Charlie Stein's Photoblog

South Beacon Mountain and Scofield Ridge, Dutchess County, New York

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charlie

Suri and Greg joined Batya and me as we drove up to Beacon. It had been four years since I last enjoyed this same hike, but it was new to the three of them. The parking lot at Mount Beacon Park was full, but we parked on the street just outside the parking lot, next to a non-native Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana):

Callery pear

After stretching for a few minutes, we entered the woods, soon arriving at the foot of the staircase:

Stairs in Mount Beacon Park

We climbed 800′ along the stairs and the steep switchbacks of the red-blazed Casino Trail, arriving at the ruins of the powerhouse of the incline, which is slowly disintegrating. Here is part of a brick from the local Denning’s Point Brick Works, from which the powerhouse was constructed.

Brick from Denning’s Point Brick Works

What’s left of the powerhouse:

Mount Beacon Incline Railway powerhouse

The silenced massive gears of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway:

Mount Beacon Incline Railway powerhouse

The large ledge adjacent to the powerhouse ruins provided a lovely view of the Hudson, the City of Beacon, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge:

Hudson River, City of Beacon, and Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

We continued our hike on the red trail. Here, the fire tower on South Beacon Mountain comes into view:

South Beacon Mountain fire tower

Someone went a little overboard on building cairns. I’m not even sure why one cairn would be needed here, as the trail was well-marked:

Cairns

We detoured from the red trail to visit the fire tower, following an unblazed trail that runs along bare rock. The fire tower is looking good! The flag is a new addition that hadn’t been there at my last visit. Also, there were many plaques of dedication mounted to the stair treads:

South Beacon Mountain fire tower

A panorama of the Hudson Highlands, from the top of the fire tower:

Hudson Highlands from South Beacon Mountain fire tower

A panorama of the Hudson River, from the top of the fire tower:

Hudson River panorama from South Beacon Mountain fire tower

The hiking newlyweds:

Charlie and Batya

The tower is 60′ tall. I forgot to take a shot from the top platform looking down, but this is from about 45′ from the ground:

Looking down from South Beacon Mountain fire tower

We ate lunch at the base of the tower. I saw a number of blueberries there and elsewhere on the hike, and while most were too small, I ate a couple of larger ones, which were suitably sweet:

Low-bush blueberries

After lunch, we returned to the red trail, which soon ended at the yellow-blazed Wilkinson Memorial Trail. We turned left on that trail. Whereas the red trail had been a former woods road, the Wilkinson Memorial Trail was a foot path. In many cases it moved through wooded areas, though every once in a while we came to a clearing with a scenic view.

Hudson Highlands from Scofield Ridge

The Beacon Reservoir:

Beacon Reservoir

I believe this is Glassbury Court at Cold Spring, a subdivision for seniors:

Glassbury Court at Cold Spring

The yellow trail ended, and we turned left onto the very short blue-blazed connector trail. This took us to Dozer Junction, where we took turns posing on the Caterpillar D2 tractor:

Batya at Dozer Juction

Charlie at Dozer Junction

Dozer Junction was practically at the end of the short blue trail, and we turned left on the white-blazed Fishkill Ridge trail.

A pretty bed of haircap moss (Polytrichum):

Haircap moss

Another scenic view of the Hudson River:

Hudson River

A tone-mapped image, showing Greg and Suri as they descend a trail, with the Hudson below:

Hudson River

Another view of the Hudson River, the City of Beacon, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge:

Hudson River, the City of Beacon, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

It was nice hiking among the trees:

Tree

Wildflower:

Wildflower

We saw a Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula), with a very vivid orange color. Unfortunately, he was very skittish, and other than this backlit silhouette which barely shows any color, I could not get a good photo of him.

Baltimore oriole

The yellow trail led back to the red trail at the first switchback, and we walked down that and then descended the stairs to Mount Beacon Park and the car.

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

Shore Parkway Greenway (eastern section), Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Charlie

Having previously hiked the western section of the Shore Parkway Greenway, we decided to hike half of the eastern section, from Brigham Street to the Canarsie Pier. (We had intended to take this route on our last walk, but had mistakenly turned right on Flatbush Avenue, leading us to walk across the Marine Parkway Bridge to the Rockaway Peninsula.)

