Sterling Hill Mine

Ogdensburg
Sussex County,
New Jersey

Although this excursion was not a hike, it is still noteworthy for the blog due to the good workout and interesting terrain. On the last Sunday of every month, the Sterling Hill Mine is open to collectors who can go in the mine dump and into the Passaic Pit quarrying area to dig and move rocks. This was the first Sunday since the winter that it was opened, so I came to take part in the diggings, taking a few photos of the quarry in the process. More information on minerals can be found at the author's website at www.minerals.net.

Below are various photos in the Passaic Pit:

 

Pine Meadow Brook in Snow

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: 1:30 hr
Estimated Distance: 2.5 Miles

This was the last real snow of the season, and I had to take advantage despite it being a weekday and hence a workday. It was only about an inch or two of snow (about three inches at the highest point of the hike), but it was a very pretty heavy, wet snow. This is one of my favorite hikes, and is also the most popular trail in the entire Harriman State Park. I normally do this route after the first snow of the season, but this time it was the last snow of the season.

I parked at the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center off 7 Lakes Drive near Sloatsburg. Hiked the Pine Meadow Trail along the brook which was roaring to the Stony Brook Trail, and then along the Kakiat Trail past the Cascade of Slid waterfall. Took the HTS Trail for a short duration across the brook, then took the Pine Meadow Trail back towards the return and back to my car.

Map of the Route.

Pine Meadow Trail in the snow.

Hiking Along the Stony Brook

Intersection of Pine Meadow and Stony Brook Trails

Cascade of Slid

Pine Meadow Brook from the HTS Bridge

Haverstraw Palisades

Hook Mountain State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
Bike Path: Unblazed
Connector Trail: White blaze
Long Path: Green blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hr
Estimated Distance: 2.6 Miles

I parked in Haverstraw behind the enormous mine works at the terminus of the biking trail that goes along the Palisades Cliffs and the Hudson River. Walked down the bike path until the abandoned park cabin, where I picked up the white-blazed Connector Trail that goes to the Long Path. This trail passes near a trail tunnel where the railroad goes underneath the mountain, so it was interesting watching a trail go through the tunnel while hiking.

Once I hit the Long Path I continued to the summit. Although the summit is a narrow ridge above both sides which are lower, there are surprisingly no good view available. At this point I turned back, went down the Connector Trail, and went south once I hit the bike path to explore the old quarries along the side of the mountain. These quarries are very old and were used to mine traprock at the turn of the century. Their walls are very impressive sheer cliffs with vast amounts of talus at their foot. The Palisades Park was created to protect the area from being totally obliterated from the quarrying operations. From there turned around and went along the bike path back to the car.

Map of the Route.

Abandoned Ranger Cabin

Inside the Abandoned Ranger Cabin

The Start of the White Connector Trail

View of the Quarry Wall while ascending the white Connector Trail

Mountain Behind the Quarry.
Ascending on the white Connector Trail./

Lake DeForest from the top. Facing Southwest.

The Hudson River at Haverstraw Bay from the the top.
Facing Northeast.

The bottom of the Quarry.
A little snow still remains.

Looking up the Quarry Cliffs and the Talus.

Benedict Arnold Treason Site along the Bike Path.

Ship in Haverstraw Bay. From the Bike Path.

Kakiat Park under flood

Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
Old Mill Trail: Blue blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Mountain Trail: Orange blaze

Total Time: 1:00 hr
Estimated Distance: 1.75 Miles

There had been an enormous rainstorm on Sunday with about 5 inches rain within a 24 hour period. The day after this storm there was flooding all over the area, so I figured this would be a good day to hike at Kakiat which is prone to flooding to observe this. Since it was a weekday (I had not been able to hike on Sunday because of the rain), I had to keep this hike short.

Started at the Kakiat parking area, crossed the bridge at the raging Mahwah River, and took the partially flooded-out Old Mill Trail for its length until the Kakiat Trail. I had to hike on rocks and detours to avoid the flooded and washed out portions. Took the Kakiat Trail slightly up the mountain, and veered off to the Kakiat waterfalls, which were falling strong. From there I bushwacked up along the side of the mountain to the lower Kakiat viewpoint, and then hiked down the Mountain Trail back to the parking area.

These pictures were taken with my cell phone camera since I didn't have my regular camera with me.

Map of the route.

Entrance and bridge with overflowing Mahwah River.

The flooded picnic area.
Not a good day to have a picnic.

Still a little bit of snow left on the Blue Mill Trail.

Walking along the Old Mill Trail.
I have never seen the river overflow this much.
Notice how the force of the water pushed aside the small bridges.

The Kakiat waterfall.

The uppermost Kakiat waterfall.

View from the lower Kakiat viewpoint off the Mountain Trail

Manhattan Skyline visible in the distance from the lower Kakiat viewpoint.

