When I put a pack on my back and head out for several days of hiking, I think of old growth forests, undeveloped, tree-lined lakes and wilderness.

I don't want to share my time with hordes of people, all struggling for their own little piece of nature. Sure I hike in the Adirondack High Peaks; everyone does. That's the problem: everyone does!

During the summer months, every trailhead is packed with cars and every lean-to is stuffed like a can of sardines. Weekends are absolutely impossible.

Thankfully, I'm able to find the true enjoyment of life on less-cluttered paths, or as Robert Frost once wrote, "the road less traveled." These areas can take some time to discover.

I have often thought of hiking the big one, the Appalachian Trail. Running all the way from Georgia to Maine, it would be the ultimate challenge. Six or seven months of a seemingly never-ending trail and a couple of sore feet? What more could you ask for?

How about a little solitude?

The Finger Lakes Trail, which traverses much of New York's southern tier, is sort of a hiker's secret. Plus, it's right in our backyard. The 544-mile course from the Catskill Mountains to the Allegany State Park west of Salamanca usually gets very little traffic.

The trail meanders along rivers and creeks, crosses backroads and highways and wanders through meadows and forests. From the wild regions of the Catskills south of Margaretville, the trail follows steep, wooded ridges and lush, tree-filled valleys. This is wild country, where you can travel for miles and seldom see another hiker's footprints.

The FLT heads northwest near the Cannonsville Reservoir and crosses the Susquehanna River at Bainbridge, before reaching the more-wild regions of Chenango County near Tyner and East Pharsalia.

Its northern-most point is near DeRuyter, where it connects with the Onondaga Trail. From there on, it's ever westward. In the Allegany State Forest, the trail connects to the North Country National Scenic Trail System and to the Conservation Trail, which takes you to the Bruce Trail in Canada.

Yellow blazes and white or oranges disks with the green FLT logo make following the trail quite easy. This trail differs from many because it crosses a more-populated countryside, intersecting numerous roads and passing through several towns. There isn't the planning and logistics necessary when hiking a wilderness trail.

Numerous loops branch off the main trail, allowing hikers the opportunity to see many of the unique and beautiful parts of the state.

I recommend checking out the Finger Lakes Trail System, which is maintained entirely by volunteers and is in great shape. You can hike as much as your heart desires. It's all up to you.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with what the southern tier of New York has to offer.

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.