Madera Canyon

Santa Rita Mountains,
Santa Cruz Co,
Arizona

Hiking Trails:
Carrie Nation Trail
Old Baldy Trail

Total Time: 1:30
Estimated Distance: 3.3 miles

Pros: Beautiful scenery and unique area
Cons: Views are not very dramatic


I had been in Arizona for a tradeshow, and after finishing the events at about 3:00, I headed out to Madera Canyon for for a beautiful hike. I had heard about how scenic Madera Canyon is. There is a road that starts at the foot of the mountain and climbs through the canyon until the area is an nice forest with a flowing stream in the middle.

I drove up the road to the dead end, where there is plenty of parking, and took the Carrie Nation Trail up through the deep canyon floor along the stream on the Carrie Nation Trail. This trail ends at the Carrie Nation Mine, a large mine on the side of the mountain that contains many old relics. I turned around at the end of the trail, going back the same way, though detouring slightly towards the Old Baldy Trail for another view and then bushwacking down from this point (the map shows another path going down here to the parking area, but I couldn't find it.

 

Manitoga Preserve Nature Center

Putnam Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Lost Pond Loop: White blaze
White Pine Loop: Red blaze
Wickopee Loop: Blue blaze
Spur Trails: Yellow blaze

Total Time: 1:30
Estimated Distance: 2.4 miles

Pros: Scenic, quiet area
Cons: Views are not very dramatic

A couple of weeks earlier I had done a hike with Shimmy, and we ended the hike at Manitoga Nature Preserve. I was using an old trail conference map that just showed one unmarked trail going from the Osborn Loop Trail down to the Manitoga parking area. However, upon arriving there, we noticed many more trails that seemed to have been more recently blazed. I determined then to head out in the near future and explore the area more. I purchased a more recent version of the East Hudson Highland Maps, and set out to cover all the marked trails in Manitoga.

The temperature was seasonal, if not a bit warm. There was still snow in most of the area from the storm earlier in the week, through the sun-facing slopes lacked snow.  The way the trails work here is that they are all loops, and all start out together in the beginning. I parked in the parking lot, and took the Lost Pond Loop in its northern direction. The Lost Pond Trail is the longest trail of the area, going along the brook to its ascent to the Lost Pond, a small and tranquil pond near the top of the Manitoga preserve border. I took the trail up to the Lost Pond, then back down, while taking the two small view spurs. The first view near the beginning is very poor, with not much to see. The second view, on my way down, is a bit longer of trek off the path, but does afford a much better view of the Hudson and across the river at Fort Montgomery.

At a point known as "Four Corners,", where all the trails meet and intersect, I took the White Pine Loop to the Deer Pool back down to the Lost Pond on the northerly side, and then took the Wickopee Loop back for four corners. I then continued on the remainder section of the Lost Pond Loop on its southern portion back down to the bottom and back to my car.

Daters Park View in Snow

Dater Mountain Nature County Park,
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Orange Trail: Orange blaze

Total Time: :25 min
Estimated Distance: 0.7 Miles

Pros: Short hike to nice view
Cons: Noice from nearby highway

It had just snowed the day before about an inch from an Alberta Clipper system. The next morning I went on a very short hike on the way to work to enjoy the snow before it all melted (it was all gone later in the day.) I parked at the Dater's Mountain Park Trailhead, and took the Orange Trail up the mountain. After crossing the brook and the valley, I reached the view, which faces across the Stony Brook Valley into Harriman State Park. I then turned around and went back the sme route.