Charlie Stein's Photoblog

Glacier National Park, Montana – August 15-16, 2012

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Charlie

Wednesday: I flew from LaGuardia to Kalispell, Montana via United, changing planes in Chicago. I arrived in Kalispell at 12:30 p.m., and was relieved when my duffel bag (with all my camping gear) appeared at baggage claim.

I had reserved a rental car with Thrifty, and the van was waiting for me when I arrived, with the Thrifty employee holding a sign with my name and that of three other travelers. It was a nice touch! The others either weren’t on my flight or else tarried, so she took me alone to their off-airport location, where she rented me a Toyota Corolla. The car only had 6000 miles on it, and was nice enough, though I thought that the stereo provided very poor sound, far inferior to that of my ancient Toyota Camry. I tried different stations, tried adjusting the balance, fade, bass and treble, and was not able to obtain much improvement. The VW Jetta that I had rented at Yosemite, which had a satellite radio and a sun roof, had been a much nicer car.

As a side business, the manager of the Thrifty’s agency also rented bear spray, and I rented a can for $20, as opposed to buying a can for $45-50. They also rented coolers, I think for $10, but I declined, as I had brought a folding cooler with me.

I drove immediately to the park, as I was concerned with getting a campsite before they were all taken. I found a suitable site at the Apgar campground, on the south shore of Lake McDonald, set up my tent and paid for 7 nights.

I then drove back at least 3/4 of the way to the airport, to the Smith’s grocery in Columbia Falls, where I stocked up on groceries. To prevent attracting bears or other animals, the park requires that food and scented toiletries be stored in the trunk of a vehicle. I remembered that my folding cooler leaked and that therefore I couldn’t store it in the trunk of the rental car, and therefore I bought a cheap Styrofoam cooler at Smith’s. I don’t like Styrofoam coolers, due to their poor performance and the fact that they take up landfill space and never deteriorate, but I compromised my principles and bought one. (Maybe I should have driven back to Thrifty’s to rent their cooler.)

Regular readers may recall that at Yosemite, we were told that we had to store food items (and toiletries) in bear lockers that the park provided outside of each tent cabin. We were specifically not allowed to store such items in cars, and videos showed a bear breaking into a car for food. Therefore, it was surprising that Glacier’s management tells visitors to store food items in cars. One local resident gave his opinion that because Yosemite gets three times the visitors as Glacier, the bears in California are more sophisticated and have learned to break into cars, whereas the Glacier bears had not attained that level of advancement. That seems farfetched, though.

As it turned out, this cheap cooler also leaked water into the trunk of the rental car. However, I learned that while the individual campsites did not have bear lockers, there was a bear locker near our local bathroom. Thus, after discovering the problem with the leaking Styrofoam cooler, I moved it from the trunk to the bear locker.

I did not even unpack my camera on this first day, though I remember being impressed by a mural on a building in Columbia Falls that was across the street from the Smith’s grocery. I had developed a bit of a headache, so I decided to return to the campsite, take a couple of Tylenol, and rest for a while. I planned to take photos of the mural on my way out of town.

At the campsite, I rested for a couple of hours. I woke up feeling much better, and it was just in time to attend the ranger talk that evening at the amphitheater. The talk was on the wolverine.

Thursday morning: I remember having felt chilled in Bryce Canyon with my old sleeping bag, with the temperature in the low 40s, so I had bought a new MontBell sleeping bag for this trip. It worked well. I think the temperature did drop into the low 40s the first couple of nights, though afterwards it was in the upper 40s or 50s.

My first hike was the Apgar Lookout Trail, a path that would take me 3.4 miles up a ridge of the Apgar Mountains, from 3350′ elevation at the trailhead up to a lookout at about 5000′ elevation. I would then descend the same way, for a total hike of 6.8 miles.

Getting to the trailhead involved driving almost 2 miles on a gravel road that only seemed wide enough for one car, though in places there were areas to pull over to let another car pass. An SUV came up behind me, and I pulled over to let it pass. When I arrived at the parking area for the trailhead, the SUV was the only other vehicle there. It held two couples, who started up the trail before I could put on my boots.

8:23 a.m.: The trail began through a wooded area:

Start of the Apgar Lookout Trail

Pretty wildflowers lined the path. The Moon Handbooks guide to Glacier National Park said that wildflowers peak in late-July, so I was delighted to find them still plentiful in mid-August.

Wildflower

Flora of Glacier National Park lists ten species of Indian paintbrush!

Indian paintbrush

8:28 a.m.: For part of the hike, the trail followed an old woods road through the forest. I should note at this point that the park experiences about 25 fires a year, almost all of them are small fires and are caused by lightning strikes. One exception was the Robert Fire of July 2003: it was caused by a negligent party’s campfire, and it was a large fire that consumed 57,570 acres.

This part of the trail through the burned forest follows an old woods road.

8:42 a.m.: While many of the dead trees have fallen over the years, thousands more remain standing nine years later. The absence of foliage has turned what was once a forested hike into a bright hike with excellent visibility.

The forest of burned trees remains standing 9 years after the fire

The trail was generally well-kept, though the first mile of the trail was blocked in about a dozen places by a fallen tree that had not yet been removed by chainsaw. It was usually a simple matter to step over the fallen trees, though one or two required a “sit on and swing over” technique, or a “duck under” technique to pass.

I caught up to the two couples from the SUV and passed them. As there hadn’t been other cars in the parking area, I suspected that I was now in the lead to be the first one up the mountain that morning. I made sure that I had my bear spray handy, and remembered to clap my hands and make noise every once in a while, so as not to surprise any bears that might be lurking.

9:05 a.m.: The first third of the hike was relatively flat, but then it began gaining altitude:

Gaining elevation

9:14 a.m.: After gaining about 500′, tackling the lower slope of the ridge head on, the pitch of the ridge became steeper, and the trail changed to follow three long switchbacks to the top. An idea of the extensive scope of the fire damage became more visible with the gain in elevation.

The trail that I have already climbed appears below me as a narrow brown ribbon

9:22 a.m.: At least one area had been spared by the fire, as I discovered:

Trees remain in a few places

9:28 a.m.: The tiny forested area provided some shade for hikers, and concealment for critters, such as this mule deer:

Mule deer

9:35 a.m.: I believe this view was roughly toward the south:

Gaining more elevation

9:40 p.m.: The trail was dusty, or perhaps a mixture of dust and ash. As I climbed through the switchbacks, chipmunks constantly ran along the trail in front of me, before dashing off into the brush beside the trail.

Chipmunks were my constant companions as I climbed the dusty switchbacks

9:56 a.m.: This is one of the switchbacks followed by the trail:

The shaded end of one switchback

10:18 a.m.: I believe this is a view toward the southeast, showing a bend of the Flathead River:

Bend of the Flathead River

I reached the end of the trail, where radio antennas and the Apgar Fire Lookout (on the right) stood guard. The first fire lookout here, erected in 1929, burned down within a couple of weeks. This is the replacement, still standing 83 years later.

