Harriman State Park Hike Trip report

“opps sorry here is my trip report”

“There are two sides to this story. What I mean is there were several of this group who are still up there on a frosty, blustery overnight and then there are the few of us that made a day (and part evening) hike out of it. We left later that we expected in the morning, but when things finally got together, we were 'Bald Rocks' bound through the snowy trails of Harriman State Park. The trails had relatively low and packed snow on the first few trails, which made the footing tolerable. Artex, Pennsy Hiker and Sir Pete were off and running and way ahead before long. Amy G And Dare, Mr. And Mrs. Adventurous brought in some firewood from the other end of the trail by sled and met with us at the shelter. Corporal Nasty, Mapleleaf, Treebeard, Twinkle Toes And our newbie Brent (whom we will tentatively dub Moondancer) kept a more toned down pace behind the others. Yours truly has been suffering from a painful heel problem for the past 9 months, which has kept me from hiking in general. This was a 'testing of the waters' for me. After a lot of climbing, we finally got to the first real attraction that we stopped at. Artex and Co. were waiting at the 'Lemon Squeezer.' It is a narrow passage between some beautiful, icicle adorned rock formations. I finally got to sample the infamous 'Artex Jerky.' Good #&%!$! We saw time waning and headed to the shelter so Moondancer, Mapleleaf and Treebeard could get out before dark. Pennsy, Pete and Artex were soon nowhere to be seen and we attempted to follow, but missed a crucial turn, which led us onto a really rough trail. However, the incredible beauty from the top (see pix) made it an easier situation to deal with. The rough terrain was giving me long lots of pain in the heel, as it added several miles to the hike. We made it to the shelter before dark, but had to hike out (after a short rest and bite to eat) in the dark. We gave Brent his trail name Moondancer on this run as he led us brilliantly out by the light of the moon and reflections off the snow. That added a nice touch to what was a great, but grueling and cold day. I am hoping the others will post here tomorrow and give us their pictures and perspective of the day from their side.
FYI - Maple, unfortunately, didn't stay for the overnight as she had planned. A combination of asthma problems with the cold and some some understandable apprehension about the weather conditions led to her decision.”

“Great trip report! I'll post my report and pics later this afternoon/evening. It was a great time!!! :-)”

“The critter that made the track in the one pic was a wild turkey and it looks like there are a couple of racoon tracks next to it.
Streamweaver”

“So you didn't use any of that cold weather gear that you acquired? Or did you not get the tent yet? I picked out the neoprene socks that I want to get. But I haven't picked out the snowshoes. We had another basketball game but we lost. I think that the novelty is wearing off so that I can go away on weekends again.”

“Great trip report! We just got back and now the joy of putting everything away. Too bad Mrs. Adventurist won't let me keep all the gear in the living room. We had a great time!!! Enjoyed the company of everyone.”

“We had a great time! It was nice to meet several new TTers and reunite with friends.

Mapleleaf et al, Glad to hear you guys got out OK. It was nice to meet you. It was a cold night to be out, but we kept it cozy with some special beverages. Sorry you missed a great party!
>:D

We'll have pictures posted later...
yeeehaw”

“Link to pics below!

This trip was a blast, and the coldest night I have ever spent out in the woods so far (10 degrees)!

Anyhoo, I arrived at the trailhead and the other's soon followed. We had a good group, consisting of AmyG, Dare, Adventurist, Mrs. Adventurist, Pennsy Hiker, SirPete, Corporal Nasty, Twinkle Toes, Mapleleaf, Treebeard, and a friend of the tree people, who's name I forget (sorry!) After shuttling some of the vehicles we were off. AmyG, Dare, Advenutrist and Miss Adventurist had gear sleds loades with firewood and opted to hike in at a different point along the trail to the lean-to, so it'd be a little bit quicker. The rest of us shoved off from the Elk Pen trailhead. Pennsy Hiker, Sir Pete, and I seperated from the rest of the group and traversed a long, steady climb for about the first half mile of trail. Pretty gentle after that. There was a good foot or two of snow on the ground, deeper at drifts, but the trails were well broken in for the most part and snowshoes weren't necessary.

