Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Carr Pond Mountain Lake Stahahe Loop

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
White Bar Trail: White blaze
Parker Cabin Hollow: Orange blaze

Total Time: 2:05 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles (a bit extra because of return to retrieve lost bottle)

Pros: Very quiet area, scenic terrain
Cons: Park of trail hard and difficult to follow
Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Map of Route:
https://goo.gl/maps/24c5kU8o6iVPCHdf8

This area is usually quieter than other nearby areas in Harriman on busy weekends, and that was what I was looking for on this hike. I had not hiked this area in a while so figured this was a good opportunity. I parked at the small parking area at the bend on County Route 106, and took the White Bar Trail up the hill, down the steep valley, and back up again to the view along the White Bar Trail at Carr Pond Mountain.

I then descended the mountain the deep valley below, and took the Parker Cabin Hollow for a short distance to an unmarked woods road heading north. I took this path until it reached County Route 106. I walked on the road for a short distance, and then took the narrow paved road to Camp Winowna. This road is gated so there are no cars here. I took some pictures where the road meets Lake Stahahe, and too some pictures. I then turned around for a short distance and did a bushwack at the stream, climbing up alongside it and passing by several small waterfalls. They were most dry at this point with hot summer weather already in place. I eventually reached the White Bar Trail, which I took back to my car.

Map of the Route

White Bar Trail at the Trailhead Parking

Minor View Along the First Summit of Carr Pond Mountain

View from the Main Summit View at Carr Pond Mountain

Me at the Carr Pond Mountain View

Another View from the Carr Pond Summit

Dense Fern Area in the Parker Cabin Hollow

Bridge Across the Brook in Parker Cabin Hollow

Swamp Area in Parker Cabin Hollow

Road Alongside Lake Stahahe

Abandoned Structure Near Lake Stahahe

Abandoned Gatehouse at Lake Stahahe

Lower End of Lake Stahahe

Nice View of Lake Stahahe

Another View of Lake Stahahe

Mostly Dry Waterfalls at an Inlet to Lake Stahahe

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Daters Mountain Almost Perpendicular LinkedIn Hike

Harriman State Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Blue Disc Trail: Blue blaze
Total Time: 2:05 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles (a bit extra because of return to retrieve lost bottle)

Pros: Very scenic hike with good scrambles, great scenery, and nice views
Cons: End of hike on Pine Meadow Trail is very busy, parking is busy on weekends

Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Hiking Partners:
Jerry Dobner, Meir Frankel, Sol Fruchter, Eliezer Hott, Raphi Levine, Rafael Rosenberg, Shimon Rosenberg, Shloimy Tauber, Shmully Zand

Map of Route:
https://goo.gl/maps/q9Gr12cXH7sQwqmk9

I had organized a networking hike with connected LinkedIn members after work. With the sun setting very late, and itching to get some more hikes and good networking, I organized a group of people to go hiking together up Daters Mountain. This is a short and rewarding hike. The climb is a bit difficult near the end, but the view is very expansive and rewarding.

I had brought my hiking gear to work with me, and changed on the way to the hike. We parked at the cul-de-sac at the end of the Johnsontown Road in Sloatsburg. We took the Blue Disc up from it's trailhead, climbing gradually at the beginning, and then steeply up until the view. The area where the view is Dater's Mountain, but also referenced as "Almost Perpendicular" on the maps.

At the top viewpoint, we did some networking, with everyone sharing what they do professionally. We then turned around and came back with the same route. One of my hiking partners realized he had lost his water bottle, so I volunteered to go back all the way till the steep part to help him retrieve it.

Map of the Route

Hiking Group at the Trailhead at the Beginning of the Hike

Hiking Up the Scramble Approaching the Summit

Our Group Relaxing at the Top

Hiking Members at the View

At the Rock above Almost Perpendicular

Heshy Friedman and Shimon Rosenberg at Daters Mountain Almost Perpendicular

Me at the top View

Zoomed In to Me at the View

Me with Jerry Dobner

Another View of Me with Jerry Dobner

Evening View from Almost Perpendicular

At the Rocky Area at the Mountain View

Sun Going Over the Horizon on Daters Mountain

Me with Shimon Rosenberg and Samuel Zand

View Facing Southwest to Chipmunk Mountain and Ramapo Torne

Large Rock Over Almost Perpendicular

View from the Summit Facing South

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Storm King Mountain Loop

Storm King State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Butter Hill Trail: Orange blaze
Stillman Trail: Yellow blaze
Storm King Bypass Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 2:10 hours
Estimated Distance: 2.4 miles

Pros: Great views and very scenic hike
Cons: None
Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Hiking Partners:
Joseph Friedman
Elisha Friedman

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/v3Yf9gt3AJK6max18

I had last been to Storm King Mountain in the winter, during a snowstorm. Storm King is one of my favorite places in the area, and I wanted to cover the terrain where I had last been during the snowstorm when there was poor visibility and I couldn't get the proper views.

We parked at the Butter Hill parking on Route 9W. This parking area was recently fixed and renovated. We took the Butter Hill Trail Trail up to the view overlooking Route 9W and the Crow's Nest. We continued to the Stillman Trail, and took some pictures at the Butter Hill View, which offers a 360 degree panorama view of the area. We then walked across the ridge to edge of Storm King at the North facing view over Newburgh Bay. We then turned around and took the Storm King Bypass Trail as it descended into the valley, passing the Howell Trail and then at the end to the short climb back up to our car.