We had an exceptionally nice Fall day October 14 for our tour on the Cascadilla Gorge Trail. Our hiking tour became not only a chance to oxygenate and enjoy the beauty of the Fall colors but more over a way to admire the history that the Gorge guards. The sedimentary rock deposits made 400 million years ago in the Paleozoic era, hide fossilized records of the time when life was moving from water to land, and fish were developing extremities to walk. The carving of the bedrock on Cascadilla Creek is impressive as it drops 400 feet from campus to downtown Ithaca. Those rocks were once the floor of an ancient Ocean. In 1828, while fallowing Fall Creek into Tompkins County, Ezra Cornell, then 21 years old, contemplated for the first time the beauty of the region where he decided to settle and later found Cornell University. He worked early on blasting a 200 feet tunnel into Fall Creek and then helped construct a stone dam to contain the waters of Beebe lake. Although he then lost his job was forced to leave Ithaca, and suffered the loss of four of his children, his perseverance and hard work paid off when he built his fortune aiding Samuel Morse expand the telegraph becoming the largest stock holder in Western Union. At age 50, he was the richest man in Tompkins county and purchased a 300-acre farm in East hill, and became a philanthropist joining efforts in the NY State Senate with Andrew White to combine part of his fortune ($500,000) with the money from the Morrill land grant act (federal grants in the form of land rather than cash) to found Cornell University. The University was founded in 1865, in the farmland that Ezra Cornell donated. Two gorges, Fall Creek Gorge and Cascadilla Gorge, bound Central campus. During our walk in Cascadilla Gorge trail, we learned about its history and how its construction came about. Cascadilla Gorge was donated to Cornell by Robert Treman in 1909. At the time, (early 1900) there was no trail so it was very difficult to appreciate safely the scenery starting at Beebe Lake and continuing to the narrow gorge of Cascadilla Glenn. The unique water settings, the texture of the geological formations, and the unique vegetation were inaccessible and hard to appreciate as there was no safe way to visit. In 1915, Charles N. Lawry, landscape architecture, sent to Cornell’s Committee for Buildings and Grounds a proposal on how to make accessible Cascadilla Glenn from Lynn Street to the Upper Dam. He wrote about the need to remove a house and construct a bridge to give access to the first falls. The path will reach the falls without the use of steps, and a rail addition was suggested as well as other modification with an estimated cost of $21,438. The Cascadilla Gorge trail was first built from 1929 to 1931 with a donation of $175,000 from Henry Sackett, Cornell alumnus and trustee. The trail was closed in 2008 due to safety concerns, and reopened in 2014 after extensive renovations that costed $2.75 million, with repaired stairs and retaining walls, new railing and draining systems. Cornell University provides $250,000 annually to maintain both Cascadilla and Fall Creek Trails. It is awesome to think that the scenic beauty of those trails that we enjoy in our hiking trip, made Ezra Cornell settle here in 1828 and persevere to found our University, which continues after 152 years to make contributions in so many fields for the benefit of mankind.

Going on the Cascadilla gorge hike last weekend was a great opportunity to learn about the history of the gorge and also information on enjoying nature on campus. I had crossed above the gorge to get from central campus to Collegetown many times, but this was the first time that I actually explored the trail below the bridge. Some things about my trip which stood out to me:

1. I was amazed by the way that sections of the gorge look like sets of stairs and that this is actually the work of nature. The gorge is continually formed by natural phenomenon ranging from as old as when the region was covered by a glacier to as recent as strong hurricane activity.
2. I was surprised to find that hiking on the gorge trail is a kind of communal activity. I encountered people of all ages engaging with nature in different ways; whether it was by splashing in ankle deep portions of the gorge, taking photographs of the scenery, or going for a brisk walk. It was refreshing to see people enjoy the world around them.
3. This experience gave me a better sense of the geography of / around Cornell. For instance, on the way back to my dorm I cut through the Ithaca City Cemetery which I had never realized was right by west. The cemetery is a really interesting place in which participants in the civil war and freed slaves are buried. There is history all around campus which I miss.