The blue flowers are common chicory (Cichorium intybus), which we had also seen on the eastern section of the Shore Parkway Greenway. The white flowers are likely wild carrot, also called Queen’s Anne Lace (Daucus carota).

Common chicory and wild carrot

Mill Basin, from the Mill Basin Bridge:

Mill Basin

One never knows what he will see in New York City. Here, an angel gets her wings:

Angel gets her wings

That is, as we walked past the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, we saw the reality t.v. show Dare Me for Charity in action, with participants jumping from a platform as high as 32′ to an inflatable bag. At least two different non-profit organizations were participating that day. The jumper with the wings is affiliated with the group CHERUBS (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support). Here is a different jumper, without wings:

Dare Me for Charity participant

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), a highly invasive species:

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

Part of the greenway had beautiful and very sturdy (and very expensive) wooden handrails, with 12″ x 12″ posts spaced 8′ apart, each post pierced by three 4″ x 8″ rails. Here, a Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii) proudly displays its heart-shaped pattern as it poses on the top rail on the fence:

Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii)

We arrived at our destination, the Canarsie Pier, which includes a huge parking lot surrounded by benches and tables. We enjoyed a late lunch on the pier.

Canarsie Pier

Here’s something else one doesn’t see every day: a 1931 Ford Model A roadster. We didn’t understand why instead of being in a parking space, it was parked outside the lines and perpendicular to the space.

1931 Ford Model A roadster

We returned the way we came, noting riders and their mounts as we neared the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy:

Riders at Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, Brooklyn, New York

A young herring gull (Larus smithsonianus) rests on the crumbling Mill Basin Bridge. The bridge is the only movable bridge on the Belt Parkway, and is slated to be replaced with a fixed bridge.

Herring gull (Larus smithsonianus)

A number of times I have seen red berries in winter (when there are no leaves), and the fact that the berries weren’t being eaten by animals suggested to me that they were poisonous. Maybe that’s not always the case. Here I have two photographs of wild black cherry (prunus serotina), which is suitable for jams:

Wild black cherry (prunus serotina)

Rose hips from beach rose (rosa rugosa), possibly suffering from the fatal rose rosette disease.

Rose hips of rosa rugosa, possibly with rose rosette disease

The Deep Creek Yacht Club:

Deep Creek Yacht Club

Dedication plaque of Shore Parkway Bicycle Path:

Dedication plaque of Shore Parkway Bicycle Path

Panorama of Rockaway Inlet from Gerritsen Bridge:

Panorama of Rockaway Inlet from Gerritsen Bridge

We estimated the round-trip hike was between 8-10 miles.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York | Leave a comment

Brooklyn to Queens, Kings County to Queens County, NY

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Charlie

Batya and I went for another walk in Brooklyn. We parked at Brigham Street off Emmons Avenue, and began hiking east on the Shore Parkway’s eastern half. This was a relatively short stretch, which provided views of Rockaway Inlet:

Rockaway Inlet from Shore Parkway

The Marine Parkway Bridge came into view. The bridge links Brooklyn and the Rockaway Peninsula.

Rockaway Inlet and Marine Parkway Bridge

We crossed the bridge over Gerritsen Inlet as the fishing party boat Flamingo III was approaching.

Flamingo III Approaching Gerritsen Inlet

The bridge also provides a view of Point Breeze:

Gerritsen Creek, Point Breeze and Rockaway Inlet

The red spikes provided a nice contrast to the green vegetation:

Red flowers along Shore Parkway

When we reached Flatbush Avenue, we turned right (when we had meant to turn left). This took us past Floyd Bennett Field, the once-proud airfield that is now mostly abandoned, with many old hangers and other facilities abandoned and collapsing. Even the Aviator Sports & Events Center, presently used as an ice skating and hockey rink and arcade, has some minor issues:

Rusted drainspout at Floyd Bennett Field

The visitor center is nice:

Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field

We continued along Flatbush Avenue, and then walked across the Marine Parkway Bridge to Rockaway Peninsula:

Rockaway Inlet from Marine Parkway Bridge

Arriving in Rockaway, we had lunch at Fort Tilden.