10:28 a.m.: The two couples came up to the top shortly after I did. One couple–a judge and attorney–was from California; the other couple was from Baltimore.

The lookout post and antenna farm at the top of the trail

Shortly before reaching the summit, I saw an interesting animal running along the trail. I didn’t know what it was. I saw another at the top, and one of the hikers from the SUV referred to them as gophers. I have since learned that these are not true gophers, but rather “gopher” is used a slang term for some of the species of ground squirrels. They are larger than the tree squirrels I am used to seeing, and they also stand on their hind legs more often, something that tree squirrels do not often do. I saw many Columbian ground squirrels at the park; there are also Richardson ground squirrels, which are smaller and more slender. I’m not certain which kind this one is.

Ground squirrel

This is a view from the fire lookout, I think toward the southwest:

View from the fire lookout

The view from the fire tower toward the northeast was obscured by the antennas, so I descended from the tower and walked around the antenna, capturing this view of the mountains of the park. At the lower right, Lake McDonald is visible through the trees:

Lake McDonald and the mountains of Glacier National Park

After resting a while at the top and talking to the couples from California and Maryland, I hiked back to my car, arriving at 12:36 p.m. Thus, the climb had taken me about 2 hours, I stayed at the top for about 1/2 hour, and the descent took me about 90 minutes. Along the way back to my car, I passed about 20 other hikers on the way up. So I had been the first to reach the peak that morning (unless someone had come and gone before I ever got there), but there were many who followed me.

Thursday afternoon: One deficiency of Apgar Campground was that it does not have showers, so I drove to the KOA campground about 3 miles outside the park, where showers were available for $5.

My friend Julie from law school was scheduled to join me in Glacier, our third year in a row visiting a National Park together. I phoned to offer to pick her up at the airport, but she had made advanced reservations to take a shuttle to the park. Before long, she arrived and set up her own tent.

3:57 p.m.: We walked over to the nearby boat ramp at the south shore of Lake McDonald, where I took a few photographs that stitched together nicely into this panorama:

Southern end of Lake McDonald, from the boat ramp at Apgar Village

In the evening, we went to the amphitheater, where a different ranger gave a talk on “Fire and Ice,” describing the impact on the terrain and animals of the frequent forest fires and long and frigid winters. The ranger stated that scientists believe that the glaciers of the park will all melt within 8 years or so. Species respond to change in different ways: they can adapt, relocate, or go extinct. She feared that some species, such as the pika, might not survive. I enjoyed the ranger talks, though our schedule on the remaining days was such that we did not attend any other amphitheater presentations.

Next: Friday we head to the Continental Divide and the Highline Trail!

Posted in Hikes, Vacations | Tagged deer, Glacier National Park, Montana | Leave a comment

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Westchester County, NY

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Charlie

This was my second visit to this park. The last time the parking fee had been $8, but no one was there to collect it. This time, it was up to $10, and there was an attendant present to collect the fee.

On my first visit in 2010, when I hiked trails in the southwest part of the park, it was about 93 degrees. I drank about 3 liters of water that day.

On this second visit, I hiked trails in the southeast part of the park, thus not repeating any of the trails I had been on before. It was “only” about 85 degrees, but the humidity was very high. I hiked very slowly as a result, and drank one liter of water and a liter of Powerade.

12:30 p.m.: I began by following the park road (Reservation Road) to its eastern end, parking in an empty tent campsite. The road actually continues, but is not open to the cars of visitors past the point where I parked. I walked east on the closed road 0.4 of a mile, reaching Boutonville Oak. A website states that “[t]he base of this giant white oak measures 14′-8″ in circumference and branches extend outward 73′ tip to tip.” The website says that it is second in size only to the Bedford Oak; Bedford is the adjacent town in Westchester County, so I presume that means that this tree is the second largest white oak in the county.

Boutonville Oak

12:50 p.m.: I then walked back to my car, stopping at one point where a clearing afforded a view of hills toward the south.

Looking South

Reaching my car, I drove 0.9 miles to the parking lot at the Trailside Nature Museum. It had been closed on my last visit, and I didn’t even bother checking to see if it was open on this day. I began hiking southeast on the orange trail, which soon reached what I imagine is an exhibit associated with the museum.

1:13 p.m.: This is a small Lenape wigwam, with a canoe in the background.

Delaware wigwam

1:38 p.m.: A stone wall:

Stone wall

After 0.75 miles hiking southeast on the orange trail, I reached marker 51 and turned south onto the white-blazed trail. I followed this 0.7 miles to marker 20, then followed the white-blazed Rock Trail for 0.25 miles to the Indian Rock Shelter, where I had lunch:

Indian rock shelter

2:29 p.m.: Resuming my hike, I immediately came to marker 18 and turned southwest, enjoying additional rock formations on the way:

Rock wall

I followed the trail 0.3 miles to marker 21, then turned onto the red trail, which I followed south for 0.35 miles. My goal was marker 61, where I expected to find a very short connecting trail back to the Rock Trail. I found a blaze marking an intersection, though there was no number. I suspected that it had to be the marker I wanted, and I followed it about 50′ to the Rock Trail.

2:57 p.m.: I turned northeast on the Rock Trail, which after 0.1 miles led to Raven Rocks, with a steep dropoff of about 350′ down to Stone Hill River providing a nice view to the south:

View from Raven Rocks

A detail of the mansion:

View from Raven Rocks

A detail of the upper right corner, showing that the tall “tree” is actually a disguised antenna tower:

Antenna tower disguised as tree

There were a number of people enjoying the picnic facilities at the park, but I only saw two hikers on this day, just as I arrived at Raven Rocks.

3:17 p.m.: I continued hiking to the northeast on the Rock Trail. Perhaps 100′ in front of me, a brown flash zipped across the trail and disappeared into the trees to my left, flashing a white tail. I advanced on the trail and again spooked the deer, which again bounded away from me. However, I was still able to find him with my telephoto lens:

White-tailed deer

I moved a bit to get a view from a different angle. The white spots indicate that he is still a fawn. I don’t know where mamma was, but fawns typically don’t become weaned and lose their spots until November:

White-tailed deer

After 0.6 miles, I reached an intersection with marker 58, and turned right, which after 0.05 miles led me to marker 17 and the intersection with the blue trail. I took this to the left, moving northwest.

The blue trail would take me up to the highest point in the park, at 860′. That was a gain of about 350′, and while that wasn’t much of an altitude gain, the combination of the heat and humidity was such that I was satisfied to move very slowly.

