Rockland and Orange Counties,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Appalachian Trail (AT): White blaze
Appalachian Trail Spur: Blue blaze
Total Time: 1:20 hours
Estimated Distance: 2.1 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Level of Recommendation: Highly recommended for an easy and short hike with excellent views
Points of Interest: Bear mountain tower and view
Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg
Scott Jurek and his crew
Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek is currently hiking/running the Appalachian Trail to break the current record and complete the entire trail in record time. His plan is that he wakes up at sunrise, and hikes all day and even into the night. He has a support crew travelling with him that carries his supplies, and he sleeps on a bed in a support vehicle. This allows him to be well-rested and not have to carry a heavy pack, giving him more speed.
Scott's route is recorded live on GPS, and this is the day he was in our neck of the woods. Shimmy and I decided to meet him in Bear Mountain. We took two cars, and parked one car at the end of Perkins Memorial Drive past the tower at the dead end. We parked the other car at the top by the tower, where we noticed several news crews awaiting his arrival.
From the top parking area we hiked down the blue-blazed Spur trail which is a shortcut to the AT and goes down to the rockface that used to be Major Welch Trail. We had gotten here a bit earlier than Scott, so I went to the other Spur Trail which goes along the rockface and was the former Major Welch Trail route. We then met up with Scott at this point, and went along with him from here along the top part of Bear Mountain to the Tower. Scott stopped to be interviewed by some news crews, and we then continued along with him all the way down to where our car was parked at the dead end of Perkins Drive.
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| Map of the Route. Harriman/Bear Mnt Trails Northern Map |
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| View from AT/Spur Trail Facing Southwest |
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| Same View Further Back into the Trees The Pond in in the Distance is Queensboro Lake |
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| Another View from the Same Area |
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| View Near the End of the Spur Trail |
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| View of the End of the Spur Trail. Facing Northwest. |
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| Shimmy at the At/Spur View |
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| Me at the AT/Spur View |
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| Scott Jurek and his Contingent Approaching |
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| Scott and his Crew Hiking. Shimmy is the Man at the Rear. |
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| View from the North Face of Bear Mountain. Facing North towards the Hudson River. |
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| Scott and a Blind Person Being Interviewed by the Media |
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| Camera Crews Interviewing Scott |
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