Wall at Fort Tilden

Some type of event was underway at Fort Tilden, with music and large crowds. Therefore we did not stay and tour the fort, but only ate lunch there. Batya hadn’t enjoyed hiking across the bridge. One problem was that despite signs telling bicyclists to dismount and walk their bikes across, most ride, and we continually had to flatten ourselves to one wall as they rode up to us from the front or rear. We decided to take one of the city buses back over the bridge, exiting back on Flatbush Avenue, where we toured the visitor center at Floyd Bennett Field.

I was able to sandwich an American Airlines plane heading for JFK between a bird and a helicopter:

Bird, Airplane, and Helicopter

We then followed the same route back to where we had left the car.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York | Leave a comment

Shore Parkway Greenway (western section), Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Charlie

The Shore Parkway Greenway is a walking and bicycle path that runs on the bay side of the Shore Parkway automobile route. The Greenway exists in two noncontiguous sections, separated by Coney Island. The western section runs 4.3 miles, from Bay Parkway at the southern end, passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and continues to Bay Ridge Avenue at the northern end. [The eastern section runs from 68th Street in Brooklyn to 84th Street in Queens.]

We parked on Bay Parkway, at GPS coördinates 40.5948/-74.0012, where a large parking lot is provided. We then began walking north on the western section of the parkway:

Shore Parkway and Verrazano–Narrows Bridge

When completed in 1964, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a center span of 4260′:

Verrazano–Narrows Bridge

A laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) flew past us:

Laughing gull

This double-crested cormorant (phalacrocorax auritus) put on a good display of swimming and diving, moving north at the same pace that we were walking:

Double-crested cormorant

This is a Forster’s tern (sterna forsteri). Terns were at one point considered a subfamily of gulls, but now are recognized as a separate family:

Forster’s tern

A boat passes in front of Hoffman Island, an island created in Lower New York Bay in 1872 by the addition of landfill to natural shoals, and unused since World War II:

Hoffman Island

A double-crested cormorant in flight:

Double-crested cormorant

The NYPD keeps boaters safe:

NYPD Patrol Boat

We spotted common chicory (cichorium intybus) growing beside one tree:

Common chicory

A substantial piece of lumber appears as driftwood:

Driftwood

We also saw a couple of very large cubes of styrofoam while we were on the walk. Other marine debris included what appeared to be a dock bumper painted “No Step,” i.e., warning people not to step on it, that may have torn loose during a storm:

Marine debris

Batya pointed out the Statue of Liberty, about 4 miles to the north in Upper New York Bay. My telephoto lens brought her closer:

Statue of Liberty

A Forster’s tern rests on a rock:

Forster’s tern

A speedboat in the Narrows, which separates Upper New York Harbor from Lower New York Harbor:

Speedboat

The Bayonne Golf Club:

Bayonne Golf Club

We reached Bay Ridge Avenue, at the northern end of the Greenway. We had lunch on the American Veterans Memorial Pier, and enjoyed seeing the 1928 Delaware Bay oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald:

A.J. Meerwald at American Veterans Memorial Pier

After lunch, we began our return walk, reversing our path and walking south.

Here, a sightseeing boat passes in front of the Orange Sun, a Swiss tanker (Liberian-flagged) dedicated to shipping fruit juice:

Orange Sun

A sailboat passes east of Hoffman Island:

Sailboat passing east of Hoffman Island

Batya had fun:

Batya enjoys Lower New York Bay

This was an easy 8.6-mile walk, on pavement, with hardly any elevation change.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York | 1 Comment

Norvin Green State Forest, Passaic County, New Jersey

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Charlie

I only have a few photos from this hike in Norvin Green State Forest, as I have been to this park a number of times.

We got off to a late start, and upon arriving at Norvin Green parked on West Brook Road. We had thought of investigating the northern part of the park, where one of my hiking partners had been injured a year earlier.