I woke up early on this Saturday expecting a super intense hiking workout. The cascadilla gorge hike was anything but that! It was a leisurely walk through the nearby cascadilla gorge. I particularly enjoyed Todd’s sharing his wealth of knowledge with us; I would not have known anything about the gorge unless he had told me. I was shocked to learn that the gorge had so much history with Cornell and how much it has transformed over the years. Students like me who have never seen the gorge damaged or closed are very fortunate. However, I think I would have enjoyed an actual hike too. Since Ithaca has so many natural areas to explore, I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to hike. Nonetheless, I loved learning about the gorge from Todd and will be back to visit the gorge again. Maybe instead of calling it a “Gorge Hike”, it should be “Gorge Walk”?

What I originally thought would be a simple gorge walk down to the commons and back was actually a very interesting educational session that we had to pleasure to learn about in the field itself. Our instructor was very knowledgeable and I was excited to hear all the specialized information he had to share about not only the gorge history, but about the science behind gorge formations and behind Cornell. I’m very excited to go back to casc and drag my friends to tell them all the information I learned!

I was initially reluctant to sign up for the tour of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail with Todd Bittner, Cornell Botanic Gardens Director of Natural Areas and Rose House Fellow. Admittedly a large part of that reluctance came from a desire to sleep in (9:30 AM is early for a college student!), but still part of it came from the fact that I had been on the hike before. It was a pretty trial, sure, but what would this hike add to the experience? And why was it going take two hours?

My trepidation was wholly unfounded, however. While I have hiked the trail plenty of times in the past, Mr. Bittner’s input, be it scientific, historical, or anecdotal, truly added to the experience in my eyes. Above all else, my favorite part of the tour was how he was able to teach us about history, both of Cornell and of the earth on a geological timescale, through the environment. Firstly, the creation of the gorge was extremely interesting to me. I have no background in geology, so knowing that some of the rock visible to us was up to four million years old was unfathomable. Additionally, the way that the gorge, especially the lower section, was carved out by glaciers is equally interesting. The way you can see the different layers, alternating hard and soft, was very cool.

I also greatly enjoyed learning about the history of Cornell through the hike. As someone new to the university this semester, it was my first exposure to any of this information. For example, I did not know that Cascadilla Hall was the first building of the university, and that it even predates the establishment of Cornell. Similarly, seeing pictures from the early 1900s was very cool—seeing just how much erosion occurred over that time really spoke to the raw power of water. Without a doubt I feel that learning about our history through nature is far more intriguing than simply sitting in a classroom could ever be.

When I chose to come to Cornell, I was excited about the prospect of being able to discover a new hiking trail every weekend. Needless to say this did not happen as I was quickly caught up in the stress of college life. This weekend I decided to go for the Cascadilla Gorge Hike. I thought this would be a great opportunity to discover and learn about at least one hiking trail. This was a particularly nice one to learn about because it had so much history intertwined with Cornell’s history. For example, Cascadilla Hall was one of the first buildings to make up Cornell’s Campus. Additionally, the stone that makes up the now-dorm came from the gorge itself. We also learned about some of the geology of the gorge. It is made up many layers of sedimentary, which compressed over hundreds of thousands of years, and now makes up the walls of the gorge. This was a nice change in pace from my usual Saturday morning, which is just doing homework.

Since arriving in Ithaca last year, I’ve gone on a few very nice hikes through local gorges such as Treman State Park and Buttermilk Falls, but I did not even realize that there was such a great hiking trail on campus. Last Saturday morning, I was fortunate to join Rose House Fellow Todd Bittner on a hiking tour of Cascadilla Gorge where he taught me and several other students about the formation and preservation of the gorge. Mr. Bittner started the tour by showing us a picture of the top of the gorge from over 100 years ago and asked us to compare the picture to what we currently saw today. Since 1900, there have been significant changes such as the trajectory of the waterfall, and the creation of sidewalks due to new technology such as cars. Cornell has also added safety nets, which is very important for gorge safety.

