Back with the Ramblers

Did my first hike with the Ramblers since COVID came to town, on a shortish hike in Harriman State Park. The total mileage was only 8.71, with 1,180 feet of elevation gain. (Let's round to 9, shall we?) But it was a hot day, so that felt sufficient to me.

We started from Sloatsburg and followed the Pine Meadow Trail to Pine Meadow Lake. This part of the hike was the busiest I've ever seen Harriman - not just hikers, but families partying by the creek and at the lake. I know it's outdoors and therefore safer, but I was still uncomfortable with how many folks weren't wearing masks.

We ate lunch at a shady, breezy spot by the lake - past the party scene - and then three members of the group departed in search of a longer hike. The rest of us hiked out on the Kakiat Trail, which was much emptier.

Late in the day was one of our best moments - we came across a snacking deer. This deer saw us but did not care!

Catfish Looping

On my final day, I didn't feel like hiking - I was tired. But I had come all this way, so it seemed a waste not to. So I picked another recommended hike, the Catfish Loop.

   

Let's get the bad out of the way. The disappointments: 

• No catfish (okay, I didn't actually expect any) 
• The viewpoint marked on the map had no view at all 
• Overgrown laurel, very wet from the previous day's rain 
• Odd keep-out signage on part of the trail. 

Despite this, it was an interesting hike, in part because I saw a lot of eft newts. It might be best to go during peak laurel. Here's a photo of the "view" from the viewpoint marked on the map. (I would blame my map being from 2012, but it's on the 2018 version, too.)

   

The keep-out signs are along the part of the trail that is near the Taconic Outdoor Education Center. They rattle off a list of don't, one of which is "No Hiking." Now what it seems to mean is no wandering off the trail and hiking in the woods (fat chance in a laurel thicket!), but it's rather unnerving to see as one is walking on a perfectly open and legal hiking trail. 

It was a nice final hike before returning to reality and NYC.

Getting to all three lakes

I wanted a flat hike on Wednesday, so I opted to do the 3 Lakes Loop, as suggested in the park brochure. The 3 Lakest Trail starts at Canopus Lake, passes Hidden Lake, passes John Allen Pond (hey, not a lake!) before ending at Dennytown Road. But to do the loop, I exited 3 Lakes at Sunken Mine Road, returning via the Old Mine Railroad, 3 Lakes, and the AT.

   

I found the trail to be rather charming, especially on a foggy morning that gave me Adirondack feelings, and I'm not sure the photos really capture that.

   

The bit of AT south of 301 is interesting, too, in that it's on a built-up berm rather than following the contours of the land. I don't know what the story is here - if this is also part of an old railroad, or something else. 

The only part I didn't love was the large number of mosquitos. A lot of this trail is low and near marshes, so it's not suprising that our bloodthirsty friends were out. 

One last photo of a stream crossing - the orange is iron mine runoff, but I don't know what the cloudy yuck is.

 

Hiking to Nimham fire tower

Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit a fire tower, even if I couldn't climb it. Nimham Multiple Use Area is east of Fahnestock so I went out for a late-afternoon jaunt on Tuesday.

   

The trail is a well-maintained gravel road, closed to the public. While it's reasonably steep, it's only two-thirds of a mile. 

Obviously the highlight of the trip is the tower itself. Now, the tower is closed for COVID. I'm not sure that's necessary - limit it to one party at a time, sure, with no passing on the stairs. But the tower only holds six people and is open-roofed. I suspect handrails are the concern. Also, let's just say that I did not observe folks following this rule. (I did. It doesn't mean I'm extra good, but if I visit I want to be able to share my photos, etc.!) But I was told the view is very nice. I will have to return here on another occasion to see the view for myself.

 

Hiking the School Mountain Road area

On Tuesday, I looked for a more solitary hike, and headed west to the Hubbard Lodge trailhead. From there I did a clockwise loop over Round Hill, East Mountain, and back along School Mountain Road. 

   

I started early on a misty morning, seeing a suprising amount of wildlife, including three deer. (And only four people.) Some of the supposed viewpoints were long overgrown; there was no view off of East Mountain at all. But there was an interesting variety of terrain, including old settlements.

   

School Mountain Road, at the end, was nice, since it was wide, easy walking. A lot of the park has narrow trails that could use some trimming back. (This, I am sure, is the result of COVID, which has curtailed a lot of trail work. Come back another year and I'm sure things will be different.)

 

Hiking the Pelton Pond Loop

On Monday evening - and again on Wednesday - I took a stroll around Pelton Pond, which is right next to the campsites. According to sources, it's 1.1 miles, but my app measured it at .8. Either way, it's not a long hike, with uneven terrain but no real hills.   

There are plenty of scenic photo ops along this trail, with view of the pond, rocky edges, or reflections, depending on your angle.

 

The most popular hike at Fahnestock

My big summer getaway was going to be a trip to the Adirondacks to hike some fire towers. But under COVID, everything changed. The admonition to "stay local" plus the risks of travel led me instead to a camping trip at Fahnestock State Park, an hour away.   

 

I drove up there Monday morning, which turned out to be the hottest day in a very humid week. For my first hike, I chose what I correctly suspected was the most popular one - a hike along the AT to a viewpoint overlooking Canopus Lake. 

On my first visit to the park, I had done this hike; this time, I went further north along the AT to Shenandoah Mountain. I saw six groups/solo hikers, including one group of about a dozen people, only two of whom were wearing masks. In general, the hikers I saw this day were the least likely to mask up when they encountered people. 

At the overlook, pictured above, I could see and hear the beach-goers at Canopus Lake. But I didn't linger, since standing in the sun was hot.   



Shenandoah Mountain, above, had a nice view - one of the better views I was to see on this trip. It was worth the added distance. Plus, the crowds dropped off dramatically after the overlook.

At just over 4 miles one-way, or 8 round-trip, this was the longest hike I did - no record-setter, to be sure, but the weather was brutal. Plus I'm still not in my finest fighting trim.

Heading on up to the Bronx

I had told myself that come July, as long as NYC was still on the right track, I'd try taking the subway.

So I put a bandana on over my mask and hopped on the 1 train up to Van Cortlandt Park. The train was relatively empty, even though it was "rush hour" - albeit the wrong direction. Everyone masked up and kept a social distance.



I spent the morning pulling up mugwort, then took a short hike. The hike was not particularly notable for its route or length, only 4.5 miles. However, I did get to see the brand-new goats!

Perhaps it was my imagination, but the animals seemed to be more abundant - I saw a bunny, and an infinite number of chipmunks. And it definitely wasn't my imagination that the Putnam Trail was now paved. It was still closed off, because the project isn't finished, but the paving is there.



I discovered that I am not in great shape, as the mugwort left me incredibly sore. However, I already knew I wasn't in great shape from Sunday, when I biked seven miles and burned out my quads. Note to self, walking isn't strength training ...

However, it was absolutely exciting to get to a place I haven't been in months, and even the less wild sections of the park looked amazing after the manicured parks near me.

As long as our COVID rates stay low and the trains are empty, I feel safe taking the subway maybe once a week. I'm nervous about traveling too long, or multimodally, still, and and all of this will change if infection rates start to rise again in NYC.