We descended from the road to West Brook, losing the trail blazes along the way, though the fallen trees spanning the brook looked familiar. We carefully crossed, not wanting to fall into the water:

West Brook

Unfortunately, having crossed to the far side, we couldn’t find the blazes. This was entirely my fault, as I should have made sure to reacquire the blazes before crossing the brook. We gave up and crossed back to the side of the brook closest to the road. We then did find the blazes and followed them to a different crossing point. However, we didn’t feel like repeating the crossing, and given our late start it seemed unlikely at this point that we would be able to complete the hike. I am now beginning to wonder whether I will ever complete the hike of the northern section of Norvin Green.

We returned to the car and drove to the southern part of Norvin Green, parking near the Otter Hole, where we had lunch. We then hiked up the teal-blazed Highland Trail. Here, Batya makes another water crossing, though this was much easier than our earlier round-trip over West Brook.

Water crossing

We spotted a shy toad:

Toad

We encountered a number of scenic views:

Scenic view

This view looking to the east shows the Wanaque Reservoir, adjacent to the forest:

Wanaque Reservoir

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia):

Mountain laurel

Another scenic view:

Scenic view

We probably only hiked about 4.5 or 5 miles this day. I was not very satisfied with the hike, as I’m accustomed to longer hikes. Also, the drive back to New York City was painful. Traffic made it hard for me to get back to Queens when I lived there, but it takes even longer for Batya and me to drive back to Brooklyn.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New Jersey, Passaic County | Leave a comment

High Point State Park, Sussex County, New Jersey

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Charlie

On Memorial Day, Batya and I drove a couple of hours to High Point State Park, which has the highest elevation in New Jersey, of 1803′ above sea level. The occasion was the annual Jewish Outdoors Club “Fun Day.” This event was planned to be smaller in size than the previous year’s event, and only 157 tickets were sold. Batya and I had hoped to join the group that Nachi was leading, which was the only strenuous hike offered.

N.J. charges admission for this park, at least starting with Memorial Day weekend. On weekdays, they charge $5 for a car with N.J. plates, or $10 for a car with other plates. On weekends, that is doubled! Thus, in addition to paying for the JOC event (which included a delicious barbecue at the end), and paying to drive across New Jersey and for the expensive Hudson River crossings, we had to pay $20 to enter the park.

The JOC was set up just inside the entrance. The parking lot was mostly full, but I parked on a grassy strip off the road. However, the JOC organizer came up to Batya’s side of the car, tapped on the window, greeted us with a great big smile as though she personally knew us, and told us that the parking area was closed off and that we would have to drive to another lot that was a 5 minute walk away. I started the car and drove to the parking lot adjacent to Lake Marcia, a 20-acre natural lake that offers lifeguard-protected swimming:

Lake Marcia

We walked back to the entrance where the JOC was stationed, which took longer than 5 minutes. When we arrived back at the JOC station, we discovered a half-dozen other cars were parked on the grassy strip from which we had been evicted. I was not amused. Whereas the previous JOC Fun Days had several registration tables, there was only one this day, and I had to stand in line for about 15 minutes to register our presence. Meanwhile, Nachi’s group left to begin their hike. If we had not been evicted from the grassy strip where others were allowed to park after us, we would have been able to register in time to join Nachi’s hike. This left me very annoyed.

Batya and I decided that we would hike on our own, rather than join the non-strenuous hikes that would invariably travel at a snail’s pace. We walked back past Lake Marcia and began hiking on the Monument Trail, which provided us with this view toward the east:

Eastern View from the Monument Trail

A war veterans’ monument was built in 1928-29. The obelisk is 221′ tall, 34′ square at the base, though tapering to 19′ square at the top.

Exterior of War Veterans’ Monument

Of course, Memorial Day was the perfect day to visit such a place, and to enter and climb such a monument. Here, I record the upward view:

Interior view of War Veterans’ Monument

And the view looking down:

Interior view of War Veterans’ Monument

Small windows at the top of the monument provide views of the park, as well as nearby New York to the north and Pennsylvania to the west.

