Author Archives: Charlie

Norvin Green State Forest, Passaic County, New Jersey

I arrived at the parking lot of the Weis Ecology Center at 10:25 a.m., and expected to meet a small group of people between 10:30 and 10:45. When that group didn’t show by 10:50, I  instead accepted an invitation to hike … Continue reading

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Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park, Putnam County, New York

I drove north on the Taconic and turned west on Route 301, parking at the southern end of Canopus Lake. 12:10 p.m.: I hiked north on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, where in the course of a few minutes I met nine hikers, in five … Continue reading

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Sterling Forest State Park, Orange County, New York

This was my first hike after the Grand Canyon. Several weeks had passed, in part due to weekend thunderstorms. On this day, I joined the Appalachian Mountain Club, with the understanding that they were going to visit Harriman State Park, … Continue reading

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 13-14, 2011

Wednesday: We woke up about 4:45 a.m., dressed, ate breakfast, finished packing, weighed our duffel bags and left them for the mules to carry to the top of the South Rim (my bag weighed 14 pounds, if I recall correctly, and … Continue reading

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 12, 2011

Tuesday: I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad about the third day, which would be our last day on the river. I was enjoying the rafting, but at the same time thought it would be interesting and fun … Continue reading

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 11, 2011

Monday: The wake-up call was “coffee,” and it came around 5:30 in the morning. After breakfast, we took down the tents and packed up our gear, then we boarded the boats and got underway.

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 8-10, 2011

Friday: I flew from LaGuardia to Charlotte, then on to Phoenix, then to Flagstaff, where I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in the mid-afternoon.

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Stonetown Circular Trail, Passaic County, New Jersey

I spotted this hike on the NY-NJ Trail Conference’s “North Jersey Trails” map. I like doing loops, so as not to have to cover the same territory twice on one hike, and I also like hikes of about 8–10 miles, … Continue reading

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Sterling Forest State Park, Orange County, New York

I had intended to park along Route 17A and hike the Highlands Trail, but there were no other cars in that area, and there was a sign that read something like, “Seasonal hunting and parking by permit only.” I really … Continue reading

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Harriman State Park/Sterling Forest State Park, Orange County, New York

2:28 p.m.: I got off to a very late start this day, but finally got in a good hike. I had read of a scramble on the Appalachian Trail (AT) that I decided to investigate. I drove to Harriman State … Continue reading

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