3:59 p.m.: Before the trail began gaining elevation, there was a nice flat area which was very green:

Lush greenery

4:06 p.m.: A rockface signaled the beginning of the gain in elevation:

Rock wall

A huge tree lay fallen and shattered beside the trail. I wished that someone had been hiking with me, to serve as a model to indicate the scale of this tree:

Shattered tree

4:14 p.m.: After 0.6 miles, which included at least one scramble uphill, I reached the highest point in the park. At one point a fire tower had been here, though now only a few broken stones remained from the foundation. The site included a lot of flat bare rock:

Bare rock at old fire tower site

Another view at the high point, showing a bench and an old pump shaft and spout:

Bare rock at old fire tower site

A close-up of the pump shaft and spout:

Shaft and spout of cast iron pump

After another 0.3 miles on the blue trail, I reached marker 15. I turned west, and after 0.05 miles reached marker 13. I then turned northwest onto the orange trail, which led 0.9 miles through a series of tent sites and lean-to sites back to the Trailside Nature Museum, arriving at my car right at 5:00 p.m.

If I’ve estimated correctly, this was only a 5.8 mile hike, and there was not much elevation gain. Still, it was nice to get out and get some exercise, despite the heat and humidity.

My drive home was not bad. Westchester County is not that far, and I appreciate that it’s on the east side of the Hudson River, which also makes it much easier for me to visit from Queens.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged deer, New York, Westchester County | Leave a comment

Macedonia Brook State Park, Litchfield County, CT

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charlie

Macedonia Brook State Park is located in northwest Connecticut, so it was a significantly farther drive than the two parks I recently visited in the southwest part of the state. It is near Kent, and driving there involved driving over Bull’s Bridge, a historic one-lane covered bridge.

There was no entrance fee at the park. Instead of a few large parking lots, there are numerous picnic areas and camping spots where people were parking, as well as randomly spaced and unmarked spots into which a car had pulled over and parked. I thought signs were needed advising visitors where to park. I had downloaded a map from the Internet, and it showed an old furnace near the park entrance. However, I did not see any sign directing one to the furnace, and the furnace itself must have been hidden by foliage.

The park road runs north-south, parallel Macedonia Brook. The map shows a blue-blazed Macedonia Ridge Trail forms a 6 mile-loop around the park, covering roughly 3 miles on the west side of the park road and 3 miles on the east side of the park road. I decided to start near the park entrance in the south, on the western side of the road, and move clockwise. I finally found a sign that read “trails” and parked in a small lot there.

Starting on the blue trail, I quickly gained about 600′ in elevation, including one or two moderate scrambles. I was rewarded with a scenic view toward the east:

Scenic view

After 1.6 miles, I came to the intersection with the white-blazed Cobble Mountain Trail:

Intersection of blue and white trails

I stopped for a moment to look at the white trail, and on returning to the blue trail, I apparently turned south instead of continuing to the north as I intended. I have no idea how I did that, or how I didn’t realize that I was retracing my steps. At one scenic spot, I stopped for lunch.

Scenic view

Thinking I was going north, I expected to encounter an intersection with a green-blazed trail after another 0.4 miles. When that didn’t happen, I thought that I had somehow missed it and that after another 0.6 miles I would come to an intersection with an orange-blazed trail and Chippewalla Road (not far from the main park road).

Scenic view

The trail began descending. Here is a scramble, photographed from the bottom looking up.

Scramble

The base of this tree was interesting. I’ve seen roots grow like that when they have to grow over rocks. Maybe there had been a rock there and it was later removed by someone.

Interesting tree trunk

I heard traffic, and knew the blue trail was approaching a road. It was only in the last 50 feet that I realized that I had somehow gotten confused and retraced my steps. So by going north 1.6 miles and then returning the same way, I had only hiked 3.2 miles, instead of the planned 6-mile circular loop.

I then drove north in the park, stopping when I reached a point close to where the orange trail would intersect the blue trail. I thought that I would return to the blue trail and finish the loop.

These red berries are probably amur honeysuckle (lonicera maackii), an invasive species:

Amur honeysuckle (lonicera maackii)

Adjacent to where I parked my car near the orange trail, I saw string tied around a tree, which led up to a purple box. I had no idea what it was, but the Internet is amazing, and just typing “triangular box in tree” led me to an answer. There is a pest called the Emerald Ash Borer that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is tracking, by means of hanging traps in ash trees. The purple traps are coated with a sticky substance that captures the borers, and USDA employees visit the traps every so often and survey them.

Purple trap

I found a kiosk with a poster providing information about the park and the trails. There is at least one typographical error: “Macedonia Brook became out 13th state park . . .” Obviously, they meant to type “our,” with the “r” being adjacent to the “t” on the keyboard.

Park poster

Here’s something for everyone, colorful rocks, with lichen, moss, plants and a cute frog:

Colorful rocks, lichen, moss, plants, and a frog

A close-up of the Northern Green Frog, Lithobates clamitans (Rana clamitans melanota):

Frog

Unfortunately, in the few minutes after leaving my car at the second parking area, I was attacked by a swarm of gnats. I don’t think they were biting me, but they were buzzing in my ears, and flying around my nose and mouth. Earlier, on the blue trail, I had twice stopped and spread Off! Deep Woods Sportsmen (98.25% DEET) on myself, which had driven away the bugs. The repellent should last for 8 hours, but it only worked for an hour.

I spread some more DEET on myself, and this time it was not effective at all. If anything, the gnats were thriving on it. When I hike with others, I find that other people are targeted by insects more than me, so it is not as though I am one of those people that naturally attracts them. I saw a few other people in the area who were not waving away clouds of gnats, but they sure were bothering me. Therefore, I returned to the car and gave up. So whereas I had hoped to hike 6 miles, I only hiked about 3.5-4 miles, sandwiched in between a long car ride to the park and home.

Thus, I was very disappointed with the day’s activity. Obviously, it is not the park’s fault that I somehow got turned around after getting 1.6 miles into the 6-mile loop, and it is not the park’s fault that the hot weather has led to a proliferation of gnats that love the taste of DEET.

Hopefully my next hike will be more enjoyable.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Connecticut | Leave a comment

Injinji Socks

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charlie

I have mentioned getting “hot spots” on my toes while hiking, especially when going downhill. Hot spots are the precursors to blisters, so it’s best to avoid them. Part of the problem is that when going downhill, the foot can slide forward into the toe of the shoe, adding additional pressure. Also, socks can get bunched up, causing problems.

A relatively recent innovation by Vibram, which makes soles for other manufacturers, is the Vibram FiveFingers, their own brand of sneakers, which have articulated toes. Many runners enjoy them, claiming they have offer better grip, balance, opportunity for muscle development, etc. I have never had the opportunity to try the shoes. For hiking, I have mentioned that I am reluctant to try using sneakers, and instead wear boots because I think I need protection on the soles from walking over uneven surfaces and protection on the toes in the event I stub my foot into a rock.