View from top of War Veterans’ Monument

Posters inside the monument detail the nation’s debt to veterans from the State of New Jersey, in addition to providing details about the monument itself:

Notable New Jersey Veterans

War Veterans’ Monument Data

Descending from the top of the 221′ monument, we continued our hike along the Monument Trail. This is a stitched panoramic shot of the surrounding countryside:

View from Monument Trail

A flowering plant along the trail:

Flowering plant

The trail crossed a small stream at a couple of points:

Stream crossing on Monument Trail

Much of the Monument Trail was flat, passing through a wooded area:

Wooded area on Monument Trail

There were a few rock outcrops, but not many:

Rock Outcrop on Monument Trail

The trail afforded a few nice views of the surrounding landscape, including this view of Port Jervis, New York, the Delaware River, and the Mid-Delaware Bridge:

View of Port Jervis

The trail again crossed a stream, though I can’t say whether it was the same stream as before, or a different one. This crossing featured many nice rocks.

Stream Crossing on Monument Trail

The Monument Trail is a loop of only 3.7 miles. We completed it and began walking back past Lake Marcia to the pavilion where the JOC had set up its operations for the day. Here is a parting shot of the War Veterans’ Monument:

War Veterans’ Monument

We had been a bit worried that we would arrive late for lunch, but instead Batya and I were the first ones there. We enjoyed such delicacies as cole slaw, potatoes, salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, tortilla chips and salsa, pasta with pesto sauce, watermelon, and cookies. While we missed the chance to socialize with others on our hike, we were able to chat with a few people over lunch, before the long drive back to Brooklyn.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New Jersey, Sussex County | Leave a comment

Palisades Interstate Park, Bergen County, New Jersey

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Charlie

In 2012, I had enjoyed a number of hikes with a small group of people whom I had met through the Jewish Outdoors Club and mutual friends. In 2013, the small group wasn’t very active, and I was also not hiking as much, as I was busy dating Batya (who featured in a couple of my hikes from 2013). Batya and I were married on March 31, 2014, and I hope we will be able to enjoy many hikes together. On Mother’s Day, we met Martin, Yaffa, and Yona for a hike in Palisades Interstate Park.

In 1900, the governors of New York and New Jersey formed the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to protect the Palisades cliffs, which were being damaged by quarry operators. The commission later developed a highway and many other parks in the two states.

We met in the parking lot at State Line Lookout, near the northern end of the Palisades and near the border between New York and New Jersey.

10:40 a.m.: We walked a short distance northward along a promenade and along a chained-off road (Old Route 9W), before turning right (northeast) onto the Long Path.

10:58 a.m.: The Long Path led downhill toward the Hudson River.

Hudson River

While most of the park is within New Jersey, a tiny portion is within Rockland County, New York. I believe this lookout that the group is enjoying came after we passed the New York-New Jersey border marker, and that the spot is called High Gutter Point:

High Gutter Point

11:03 a.m.: Here, the Long Path descends toward the Hudson. The high point of the cliffs is about 540′ above the water.

Descending the Long Path

11:15 a.m.: The Long Path turned northwest, and we came to a small bridge over a wet area. Note the skunk cabbage. This area is known as Skunk Hollow: freed slaves and their descendants lived here from the early 1800s through the early 1900s.

Skunk cabbage in Skunk Hollow

We left the Long Path, turning right (northeast) onto the white-blazed Shore Trail. A sign warned hikers that the Shore Trail would lead over a rock scramble and a steeper climb up the cliffs than the gentler descent we’d just experienced. (Note the misspelling of “ascent.”)

Misspelled warning sign

11:28 a.m.: We reached Peanut Leap Cascade, a waterfall of about 50′ in height, adjacent to a small rocky beach. For scale, Martin stands in front of the fall.

Martin in front of Peanut Leap Cascade

Batya and I also posed in front of the waterfall:

Batya and Charlie in front of Peanut Leap Cascade

The nearby beach includes a couple of swings hanging from a tree.

Batya on a swing

Here’s another look at Peanut Leap Cascade, with the ruins of what had once been an Italianate garden designed by Mary Lawrence on her family’s “Cliffside” estate.

