Sunday, February 1, 2015

Frozen Lake Askoti / Lake Skanatati and Pine Swamp Mountain

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Red Cross Trail: Red blaze
Arden-Surebridge: Red blaze
Long Path: Green blaze

Hiking Partners:
Jay Schwartz
Lee Rosenberg
Diesel (Lee's Golden Retriever)

Total time: 2:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.9 miles
Level of Difficulty: Somewhat difficult due to snow conditions
Level of Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Points of Interest: Frozen lakes, good view
Pros: Good lake hike combination, nice view
Cons: Rerouting of trail away from view

The past few days prior to this hike had been frigid. This was the first day where the temperatures had been above 30 degrees, which made it a beautiful day for hiking. The day started out very cold but it very quickly warmed up. The Harriman lakes have been frozen for some time now, so this was a good opportunity to hike on two more lakes. There was about 8 inches of snow above the ground and lake surface, which made the walking just a bit challenging.

We parked at the Lake Skanatati Parking area off of 7 Lakes Drive, and crossed the road and walked across the length of Lake Askoti. Lee had brought his dog Diesel, a beautiful snow-white Golden Retriever, who had a blast running around in the snow. We hiked along the lake to the north, across the small island, to the rock peninsula along the north side of the lake. From there we headed to the Red Cross Trail, crossed the road, and climbed up Pine Swamp Mountain. At the terminus of the trail we took the Arden-Surebridge for a short distance and then bushwacked to the old view atop Pine Swamp Mountain. (This view has been rerouted for some odd reason, as mentioned in one of my previous posts.)

From the view we bushwacked down the mountain on the west side of the view, sliding down the mountain on our rears. We went down to the Long Path, headed west on the Long Path for a short distance, and at the Western side of the lake cut through to the shore of Lake Skanatati and walked along the lake towards our car.

Map of the Route.
Harriman/Bear Mountain Trails Northern Map

Looking North on Lake Askoti

Our Tracks Walking into Lake Askoti

Ice Fishermen on Lake Askoti

Me and Jay on Lake Askoti

Me on Lake Askoti

Me, Lee, and Lee's Golden Retriever, Diesel

Me on a Snowy Island in Lake Askoti

Diesel Wandering By the Evergreens
Directly North of Lake Askoti

Pine Swamp Mountain View

Group of People Crossing Lake Skanati. From Pine Swamp Mnt View

Zoomed into the Above Picture

Lee and Diesel

Diesel Roaming Freely on Lake Skanatati

Pine Swamp Mountain from Lake Skanatati.
We Were Looking Down to this Spot from Above the Mountain Before

Walking Along Lake Skanatati

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