The Vibram FiveFingers were meant to be worn barefoot, which many don’t like. A company called Injinji began making toe socks, and many runners and hikers claim that these socks, whether worn with Vibram FiveFingers or worn with conventional shoes, help the wearer to avoid blisters. I decided to try them, wearing them under a pair of conventional socks, as some suggested. Here are the Injinji socks, before I have put on the regular pair of socks over them.

Injinji socks

Unfortunately, I did not find them to be the cure that others have claimed, as I still feel descending hills to be uncomfortable.

I recall that my friend Julie sometimes wears boots while hiking and then other times switches them for hiking sandals, especially on long downhills. While leaving oneself vulnerable to stubbing toes on rocks, perhaps hiking sandals are a good solution to the problem of the foot being crowded forward into a closed toe of a boot.

I will continue to look for a solution.

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Storm King State Park, Orange County, New York

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Charlie

I recruited Yigal and Nachi to go hiking with me, and Nachi recruited three other people. I suggested three or four hikes to Nachi, and he selected Storm King, which I had never visited before.

Storm King State Park sits on the west side of the Hudson River, across from Cold Spring. I have admired Storm King Mountain a number of times from hikes on the east side of the Hudson, and was glad to finally hike it.

Storm King State Park includes Butter Hill, which is actually slightly higher in elevation than Storm King Mountain. There is a loop around Storm King Mountain, and a larger loop in the south of the park, with the two loops being joined by a connecting trail. We hiked the majority of trails in the park.

There are a number of parking areas near the park. We chose the parking lot on U.S. Highway 9W adjacent to the head of the orange trail. The temperature was about 85 degrees, and it was very humid, with overcast skies and a chance of rain. We began hiking a few minutes before 11:00.

11:09 a.m.: The parking lot was at 940′ elevation, and our hike commenced with a 0.2 mile scramble that gained 200′, at which point we reached the ruins of Spy House, formerly a summer home of parks commissioner Dr. Edward Partridge.

Ruins of Spy House

11:25 a.m.: Continuing our climb, after another 0.2 miles we reached a lookout that afforded a view toward the south, with Highway 9W carving a serpentine path through the trees of Storm King State Park and Black Rock Forest. Our cars are visible in the parking area of this photo.

US 9W, as seen from Butter Hill

After another 0.1 miles, the orange trail came to an end. We continued our climb on the yellow trail, and after another 0.1 miles we reached the peak of Butter Hill, complete with a National Geodetic Survey reference mark. At 1381′ elevation, Butter Hill was the highest point we would reach this day.

12:12 p.m.: The yellow trail soon led us to a series of scenic views, including views toward the north, the northeast, the east, and the southeast. The Hudson River curves east after passing Storm King Mountain, so the following view, toward the north, makes it look as though we are standing above the middle of the river.

Hudson River

Following are three of the features in the above panorama: Here is the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge:

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

Here is the Cornwall Yacht Club. Better views are available here. The breakwater has been referred to as an old barge. I think of a barge as a rectangular vessel that does not rise far out of the water, whereas this looks like a streamlined ship with a tall hull. In any event, I don’t care for the look of old wrecks rotting away, so it’s not my favorite choice for a breakwater.

Cornwall Yacht Club

This is a close-up of Bannerman’s Castle on Pollepel Island.

Bannerman’s Castle, Pollepel Island

After another 0.9 miles, including a break for lunch, the yellow trail intersected the white-blazed by-pass trail. We followed that west 0.4 miles to the blue-blazed Howell trail. After another 0.1 miles west on the blue trail, we reached an intersection with an unmaintained trail, that was nonetheless still easy to follow, with faded white blazes. This was 0.5 mile east of where we had left our cars, and two of Nachi’s recruits left us at this point. (They had warned us in advance that they preferred a shorter hike.)

The four of us remaining soldiered on to the south, following the blue trail in the direction of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. This part of the blue trail was a connector between a loop around Storm King Mountain and a loop in the southern part of the park. Over the course of 0.6 miles, this connecting trail dropped in elevation from around 1050′, down to 540′, before climbing back to 640′. It then intersected another white trail, the Stillman Spring trail, which we followed to the east.

The Stillman Spring trail was 0.75 miles in length, and led us down to Storm King Highway (New York route 218), at 220′ elevation, and not far from the Hudson River. After walking along the road for about 100′, we re-entered the woods to the west. We were once again on the blue trail, being a different part of the same blue trail we had been on earlier. We soon faced a grueling climb uphill. One or two of our party had grumbled earlier in the hike that we were moving too slowly and stopping too often at the many scenic views around Storm King Mountain, and this was a good opportunity for them to enjoy a more strenuous hiking experience.

The sky became increasingly cloudy, and at times we were hit by drops of water. I put my camera in my backpack and put on the rain cover, missing out on taking photos of a few scenic views. One of these was Pitching Point, a scenic view to the northeast that was about 100′ off the blue trail, at 500′ in elevation. The trail soon turned into a scramble as we rapidly gained elevation, with the map showing scenic views at 750′, 900′ and 980′.

3:28 p.m.: At one of those views, I stopped and took a number of shots toward the north and northeast, which stitched together into a very nice panorama. This shows Storm King Mountain on the west side of the Hudson, the Hudson with Pollepel Island and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in the far distance, and Breakneck Ridge and Mount Taurus on the east side of the Hudson, overshadowed by a menacing sky:

Storm King Mountain & Hudson Highlands

3:44 p.m.: We soon reached a flatter section of the blue trail, ranging between around 1000′ and 1180′:

Storm King State Park

4:16 p.m.: We arrived at another scenic view shown on our map, called North Point. Highway 9W was once again visible, including the parking lot where we had left our vehicles. This is an HDR shot:

View from North Point

This is a normal (non-HDR) shot from North Point:

View from North Point

After 2 miles on this segment of the blue trail, we reached yet another white-blazed trail, this one called the Bobcat trail. We followed this 0.4 miles, which led to the southern parking lot on Highway 9W. This was not where we had left our cars, though–they were at the northern parking lot.

By this time the rain had increased from a few drops to an actual sprinkle. We contemplated putting on raingear, but suspected that with the heat it would be uncomfortable. The rain was actually refreshing, cooling off the temperature and the hikers. Also, I was wearing polyester clothing, which I knew would dry quickly. Thus, we opted to forgo the raingear.

We followed the shoulder of Highway 9W to the north for 0.8 miles, back to the parking lot with our cars, around 5:00 p.m. Thus, we were hiking for 6 hours, though with a few stops to enjoy lunch and scenery. While we saw a few hikers on the northern loop around Storm King Mountain, we did not see anyone else on the southern loop, and I commented that it was nice being able to find such solitude a little more than an hour outside New York City.

