blog so late because last week was really a busy week for me and there were several prelims around the week. But walking along the gorge is a great relax for the study break!

The Cascadilla Gorge hike is one of the most beautiful places to walk around near campus. With the multiple waterfalls and fall foliage the setting was very serene. All of a sudden, as we stopped to listen to some more interesting information provided by our tour guide Todd Bittner there was a loud noise. “La da da da da its the m*********** D-O-double G…” rang out into the gorge. I could not help but just laugh.  A usually calm and peaceful gorge sounded like a L.A. nightclub (like I would know what a L.A. nightclub would sound like). The gorge had surprisingly good acoustics. We moved on down the gorge and learned about how for seven of the last eight years the gorge was actually closed to the public because of renovation and how the gorge was formed with the geology associated with it.

I would definitely hike the gorge again. Walking through was very relaxing and helped to get my mind off of the work that I had to do. The music was fine, but I would prefer possibly Kanye or Jay Z.

Going to the Cascadilla gorge this past Saturday was a really nice way to explore a part of Cornell that I haven’t seen in my 3 years here. Learning about the history of the gorge as well as some interesting geological facts was really fun. I thought it was really interesting how a lot of money was spent to make Cascadilla gorge look like it had always been there. I found it even more interesting to know that workers took the tourists’ comments on how there was little construction in the gorge because it looked untouched as a compliment to their work. I thought that going to the gorge so early in the morning was a great way to start my Saturday and it was also a nice way of taking a break from studying. It felt really good to finally see one of the gorges that I heard people talk about all the time but I never knew where it was located. Although learning  a little bit about geology as well as the history behind the gorge ( especially how a lot of money was spent to make the gorge look as though it had always been the way it is now) was fun, the best part was just enjoying the awesome view, taking in a breath of fresh air and taking great pictures as well.

After the trip to the gorge I went to Subway (although there were some RAs that were heading to Waffle Frolic), grabbed lunch and then went back to studying for my prelims. I think that now that I know where the gorge is located, I will definitely go back there and bring friends who’ve never been there before.

On a beautiful morning last weekend I got to hike along one of my favorite places on campus, but this time I gained a new layer of appreciation. Todd Bittner, who is part of the Cornell Plantations, took us on a detailed tour of the Cascadilla Gorge and told us all about its early significance to Cornell, its geological history, and its lasting impact on students and outdoor learning.

From the time that the gorge was first used as a quarry to build Cascadilla Hall, the first residence hall on Cornell’s campus, the gorge has served multiple important functions to the Cornell community. In the early days when most students lived in the town of Ithaca rather than on campus, it was a popular route to travel along in order to get to class. For the past several years, however, the gorge was closed due to unsafe conditions, but only recently reopened after being majorly renovated.

Despite the changes though, many things look the same as they did 150 years ago. Todd Bittner showed us the view of the waterfall (depicted below) in an old photograph that features nearly the same sight. Of course, nature’s powerful and dynamic forces changed the landscape perhaps more than humans have. The waterfall is more staircase-like nowadays, versus being more vertical as recently as when the original photograph was taken. On a geological timescale, however, the changes are vast. The entire landmass of New York State moved slowly from near the equator, causing the land beneath the moving faults to warp, and during the last ice age thousands of years ago, the gorge was further carved by receding glaciers. The natural history shows in the clear, angular layers of different kinds of rock that are exposed on all faces of the gorge, an evident stratification of events through time.

On top of being a lovely walk, Cascadilla Gorge is an important landmark in Cornell’s history, and continues to be a fascinating place for outdoor learning.

Waterfall in Cascadilla Gorge

With a week of pre-lims fast approaching, this gorge hike could not have hit at a better time. As someone who loves to hike and backpack, I was excited to get an opportunity to step away from my textbooks. I’d been to the Cascadilla gorge before, but I was interested in what I might learn from the naturalist. So I grabbed my friend, Gorge Finnerty, and we made the trek.

It was pretty interesting hearing about how much rock has been quarried out of the gorge in order to make the first of our campus’s building. Nowadays, buildings win awards for being that locally sourced. Of course there’s also a whole host of issues that come along with quarrying a gorge. But once it was official Cornell property, the school really took care of it. Committed to outdoor education, they’ve even invested millions of dollars into the gorge.

