Congratulations to everyone who completed the Harriman Hike! That was a full day of hard work, fresh air, and trail navigation. Our stats varied depending upon tracker, but we clocked somewhere between 10.2 - 11.2 miles, enjoyed an elevation gain between 2,100 and 2,600 feet, and get this ... took 27,500 steps, at least according to Stacey's tracker. Regardless, this hike squarely ranks first in length, total ascent, and duration - the sun was just setting behind the mountain as the last group was crossing the field to the Elk Pen parking lot.
Highlights were extensive, here are just a few
Everyone made it back! A few got a little lost and at one point Lou headed down the wrong trail, but for such an extensive trail system we did very well. Special thanks to Sheila for her keen eyes and Barbara for her cartography skills.
Everyone completed the rock scramble, awesome job! Not sure if it was peer pressure or willpower, but many hikers take the side route so we'll pat ourselves on our backs.
Lichen Trail for the win. We were originally planning on skipping this section as no one in the group had tried before, but a few hiking websites mentioned how great it was and it did not disappoint.
Group tea-pot stretches at Bowling Rocks
Finally, the last section of trail along the river was quite lovely, hopefully folks weren't too tired to enjoy it.
Some pictures below (click to enlarge), but be sure to look here at the full album, some really great photos. This one and all albums are also permanently linked to the right. As usual, please share any pictures and will add them.
The reward for first up the initial incline was a break atop this rock
Island Pond, definitely a place to come back to in peak foliage next year
Unfortunately a dark photo, but look closely and you will see our group trekking up the hill.
The stony faced fellowship heading into the Mines of Moria - courtesy of Stacey
The "lemon squeezer" - courtesy of Lee
The rock scramble after the lemon squeeze
Crossing a stream on the Long Path
A stream crossing on Long Path - courtesy of Stacey
Jeff either contemplating the meaning of life or thinking on chicken pot pies
Lunchin' on Lichen - courtesy of Stacey
The Fire Anchor - courtesy of Stacey
"Bowling Rocks" courtesy of Stacey
Bob attempting the tea-pot
Lee exploring the abandoned iron-ore "Boston Mine"
One of several cascades along the route (courtesy of Stacey)
Thank you to all who joined us! Our first ever meet-up was a success and we working on a follow up. The weather was almost perfect - it worked for the climb (1250 ft) but was a tad uncomfortable with the wind at the summit. The trail was in moderate condition as there was plenty of water and mud to work our way around, especially in the second half on the blue trail. We lucked out a bit too - Dunnfield Creek was flowing swiftly and made for a scenic rest spot. Special thanks to Darlene who realized a large group of our members was at a different parking lot! Rick brought some technology into play, here is a nifty video of our route based upon his GPS software which ties our coordinates against a three dimensional elevation profile of our hike: And here is our gallery. Click any image and it will pop out for larger view, and allow you to scroll through each more easily. Thank You Jeff and Rick for sharing. Our Route via Rick's GP...
We are hiking right above where the Hudson Rover is no longer visible on the map (go to Manhattan, look at the squiggly curve line north of it, where are a few miles north of where the small curve ends). The ground will undoubtedly be wet from all the rains this week, but the shower activity looks to be limited enough to still hike. As Jeff said, I will post something early tomorrow morning if the hike is canceled, but for now it remains a go.
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