Peanut Leap Cascade and Italianate ruins

A shoreline view from the rocky beach:

Shoreline view

12:20 p.m.: After relaxing a half hour at Peanut Leap Cascade, we continued along the Shore Trail, heading southeast and skirting the Hudson River, in places having to hike over rocks. Here, Yaffa, Yona and Martin detour a bit from the path to give some space to a pair of hapless Canadian Geese, who had foolishly chosen to build a nest right on the trail.

Hiking past nesting Canadian geese

The goose was hissing at us, while the gander just stood by. Batya and I skirted by them, and I took a photo of the pair. These geese can attack people with their bills and wings, leaving bruises or even drawing a little blood, though they won’t cause serious injury. Luckily we were able to pass by without this pair feeling too threatened by us.

Canadian geese guarding nest

12:36 p.m.: We entered the Giant Stairs area, where a jumble of rocks makes for challenging hiking.

Batya, Yona, and Yaffa Hiking on the Giant Stairs

The shoreline from the Giant Stairs:

Shoreline from the Giant Stairs

Martin on the Giant Stairs:

Martin hiking on the Giant Stairs:

White blazes suggest the path that hikers should follow:

Shoreline Path along the Giant Stairs

12:53 p.m.: My bride navigates the Giant Stairs:

Batya on the Giant Stairs

It was a beautiful day for hiking, with blue skies and hawks flying overhead. The weather was 80 degrees: warm, but not too hot, and not too humid.

Hudson River from the Giant Stairs

At one point, we passed a woman sitting on a rock, with another woman and man standing by her. The man was on his cell phone calling for help, reporting that the woman had twisted an ankle and that they needed assistance. There was nothing we could do to help, so we continued on. After a while, we stopped to rest, and I was able to photograph the back of a red-tailed hawk, resting in a tree:

Red-tailed hawk

2:20 p.m.: We reached the intersection with the blue and white-blazed Forest View Trail, which led up a series of stairs and switchbacks the 500′ to the top of the Palisades:

Forest View Trail

At the top, we returned to the parking lot, with the hike being about 4-5 miles.

3:17 p.m.: Our hiking companions drove off, while Batya and I hiked a little more on the paved Old 9W. We spotted a gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) along the path:

Gray catbird

As we returned to the car, we saw NYPD helicopters flying overhead and saw/heard them hovering below the cliffs. I speculated that they were involved with rescuing the woman whom we had heard had twisted her ankle. Crowds were gathered, but there was nothing to see from our vantage point, as the cliff blocked our view of the helicopters. I later read an article that the woman had broken her ankle and had been lifted to safety by the helicopters. Another article said that she’d been rescued at 6:00 p.m., but the helicopter activity we had seen had been much earlier, probably around 3:30 p.m. So either the article was wrong, or the earlier helicopters were unsuccessful in reaching her and another successful attempt was made after Batya and I left the Palisades.

We probably hiked about 6 miles, and as noted, the elevation loss and gain wasn’t great, but it was still nice to get out after so many months of not hiking.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Bergen County, New Jersey | Leave a comment

Black Rock Forest, Orange County, New York

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Charlie

This was my third trip to the western part of Black Rock Forest. I only took a few photos. For a more complete record of this part of the park, see my blog post from 2010.

It was Batya’s first trip to the forest. We parked on Mine Hill Road, and hiked up Mine Hill Trail, which always gives nice views:

View from Mine Hill Trail

Fall had set in, and the colors were quite muted, though we still found a few wildflowers.

Wildflowers

We took the Sackett Trail and Short Cut Trail to Hall Road, which soon led to the gate:

Hall Road Gate

Beyond the gate, we continued on the Highlands Trail, finding a nice splash of yellow Fall colors:

Yellow Fall colors

As well as some red:

Red fall colors

We passed Jupiter’s Boulder, and we were reflecting on the fact that we hadn’t encountered any other hikers. I suddenly recalled that unlike the publicly owned parks, Black Rock Forest is owned by a private group, and at times it is open to hunting and closed to hikers. Not being a hunter, I had no idea when hunting season was, but I checked my smartphone and learned that we were within bow hunting season, but not yet rifle hunting season. We heard some gunfire, but realized that must be from a shooting range, such as at nearby West Point. We were dressed in bright colors, so I wasn’t too worried about being mistaken for a deer by any bowhunters, but I also didn’t want to be ticketed for trespassing.