I believe that our hike covered 6.7 miles, gaining at least 1300′ (and losing the same amount) over the course of the day.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York, Orange County | 1 Comment

Manhattanhenge

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Charlie

The term “Manhattanhenge” was popularized in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History. It is a twice-a-year occurrence where the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan. As Manhattan was laid-out 29 degrees from a true north-south and east-west grid, this does not take place at the summer solstice, but around May 28 and July 12.

I had never before experienced the event, but after missing my chance in May, I marked my calendar for July.

Wednesday, July 11: I left work at 7:00 p.m. and walked east on 42nd Street. My first thought was to stand on the Tudor City Place overpass over 42nd Street, but it was already packed. I’ve read that some photographers set up their tripods there at 3:30 p.m.!

Tudor City Place

Having failed to find room at my first option, I walked to 34th Street, east of 1st Avenue, where there is a small parking lot under the FDR. Three young Asians were there, with only camera phones, and I stood beside them. The view was not ideal, being partially blocked by the FDR overpass under which we stood, and partially blocked by traffic signage that spanned 34th Street. However, I put my 45-200mm telephoto lens to good use, and was able to zoom past the aforementioned obstructions.

While I was waiting, a film crew with foreign accents came and set up tripods. I did not have a tripod, relying on hand-holding my camera. The film crew didn’t set up a tripod in front of me, but did set up a tripod in front of the Asians. Later, a car had to leave the parking lot, and the Asians moved out of its way and then ended up standing in front of me. Happily, because I was using a telephoto and aiming up a bit, they did not block my photographic efforts.

These were my shots at sundown:

Manhattanhenge

I was uncertain whether July 11 or July 12 was supposed to be better. I read that July 11 would have the full orb of the sun on the horizon (i.e., the bottom of the sun would kiss the horizon), whereas July 12 was supposed to only be the half-orb of the sun on the horizon (i.e., the horizon would bisect the sun). However, when the sun came into view on Wednesday, half of it was already below the horizon. Maybe there is a hill or some other obstruction at the west end of 34th Street, and if I had been on one of the other cross streets, I would have seen the full sun on the horizon.

Thursday, July 12: Again leaving work around 7:00 p.m., I decided to try a different location, and rode the 7 train one stop east, into Long Island City, Queens. There I walked a few blocks west, to Gantry Plaza State Park, on the East River. The neighborhood and the park were nice; I had never been to either before. I walked around for a few minutes before finding a few photographers standing on the promenade, at a spot that afforded a view west through 42nd Street.

The Tudor City Place overpass is visible toward the bottom center of the image. To the right, one can see the famous spire of the Chrysler Building, which is on Lexington Avenue, and to the right of that is the United Nations Secretariat Building, which is east of 1st Avenue.

Manhattan, from Long Island City

The sun dropped below the buildings, and we waited patiently, to see if it would appear at the base of 42nd Street. From our vantage point, the sun would be framed by the overpass of Tudor City Place. Unfortunately, we noted the presence of clouds on the horizon that made the sun’s reappearance doubtful.

Will the sun appear?

Indeed, sunset came and went, and there was no sign of the sun. The assembled photographers and others, such as this hopeful kayaker, had nothing to see.

And then disappointment set in . . .

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged New York | Leave a comment

Peekamoose Mountain & Table Mountain, Ulster County, NY

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Charlie

This Jewish Outdoors Club hike in the Catskills was limited to 15 people, but 7 canceled, leaving 8 of us. I gave a lift to Jonathan from my neighborhood, and we detoured into Brooklyn to pick up two ladies.

Our designated parking area was on Peekamoose Road, along Rondout Creek in the Sundown Wild Forest. As we turned onto the road we soon passed a few parking areas. In the first, I spotted two people standing by a car, at least one of whom looked familiar. Our GPS showed we still had 1.4 miles to go, but I suspected that they did not have GPS and had stopped too soon. Since we were so close to our destination, and running five minutes late, we decided to keep going rather than stop to see if they were with our party. We arrived at the parking lot at 10:35 a.m. and learned that we were indeed missing two people. There was no cell phone reception, so it was fortuitous that I had spotted them. I drove back the 1.4 miles, confirmed the people were the balance of our group, and asked them to follow me to the correct parking area.

Around 11:00 a.m., we started our climb northeast up the blue trail, being part of the Long Path. It was the only trail we would be on today, and we were “just” following it about 4.8 miles, then turning around and coming back. However, our destination, the peak of Table Mountain, was at 3847′ in elevation, while the parking lot was only at 1300′ elevation. So we had a climb of over 2500′.

11:06 a.m.: The hike began with a very steep incline for about 0.2 miles, at which point we arrived at a kiosk asking people to sign in so that the rangers would have an idea how many people were out there. We rested there for a few minutes.

The trail began with a steep incline

The hike description indicated that the first 0.8 miles of the trail followed an old woods road. In places there was tell-tale erosion of a road, though in other places it might have been hard to identify the trail as an old road.

11:52 a.m.: We left the Sundown Wild Forest and continued into the Slide Mountain Wilderness, with the blue trail turning into a footpath.

The trail becomes a footpath

11:56 a.m.: A break in the trees shows that we have gained some elevation. Our leader was moving at a fast pace, which would have been fine with me on level ground, but had me breathing hard as we were ascending sharply the entire time. We took a rest break around this time, as I was not the only one breathing hard.

Our first scenic view, as we gain some elevation!

12:03 p.m.: The hike included some scrambling:

Scrambling

More scrambling

12:34 p.m.: At 2.3 miles from the parking area, and at 2900′ elevation, we arrived at Reconnoiter Rock, a large boulder perched at the edge of a rock ledge. We took yet another break. I had slipped to the back of the pack, just in front of the sweep, and offered to the leader to take over as sweep or fall behind, as I didn’t want to slow down the group. But after this point (having climbed 1600′ in 90 minutes), the trail seemed to level out a bit, and we only had another 900′ to the peaks. Therefore, I was able to hike toward the front of the line after Reconnoiter Rock.

Reconnoiter Rock

12:52 p.m.: A tree grows among the rocks.

Tree roots grow around rocks in a search for nutrients

1:17 p.m.: At 3.05 miles into the hike, at 3500′ elevation, we reached an overlook offering fine views to the south. We took another break here, this time to enjoy the view, rather than to recuperate from the physical effort:

Scenic view from 3500′

I pose in front of Nature’s canvas:

Posing at 3500′

2:05 p.m.: At 3.9 miles into the hike, we reached the summit of Peekamoose Mountain at 3843′ elevation, where a snowshoe hare kept guard:

Snowshoe hare

The map does not show a scenic view from the summit of Peekamoose Mountain, but it appeared that a path had been recently cleared to establish a view:

View from the summit of Peekamoose Mountain

We continued on, as the path turned due north and then west. After another 0.85 miles, we were 4.75 miles into the hike, having reached the summit of Table Mountain, at 3847′. While only 4′ higher than the top of Peekamoose Mountain, there had been about a 150′ to 200′ descent into a col, and then a climb out of it.

