This is Harriman

[dirtbag]

I went for another short solo overnight trip thru Harriman State Park in NY on Sunday to Monday. Original plans were to go to PA for 2 nights with the family, but plans fell thru so instead of taking a 5 hour drive, I decided to go 1.5 hours away and head into Harriman State Park for a nice solo trip. After some heavy rains I was stoked for this trip as I knew the water would be plenty and the creeks, brooks and small water falls would be flowing nicely throughout the park. So naturally,  I mapped out my trip to hike along plenty of these creeks throughout the day and I decided to camp along a beautiful lake in hopes of getting a wild sunset with the breaking clouds at dusk. Starting the trip with my total pack weight of 7.8 lbs (minus food and water), I was excited to be back outside and I was definitely stoked for some “ME” time and doing it solo. I carried my gear in my beloved Gossamer Gear Kumo pack and while my video is not a gear review of any kind, I did take a few minutes to talk about what i did pack with me on this trip. I also gave a lot of love to my Gatewood Cape and Serenity innernet.. if you watch the video and want to see why, you can skip straight to approximately minutes 14:50 and see it pitched with an absolute gorgeous sunset in the following minutes. I was smart and happy to bring the innernet with me for this trip as the bugs were nasty for an hour or so at camp..and even after hiking 11 miles, I had plenty “ME” time to relax and take it all in.  Overnight became VERY VERY windy, and the Cape handled it without any concerns at all.  Anyway.. hope you enjoy the video.. take your time and enjoy the 43 minutes and get a sample of Harriman at its finest through my perspective, or by all means, skip through to which ever parts of the video may be of interest to you… https://youtu.be/yE-JucNigJw

[dirtbag]

Some pictures from the trip..

1. 

[Kevin Babione]

Thanks for posting another video – I finally made time last night to watch it.  I fully appreciated some of the expletives as you were climbing up those rocks.  It’s amazing that all of that is, as shown in the last photo above, within view of the New York City skyline.  I was thinking about you, Bob, and Harriman a couple of weeks ago as we were heading south on the Thruway and stopped for lunch at Shake Shack in Woodbury Commons.

Keep the videos coming please – I enjoy watching them when I’m not able to get out on my own.

[dirtbag]

Thanks Kevin. Yes, so close to NYC so for myself,  it is a nice spot to hit up for a night or 2 and not have to travel so far. The parking lots do fill up quickly and early.. especially on weekends, so going on a Sunday- Monday as I did in that video gave me some alone time.. though when i got back to my car.. the lot was full.. and the street was lined with cars!!!

Yes I will keep posting when I can. I enjoy going back and watching my trips.. especially when I am stuck in the city at work and dreaming about getting out there!!! 

[David Gardner]

Sweet! And so close. All that water too. And campfires…I vaguely remember those.
We here in mega-drought territory are envious.
Love the “city rig” for your hammock!

[JCH]

I miss Bob Moulder.

[Kevin Babione]

Yeah – I miss Bob here too.  He was full of innovations and, being retired, had time to work on his ideas.  He just had enough of people arguing with him about the material, length, and width of the strip on his infamous Moulder Strip.  What he did was light and worked perfectly for him in some very cold conditions.  He didn’t want to spend any more time on the strip…He had moved on to other things.

One of my favorite innovations of his was his “block & tackle” bear bag hanging system (and NOT just because when he brought it I didn’t have to hang my own food).  It was a wonderfully clever setup that used low-friction sailing rings as the pulleys and there was almost no limit to the amount of weight he could easily hoist.  The downside was that it required a lot more line.  He clipped his food bag on and then we all clipped ours around the line above his.  I wish I had a picture of it – I think the last time he used it with me was in Dolly Sods – all five food bags went up on one hang!

[JCH]

Sorry in advance about the thread drift, but Harriman is one of Bob’s spots.  He always spoke of it lovingly.

The great thing about Bob is he is super inventive and open to sharing and discussing. He and I had some really good conversations revolving around developing alternate Duplex door closures, MYOG CF trekking/tent poles and how to make a “real” chair that only weighed a few oz. just to name a few.

I had never heard about his bear bagging system but given your description and what he posted here on his Duplex door closure I can almost see it :)  I bet it was a thing of beauty.

After 15+ years of me participating on BPL, he is actually just one of many participants who “have been run off” by a (thankfully) few who seem to want to argue more than they they want to learn.  It’s a shame he felt the best thing was to retreat, but I totally got it and he did the right thing for him.

Interestingly, those interested in arguing/disparaging generally don’t seem to hang around long.

[dirtbag]

Ohhh Bob!! Yes he is a good guy and I am glad to say I keep in touch with him.  Just so you all know.. He is doing well and going strong!!!!

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