Recent Posts

  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 3 weeks ago
    Lines down are telephone lines
    I have contacted John Mack, the West Hudson South Trails Chair, who advises me that both power lines and telephone lines are carried on the poles near the junction of the White Bar and Victory Trails. At one point, both power lines and phone lines were hanging low in this area, but the electric utility has repaired their lines. The wires hanging low or lying on the ground in this area are telephone wires, which are low voltage and not dangerous (unless power lines are also down and touching them--and this is apparently not the case).  The telephone company has also been contacted, but they refuse to repair their lines as long as they remain functional.  The Park is trying to deal with the matter, and it is possible that the phone lines will be rerouted at some point in time.  So, the bottom line is that the low-hanging lines do not pose any danger to hikers in the area.
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 3 weeks ago
    Power Lines Down - White Bar / Victory Trail
    My wife and I encountered a worrisome segment of downed power lines yesterday ( 6/7) at the junction of the White Bar and Victory trails in southern Harriman. The lines are touching the ground in some places, though not touching the trail itself. I've reported this to the trail maintainers (I don't know which power company to contact), but hikers through that area, particularly when conditions may be wet, may want to consider avoiding that spot entirely due to the potential for stray voltage.
  • Reply to: Meetup/Ride Share   9 years 1 month ago
    Long Path South of the Catskills
    I posted in here a couple of years ago, and then unfortunately life got in the way so I was unable to see the responses that followed for a long time.  I have been trying to piece together completing the Long Path over the last 5 years or so, and have managed to complete about 220 miles thus far.   It is hard for me to get multiple days off in a row because of my job, so overnights have been a problem and I have been completeing the trail piece by piece on day hikes.  Currently I have most of the southern section of the trail left to hike with one section near Sam's Point .  Specifically I have sections 1-4, 6-7, 9-10, 12, and 14 left.  I am just looking for anybody who might be interested in meeting up and staging cars to complete some of these sections together.  I'm not looking to do big miles even though I am a very experienced hiker, but rather on the order of 9-15 miles in a day.  The way I look at it I have 9 hikes left (I think sections 1-3 can be easily combined into 2 seperate day hikes) and have set the goal of trying to finish by Labor Day.  If anybody would be interested in doing any of these sections, let me know and I will promise to get back to you as soon as possible...  
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 1 month ago
    Good Shape
    For the benefit of others who may be interested in the condition of this shelter, i will answer my own question, since i stayed there last night. The shelter is in overall excellent shape, very clean (although it could use a sweeping out- i looked for a broom, but didn't see one), with an excellent firepit in the front.  Unlike most of the lean-tos in Harriman, this shelter has metal walls and a metal roof. No fireplace inside, but  a small fire ring at the opening, and the main firepit in the front. There is also a lot more room than many of the other shelters.
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 1 month ago
    Blacked out white blazes on the Castle Hike Long Loop?!
    My husband and I have done this long loop many, many times without a problem.  Yesterday we were a short distance into the white blazed Todd Lake start of the trail and lost the blazes.  It turns out that the white blazes had been blacked out with paint!  We thought it was vandalism but can't be sure. Almost all of them were blacked out shortly after the start.  Another hiker had tried to scratch off some of the paint in order to expose some white so people wouldn't get lost.  We thank that hiker.  Still, the blazes were blacked out and we ended up having to walk a distance up Skyline Drive (very dangerous) in order to get back to the beginning and take the Castle Hike Short Loop instead.  What is with the blacked out white blazes on the Castle Hike Long Loop?  Anyone know?
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 1 month ago
    Long Path Shelter near Upper Lake Cohasset
    Anyone know the current condition of the shelter on the LP right near Upper Lake Cohasset? I believe this is, or was a shelter used by the Girl Scouts at times. It used to be marked on the map as a shelter, but is now marked as "unmaintained shelter". Clean? Usable? Thanks for any info!
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 1 month ago
    Cascade Brook AT Greenwood Lake
    Did a section of the AT yesterday above Greenwood Lake, and when I got to the small clearing near what i think is Cascade Brook around noon there was an unattended fire still burning. I put it out and waited until i was sure it was done.  Odd because it was mid day and i didn't see anyone on the trail.  Overall trail looks really good from 17A south.  Anyone know where the side trail goes from there?  Looks like it heads down the mountiain.  It's somewhat marked for at least 1/4 mile but i didn't look any further than that.  Thanks.
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 1 month ago
    Snakes are Out!
    Last time up to Harriman, came upon two snakes.  That was 5/7 and, on 5/3, a person I was with reported seeing a big one.  All three were blacks and all were on different woods roads.  A noteworthy thing about one of the encounters.  I came pretty close before seeing it which made it really upset.  Instead of running off into the brush, like they normally would, it started shaking its tail (like a rattler would), then turned and faced me and wouldn't move.  I had to turn around. Just a heads up to watch where you're stepping.
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 2 months ago
    Cascade of Slid
    Not a trail condition report, but instead a thank you - a big thank you - to the trail maintainer(s) and volunteers who built the bridge spanning the Cascade of Slid. My wife and I happened upon it yesterday while hiking down Stony Brook and up Halfway Mountain. I'd never heard of it before, and it's such an innocuous thing on the map - just a dot and a strange name, Cascade of Slid - but it was barely out of our way, so my wife and I said, What the heck, let's see what it is. We were rewarded for the slight detour with what is the the most captivating scene we've yet encountered in Harriman.   While standing there mid-span on what appeared to be freshly-hammered-in planks, enjoying the cascade of water flowing beneath my feet, it occured to me that a bunch of people had schlepped lot of wood and tools over hill and dale for at least a mile to that spot so that I and others could enjoy the spectacle.   Bravo, builders!  
  • Reply to: Trail Conditions Forum   9 years 2 months ago
    Bridge on Kakiat NO
    As Banjolady reported, the Kakiat bridge remains missing, and crossing without it is essentially impossible (and highly discouraged).  The Trail Conference has not been able to obtain permission from the park to replace this bridge.  The desire is to determine a different location that would reduce the probability of a bridge being again flooded out. To  date, though there has been some searching, no such location has been determined.  At this point there is no time frame for replacement, or assurance that it will be replaced.  Thus, for all intents except for a short in and out hike, the Kakiat Trail from 7-Lakes Drive southeast to the former bridge site is currently useless. 
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