As we approached Mineral Spring Brook, we ran into one of the local targets. We assured him that we did not have any bows and arrows, and he relaxed. He was relatively close and not terribly skittish; I hope that he survived the hunting season!

Deer

We continued on past Mineral Spring Falls, thinking that if we had to leave the park (to avoid continued trespassing), that we could exit at Old Mineral Springs Road and follow the road back to the car. However, that proved unnecessary, as we found a kiosk that clarified that the park is only closed to hikers during rifle hunting season. Soon after reading that notice, we saw a few other hikers on the trails.

Therefore, we backtracked and spent some time at Mineral Spring Falls, and then began to retrace our steps through the park, back toward the car.

Batya hiking on a trail covered with fallen leaves:

Hiking on a trail covered with fallen leaves

A hilltop as seen from near Jupiter’s Boulder:

Hilltop seen from Jupiter’s Boulder area

Bright red berries:

Red berries

The Mine Hill Trail provided another nice view in the late afternoon, as we hiked down to my car:

View from Mine Hill Trail

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Black Rock Forest, deer, New York, Orange County | Leave a comment

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Westchester County, NY

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Charlie

On my third trip to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, I brought my girlfriend, Batya. Unlike my first two hikes in the park, which were hot, this day was cool, overcast, and it was also drizzling a bit. Thus, I wasn’t taking as many photos or recording as complete a description of the hike as I had previously. See my previous blog post for this park, here, for a more complete description of this hike and the trails.

We parked at the Trailside Nature Museum and hiked on the orange trail past the museum’s outdoor Delaware wigwam.

9:47 a.m.: Many of the trails in the park are flat and gentle:

Orange trail

10:29 a.m.: The trail passes by rocks:

Rocks beside the trail

Mossy rocks and fallen trees

11:01 a.m.: As mentioned, it was a misty, rainy day. We saw a number of riders on horseback, but only one or two other groups of hikers.

Misty trail

11:05 a.m.: We reached Raven Rocks, which affords a nicer view on clearer days:

View from Raven Rocks

11:28 a.m.: We continued our hike, on a wet, rocky trail:

Wet and rocky trail

It was the second week of Fall, and while the trees still showed a lot of green, there were also many fallen leaves:

Fallen leaves and fallen trees

12:25 p.m.: We took a lunch break at the Indian Rock Shelter, and then continued our hike:

Fallen leaves and fallen trees

Rock covered with lichen:

Rock covered with lichen

Wildflowers:

Wildflowers

12:45 p.m.: Batya hikes below a fallen tree:

Batya walks below a fallen tree

1:17 p.m.: At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with some pretty Fall foliage:

Fall foliage

Because of the misty weather, we shortened the hike a bit, but still had a nice time in the park. We then went to watch the move Gravity.

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

Norvin Green State Forest, Passaic County, New Jersey (northern section)

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Charlie

This was my fourth trip to Norvin Green. However, on previous hikes I visited the section of the forest to the south of West Brook Road. This time, I decided to investigate the trails to the north of West Brook Road. I brought along three friends, Nachi, Jon, and Yitz. My intent was to complete a lollipop loop hike, which would have been about 8 miles. However, the hike didn’t go as planned.

10:17 a.m.: The NY-NJ Trail Conference map shows a parking area along West Brook Road, near between two driveways near the Hill Top Airport. It’s not always easy figuring out where the parking areas are when arriving, and we had the same problem here. The eastern driveway had a wide spot with what looked like a beautiful gravel parking area, at GPS coordinates 41.0857, -74.3318. But the guys with me thought that it might be a problem to park within what appeared to be a private driveway. We thus went past the western driveway, parking on the south side of West Brook Road, at GPS coordinates 41.0860, -74.3330.

10:30 a.m.: We crossed to the north side of West Brook Road, stepped over the guardrail, and made our way down the trail to West Brook.

