Harriman State Park overnighter

[Steven Hanlon]

This past weekend I did a trip to Dolly Sods in West Virginia. As much as I love Dolly Sods, the 5+ hour trip has kept me from getting out there. When I was in the Baltimore area it took 3.5 hours and was just on the edge of too far. Now it really is limited to once, maybe twice a year.

Since moving to Philadelphia, I have managed a few trips on the AT in central PA, in the Pine Grove/Caledonia areas. I have been looking for other trip ideas that don't involve a linear out and back. It's about a 2.5 hour drive out to that part of PA so I've started looking at other possibilities within that same range…

Harriman SP is under 2.5 hours drive and has tons of trails, it looks like there is plenty of room to explore – not as remote or rugged as Dolly Sods, but it looks to be much larger, ripe for exploration and doesn't suffer from the out and back syndrome that is the AT in PA.

I ordered the map set and should get it later this week. I found an 18 mile overnight on Backpacker.com and it looks like a good loop.

http://www.backpacker.com/2007/ripngopdfs/may2011/ripngo-long-path-loop.pdf

Anything I need to know, things I really should see, places I should avoid? I'm looking to do my first overnighter in two weeks.

[Bob Moulder]

Steven,

When you get the map set you will see that there are VERY many possibilities for linking together trails to make loops of different distances and elevation gains.

I followed the trail route in the link you provided and I think it will give you a good taste of the variety in Harriman SP. Water is sometimes a problem in the middle of summer, but that route will take you past reliable water sources.

The only thing I would have a problem with is the suggestion of camping at or in the vicinity of the Brien Shelter. Nothing to do with the shelter, but just my strong personal bias against staying at shelters in general, preferring instead a nice, quiet stealth camp. Following the yellow trail past the shelter, the topo suggests to me that there would be some good places to camp near the junction with Red Cross trail, and water nearby as well.

[Bob Moulder]

The Pizza Pit in Sloatsburg, NY

[Steven Hanlon]

Thanks for the info Bob. I have been looking at the "overview map" and there are plenty of possibilities for some good weekend adventures. the place seems large enough for a 4-5 day circumnavigation!

[Bob Moulder]

Steve, that thought (circumnavigation) has crossed my mind, but I have mainly been doing some east-west/north-south loops. I have hiked large sections of most trails and short bits of others. The elevation changes are typically only a few hundred feet – none of the lung-busting, multi-thousand foot climbs at altitudes encountered out West. But the trails can be pretty rocky/gnarly/rooty/muddy in many places and offer their own challenges. It is a fun place to hike.

Harriman is quite a handy playground for me, with trail heads ranging from 25 to 45 minutes from where I live. I am doing an overnighter there Mon-Tues and am thinking seriously about doing that Backpacker mag loop you linked. The long section of the Menomine trail (yellow) is one that I am not too familiar with, having done only a couple of pieces of it… although I have also not done many of the trails around Bear Mountain because they can get quite congested with day hikers this time of year, even during mid-week.

[Steven Hanlon]

Still waiting on the maps, maybe in today's postal delivery… From what I have managed to find on-line, it looks like the western portions of the trails (west of the parkway) are much less traveled. Hopefully there won't be crowds or big groups camping. *fingers crossed*

I wish I had something like this 30 minutes away. I'm in the northwest corner of Philadelphia and anything backpacking seems to be 2+ hours drive away. I am lucky that I can be in an 1,800 acres park with great hiking on 50+ miles of trails in under 5 minutes walk from my apartment. I need to get out there more often :)

[Steven Hanlon]

blue is 1st day, green is second.

bigger image

[Bob Moulder]

Steven, that is also how I drew the route based on the written description.

I have a pdf of that section of the NY/NJ Trail Conference map if you would like me to email it to you. If so, please PM with email address.

I tried to post here, but no go. BPL doesn't like the size or the format or whatever…

With a UL pack, this is fairly easy to do in 2 days – quite relaxing.

[Bob Moulder]

My wife's schedule changed so I did the hike yesterday and today, finishing this morning around 10:20am.

It is a nice hike with most of the rocky-roller stuff on the first half, which includes the nice views early on the bald-rocks areas on the Ramapo-Dunderberg. I made a little detour, skipping the Lichen shortcut and going instead to Times Square, which is an interesting place to visit. Sure enough, there was a nice group of people there out for a day hike and we chatted for a while.

Onto the Long Path, but I skipped the Lemon Squeezer because I have visited it 3 times before. However, worth the side trip if you haven't been there before.

I really enjoy the Long Path and have done it several times before (the Harriman section, not the whole thing, but that's another secret plan). Nice ups and downs through some extremely pleasant grassy forested areas.