Dater Mountain County Park,Harriman State Park,

Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
Orange Trail: Orange blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Blue Disc Trail: Blue blaze
Pine Meadow Trail: Red Blaze

Total Time: 2:40 min
Estimated Distance: 4.5 Miles

This was a wet and muddy hike. A large amount of snow had melted, but there was still a slushly layer several inches deep and empty patches of mud. The conditions were very difficult. I parked on Johnsontown Road at the parking area for Daters Mountain. I took the Orange Trail (don't know if this trail has a name or not; its a new trail and its not named in the map or in the books) passed the stream and up to the viewpoint. Continued along from there past the intersection with the blue trail, and to the Kakiat Trail right under the "Almost Perpendicular" portion of Daters Mountain. I originally wanted to take the Kakiat Trail all the way to the Pine Meadow Trail, but was too exhausted, wet, and muddy, so instead took the Blue Disc Trail head to the end of the trail, and then crossed the overflowing brook to 7 Lakes Drive by the gas line.

I walked along the side of 7 Lakes Drive towards Reeves Meadow, and at the Reeves Meadow parking area continued along the little-used portion of the Pine Meadown Trail towards Sloatsburg. Upon hitting the area along the stream bank, I discovered I had lost my sunglasses, so turned around and went all the way back almost all the way back to Reeves Brook, and sadly did not find them. So I turned back again towards where I was originally going, and to my surprise I found them not too far from my original discovery of noticing they were missing. I continued along to the end of trail where it hits 7 Lakes Drive in Sloatsburg, veered onto Johnsontown Road, and walked along Johnsontown Road to the parking area.

Map of the route.
7 Lakes Drive is not yet listed on this old USGS map.

Stream on the way up Dater Mountain view

The view atop Dater Mountain. Facing northeast towards Halfway Mnt.

Another view of Dater Mountain.
Facing east towards 7 Lakes Drive.

Near the end of the Orange Trail,
facing the "Almost Perpendicular" cliff wall.

The gas line crossing the stream at the end of the Blue Disc Trail

Above the Stony Brook on 7 Lakes Drive.
Lots of water due to melting snow!

My sunglasses - found!

Diamond Mountain

Diamond Mountain
Harriman State Park
Rockland County,
New York

Trails:
7 Hills Trail: (blue blaze)
Hillburn-Torne-Sebago (HTS): (orange blaze)

Total Time: 1:45 min
Estimated Distance: 3.0 Miles

Hiking Partner:
John Taylor

This was a nice yet cold late winter day. There was a layer of thick ice glazing the snow which made the steep downhill part of this route very challenging. I did not realize just how icy it was and how much snow remained. We parked in the parking area off 7 Lakes Drive at the Lake Sebago boat launch, where the 7 Hills Trail begins, and we climbed up the trail up Conklin Mountain. Continued past the creek and Monitor to the summit of Diamond Mountain. We took a slight detour to the east to get a view of the other side of the mountain at Pine Meadow Lake and Lake Wankosink. Diamond Mountain has a beautiful view to the west with perhaps the best and most onubstucted view of Lake Sebago. It was very windy on the top viewpoint so we couldn't spend much time there.

Right after the summit is the interesection of the HTS Trail, which we took down the mountain. This trail is very steep and going down it on solid ice was quite interesting. We had to slide carefully down on our rears for this part. Continued down to the end of the trail at the Tuxedo-Mount Ivy Trail, which we took briefly to the Sebago Dam and 7 Lakes Drive. We walked the rest of the way back on the road back to our car.

Map of the route.
The road shows the old Johnsontown Road,
which has since been replaced with 7 Lakes Drive
and follows a slightly different route parallel to the lake.

John at the beginning of the 7 Hills Trail

Me on Conklin Mountain, in an evergreen
Mountain Laurel forest

View of Lake Wanoksink from the top of Diamond Mnt.

Lake Sebago from the view atop Diamond Mnt.
Facing northwest.

Me at the view.

Lake Sebago, facing north.

John Descending through an ice-covered
crevice down the HTS scramble.

John continuing the arduous descent.

Catalina Highway, Mount Lemmon

Santa Catalina Mountains,
Arizona

This wasn't a hike but a drive up the Catalina Highway to the top of Mt. Lemmon. This road starts in Tucson and climbs up over 7,000 feet to the summit near Summerhaven. The scenery along the road to the top is incredible, and there are many hiking trails off the road. I took some short scrambles off the road but didn't do any trail routes. When we started at the bottom it was in the 70's, and on the top it was in the upper 40's or low 50's with snow. We had a 4x4 and had intended on taking the jeep road down, but it was closed presumably because of the snow.

At the beginning of a hike near the beginning, with all the Saguaros.

Overlooking Tucson from the beginning of the climb.

Me at the Rock Formations near Windy Point.

Me at the top near a granite dome.

Me again on top of a rock formation.

Me at Windy Point

Ditto.

Rock formation at Windy Point

On a cliffside at Windy Point

View of Tucson with the Tucson Mountains

Forest on top near Summerhaven. Looking northeast.

Burned out area near the top from a forest fire.

Snow at the top near Summerhaven.