West Brook

I don’t know if this was a high water day or not, but it was no trivial matter crossing the brook without getting wet. We carefully stepped over slippery rocks, and climbed over logjams:

Logjam at West Brook

11:00 a.m.: We began a steep climb on the blue-blazed Hewitt Butler trail. Along the way we spotted a large branch that had fallen and been absorbed by the growth of twin trees. I have seen trees grow around wire fences, stones, and signs. But I would have thought that a fallen branch would have decomposed and wouldn’t have survived long enough to have been absorbed by these trees. Perhaps the fact that the branch is elevated from the ground has kept it from decomposing.

Trees growing around fallen branch

11:12 a.m.: After climbing about 500′, we reached Manaticut Point, which rewarded us with a view to the south. It was a cloudy day:

View from Manaticut Point

We continued left (to the west) on the blue trail. There were many fallen trees:

Fallen tree

11:37 a.m.: At one point the trail descended, and I made my way down, photographing back up at Yitz (left) and Jon (right):

Descent past rocks on Hewitt Butler trail

Deer droppings:

Deer droppings

Noon: Another panoramic shot:

Scenic View

There were many fungi:

Mushroom

12:23 p.m.: I have been impressed by the large size of some of the root balls of fallen trees, and we found a huge one on this hike. Here I pose in front of it:

Charlie posing in front of root ball

This shot of Yitz shows the entire root ball. It was most impressive:

Yitz posing in front of root ball

Another shot of Yitz with the root ball:

Yitz posing in front of root ball

Another mushroom:

Mushroom

A colorful rock:

Colorful rock

12:38 p.m.: We had turned right (north) onto the white-blazed Overlook Rock trail, and when we reached Overlook Rock, if afforded a decent view. I took a few shots that I used to generate this fused HDR view:

View from Overlook Rock

12:55 p.m.: We left Overlook Rock, continuing north on the white-blazed trail. Before long, I encountered a red eft:

Red eft

As I was photographing the young salamander, Jon, Yitz and Nachi had gone on ahead. Yitz called back to me, saying something like, “Charlie, get up here, Nachi has fallen and hurt himself badly!” I was about 50 yards behind them, and quickly caught up. I was glad to see that Nachi was standing up, but he was holding one of his hands in the other. There was a handkerchief wrapped around his hand, red with blood, with more blood dripping onto the ground. Nachi had slipped and hit either a rock or stick that was very sharp, resulting in a deep cut into his palm. Of the four of us, Nachi himself was the one with the most first aid expertise, and he directed us to find more cloth bandages in his backpack, which we wrapped around his hand.

We had gotten off to a late start on the hike, and also we had been traveling very slowly, so even though we were over two hours into the hike, we hadn’t even traveled two miles. I can’t explain the very slow pace, but it worked in our favor, as we realized that we would have to abandon the hike and find medical care for Nachi. Yitz questioned whether we should phone 911, and while I thought that was unnecessary overkill, they decided to do so. He phoned and reported the accident, expressing concern over the risk of blood loss. (I don’t know much about medicine, but didn’t think there was a concern of blood loss from a hand injury.) The 911 operator instructed us to phone when we were ten minutes from the road, and they would send an ambulance.

We began retracing our steps, except that whereas we had moved at a ridiculously slow pace going into the hike, we now moved at a very fast pace, returning to the road after about 45 minutes. As we approached the road, we decided that we didn’t need an ambulance, and that I would simply drive Nachi to a hospital. Yitz phoned the 911 operator and let them know of our change of plans, while I programmed my GPS to lead us to the nearest hospital.

At the hospital, the medical staff was suitably impressed by Nachi’s deep palm laceration, and phoned a nearby hand surgeon, who drove to the hospital and stitched Nachi back together. We then drove back to Queens, and took Nachi to the drugstore to fill a prescription for antibiotics and painkillers.

Nachi’s bandanged hand

I hope to return to the northern part of Norvin Green State Forest someday soon, and complete the hike.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New Jersey, Norvin Green, Passaic County | Leave a comment

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