The naturalist (Todd Bittner), really knew everything he was talking about. It seems like he knew the history of every rock in that gorge. I won’t lie, I did feel we lingered a little too long in some places, but it was a pleasant addition to the hike. I even managed to get some other locations to visit from him. I had no idea that there were any peat bogs in this area!

Immediately following the hike, I stuffed my face right back into my textbooks. But it was nice to get away, even for only a couple of hours.

I can’t believe that in my entire freshmen year I had not once visited the single handedly most beautiful place on campus.  The Cascadilla Gorge was not only beautiful in the early morning light, but immensely fascinating and full of knowledge.

I had a similar belief to our guide that right angles and straight lines just do not exist in nature, and it was amazing to hear that the gorge is in fact not man made in any way. The photo below is an awesome example of these almost perfect lines and right angles, although if I remember correctly this erosion was actually caused by a storm drain and not natural rainfall or water.

I’m really glad that I got the opportunity to see such an amazing feat of nature and I’m sure I’ll go back there plenty of times in the future.  The one thing I really took away from this was that I’m very grateful to go to school at a university that cares this much about the surrounding environment and nature itself.  Thanks Cornell for spending all that time to repair the path on the gorge.  I definitely think it was worth it and hopefully more students and locals go check it out, because it truly is inspiring.

And for anyone’s enjoyment, I’ll just add some more photos that I took on the gorge hike below:

As Mr. Todd Bittner, our guide for the Cascadilla Gorge Hike, so appropriately said, one of the advantages of Cornell’s rural location is that’s its beautiful natural surroundings and its famous gorges are within walking distance of anywhere on campus. Despite this however, before going on this Rose House Event I had never found my way to a gorge trail, and so this experience proved to be extremely valuable to me for many reasons. On the morning that we made our trek out to the gorge I know I definitely felt like I was too tired to go, but the minute I got out on the trail, I was glad I came. Not only was the scenery of the gorge magnificent, but also the wealth of knowledge that Mr. Bittner had about the history of the gorge was amazing. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the original designer of the trail, Frederick Olmsted. The name happened to be one I knew from high school as the architect who designed the paths in what in a small forest near the school fittingly called the Olmsted Woods, and that was a fascinating connection to me. In addition to that, it was just amazing to hear how much had been found out about the process of forming the gorge, which stretched back millions of years. Hearing about it, I was not only impressed by the staggering scale of the time, of which our lives are just a fraction, but also how we can be connected to all those years by the shared experience of observing this gorge and hiking through it. Ultimately, The Cascadilla Gorge Hike was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope to continue exploring Cornell’s amazing surroundings as I continue my time here.

One of Cornell’s biggest attractions is the gorges. I love hiking the gorges, but I never got a chance to hike the Cascadilla gorge because of the period it was closed last year. Walking the trail with the Director of Natural Areas for Cornell Plantations, Todd Bittner, was a great learning experience. He told us about the gorge itself and the history of the lands relationship with Cornell.

The Cascadilla gorge itself looks a lot different now than it did in 1915, when the gorge trail plan was originally being developed. Todd showed us the actual planning book from 1915, which features pictures of the gorge at the time and records of the construction and funds needed to develop the gorge into a safe attraction. He also told us about the recent renovations that occurred, costing around 2.5 million dollars. Improvements and changes included improving storm water management, improving the stairs and making them look more natural, and elevating the trail. The improvements payed off, and now the trail is safe for hikers as well as safe for the community in terms of water overflow during storms.

Ithaca is really gorges, and this gorge is one of the more iconic features, and I’m lucky that it is open and hike-able during my time here at Cornell!

I’ve been looking for an excuse to take a hike for the longest time now, so the  decision between spending my Saturday morning studying and strolling through a scenic gorge was virtually non-existent.

Procrastination and natural beauty? I think, yes.

To start, we really couldn’t have asked for a better day, and while aesthetically the walk was all I could have asked for and more, the tour deviated significantly from what I expected. I’m thankful that it wasn’t a lecture on the flora and fauna (There’s a reason why I’m not in plant science….) and even more so that we weren’t turning over rocks to goggle at the creepy-crawlers underneath (ew). Instead, we focused on the big picture, discussing the plate tectonics that brought us such a structure, as well as the manner in which Cornell came to acquire and refurbish the trail. Walking down those stairs into the gorge was, literally, transformative, and I still find it hard to believe that all that is just a few feet away from the well-travelled road to Collegetown…..even if or entire walk was done to the tune of Lambda’s darty…..