We reached the Lemon Squeeze, a section of the trail that requires you to go through a little cave, squeeze through a crevace, and make it up two pretty challenging scrambles. We had fun here and took some cool pics, and then I realized that traversing the Lemon Squeeze was a wrong turn, and we turned back around, only to see that the others had caught up with us. We took them through the Lemon Squeeze, because, well, it's like fun and stuff. Afterwards, we were off.

After a while, Pennsy Hiker, SirPete and I pulled ahead again and reached a really cool section of forest that had experienced a fire a few years ago. It's neat to witness the wilderness in transistion, and because of the winter robbing what trees still stood of their leaves, the views were tremendous. The wind was also tremendous, as it was kicking up good that afternoon and there was little in the way to stop it. The trail during this section was also unbroken, and we fought the three foot deep snowdrifts and trudged on. I felt like I was hiking in the Alaskan tundra!

We then ran into Adventurist, Mrs. Adventurist, AmyG and Dare who had hiked up a ways to meet us. It was great to see them, and they told us we were almost at the lean-to. It should be noted that we kept contact with AmyG via Pennsy Hiker's walkie-talkies through a good part of the trip, or at least attempted to. AmyG's voice sounded like a McDonald's drive-thru attendant and we gave up trying to translate her "words" after several futile attempts. :-P

We set up camp, and Pennsy Hiker and I set back on the trail to catch up with the others, who hadn't reached the lean-to yet. We soon caught up with them, and I snapped some great pictures of the sun setting along the way.

As they had mentioned, Mapleleaf, Treebeard, and their friend hiked out that evening. Treebeard, hope your foot's feeling okay. You're a very cool dude, I was very glad to have met you face to face! They were all missed that evening.

That night, we ate our meals, and drank our dranks.. and drank some more. We were indeed quite the merry folk that evening! It was a great time, and I really enjoyed everyone's company. SirPete cracks me up, he's got a great sense of humor!

The lowest observed temperature that night was 10 degrees, but I slept warm. A nalgene filled with hot water really warms the bag up nice! It's really a great feeling knowing that you can be comfortable in pretty extreme conditions like that.

That morning, we enjoyed cloudless skies and had a short but sweet hike back to the cars. It was definitely a really fun trip!!!

And so, I drove back home and made it back in time for the start of the Bucs/Niners game. It was great to see my Bucs demolish the Niners!!!! Eagles are next!

Okay sorry, had to get that in. Also, I just woke up from a long nap, so I apologize for any spelling/gramatical errors. :-P

Artex's Pics!!!!!!!! Check'em out. I have some really great scenic pics here that came out very nicely! Will make for some nice wallpaper, perhaps? :-)”

“I had just as much fun going home. You would think it should be easy...........

for those of you that know the area this is probably funny, for the rest of ya's, oh well.

I left the diner and got onto 287s, pop in the Beatles cd and wa la. The head starts a boppin' hands a tappin' and before I realized it I was going over the Tappen Zee bridge. Now at the time it seemed like the right thing to do, I wasn't for another song or 2 before it dawned on me, hummmmmmm I said to myself. But I kept going, More good song, the warm sun in the windshield and just having a good ole time. I the saw a sign for 287E, I said to myself, but I want 287S, so I kept going. A couple of songs later a a bit further down the road I see a exit for Yonkers raceway,
once again.....Hummmmmmm?????

So then it started to thhink in Duhhh I think I might have gone the wrong way. so now I'm starting to wonder what to do, so I turn the music down and start to pay a little more attention. Now I'm headed into the city.....Hummmmmm. Then there it was....the GWB and 80W. What next you ask????? Up goes the music, the hands start a tappin', the head starts a boppin' and DWG here I come. oddly enough as far out of my way as I went I was still home in an hour and a half, not much more than it should have taken.

For those of you that ask, hey why not look at a map, well I broke out the ole Randy McNally but, huh, the pages for NY and NJ were missing. hehehe.”

“LOL @ Sirpete! Dude, that's hilarious!”

“Great Trail Reports!!! Great Pics!

Hey Artex...What camera is yours?

The images are great!”

“OMG I can't stop laughing.


Actually I've done stuff like that too.”

“It's a Fuji FinePix 2600. SirPete has the exact same camera.”

“Cool! I like Fuji too!