Todd additionally taught us about how parts of the gorge are made up of different kings of rocks, resulting in interesting patterns along the sediment walls due to erosion and natural geographic shifts, collisions, and erosion. I thought the most important part of the tour was when Todd talked about the preservation of the gorge’s trail and how the school spent $2.8 million to make the trail safer and more structurally sound without changing its authentic appearance. Exploring Cascadilla Gorge has encouraged me to explore other gorges in the area and consider how precious nature can be.

Hiking the Cascadilla Gorge was a very relaxing experience. It was a beautiful day outside when we were able to hike on Wednesday. The gorge itself drops 400 feet from campus to downtown Ithaca. The carved rock is mostly sedimentary and contains many fossils from the Devonian era. I had visited the gorge twice before, once with an evolutionary biology class. We hunted for fossils (which was not hard to find!) but did not get a chance to enjoy the scenery. I was especially exited to soak in how many beautiful natural features surround and are on Cornell campus. When friends and relatives come to visit, I will be sure to take them to the Cascadilla Gorge!

The Cascadilla Gorge Hike was interesting for a multitude of reasons. I had no idea about the construction done to the Gorge during the great depression and that these repairs would not be possible without the support of generous donors. It’s cool to see that even during a tough time such as the great depression, Cornell recognized the positive impact the gorge has on Ithaca. I thought the fact that Cascadilla hall used to be or was going to be a hospital very fascinating!

I didn’t even know Cascadilla Gorge was on Cornell’s Campus!  I signed up to go hiking and little did I know, I was in for a super treat from mother nature.

During my first time seeing Cascadilla Gorge I was led by the very knowledgeable Rose House Fellow Tod Britter.  Myself and the rest of my housemates learned everything from Gorge Safety, to geological formation, to American History.  Despite endless renovations the gorge is just as beautiful as it has always been.  After a long hard search for long lost plans, Tod was able to find documentation of the gorge trail reconstruction in 1912.  I can conclude that from the old picture and descriptions Cornell has done an amazing job of preserving this natural wonder.  Who knows?  Next time I venture to the Ithaca Commons I may go via the Cascadilla Gorge Trail!

On our tour of the Cascadilla Gorge, Todd Bittner, Director of Natural Areas at the Cornell Botanic Gardens, walked us through both the (relatively) short-term history of the gorge as well as its millennias-long formation. Part of his discussion that I found especially fascinating was of the changes that the natural areas have undergone over time. Millions of years ago, the rock that is now exposed laid at the bottom of an inland sea. Buried within are fossils of aquatic creatures which are completely extinct today. In more recent ecological history, we compared a photograph from a century ago to a current view of the College Ave bridge and observed a change in the greenery around the gorge from largely evergreen trees to the invasive, non-coniferous species we see today. It was interesting to contemplate the similarities between changes that have taken place in such different timelines and be reminded that change is always occurring, whether by nature or by human interference.

On another note, we also learned about Todd’s work on the restoration of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail between 2008 and 2014. He mentioned that upon the trail’s reopening, people remarked that “it looks exactly the same – what did you spend 3 million dollars on?” This was remarkable in that the project had achieved its goal of retaining the authenticity and history of the trail by making it safer and more resilient without changing its outward appearance. The fact that the project was allowed to be funded with that goal in place also speaks to the current values our University and society as a whole have on natural places — in contrast to the era Cornell was founded, during which the gorge was quarried for its stone.

One of Cornell’s richest features is its history. So much has happened in the past century and a half that it is easy to forget events before that. Though the university wasn’t founded until 1865, the land it sits on has been changing for hundreds of millions of years. On the hike of the Cascadilla Gorge, Todd Bittner, our tour guide, told us how sediment layers formed in the gorge over time during the Devonian period. You can see vertically stacked layers in the gorge’s walls, each holding its own piece of history in the form of different fossils and remnants.

