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

Claudius Smith Den and Elbow Brush

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Ramapo Dunderberg Trail: Red blaze
Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail: Red blaze
Blue Disc Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.4 Miles

Pros: Great views and rock scrambles
Cons: Trailhead parking is far from the start of the hike

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/EEPcChvMSM3qLcJ67

Hiking Partner:
Rayzi Friedman

Claudius Smith Den is one of my favorite spots in Harriman. It features a great view with impressive rock formations including a narrow crevice. Another interesting formation in this hike is Elbow Brush, containing several rock crevices as well.

The weather had been exceptionally good, with a very cool start and low humidity for June. It was a cloudless day with great visibility at the view. When going to the Claudius Smith Den, I normally park at the parking area off East Village Road right before the Thruway Underpass. However, this parking area is closed, so we were forced to park further up on the road at the Ramapo River bridge meant for fisherman. We therefore had to walk quite a bit to get the trailhead, by walking down East Village Road, under the Thruway, and then on River Road to the trailhead.

We took the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail up to the first view, overlooking Tuxedo, and then continued on the trail to the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail towards Claudius Smith Den. We went into the cave and then climbed to the top of the den. We then took the Blue Disc Trail south the Elbow Brush, walking through it until the end, and then went back along the old trail above the ridge. We then turned around and took the same route back, taking a slight detour on the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail before the Tuxedo overlook.

Map of the Route

Parking at the Fishing Area at the Ramapo River Bridge

Ramapo River Seen from the East Village Road  Bridge 

Regular Parking Lot Closed

Approaching the First View

View of Tuxedo, Facing South

View Facing East

Me at the View

Another View of Tuxedo

Approaching the Claudius Smith Den

Covered Rock Area Beneath Claudius Smith Den

Walking Underneath Claudius Smith Den

Me Underneath the Overhang at Claudius Smith Den

Me in the Crevice in Claudius Smith Den

Me in the Above Crevice

Pink Mountain Laurels in Bloom

Mountain Laurels atop Claudius Smith Den

Small Fire Burning on the Rocks atop Claudius Smith Den

View at Claudius Smith Den, Facing South

Me Atop Claudius Smith Den

View From Claudius Smith Den, Facing West

Me at Claudius Smith Den

Nice Scenery atop Claudius Smith Den

View from Claudius Smith Den, Facing West

Look who I Bumped Into!
Sruly Rosenberg near the Elbow Brush!

Me Approaching the Elbow Brush

Elbow Brush Crevice

Me in the Elbow Brush Crevice

Walking through the Elbow Brush Crevice on the Blue Disc Trail

Claudius Smith Den and Black Ash Mine Mountain

Harriman State Park,
Orange Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Ramapo-Dunderberg (R-D) Trail: Red blaze: Red blaze
Tuxedo-Mt Ivy (TMI) Trail: Red blaze
Blue Disc Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.9 Miles

Pros: Scenic area, great views, and interesting rock formations
Cons: None

Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg
Morty Rosenberg

As I was off for July 4, I naturally took the oppurtunity for a hike. The weather had been extremely hot all week, with the previous Sunday being over 100 degrees earlier in the week. There was a heat advisory in the area, and in addition to being very hot was also oppresingly humid. We parked at the R-D Trailhead right before the Thruway underpass, and walked along the road for a short distance to the trailhead. We took the trail up the climb to Smith Rock, a prominent overlook above Tuxedo, and then continued along to the TMI Trail to the Claudius Smith Den.

We took the Blue Disc Trail up the Claudius Smith rock formation, although Morty climbed up through the cave formation. After the view, we continued along the Blue Disc Trail up to the top of Black Ash Mine Mountain, and then descended the mountain to the Black Ash Swamp across the natural rock dam at the outlet of the swamp. We then took the TMI Trail back around to the R-D Trail. Instead of going back to Smith Rock, we took the old trail back and then bushwacked to the phone line trail, which we took back took the R-D Trail and back down the mountain and back to the trailhead. As we were finishing the hike, we heard the rumbles of thunder, with a strong thunderstorm approaching from the west. We made it in time though before the rain came.

Map of the Route

Morty Walking Along a Fallen Tree

View of Tuxedo from Smith Rock

View from Smith Rock

Me at Smith Rock Overlooking Tuxedo

Me at the Smith Rock View

View from Smith Rock Facing South

Morty at Smith Rock

Smith Rock Facing West

Morty Climbing up the Claudius Smith Den

Morty Along the Claudius Smith Den

Morty at Claudius Smith Den

Morty at Claudius Smith Den in the Cave

Claudius Smith Den Cave

View from Claudius Smith Den, Facing South

Morty atop Claudius Smith Den

Me at Claudius Smith Den

Rock atop Claudius Smith

Shimmy at Claudius Smith Den

Me at Claudius Smith Den

Claudius Smith Den, Looking Down

Looking West from Behind Claudius Smith Den

Rock Formation Behind Claudius Smith Den

Picking Blueberries along the Trail

Dead Tree along the Trail

Rock Formations on the Blue Disc Trail

View from Black Ash Mine Mountain, Facing North

Me at Black Ash Mine Mountain

Me at Black Ash Mine Mountain

Descending the Blue Disc Trail, Looking Towards Parker Cabin Mnt.