Mrs. Adventurist just was saying how great the pictures are and that we NEED a digital camera too!!!”

“Lov'in that camera and it's only $200 at Walmart now.”

“Cool, glad you guys liked the pics! $200 at Walmart is a great deal, that's how much I paid for mine. Great camera, I really love mine also.”

“Sweet Trip Report..... Sweeeeeeeeeet Pics. Glad y'all had fun. I can't wait to get out east soon!

The Pennsy-SirPete Ranger Strip Search Photo - PRICELESS”

“Wow, Artex, those pictures are gorgeous. I have the same camera as you now, but my pictures don't come out that great.”

“I'm not too sure about that yellow nalgene bottle outside your tent dude!”

“Got Pee?”

“If Artex had pee he sure had a lot of it! See his photo #17 and the bottle outside his tent.”

“LOL! No, no, no. The bottle got discolored from using iodine tablets.

However, a bottle of pee to pour over Pennsy Hiker's tent would be a great trick. j/k!”

“We met up at the Elk Pen trailhead, where an AMC(?) group was heading out for a dayhike. The sun was shining, the skies were clear and finally everyone, including a surprise visitor (SirPete!!) arrived. After a meet and greet, a few of us split off to another trailhead and decided we would meet everyone at the rendezvous point (shelter at Bald Rocks).

The Adventurists, Dare and I hiked in from the South and had awesome views almost the entire way. Of course, this was due to the fact that we were walking an exposed ridge for much of the way, but other than the bitter-cold freeze-yer-face wind, the sun was bright and it was a glorious day. You could see rolling hills for miles. We saw lots of tracks, including bobcat.

When we got to the shelter, there were a few dayhikers who had a nice fire going. By the time we got our tents set up, they were heading out...but they left some great embers burning in the fireplace, so we had a toasty warm "living room."

The shelter was the best I've stayed in, simply for the fact that the fireplace was inside the shelter, with a chimney coming out the top (see pics). This kept the heat in and really made it enjoyable for the party later. :o)

We hiked out to meet up with the group along the Lichen (?) trail. There were quite a few dayhikers spotted earlier, but this trail was practically unbroken. Snowshoes could have helped here...but for the rest of the trip they weren't necessary.

We met up with Pennsy, Artex and SirPete and walked back to camp with them. Later, Pennsy and Artex hiked back out to bring in the last of the group...by then, the trail was nicely packed for their convenience. :)

It was great to hang out and eat, drink and exchange merriment. We had a great group of people and quite an assortment of goodies too! hic

The next morning was a short, scenic walk out...mostly downhill. Smooth sailing back to the car and then on to second breakfast at the local diner. The food was hot and I never saw so many plates cleaned so fast! Our waitress was quite the peach...

Thanks guys. We had lots of fun!
goood times!

AmyG's shots”

“Hey Folks, sorry I bailed at the last minute after joining at the last minute. This damn shoulder flared up again Sat. morning, though I was regretting the choice by late afternoon.

If anyones interested, pending a massage therapist appointment this Wed. I'm toying with heading to the Catskills this weekend for a base camp & trailess peak hike. email if you're interested.”

“Good trip reports. Glad you all had fun. I gave up hiking in 10-degree weather. Never did find a comfort zone. But it's good to read the reports of those who can and do enjoy it.”

“Hey...nice pics and good trip reports....but after hearing about how cold it was there...i'm glad I was on the couch watching the Eagles....now I can't wait to watch them doink the Bucs!”

“No way, Jose! Eagles are going dooooooooown! :-)”

“Great trip report! Sounds like you guys had a blast as usual!

Artex when you move to Maine, you'll have all the cold you want - this past weekend the nights were -10 to -20.”

“Wow, sweet! :-)”

“Artex! Great pix. The sky shots were freakin' awesome!!! Just looking at them gave me a shiver up my spine (knowing that I was up there and experienced that view myself). Glad to have met all of you folks. Sounds like we missed a fine party that night though. Glad everyone's safe and sound”

“AmyG, just saw your pix. great shots, also. Sorry we missed the next morning. It looked beautiful. Great meeting you, though.”

“Nice pics all, glad to hear everyone made it out ok (and finally got home sirpete!)