2:39 p.m.: The summit of Table Mountain was not a noticeable prominence and was only marked by a rock cairn. However, we continued on about 0.15 miles and came to a small rock ledge offering a scenic view toward the southwest:

The view from Table Mountain

While the ledge was small, most of us squeezed onto it for a late lunch:

Lunchtime on a narrow ledge

A wider panorama before leaving:

Panorama from lunch spot

And an HDR shot, made by combining overexposed and underexposed photos:

HDR panorama from our lunch spot

4:59 p.m.: We pass Reconnoiter Rock again, this time heading downhill. We had debates about the merits of going downhill versus uphill, as they worked different muscle groups. Some experience knee pain hiking downhill. On steep declines I occasionally develop “hot spots” on my big toes and the balls of my feet, and I worry those hot spots will become blisters. I was wearing a brand new pair of boots, but they were neither better nor worse than my old boots in this regard.

Reconnoiter Rock, on our descent

5:14 p.m.: We were following the path back the way we came. Here, one tree had apparently fallen and knocked down a second tree. Trail maintenance had cut a notch in the lower tree, to form a step. However, I think that if I had tried to stand on that step I would have hit my head on the upper tree. Thus, I stepped over the lower tree while ducking.

Fallen trees

Using the step that a trail maintenance crew notched into the tree

5:23 p.m.: This photo shows one of the steep declines:

Some hikers find a steep decline more challenging than a steep ascent

6:17 p.m.: We completed the 9.6 mile hike and returned to the parking lot, having bagged two of the 35 Catskill High Peaks. After tossing our backpacks in the cars, we crossed Peekamoose Road to check out Rondout Creek. The water was cold, but it felt good to dip my feet into it.

Rondout Creek

Getting home was a different story. We stopped for dinner at Woodbourne Pizza, which was fine. But whereas the drive from Brooklyn (where we had picked up the girls) to the Catskills was 2-1/2 hours, it took us 3-1/2 hours of driving to deliver them home, owing to traffic in the New York City area. Not knowing better, I took the George Washington Bridge to the FDR, and then followed that to the Brooklyn Bridge. I remained in the right lane for the Brooklyn Bridge, as the signs directed, which formed a long line 0.5 miles before the bridge entrance, as hundreds of cars flew past to then cross the solid line into the bridge entrance at the last minute. Cops did nothing, ignoring this violation of traffic law, which is apparently the practice of a great majority of New York drivers. I consider it to be rude and stealing time from others, and will not do it. We dropped off the ladies at the home of one of them, at around 11:00 p.m., and Jonathan and I didn’t make it back to Queens until 11:30 p.m.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York, Ulster County | Leave a comment

Fishkill Ridge, Dutchess County, New York

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Charlie

The Jewish Outdoors Club offered two hikes on this day, and I registered for the strenuous one. I drove and gave a lift to three other men from my neighborhood. As we crossed the Whitestone bridge into the Bronx, Nachi, who had organized the hike, received a call from one of the registered hikers. His ride had canceled at the last minute, claiming illness. Rather than call to try to find someone else to pick up the stranded hiker, we detoured west on the Cross Bronx into Washington Heights to collect him, then crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, took the Palisades north back into New York, and then took the Bear Mountain bridge back to the east side of the Hudson. We then followed Route 9D into Beacon and residential streets to the trailhead in Fishkill.

We arrived around 9:35 a.m., the second car there. Nachi had told the hikers to arrive at 9:45 a.m. to sign in, and that the hike would begin promptly at 10:00 a.m., but as usually happens, some people were late. At 10:20 a.m., we began to climb the red-blazed Overlook trail, toward the south.We had a total off 11 hikers, which was a nice-sized group.

10:40 a.m.: To the right side of the trail was an area that appeared to have suffered a mudslide.

Mudslide Adjacent to Overlook Trail

11:06 a.m.: As we climbed higher, we began to enjoy nice views of the Hudson. This shot shows the area to the northwest of Beacon.

View to the northwest

At one point on the hike, when I was hiking with two others at the front, Michael said that he thought he heard a rattle. I didn’t hear anything over people talking. We continued on, and Lissa whispered that she had seen a rattlesnake off to the side of the trail, but didn’t want to announce it because one of the hikers was afraid of all snakes.

After about 1.8 miles on the red trail, we had reached the end of the red trail. We had also gained 1000′ in elevation, from the parking lot at 400′ up to 1400′. We turned left (east) onto the white-blazed Fishkill Ridge trail, and after another 0.4 miles reached a scenic view on the peak of Lamb’s Hill, at 1477′.

12:09 p.m.: We took a snack break there, and in addition to the snacks that we brought with us, some of us enjoyed blueberries growing wild. They weren’t at maximum ripeness, but a few were very sweet.

Blueberries

12:30 p.m.: We continued on the white trail for another 0.2 miles and reached the intersection with the blue-blazed trail, just north of Dozer Junction. I have been to that spot twice before, doing the big loop from Mount Beacon/South Beacon Mountain/Wilkinson Memorial Trail/Fishkill Ridge Trail/Casino Trail, in May 2010 and August 2010.

The photo below shows an unblazed woods road that is a continuation of the blue trail. You can see a white blaze there, but it is important to note that there are two blazes, indicating that the white trail (going west, the direction from which we had just come) turns left (west) here, cutting up a hill to the left of the photo. In May 2010, coming from the blue trail at Dozer Junction, I missed the turn to the west and instead continued straight north on the woods road for a few minutes, before realizing it wasn’t blazed and backtracking to find the white trail. We made a similar mistake this time. We intended to continue east on the white trail (which cuts across this road and continues to the right of the photo), but we had stopped on the blue trail for a moment to admire the bulldozer, and then continued north on the woods road for a few minutes, before backtracking to find the white trail going east.

Fishkill Ridge Trail, near Dozer Junction

12:50 p.m.: The white trail turned northeast, and we were approaching the first scenic view shown on the map. Lissa and I were in the front, and I started to say, “So you did see a rattlesnake on the climb?” As soon as I said “rattlesnake” she jumped back, and I thought she had misunderstood my question as a warning that I had seen something. But then I realized that there was a second rattlesnake just in front of us on the trail. It was remarkable timing, to see it just as I was asking her about her sighting of the first one. We backtracked and told the rest of the group that we needed to take a detour around the trail at that spot. Most timber rattlesnakes prefer shaded areas, but pregnant ones enjoy sunning on rocks. This isn’t the best photo, but you can see part of her body, and her head is somewhat visible toward the upper right.