When all is said and done, I learned a lot about our campus, and gained new respect for just how special Cornell truly is…

OH, and I got a killer Insta out of it, so there’s that.

I love being outside and taking a step away from main campus to take a deep breath and relax. I also love hiking, but I had never been in Cascadilla Gorge. It was really interesting to learn the history behind the gorge and to see the changes that have been made by both nature and man since the original plan was made – it was designed to be a path from students to walk to campus back when Cornell was young. Even before a trail was blazed in the gorge, it was an integral part of the University, until finally the gorge was gifted to Cornell as a natural area.

The most interesting part was learning about and experiencing the juxtaposition of having a natural area in a populated and developed city – while taking a quiet hike we could clearly hear the music drifting down from the Lambda Chi house. We also saw storm pathways that had to be added to the gorge for when city water is drained down into the gorge during storms. We also learned about how when work is done on the gorge the work is implemented to look as though the changes have always been there – even though they haven’t.

Many changes have been made to the gorge since its creation, though just walking along the trail you would think it has always been like that. The gorge has seen trail changes, dam installments and removals, patch jobs, course adjustment, and many other changes – the path used to travel from where Collegetown is now up to Stewart Ave, and another path continued up past the waterfall. While at Cornell it is easy to see what’s new – for example, PSB and, obviously, Klarman Hall, have not always been here. Less obvious is all the work that has gone into campus and its natural areas to keep it looking old and established.

There’s never a time where the Ithaca Gorges are not as they cheesily say, “Gorges (gorgeous)”. Even during the winter, the icy majestic falls look like beautiful streams frozen in time, awaiting the warmth of spring to give them life again. Of course, that’s not to say that experiencing them in warmer weather is not equally as breathtaking. And seeing them more than once only helps to enhance the experience with each additional time. The more you view them, it seems, the more you appreciate them in a small way. This past Saturday, for example, was the third time I had walked through the Cascadilla Gorge trail and it had only been exponentially more beautiful than the first (the beautiful cool autumn weather may have helped).  Having House Fellow Todd Bittner join us in sharing his knowledge of the local geology  only helped to garner an even greater appreciation for the gorges.

Learning more about the historical context of the trail had the impact of unveiling the inner beauty of the gorges. Thanks to Colonel Henry Sackett, the trail was originally created as a trail network to connect the downtown boarding houses with campus, facilitating the commute for Cornell students. However, the gorge trail has since changed significantly, slowly being eroded by overuse and Ithaca’s unforgiving weather conditions. In fact, seven out of the eight most recent years were devoted to reconstructing it alone.

The gorge itself shows a lot about the history of life in Ithaca, as well. For example, the elevation levels of the falls had significantly decreased, attributing to the overwhelming volumes of water continuously flowing through and eroding the rock beneath. Bittner also noted the 89 degree lacerations against the walls of the gorge, also created through the erosion of water, and the expansion of ice in the water. It’s strange to realize that such simple characteristics serve to accentuate the aesthetic of the gorges and how impactful nature can be in all manners of life.

One of my favorite things to do is be immersed in nature. I’ve recently found that I love to hike because it provides me with a natural outlet, allows me to be connected with the Earth I live on, and is an overall great form of exercise. This hike was my first visit to Cascadilla Gorge and am quick to say that it is among one of my favorite places around campus.

Its so peaceful and the sunlight peaks through the trees, exposing just the right amount of light. One thing I noticed was that there was a stone bench just to the right of the waterfall- a place I know I’ll be visiting often when I’m living in Collegetown as a place to wind down, sip a chai latte from CTB, or just catch up with friends.

When the tour guide introduced Cascadilla Gorge, I was shocked how much the water levels receded and how much calmer the waterfall is in today’s day in age. Something that still mind-boggles me is that the overpass sits so perfectly on the two sides of the gorge… Over time, I’m curious how the weathering and erosion will affect this bridge.

Overall, I’m extremely happy that Cascadilla Gorge will remain in existence for a long while rather than being a forgotten memory… I’ll now be spending many breaks around the area.

