Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Bear Mountain Appalachian Trail Downhill

Bear Mountain State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Appalachian Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 0:25 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.2 Miles

Pros: Great hike down and scenic
Cons: Very busy on bottom
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Hiking Partners:
Rayzi Friedman
Joseph Friedman

I often make a trip to Bear Mountain on one of the Wednesday's in August when the park hosts the vintage car show, where car hobbyists come to Bear Mountain to display their cars.

My wife dropped us off on Perkins Memorial Drive past the tower where the road bends. We bushwacked down this steep part to the end of the Perkins Memorial Drive where it is a dead end, and cut across a shortcut switchback prior to the cul-de-sac to the Appalachian Trail. We ran down the Appalachian Trail which is mostly steps at this point, and ended up at the field at the car show. Pictures are taken with my cell phone camera.

Map of the Route

View From the Start of the Hike, Facing Southwest

View from our Start, Facing South Towards West Mountain

View While Descending near the Top, of Hudson River

Me at the View Along the AT Trail

At the AT View

Bear Mountain Bridge Across the Hudson River, and Hessian Lake

Bear Mountain Car Show

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest

Shawangunk Mountains,
Sullivan Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Connector Trail: White blaze
Long Path/Shawangunk Ridge Trail: Green blaze/Blue blaze

Total Time: 1:05 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.6 Miles

Pros: Scenic and quiet area
Cons: None
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Hiking Partners:
Debbie Koegel
David Koegel

We were traveling to Monticello for a family event, and left a bit earlier to do this short hike on the way. The area is in the lower part of the Shawangunk Mountains, and while the scenery isn't as dramatic as the Minnewaska area, there are still nice views and rock formations. We parked at the VFW Post off Old Route 17 after exit 114 on Route 17, on the descent towards Wurtsboro. We parked in the VFW Parking area and took the very short Connector Trail to the Long Path/Shawangunk Ridge Trail combination. We climbed up the ridge to the first view, where we took a short break, and then headed back down the same route.

Map of the Route

View Approaching the First Lookout

Long Path Sign on Tree

At the View, Facing West

Me at the View

Me at the View Again

Shawangunk Conglomerate at the Top

David at the View

View Facing North

View Facing West Towards Route 17

Me at the View, with Picture Towards the South

View Facing South

View Facing North

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Stony Kill Falls at Minnewaska State Park

Shawangunk Mountains,
Minnewaska State Park,
Ulster Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Stony Kill Falls Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 0:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.8 Miles

Pros: Scenic and remote Waterfall
Cons: Parking is difficult, beginning walk in the sun
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg

After hiking Awosting Falls in Minnewaska, we drove to Stony Kill Falls, a large waterfall in a more remote area of Minnewaska State Park. Parking here at the end of the Shaft 2A Road on this narrow dirt road is difficult on weekends when there are other cars present. We parked on the road and proceeded towards the trailhead, passing through a very large and exposed area what appears to be a former shale quarry. This area also passes over the Catskills Aqueduct, bringing water from the Catskills to New York City. I would really like to see the park management extend Shaft 2A Road into the open area and build a normal parking area right near the trailhead.

This trail to the waterfall has been recently revamped. I remember hiking this area over 10 years ago and the trail was very primitive and stopped by the falls. The trail has been made into an official trail with a nice path and bridge across the brook. It used to end by the falls but was recently extended above the falls to connect to the Stony Kill Carriageway. However, the trail doesn't go directly up the falls area now, and you have to go off-trail slightly to get to the base of the falls.

Stony Kill Falls is a very impressive height, with an 87 foot vertical drop. Normally during the summer the water flow is weak, but with all the rains this summer the falls were impressive. We climbed up the newly created trail skirting the side of the mountain to the top of the falls, and took this new trail to its terminus at the Stony Kill Carriageway. We then turned around and headed back along the same trail back to our car.

In the past I used this route to get to Lake Awosting in Minnewaska, bushwacking up the area where the new trail now exists. This new trail makes it much easier to get to the top of the waterfalls, and affords a great back-entrance into Minnewaska.