Timber rattlesnake

It was a cloudy day, which made it difficult at times for me to capture shots with my camera. I had set my camera to an ISO speed of 400, so that photos would not be overly grainy. Unfortunately, that resulted in many photos being shot at a slow shutter speed, so that they were blurred, or being shot at a wide open aperture, so that the depth of field was shallow. (At the end of the hike, I struggled in a shaded area to photograph an orange salamander, with a wide open aperture and slow shutter speed. My wide-angle lens is short enough that I can usually hold my hands steady at slow speeds, but the salamander was crawling away and none of my shots were sharp.)

12:53 p.m.: We were afraid that the short detour around the snake would cause us to miss a scenic view that was indicated on the map, but we soon arrived at a spot that provided a good view:

Scenic View from Fishkill Ridge Trail

12:56 p.m.: A few minutes later another view came into sight:

Scenic View from Fishkill Ridge Trail

Around 1:01 p.m., I mentioned to Lissa that perhaps it was time to stop for lunch. She answered that she wasn’t planning to eat lunch. Maybe we should have put a hungry person in the lead of the hike.

1:10 p.m.: In a few places we had to hop over fallen trees, but here the path led through a gap between the tree and its stump:

This fallen tree is no obstacle

1:15 p.m.: About 1.2 miles past Dozer Junction, we reached a beautiful lookout on the top of Bald Hill, and finally stopped for lunch. Whereas the red trail had given us views toward the northwest, we now had a view to the southeast:

View from Bald Hill

2:01 p.m.: We found a rocking chair that someone had either brought up here or else constructed on site, and one of our group tried it out:

Checking out the rocking chair on Bald Hill

2:22 p.m.: A reference mark atop Bald Hill, which has a peak of around 1500′. We found an azimuth marker as well, not far away.

Survey reference mark on Bald Hill

2:35 p.m.: We began descending, dropping from 1500′ down to 1200′ over a 0.4 mile distance. The white trail, which had been moving in the northeastern direction, made a sharp turn and continued moving southwest, forming a loop. The descent continued, and we dropped down to 1000′.

Descending

3:06 p.m.: The descent continued, and we dropped down to 1000′. The map showed that we were following an old woods road, but portions appeared too narrow to be an old road.

Passing by boulders

After 1.2 miles, the white trail came to an end, and we continued to the west on the yellow-blazed Wilkinson Memorial trail. A part of the trail was not blazed very well, leading to a bit of confusion as to whether we were on the yellow trail or on what the map showed as a parallel woods road. After a short 0.1 miles, we again began seeing yellow blazes, and after another 0.2 miles, we left the yellow trail for the blue trail, which led us 0.25 miles back to Dozer Junction and the white trail. We now began to retrace our steps.

3:43 p.m.: Back at Lamb’s Hill, where we had stopped for blueberries earlier, I photographed the scenic view to the southwest, where we could see the Beacon Reservoir, which was about 3/4 miles away from us:

Looking southwest from Lamb’s Hill

Several of the hikers were feeling tired.

Taking a break

4:11 p.m.: Descending on the red trail:

A view from Overlook Trail

4:21 p.m.: The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge:

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

4:28 p.m.: Another timber rattlesnake. This was probably the same one that Lissa had spotted on the way up. She and two others were in front of me, and pointed it out and skirted it. I held up my hand to stop those behind me, and pointed it out to them, to make sure that people would stick to the trail and not step off in that direction.

Timber rattlesnake

Fishkill Ridge is apparently the place to go to see rattlesnakes, and I later read that hikers on earlier hikes on that ridge have seen them. The timber rattlesnake is timid and does not seek confrontation with humans. It usually will only strike if someone steps on them, and if it is feeling threatened it will usually rattle a great deal before it strikes. They can live 16-22 years. They were once widespread in New York, but people killed many under a bounty that was not lifted until 1971. In 1983, New York State designated the timber rattlesnake as a threatened species. Many people have hiked for years and never seen one, so I now have something to brag about!

We returned to our cars at 5:19 p.m., having enjoyed a 7-hour hike that covered about 8.4 miles. My last-minute passenger from Washington Heights found a ride home with someone else, so I was able to drive directly back to Queens with my original three passengers.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Dutchess County, Hudson Highlands, New York, snake | 2 Comments

Trout Brook Valley, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charlie

This conservation area includes Trout Brook Valley (730 acres), Jump Hill (117 acres), and Crow Hill (162 acres), with 20.7 miles of hiking trails, all administered by Aspetuck Land Trust. It was only a few miles from Devil’s Den, where I hiked the previous Sunday. They are separated by the Saugatuck Reservoir.

I almost didn’t go because newspaper articles indicated some controversy, with many local residents walking their dogs there (off-leash) and others complaining that they were terrified to encounter off-leash dogs that were running around without owners in sight. I went anyway, and I’ve learned that Aspetuck Land Trust is conducting a wildlife habitat study to determine sensitive conservation areas, and is asking visitors to keep their dogs leashed until the study is completed in November 2012. I encountered very few people on my hike, though I did meet one couple who had two dogs (off leash). But the dogs didn’t bother me.

Some of the trails are also open to bikers, and I did see one man on a bike at the northern end of the park, and two at the southern end.

As with my hike the week before, at nearby Devil’s Den, there are no mountains, but there are plenty of hills, and some trails are marked strenuous. Those are the trails that I tried. There are a few brooks in the area, but either the trails didn’t run along them, or they were at low water levels, and therefore I didn’t enjoy the sound of running water (as I had at Devil’s Den), and I didn’t get any water shots. Likewise, because of the absence of mountains, there were not any scenic views. As a consequence, I only came back with a few photos that I consider blog-worthy. Still, I consider this a very pretty place, and combined with the fact that it isn’t highly-trafficked, I enjoyed my visit.

I parked at the southern entrance off Bradley Road and began hiking north on the red-blazed Ordway Trail.

11:50 a.m.: One doesn’t have to walk far from the parking lot before reaching an inviting wooded-hill:

Ordnay Trail

The trails are generally well-marked. In a few places, an unmarked side trail led away, but it was almost always clear that it was not the main trail. Still, I became confused in a couple of places. One was on the red trail, where I came to an intersection. One way was not blazed, while the other was blazed green. As I had been on the red trail, and did not expect to turn onto the green trail, I thought perhaps I should follow the unblazed trail. However, a closer look at the map showed a break in the red trail, with the green trail filling the gap. I do not know why they have that layout. They should have that gap blazed with the red in addition to the green. The second area in which I became confused was later in the hike, when in descending a rocky hill, I followed what appeared to be a path to the left for about 0.1 miles. I realized there were no blazes, and back-tracked until I picked up the trail, which had continued straight.

12:34 p.m.: Here the trail runs through lovely green ferns:

Ferns

12:58 p.m.: A tree stump encircled by eroded rocks:

Tree stump surrounded by eroded rock

I then reached the end of the red trail at the northern perimeter of Trout Brook Valley, and started northeast on the white-blazed trail into the Jump Hill Preserve.