Even changes within the past hundred years can be seen. Mr. Bittner held up a picture from around 1900 of the waterfall that rushes under College Avenue and asked us to point out the differences between it and what we were looking at. One of the differences that stuck out to me was the addition of a sidewalk on the bridge that College Avenue passes. Back in the day when only horses and buggies traversed the dirt roads, a sidewalk wasn’t really necessary. The sidewalk is just one example of changes that have been made over time to improve the gorge and the areas around it. In 2008, Mr. Bittner and others were tasked with greatly increasing the durability and safety of the gorge and the walkways placed through it. Gathering about 2.8 million dollars from the university, they added natural looking reinforcements to the walkways to prevent them from being so easily damaged by floodwater. Walking through Cascadilla gorge, it’s easy to forget the work, both natural and manmade, that has been put into making it such a charming place.

I loved my first experience hiking through Ithaca’s gorges; it made me realize how blessed we are to have such amazing works of nature right on our campus. My favorite part of the guided trip, led by Rose House Fellow Todd Bittner, was probably when we compared the gorge to what it looked like in the 1900s. The pictures that Todd showed us helped explain the changes that took place over time, for example, the flattening of the waterfall, new additions to the bridge, changing surrounding foliage, and added infrastructure of course. I also thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of Cornell’s founding, as it reminds me to always be grateful and will enrich my overall experience here. My wish is for more students to be aware and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the university to explore Cornell’s nature. An environment as grand yet calming as ours is difficult to find at most other college campuses. It is humbling to know that a natural masterpiece lies tucked away behind buildings but is always there to explore, and I appreciate how intricately woven our campus is with the natural landscape of Ithaca. Before this trip, I never knew that such a trail lived right under my nose.

Yesterday I had the chance to hike through the Cascadilla Gorge, one of campus’ many hiking trails maintained by the Cornell Botanic Gardens. The hike was curated by Todd Bittner, the director of natural areas at the Cornell Botanic Gardens. From Todd’s expertise, the attendees learned about the gorge’s long history and how it has evolved with the university after being acquired in 1909 through a donation by Robert H. Treman.

As times have changed, so has the use of the gorge as is evident by the remnants of a quarry in the gorge that was used to harvest the stone that today composes Cascadilla Hall. Today, the Cascadilla Gorge is a valued and historic natural area that is protected and maintained to help preserve its beauty for generations to come. Over the past century, the gorge has undergone radical changes, having once been partially submerged via the construction of a now-demolished dam and through the replacement of some of the native flora with invasive species. Outside of the realm of man-made impacts, natural changes to the gorge’s architecture are evident from historic artifacts such as photographs and slope documentation that can be found in the university’s rare manuscript library showing the dynamic effects of the environment on the land. The Cascadilla Gorge is one of the many natural treasures found on campus that is diligently maintained by the Cornell Botanic Gardens, and it will continue to hold its prominence as both a historic and natural wonder for many years to come.

On Saturday, I attended the Cascadilla Gorge Hike. The hike was led by Todd Bittner, director of natural areas. I’ve been on the trail before; however, this was the first time I got to learn about the trail’s history. It was interesting to learn about the state of the trail and how it had changed over time. One of the things Bittner mentioned early on was that Cascadilla Hall was the first building of Cornell. Accordingly, it was built as a hospital but then bought out to be used by the university. Another interesting point about the trail was that it had only reopened for public use in 2014. Before then it was being renovated as part of a $2.8 million project. He also talked about the gorge’s geology, foundation, and recreational use.

Next time I hike the trail I appreciate the greater context afforded by Bittner.