The yellow Menomine (pronounced meh-NOM-ih-Nee, I was told by a gentleman I crossed paths with), is a fairly easy trail with a very rocky short climb as it approaches the Brien Memorial Shelter. The NYNJTC map indicates a reliable water supply near the shelter, but don't rely on it! While it looks like an Artesian well that might at some times be a good place to get water, now is not the time. When I checked it out, it was a nearly-dried-up puddle of prime mosquito hatching nursery.

I stealth camped near the Red Cross trail not long after making the right turn off the Menomine trail. This first part of the hike took 6 hours and I wasn't rushing at all, so I'm thinking the Backpacker mag article was geared toward trad hikers with a slower pace.

Next day, the Red Cross trail that takes you to past Tiorati Brook (and the Road of the same name) and then down to Lake Askoti (via the unmarked woods road) are all old fire roads or ATV roads. However, it is very grown over with bushes in some areas, and I got thoroughly soaked from walking through them.

The short section of the Long Path to the Dunning path (yellow) takes you quickly to Bowling Rocks, an interesting area of bald rock with a bunch of smaller rocks deposited there by retreating glaciers some 10,000 years ago. Soon after that, a left trun on the red Ramapo-Dunderberg takes you back to the trail head.

The walk from camp back to the trail head on Rt 106 took a little under 4 hours, again not rushing at all.

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[Steven Hanlon]

excellent! this is exactly what i'm looking for.

[Bob Moulder]

Super!

Do try to make it to Times Square; it's worth it just for the talking point!

[Ethan A.]

Bob thanks for posting those photos! All that green lushness, water and the salamander make me miss NY, Harriman and New England forests.

Which species of salamander is that? Beautiful. It's not the Red Eft I'd so commonly come across – they have a different pattern.

Steven have a great trip!

[Bob Moulder]

The regular rains this year have made it quite lush!

I googled a bit but couldn't find a salamander that looks like this one. I don't know the growth stage – it was small, about 5 inches long nose-to-tail-tip.

Also saw 2 piles of bear scat at different locations. The blueberries are still almost all green, but already the black bears are noshing on them.

It's a good idea to make some noise when winding through the dense areas of rhododendron, blueberry and laurel. No black bear sightings this time, however 1 sighting on a previous trip and 2 sightings on another.

EDIT: scroll down about 1/3 page to "lungless salamander": http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/01/14/ifs-clade/

[Steven Hanlon]

if the berries were ripe, me and a bear would have a fight ;)

i'm going to do a modified version of the backpacker.com trip. instead of taking the Lichen trail, i'll continue on the Ramapo Dunderberg trail to Times Square than then head west on the Long Path to the Lemon Squeezer. instead of doubling back to get on the Long Path, i'll follow the AT up and over the ridge and rejoin the LP on the other side.

instead of using the unnamed trail around Lake Askooti, i'll stay on the Red Cross trail and go over the ridge for the two vistas (hope it's a clear day). then i'll drop down and take the LP and rejoin the route back to my car.

is it Saturday morning yet?

[Bob Moulder]

You really can't go wrong… all options offer quality hiking.

[peter tooke]

Bob & Steve-

I came across this post while planning for an overnight loop & see that one of you did this one and the other was planning to…
Question about water – are there any water sources on the first day (blue leg) before you get to lake just before the campsite?
And on the return leg (green) before you get to the lake?
I hope to do this in about week & half, so it will be July conditions, just a year later… hot no doubt, like today so probably means carrying a lot of water at least for the day legs.

Anyway, I've done a fair bit of day hiking around there & some winter overnights, the distance from Staten island is about as good as it gets.

Thanks ahead of time!

[Bob Moulder]

Hi, Peter,

There's definitely more water this year than last year, and I'm fairly sure that some of the streams marked on the map will have at least minimal flow… enough to top off water containers. If I were certain water was abundant I'd carry only my 20oz Gatorade bottle (+ 2 1l Platypi that I fill right before camp), but since it is somewhat questionable I would carry a 32oz Gatorade plus the 2 1l platys.

But in any event you're not going to end up in dire circumstances — all those lakes are quite reliable.

As mentioned in my post above, the water source marked on the map at Brien Memorial shelter is totally unreliable. I was just there about 3 weeks ago after significant rain and the "artesian well" was nothing more than a mosquito-infested toilet. However, water is easily obtained from Silvermine Lake and also very likely from Beckey Swamp Brook before ascending the rocky ramp up to the Brien shelter.

[peter tooke]

Thanks Bob –
perfect information. I look forward to a good stretch of the legs, I owe you a beer –

cheers

[Bob Moulder]

Have a great hike, Peter!

[Steven Hanlon]

i'm heading out next weekend to do some Harriman trails. how's the water Bob?

[Peter Rodrigues]

I've been hiking in the park the last two weekends. There's definitely water in some of the big creeks. I've been hiking in the Reeves Meadow area.

