A hiking buddy suggested getting a crew together to do the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, so I sat down and mapped it out into six one-way, car shuttle sections. We did our first section this weekend.
We began at the southern end, in New Jersey's High Point State Park. The trail actually begins somewhere on another park trail, and two different maps show slightly different starting points. We started even slightly farther south so we could see the view from the observation platform. We never did see a triple blaze that indicated an official beginning point.
The trail in High Point is quite nice. Between the platform, the monument, and a few very short side trails, there are a lot of nice views. (Sadly, the monument was closed beyond the first level due to repairs.)
From there, the trail began to roll gently up and down - although much more down than up. In many places, the foliage needed some trimming back, but there was nothing that significantly blocked the trail.
Along the way, there were two road walks. The first was along Greenville Turnpike, a rather sleepy country road. The second included Old Mountain Road, highway 6, and Hathorn Boulevard. The highway was busy with high-speed traffic, necessitating caution.
The trail eventually popped us out alongside the Metro North Port Jervis line. At Shinhollow Road, a bridge crosses the railroad, and there was a double blaze on the bridge indicating a right turn. However, the embankment was entirely overgrown. Once we scrambled up it, we could see we were on a path with blue blazes ... that also extended behind us. So which was actually the trail?
But we crossed over the bridge to where our cars awaited us.
This first section was close to 11 miles. We ganed 1,370 feet of elevation, but lost 2,250. If you're trying to replicate this, note that there is an entrance fee at High Point. We sensibly took the New Jersey car to the start point, to pay the lower in-state entrance fee.
Last weekend K and I went camping at Wildwood State Park out on Long Island. It was mostly a relaxing camping weekend, including beach time and an incredibly large tent. But we did do a couple of hikes.
One was the Red Trail at the campground. It's a short loop, 1.8 miles, and it leaves from the campground. It's a pleasant wooded stroll.
The other was 3 miles on the Paumanok Path (1.5 each out and back). The entire thing is 125 miles long, and this section was in the pine barrens, which I rather like.
On the final day of my trip, I faced overcast conditions and a need to return my rental car. So I tackled Pillsbury, the last peak I needed for the Hamilton County Fire Tower Challenge.
This trail could use a little TLC. Especially near the top, it was overgrown, and I got slapped around by wet branches. The tower itself is missing a few railings, and the cab is closed. I don't have much fear of heights, but even I stopped when it got to wet, rail-less boards thirty feet off the ground ...
In good news, I ran into some DEC and SCA folks near the trailhead, as they were there to plan out some work. And next weekend, volunteers are working on the tower.
I started the day off with Owls Head, a longish but less difficult hike. It has nice views from the base of the tower, for folks who don't like heights. Of course, at the top you get the full 360 panorama.
Then I made a spontaneous decision to go hike Cathedral Rock. It's one of the easiest towers, but it isn't near anything. Owls Head was as close as I was going to get, as I had already done Mount Arab, which is its closest neighbor. I wasn't in the mood for a hard hike, but a long drive sounded fine. So I headed out to SUNY ESF to bag Cathedral Rock.
The views from it reminded me of Spruce, somewhat removed from the high peaks, albeit in a different direction. But it was a nice "bonus" tower I hadn't planned to do.
