Pine Meadow / Stony Brook After Hurricane Irene

Harriman State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
Pine Meadow Trail: Red Blaze
Stony Brook Trail: Orange Blaze
Kakiat Trail: White Blaze
Hillburn Torne Sebago (HTS) Trail: Orange Blaze

Total Time: 1:15 hr
Estimated Distance: 2.5 Miles

Level of Difficulty: Moderate to Slightly Difficult
Level of Interest: Beautiful hike along a roaring brook
Points Of Interest: Deep Scenic Valley after Power Lines, Cascade of Slid Waterfall

Google Maps of Parking:

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Hurricane Irene left a tremedous amount of rain in Harriman as well as significant damage. I took this hike three days after the hurricane to see the water level in the brook and observe the damage caused by the storm. Seven Lakes Drive was closed and apparently the bridge crossing the Ramapo River had been severely damaged by the rivers sheer force. I had to take an alternate route using Washington Ave, where I encountered serveral National Guard Troops helping with the rebuilding efforts. There was a bridge in Sloatsburg that was entirely washed away leaving several homes stranded, and the National Guardsmen were assisting with the reconstruction. Once I got to the hike, I found the Stony brook was roaring, and it was at the highest level I have ever seen it. The first bridge across the Stony Brook (Kakiat Trail) was entirely washed away. The second bridge across the Pine Meadow Brook (Kakiat and Stony Brook Trail) was very damaged and pretty much unusable (this bridge was very recently rebuilt so it was brand new at the time of its destruction). The third bridge across the Pine Meadow Brook (HTS Trail) was entirely washed away.

I parked at the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center off 7 Lakes Drive near Sloatsburg. Hiked the Pine Meadow Trail along the brook to the Stony Brook Trail. I crossed the brook at the broken bridge which was barely usable, but I was able to balance across. Then I went along the the Kakiat Trail past the Cascade of Slid waterfall. The HTS Trail bridge was washed away, so I went just a bit further upstream to cross the brook over the rocks, which turned out to be incredibly challenging due to the high water volume. Once I crossed I took the Pine Meadow Trail back towards the return and back to my car.

Map of the Route.

Kakiat Trail Bridge Washed Away

The Only "Standing" Bridge:
The Bridge of the Kakiat and Stony Brook Trail.
This bridge was new - I think it was built in 2009.

Close up on the only standing bridge.

Cascase of Slid Waterfall. Overflowing.

Location of where the HTS Bridge Once Stood.
There is one pole of the bridge remaining.

National Guardsman in Sloatsburg at Work.

Harriman State Park after Hurricane Irene

Rockland County,
New York

This was the day after Hurricane Irene. It was a calm and beautiful day, and I wanted to do a hike in Harriman State Park to check the damage in the park. I had tried several routes towards Harriman, but many of the roads were closed due to downed trees, downed power lines, and washed away bridges. I finally got to the entrance at Gate Hill Road, but the park was closed with barricades along the road. I parked the car to investigate, and clearly saw why the park had been closed. Some parts of the road were entirely washed away, other parts had large rocks strewn across the entire surface area, and there were downed trees and power lines all over the place. The park had clearly experienced significant damage, the worst that I can remember. I hiked down to the waterfalls along the Minnesceongo Creek below the road, which were roaring and furious. I was afraid to venture further due to the flooding and downed lines and trees, so cancelled my hiking plans and went back to work. Unfortunately my camera battery had died, so I was forced to take the pictures with my cell phone camera, so the photos are not great and don't do justice.

Willow Grove Road. All Covered with Rocks.

The Minesceongo Creek Waterfall.

Gate Hill Road closed into the park.
Parts of the road up ahead were washed away.

Downed trees and Power Lines on Gate Hill Road.
This was already two days after the storm and there are still live wires!

Part of the road washed away.

Kakiat During Hurricane Irene

Kakiat County Park
Rockland County,
New York

Total Time: 1:40 hr
Estimated Distance: 2.2 miles

Hiking Trails:
Mountain Trail: orange blaze
Kakiat Trail: white blaze

Hiking Parter:
Shimmy Rosenberg

Google Map of Parking:

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Hurricane Irene was not the monster they thought it would be, and it hit the area as a powerful tropical storm instead of a full-blown hurricane. However, the amount of rain it dropped on the area was absolutely incredible, with an excess of 11 inches in about a 12 hour period. The flooding in the area was historical and catastrophic, with many roads and bridges washed away.

The rain had ended and the sun was peeking through the cloud cover, and the winds had died down so we thought it was safe to venture out to a nearby hike. Actually we should have taken the warning signs to stay put as almost all the roads to get to there were closed by downed trees or downed power lines. I didn't quite realize just how bad things were until stepping out and heading for the hike. We eventually got to Kakiat, and noticed there was no way to get in - the Mahwah River had entirely flooded the area as well as the entrance and parking area to Kakiat. Not wanting to miss out, I drive to a more obscure entrance at West Gate Road through the back route. The road there was also flooded but still passable.

I parked the car and we proceeded to venture in, but a large tree was blocking the entrance and there was a full stream flowing on the path. I was wearing boots so was able to go into the flood stream and over the fallen tree. We took some views of the area entirely flooded and stood in disbelief at the speed and force that the river was flowing. The entire area was under water, and some parts were simply washed away, including the new foot road they built from the park entrance. We proceeded to climb the mountain, and for almost the entire way up the path was a flowing stream and waterfall. We finally got to the top, took some pictures of Manhattan which were clearly viewable under the gray cloud cover, and then proceeded our way down. As we were on our way back, the winds started picking up and then became very intense. The gusts started blowing severely and we were getting really scared as branches were starting to fall all over the place. We picked up speed and ran back to the refuge of our car.

I had mistakenly thought that once the rain ended and the sun came out that the storm was over. But we were in for a surprise with the howling winds that picked up afterwards. Had we known about this we would never have ventured out. I am glad we made it back and able to write this in the blog.

Map of the Route.
I forgot to include the detour of the gas line path
and the Kakiat Trail at the bottom of the mountain.

The Kings Gate Entrance to Kakiat.
Note the downed tree and stream on the path.

The Mahwah River way over its banks.
Note the park benches underwater.

The Overflowing Mahwah River near the new bridge.
Ironically that sign in the water says "No Swimming".

The road totally overflowing and washed away.
I am standing on the bridge over the river -
all this ahead is supposed to be dry.

The beginning of the orange trail.
Much of the trail looked this way with fallen branches strewn about.

The orange Mountain Trail is one big waterfall all the way down.

The Manhattan Skyline in the Distance from the top of Kakiat

The flooded Kakiat Trail

Parks Department Crew replacing the washed out path.
This photo was taken several days later when they were replacing the washed out road.