[Bob Moulder]

I just got back from one of my many quick overnighters (not far from the Reeves Meadow area) and while the park can be pretty dry away from those larger streams, it is not as dry as it was late last year. Stony Brook still has very decent flow and Pine Meadow Brook is reliable. Most streams on the outer boundaries of the park have some water in them, but as you go farther and higher into the park it can be pretty dry. However, all lakes and ponds have plenty of water.

[dirtbag]

I did a solo overnighter about 3 weeks ago and had NO water. I started at Silvermine picnic area and hiked to the timp where I camped for the night. My route had me passing about 7 or 8 streams and to my dismay..they were all DRY. Talk about rationing my water that I had in my smartwater bottle, lol. I didn't eat any of my food, except the strawberries I packed because I didn't want to get more thirsty. But hey..I lived and I made it out alive. All my years going to Harriman, this was the first time I actually ever could not get water. There are plenty of lakes and ponds throughout Harriman though, so if you plan your route to pass some, you will be fine. One of my favorite trails with some nice climbs and PLENTY of beautiful views is the 7 Hills trail..I usually catch that from Reeves Meadow visitor center off of 7 lakes drive..Hike it up and over Chipmunk mountain and also Diamond mountain..trust me, you will love it..and then you can pass Pine Meadow lake..water, camping, swimming, jump off the rocks into the lake.. harriman is great and I like that no hunting is allowed ever in there..its kind of like a safe haven for wild life and every time I go I get to catch a glimpse of something. What ever hike you choose you will enjoy and there is plenty of trails and loops that you can do. ENJOY.

[Bob Moulder]

Friday and Saturday I did a loop in Harriman that I had been thinking about for some time, and Joe A's photo of his bivy at Timp inspired me to go ahead and just do it. The hike included a segment of the Ramapo-Dunderberg I had never done, which goes from a short distance east of the Palisades Parkway to The Timp, and then from The Timp to West Mountain Shelter. I have done West Mountain Ridge a couple of times before, but that part is always worth doing again, just for the views. This would be an excellent loop (NO road walk, yaay!) for nearby city dwellers because one could drive up on a Saturday morning, get in a good day's hike, camp at Timp, hike over West Mountain Ridge for some great views and be back at the parking area around noon to 1pm, and drive back into the city before the usual Sunday afternoon crush… I lived in Manhattan for 15 years and so fully appreciate this! HERE is a link to my Caltopo map, which includes the actual GPS track for the loop. I took the GPS because I thought it might be a hike worth recommending. Below is a jpeg of the map. The hike starts at the Turkey Hill Scenic Area parking and procceds south on the Long Path (Turquoise), then east on the Menomine Trail (Yellow) past Silvermine Lake to the Brien Memorial Shelter, where it intersects the AT. Follow the AT (White) over Black Mountain and then down across the Palisades Parkway (now in Bear Mountain State Park), shortly after which the trail splits off to the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail (Red Dot). Shortly after the split is a one of the most reliable water sources, which is Beechy Bottom Brook. (As of this hike, it was the ONLY water source available other than Silvermine Lake and some very nasty swamp water.) The R-D trail very briefly mingles with the MTB trails near Anthony Wayne Recreation Area before ascending some very steep, scrambly sections up the unnamed mountain to Cat's Elbow where some great views are to be had. A long descent leads to the intersection of the Timp-Torne Trail (Blue) and a moderate climb up to The Timp. Plenty of camping areas at Timp. Next morning continue north on Timp-Torne, which drops sharply down to Timp Pass and then climbs up moderately to West Mountain Shelter. The West Mountain ridge undulates easily up and down for about a mile and a half, offering many great views of the Hudson River Valley north and south. Descending the Timp-Torne brings you to the merging "1777" Trail and a somewhat tricky crossing of the Palisades Parkway via the Seven Lakes Drive overpass, where the trail markings are a little fuzzy, and then past a law enforcement facility and pistol range. The trail then intersects with the "1779" Trial (Red Dot), where a left turn takes you past Queensboro Lake and Turkey Hill Lake, up a moderate climb to the intersection with the Long Path, where a left turn leads to a short walk back to the Parking Area. The view from near Cat's Elbow A cool valley between The Timp and West Mountain Bear Mountain Bridge in the distance, north of West Mountain Shelter Bear Mountain from West Mountain ridge

[Peter Rodrigues]

That's a nice loop Bob. Since you are in the park a lot, I thought this might be of interest. It's derived from the White Mountain red-line idea (hike every trail in the park) and is the way I am tracking my hiking in Harriman. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SvCiAW-dYodYPx77sXfA3zRyAhA1qPJbO3V8dXcUt3Y/edit#gid=0

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