Artex- sorry about your bucs....oh wait, I have to wait until next week to say that. Remind me, will that be 3 years in a row?”

“LOL, yeah real sweet Artex - I think I froze my eyeballs yesterday!
(stupid me left my goggles in the car - the frozen eyelashes were interesting)”

“Roach, I got two words: We're due! :-)

Twiggie - I want to freeze my eyeballs! That'd be cool! I can't wait to say I've slept in negative degree temperatures.

how low can ya go.. how low can ya go.. ”

“I like icicles on my moustache.
Cool.”

“LOL, roach, I knew there was a reason I liked you! Artex, feel free to do all the "Ooooogah Booogahs" you want for next week's game, conjure up some real good cold stuff. Cold weather doesn't bother the Buckwheats, noooooo, not at all.....

52-12. That's all I have to say.”

“Artex you're a nut, lol!”

“Hey, that cold weather crap about the Bucs was always a bunch of.. well, crap! They kept knocking down the degrees as the Bucs kept winning more games. I've seen it go from 55, to 50, to 45, to 40, and I guess now it's at 34, since we shutout Chicago a few weeks ago on their home turf.

So, yeah, bring on that cold dammit! I look forward to the Bucs knocking down that stat even further when we destroy those lame-arse Eagles this Sunday! Go Bucs!!!! :-)”

“Hey Artex

If you want to camp in below zero temps we can help you on the FYAO III trip.... We will help you set up your tent in the middle of a rozen lake or on top of Treadway Mtn. I'm sure that will help you achieve your goal of freezing you eyeballs.”

“rozen=frozen”

“Cool! But the way this winter has been going, I'd be surprised if we didn't get negative temps for FYAO III!

oonga boonga, cold cold cold! oonga boonga, cold cold cold!”

“STOP THAT!!!!

I hear the wind picking up!!!!”

“Just thought I would add my take.

After meeting up with everyone. A few of us headed out to the other trailhead. At this point, I was strapped into a gear sled for the first leg of our journey. I then had to kick The Adventurists and AmyG out of the sled. We started up the mountain at a pretty good pace. When we reached the crest, I was greeted by some very harsh wind, but the view was amazing.

We finally made it to the basecamp, which was occupied by several dayhikers. This however was a good thing because they left a nice little fire for us. After we finished setting up, we went to look for the others and ran into Pennsy, Pete, and Artex. Shortly after everyone else made it to the camp.

Even though it was very cold, the shelter was great due to the fact the fireplace was inside. We all started cooking dinner and passing around the ummmmmm, refreshments. I think we should have named the place "The TT bar and grill". Good food and company made it a great night.

The next morning, we woke up to a beautiful morning. Inspired by the promise of delivered Hot Chocolate by someone, I started breaking down camp and packing while AmyG made some very unusual Oatmeal. At this point I became concerned because the Hot Chocolate still had not arrived. Not that I was bitter or anything. I went back to the shelter to make sure everything was ok. It was and AmyG stated "I was just getting ready to bring it out". Of course I believed her....not that Im bitter or anything.

Finally packed, and with Hot Chocolate, We started back and saw some great views from the top of Bald Rock. It was extremely windy to the point it pushed some of us around. It was well worth the hike, especially because Twinkle Toes did the most amazing face plant ever. Ill let her tell you about that one. He He.

Overall, it was a great hike. Even though I suffered from Hot Chocolate deprivation, the views and the company made everything perfect. It was awesome finally meeting more TT'ers. I cant wait till the next trip.”

“Internet has been acting up so I'm not sure what all has been written but here's my take on the story...

Several of you know about my first pathetic attempt at Harriman – a solo in the Tom Jones area at the beginning of December during which I had to abort the overnighter due to iced toes, henceforth the trial name, Twinkle Toes – well, I’m happy to say – REVENGE HAS BEEN WROUGHT ON HARRIMAN!!! Booohahaha!!!

This weekend the aforementioned group of TT’ers headed out to the Bald Rocks area for a lovely weekend of BP’ing organized by Mapleleaf. Got a bit of a late start on the trail – dirty rotten potholes and too small packs ;)! Spent some time at the trailhead organizing cars, packing up gear, and goofing around before beginning the trek along a portion of the AT. It was a beautifully sunny Saturday with a good layer of icy snow on the trail. As usual, the Slack-Packers (Myself, Corporal Nasty, Mapleleaf, Treebeard and a friend of the Tree Family) fell back from the uber-hikers (Pennsy, Artex, and SirPete) relatively soon on the trail. But all was well!