Map of the Route

Gravel Area in the Shale where you need to Walk in the Sun

Shimmy on the Bridge Crossing Stony Kill

Stony Kill Falls

Stony Kill Falls, Low Shutter Speed

Me at Stony Kill Falls

The new Trail Ascending up Stony Kill Falls

Me Ascending the Trail up Stony Kill Falls

Me at the Cascade above Stony Kill Falls

Shimmy above Stony Kill Falls

Cascade Above Stony Kill Falls

Me on a Rock above Stony Kill Falls

Me at the end of the Stony Kill Falls Trail

Awosting Falls at Minnewaska State Park

Shawangunk Mountains,
Minnewaska State Park,
Ulster Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Awosting Falls Carriageway: Red blaze

Total Time: 0:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.1 Miles

Pros: Beautiful Waterfall
Cons: Entrance fee, lots of people on weekends
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg

The end of July and early August had been very wet and rainy. I decided to take the opportunity to visit two of the prominent waterfalls in the Shawangunk Mountains, on two separate short hikes. Our first hike was to Awosting Falls. This is a very short hike along an easy carriage road, to a very scenic waterfall that drops 60 feet of a hanging cliff creating dramatic scenery with the white conglomerate rock as its backdrop. The water level was indeed impressive, and the scenery was great.

We had parked at the lower parking area at the main entrance of Minnewaska State Park, and took the Awosting carriageway the short distance to the falls. We got there early so the parking lot still had plenty of space (it fills up quickly on busy summer weekends.) Although there were other people at the falls, since it was still early, the crowds were still light. I climbed up the the side on a switchback route taking a shortcut past the loop on the carriageway going up, and then we took the carriageway back to the car, and proceeded to drive to our next destination, the Stony Kill Falls, which I'll provide details on in my next post.

Map of the Route

Information Plaque at the Awosting Falls Carriageway

Small Falls before the Awosting Falls Drop

Awosting Falls from the Top

Rock Ledge Overhang while descending Towards Awosting Falls

Awosting Falls at Minnwaska

Awosting Falls - Slower Shutter Speed

Me at Awosting Falls

Me Closer to the Falls

Awosting Falls near the Drop

Looking up underneath the Falls to the Overhang

Awosting Falls from Behind the Falls

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Sam's Point and Ice Caves

Sam's Point Area,
Minnewaska State Park,
Ulster Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Loop Road: Unblazed
Long Path: Green blaze
Ice Caves Road Path: Unblazed
Ice Caves Trail: White Trail

Total Time: 2:00 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.5 Miles

Pros: Excellent views, fasicnating ice caves
Cons: Entrance fee, difficulty parking, lots of people on weekends, and lack of shade

Hiking Partners:
Josef Friedman
Shalom Ziskind
Chezky Fishbane

The Ice Caves are an incredible formation and are a fascinating hike. The problem is that this area has become very busy recently and parking is very challenging, and the route to the Ice Caves is not a scenic hiking path but a road trail full of people and exposed in the sun. However, the Ice Caves are still well worthwhile despite this.

We arrived at the parking area late morning, and the area was very busy and they were turning cars away because the parking lot was full. On a nice summer weekend, it's very important to get here early otherwise they will turn you away! The park system really needs to expand the parking situation as well as build some more trails in the area. We were lucky because a car was pulling out when we arrived and they let us in.

Parking is $10, and can be paid with the parking machines. We took the Sam's Point Road, a wide path full of people, towards Sam's Point. The switchback that I usually take had a sign in front of it discouraging foot use. I don't know why they care if people use this shortcut and was annoyed about this.

We took Sam's Point Road until the shortcut scramble right up to Sam's Point. Sam's Point has great views with excellent photo opportunities. We continued along Road, and veered off to at Ice Caves Road. The sun was very strong and there was very little shade, but we did take some shade breaks off the path and pick blueberries and huckleberries, which were all over the place. We noticed much of the brush and trees were burned from a forest fire from the previous season.

At the end of Ice Caves Road, we took the Ice Caves loop trail, through the ice caves and crevices. There was alot of water from all the rains and trail was very wet. There was still some ice present in the deepest cave. We then took took the Ice Caves Road back to the Loop Road past Sam's Point. At the curve in the road we took an unmarked connection trail to the other side of the Loop Road back to the parking area.