Saturday was a beautiful day for a hike, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to visit Cascadilla Gorge for the first time since I arrived at Cornell. The views of the gorge were simply breathtaking and I really felt like I had stepped into another world far from the noise and bustle of campus.

House Fellow Todd Bittner joined us for the hike and talked to us about the history of the gorge from its formation during the ice age to the present day. He said the structure of the gorge is constantly changing due to the effects of weather and erosion. Because of this, the trail has to be carefully maintained to ensure its safety. As we walked down the gorge, Mr. Bittner pointed out areas where the path had been moved away from over-hanging rocks and other areas where stones had been cemented to the path to strengthen it. I was impressed by how well these changes blended into the natural environment of the gorge.

Mr. Bittner also emphasized how rare it is for a large university to have so many nature areas such as Cascadilla in the middle of its campus, and encouraged us to make the most of them while we are here at Cornell.

Cascadilla Gorge

On Saturday morning, we went on a scenic hike down Cascadilla Gorge Trail lead by Todd Bittner, an environmentalist with extensive knowledge of the gorge.  I had been there twice previously to relax and take pictures with my friends, but I never knew much about the history or the tremendous effort put in to open it up to the public.

The 7,800 ft long Cascadilla Gorge requires constant maintenance to upkeep its beauty and to keep the trail safe for all its visitors.  This task lies largely in the hands of Cornell Plantations, whose duties entail keeping the trails clear and implementing safety measures to prevent accidents and injuries.

We stopped every few meters or so to listen to Mr. Bittner give us a bit of interesting information regarding how the gorges developed to what they are today.  Like many similar land forms, the gorge was carved by erosion and flowing water.  The subzero Ithaca temperatures also contribute to the formation of the walls of the gorge due to the excessive snow and the fact that water expands when it freezes.  In addition, Mr. Bittner shared that it is extremely rare to find naturally occuring straight lines in nature, but at several spots along the gorge wall, the angles measured to be 89 degrees, almost a perfect right angle.

Although I was initially not ecstatic about waking up early on a Saturday morning, I was glad I did by the end of our hike.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning and it was pleasantly refreshing to admire the aesthetic of the waterfalls and changing autumn leaves.  With the weight of the prelim season upon us, I definitely recommend taking an hour out of your week to pay a visit to Cascadilla Gorge to destress!

This weekend the Rose Scholars had the chance to hike the nearby Cascadilla Gorge together. Although I had walked on the Central Ave bridge over the gorge numerous times, I was unaware that there was a gorge trail open to the public. I enjoy exploring the beautiful campus, so I was very excited to see the gorge and waterfall. Under the guidance of Todd Bittner, the director of natural areas for Cornell Plantations, we learned about various aspects and history of the gorge.
Todd showed us a photo of the waterfall from a hundred years ago, shown below. There is a distinct difference between the historical photo and the current photo of the waterfall. Currently, the waterfall starts to fall underneath the bridge, but in the photo the waterfall is much more vertical and it starts to fall past the bridge.

1915

2015

Todd Bittner explaining the process of erosion on the sides of gorge and waterfall.

It was surprising to learn that the Cascadilla Gorge has been closed for 7 years out of the past 8 years for restoration. I am glad that the gorge is now open for the students and public to enjoy. Todd explained that the restoration cost almost 3 million dollars to ensure safety for people and preservation of natural biodiversity. I am thankful for the careful consideration by the Cornell Plantation to preserve the natural beauty of the gorge while making the trail safe for everyone. The 21st technology has allowed us to maintain the natural areas and enjoy the gorges for generations.
I think I will be visiting the Cascadilla Gorge again soon with my friends. If possible, I also want to hike down to the Fall Creek Gorge and see the Triphammer Fall that I always passed by during my freshmen year.

Having walked along Cascadilla Gorge multiple times in the past, I was expecting just another hike where we looked at the greenery around the Gorge. To my surprise,  large portion of the tour was about the rocks and the ever changing Gorge. Although changes are not noticeable as you walk along the trail, the gorge did not look like what it did 100 years ago.  I found it interesting how powerful water can be overtime, receding the waterfall line fractions of an inch every year until it is what it looks like today.

In my freshman year, the gorge was still barred off for the reconstruction of the trail.  However, I am thankful kful that the gorge trail reopened while I am still a student.