This morning I went on a beautiful hike down on the Cascadilla Gorge. I had passed by the gorge on my runs before, but never actually went down and explored. I had no idea I was missing out on so much.There were countless steps on that trail that went from College Avenue down past Stewart, but it was well worth it. The sight and sound of the water running down the rocks was a peaceful and beautiful experience. Not only did we enjoy the great view, but we also learned about the history behind the gorge. Our Rose House fellow showed us pictures of the same gorge over 100 years ago and many things have changed including the way the waterfall looked. I was shocked by how much money went into preserving and up-keeping the trails, 2.8 million dollars! Small details we don’t pay much attention to contributed greatly to the preservation of the gorge including the rust resistant hand rails, the rocks lined up as a barrier between the trail and water, and the cemented rocks we walk on. Although the price was steep, as Todd mentioned, the Cascadilla Gorge is a very important part of Cornell history as it was one of the first lands that Ezra Cornell purchased and not only that, it serves as a great outdoor classroom. I believe we have a truly unique and historically important campus surrounded by beautiful nature and I will definitely be taking advantage of it.

It is difficult to describe how cool I find rocks. Yes, rocks. Those (seemingly) innocuous, hard, typically grey and brown things that make up a good portion of the ground. But, for all of their benign commonness, rocks are possibly both Earth’s greatest storyteller and vivid historian.

The Cascadilla Gorge Hike was effectively broken into two themes: The modern history of the gorge, or, how the gorge has changed ecologically and structurally over the last century or so, made up about half of our tour. However I was mostly there for the second half – the Geological history of the Gorge. Last year I went into Fall Creek Gorge to collect fossils, sparking a deep fascination with the geological history of the area. Here’s a quick rundown:

During the Devonian, approximately 415 to 350 million years ago, much of the midwest United States was not only under ocean, but also on the equator. In fossil ranges stretching from here to Ohio, we find brachiopods (bivalves), corals, trilobites, and other strange but perhaps oddly familiar organisms. Of note here is that we were under a sea, and with mountains in what is now upstate New York, this was a sea constantly being filled with sediment. It is that sediment which concerns us – As it deposited, it was compacted alongside marine life into limestone, shale, sandstone, and other slate like rocks. Fast forward to a few million years ago, as this rock is being exposed, carved, and fractured by the glaciers of the last ice age. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind pools of water. However, this water naturally wanted to fall back towards the ocean and other lower bodies of water. Taking the path of least resistance, they trickled into the aforementioned fractures in the old Devonian rock. This rock is soft, and was eroded quickly by the waterflow, eventually creating the massive gorge structures this area of New York is known for.

What astonishes me the most, is what we know all of this from the rock – its softness, its layered deposition, and the fossils they contain (also made of rock) work in conjunction to not only paint the picture I gave above, but to craft IMMENSE detail about the history of the gorges over time spans we cannot even begin to comprehend. The Tour Guide gave us great detail and a lot to think about, such as why the Gorge makes a 90 degree turn, and almost immediately corrects course thereafter, or about how the subtle differences in the rock between Cascadilla Gorge, Fall Creek, and the other areas lead to the differences in the end appearance of the Gorge. In conclusion, of our civilizations and achievements, in enough time, all that will be left of them too will be the rock, and what the rock preserves for future civilizations, our descendants or otherwise, to discover.

On the morning of my birthday, I decided to pursue a very meaningful trip down the trail of Cascadilla Gorge. It’s a wonderful way to start the first day of being 19. Energized by the fresh air in the morning, I was ready for the whole trip.

Standing on the sidewalk gazing at the bridge connecting central campus to college town, we compared the past and present of Cornell. There was no engineering building back when the trail was being renovated, and the waterfall was more significant. We looked at the project brochure for building this trail. I had to say I was in awe.

During the time, it didn’t make sense to the directors why they would invest millions of dollars into rebuilding this trail that already existed. However, this project was initiated and pitched as beneficial to the whole Cornell community as a safer way to experience nature and appreciate the beauty of Ithaca. I could really relate to this, and I couldn’t imagine what would the campus be without such trail. It would definitely be different.

Cornell is awesome and Ithaca is gorgeous. The two complements each other perfectly. The natural beauty during fall makes me miss my hometown, Shenyang, a beautify city in northeast China. We have golden maple leaves falling from the trees, and I am almost certain I saw the same squirrel grabbing a nut that tightly. We have freezing winters and knee-deep snow just like Ithaca. To me, here is home. Home is never complete without its natural beauty,