1:14 p.m.: The trail climbs the top of a small hill:

Small hill in Jump Hill Preserve

At 1:24 p.m., the white trail intersected with a red-and-black blazed trail, which I followed to the south.

1:38 p.m.: The trail ran beside a small uninviting pond, and a snapping turtle was just sitting in the middle of the trail. I stopped to photograph her and enjoy my lunch. She didn’t move while i was there, providing a good model for my photographic efforts.

Snapping turtle

The acreage had formerly been owned by the local water authority. The water authority had originally sold this land to a developer that planned to create a golf course and luxury homes, but local residents raised millions of dollars and arranged for the Land Trust to buy the property.

1:59 p.m.: Here, on the east side, a break in the trees shows greens of The Connecticut Golf Club. (There are at least two more golf courses nearby, so I think the locals were correct to decide that they needed 20.7 miles of hiking trails instead of yet another golf course).

Golf course

At 2:15 p.m., the red-and-black trail intersected the white-blazed trail that I had previously followed going north. I followed this out of the Jump Hill Preserve and into the Crow Hill Preserve, where after only 0.1 miles I switched to the yellow-blazed Ruth’s Trail.

2:26 p.m.: There was water in the area, even if I didn’t find the brooks to be impressive. Here is a photo from a swampy area:

Swampy area

At 2:39 p.m., the yellow trail ended and I continued south on the orange trail.

2:50 p.m: And another swampy area:

Swampy area

At 2:55 p.m. the orange trail intersected the blue trail, and I followed that south. Then at 3:03 p.m., I switched again to the white trail, which led me back to the parking area. The total hike was about 6.5 miles.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Connecticut, Fairfield County | 2 Comments

Devil's Den Preserve, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Charlie

This park, donated by the Ordway family and formally called Lucius Pond Ordway Devil’s Den Preserve, received that name because a charcoal maker working in the area had seen what appeared to be a hoof mark made in a boulder, and decided that it was the mark of the Devil.

There are no mountains, but there are many hills, and it is a very pretty place, with much greenery, bare rock, several stone walls, and brooks and streams running throughout. The bulk of the park is in the Town of Weston, with three small parcels (only two having trails) jutting across the border with the Town of Redding. In addition to 20 miles of trails within the park, a few trails connect to property outside the park, including Arthur F. Brinckerhoff Nature Preserve, which has an additional 3 miles of trails, and the Bruzelius Trail, which has another 3.2 miles of trail.

Driving through Weston is nice, as it’s an affluent area. After turning off a main road, my GPS directed me into a series of turns on winding residential streets. While there were older, smaller homes, there were also newer mansions.

At the parking area inside the park, I picked up a brochure with a trail map from the kiosk. The preserve’s website had included a 2012 map, which I had printed out at home, but I found that the trail map in the kiosk included a few features that were missing from the Internet map. The park has an unusual blazing system whereby main trails (woods roads) are blazed red, while footpaths are blazed yellow. So if many paths have the same color, how does one know where he is? Each intersection has a post that is numbered, and the numbers are also shown on the map. Each intersection also includes an arrow showing the shortest route back to the parking area.

The park is popular, and over the course of the day I saw many people there. A few were carrying small packs, but most were not carrying water or anything else, and I did not see anyone else with a map. I suspect they were all locals who knew the park well.

I started out on the red-blazed Pent Trail, but quickly turned onto a footpath, the yellow-blazed Deer Knoll Trail. This reached another junction, and I turned onto the Hiltebeitel Trail.

11:04 a.m.: The map showed a number of vistas in the trail, and I visited them all. As I mentioned, there are no mountains, so there were no spectacular views, and in most cases foliage prevented a clear view from the vistas.

Vista on Hiltebeitel Trail

11:11 a.m.: An interesting assortment of trees, bare rock and greenery:

Bare rock

11:18 a.m.: More bare rock:

More bare rock

11:25 a.m.: Green!

Ferns

Vine

11:36 a.m.: The Hiltebeitel Trail reached a junction and turned into the Sap Brook trail, which ran parallel to Sap Brook for a while. A group of six young women who had been trailing me and making a lot of noise finally passed me. They had a mid-sized cream dog with them, which they called Gator. I guess they didn’t notice the two signs that said that pets were not allowed. At least Gator did not bark at me.

Sap Brook

11:46 a.m.:

Sap Brook

12:16 p.m.: The Sap Brook trail led back to the Pent Trail. I followed that for a very short while and then turned onto another footpath, the Ambler Trail, where I photographed this rock wall:

Rock wall on Ambler Trail

12:27 p.m.: I reached another vista, this one on the Ambler Trail. One can make out a bit of a distant ridge line, through the leaves of nearby trees:

Vista on the Ambler Trail

12:36 p.m.: Leaving the Ambler Trail, one passed through Ambler Gorge, which had Ambler Brook running through it. This is a very poor photo of the gorge, which was a pretty spot.

Ambler Gorge

The Ambler Trail took me back to the red-blazed woods road. The map shows that it is no longer called Pent Trail at the point, but rather Den Trail. I followed this north, and it became the Bedford Trail. I continued on this for quite a while, finally turning onto the Deer Run Trail.

1:23 p.m.: Soon after taking this photograph, I stopped for lunch.

Deer Run Trail

1:53 p.m.: The Deer Run Trail led me to a footpath, the Great Ledge Trail, where I photographed this chipmunk:

Chipmunk

1:55 p.m.: I arrived at the only vista that provided a clear view.

Vista on Great Ledge Trail

1:59 p.m.: Backtracking on the Great Ledge Trail, I spotted the remains of a robin’s egg:

Robin eggshell

The next footpath was the Dayton Trail. This led back to a woods road, called Godfrey Trail.

2:33 p.m.: There were several stone walls in the park:

Stone wall on Godfrey Trail

Of historic interest was this portable sawmill and ancient foundation. This equipment is over 100 years old, so it is remarkable that it is as intact as it is. A sign explained that lumbermen found it easier to bring a portable sawmill into the woods and plank lumber there, rather than haul logs out of the woods for processing elsewhere. This photo shows a huge boiler (with steel plates about 1/4″ thick, explaining why it has not rusted to nothing) and a flywheel attached to a piston.

Portable sawmill

The foundation for a small shed:

Shed foundation

A close-up of the flywheel/piston combination:

Flywheel/piston

3:08 p.m.: Nearing the end of my hike, I encountered Godfrey Pond.

Godfrey Pond

3:23 p.m.: On the Laurel Trail, a fallen tree provides some nice texture (with the HDR treatment):

Fallen tree

Minutes later, I returned to the parking area. I estimated that the total hike was 8.1 miles, which took me almost 5 hours.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged chipmunk, Connecticut, Fairfield County | Leave a comment

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