Mother nature was is in fine form as we wandered the trails through sections of “old-growth” pine groves and trekked along iced-over lakes, stark marshes, and outcroppings of rock. Got to see many tracks left by deer, wild turkeys, and raccoons. Even saw quite a few spots were deer had made their beds and one spot were a wily squirrel had reclaimed acorns stored before winter’s arrival. I was a bit concerned by the poor appearance of several trees – looked like a nasty fungi or something had wrecked havoc, as they seemed to be rotting in mass quantities (anyone have information on that?).

We meet up with the Uber-Hikers at the Lemon Squeezer – more like the BP’er squeezer! It was quite fun trying to smash my way through the tight passageways - smash being the operative word as I single-handedly managed to take out a section of icicles when my pack and I got stuck! Mr. Fancy Pants, Corporal Nasty, managed to get through the same section with his external frame pack – I believe he called upon the powers of the dark side to levitate himself – without once getting stuck. Fargin’ Bastig!!

The best moment of Saturday was when I finally figured out how to ascend the “Lemon-step” – a great big, iced over, sheer section of rock. Of course the paparazzi was there with their cameras to document the entire ordeal…grrrrr. J After the merriment and general buggery the group headed back on the trail to the shelter. And of course…. we Slack-Packers fell back from the group once again!

Soon after we reached Times Square, the sun began preparing for its nightly bow. The snow took on a fantastic lavender hue and our shadows grew longer as we headed up Ship Rock. The top of the peak was spectacular! It had been cleared by an earlier forest fire and the contrast of blackened tree trunks against the white snow was breathtaking. I felt like I was an intrepid mountaineer scaling a glacier in some far-off land as the wind tried its best to blow me over along the barren peak. There were also moments when it seemed that I had entered a fantasyland – there were tree trunks that had been so scoured by the winds that they looked like driftwood on a surreal snow-covered beach. Wow! The lighting was amazing as the sun dipped behind the distant peaks, a brilliant display of crimson, amber, and gold. Absolutely perfect…

A few moments before reaching the shelter, the Corp’ and I decided to flop down in the snow to wait for the Tree people – wouldn’t ya know it, that’s when Pennsy and Artex appeared. Dang – always getting caught laying in the snow!

Followed them back to the camp with Artex bounding ahead like a puppy on crack!

Quickly made home and headed over to the shelter where a wonderful fire had been made thanks to AmyG, Dare, and the Adverturist’s. Spent a lovely evening around the shelter fire – eating, drinking, and laughing – life is good!

Sunday morning was as gorgeous as Saturday. Ate breakfast, commiserated about the low temperatures the night before, and then headed out in the frikin’ chilly wind. It was a nice, short hike down to the cars. Another shinning moment?? I did a nice butt-slide down a steep section of the trail only to misjudge the speed of the slide and the weight of my pack and ended up flying forward, face-first, right into the snow! As I lay with tangled sunglasses, face in the snow, stuck under the weight of the pack, laughing hysterically – I hear the guys (Mr. Adventurist, Dare, and Corporal Nasty) laughing at my situation and struggling to find a camera! Nice, real nice…

Reached the cars, loaded up, and went to a near-by diner for breakfast – minus Artex who had some lame excuse about a football game. Back to reality with our surely waitress. NO TEA FOR YOU!

It was another wonderful trip. I enjoyed meeting SirPete, AmyG, Dare, and Mr. & Mrs. Adventurist. I also enjoyed seeing the familiar faces again. You are a great bunch of BP’ers and I look forward to future trips! Peace…

PS - I missed ya bunches Maple! Next time you'll do the arse kicking of Harriman!”

“Sweet report Twinkles! You have a way with words, nice writing!

Sincerely,

Your Little Puppy on Crack”

“just finished reading everyone's reports and looking at the pictures....fun times!

great pictures 'crack puppy'!”

“Artex has a new name.”

“I think I'll stick with Artex for now. :-)”