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Going Hiking

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    • Going Hiking

      I'm almost afraid to commit this to writing, or say it out loud, but it looks like Kathy and I will have an opportunity to do an overnighter.
      We plan to start the Monday after Christmas and return the following day.
      Even at this late date we don't have any specific plans but will probably head to northern New Jersey, Harriman State Park, or maybe even the Catskills.
      Since we want to minimize driving time it will probably be Harriman, but we'll see.
      I haven't even checked the weather forecast because we're going regardless.
      Now, as long as life in general co-operates we're gonna have some tome in the woods :)
      Too many times this past year we've had something like this planned and had to cancel at the last minute.
      I sure hope we brake that pattern on Monday.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      WE got home from our overnighter a bit ago.
      I'll post a trip report when I have more time. By then the saga with the New York State Police should be concluded and I can give you all the details. Until then you'll find me on the group W bench.
      Father stabbers. Father rapers!
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard

    • It turns out that some "concerned citizen" saw our car parked at the parking lot late on Monday and thought that we might need rescuing in the park because of the bad weather. They called the state police who then did what they could to check up on us by making phone calls to our home, cell phones, and even phoned up our son at 4:30 in the morning. My son assured them that we often spend a few days in the park with our cell phones turned off. When we got out of the park, and turned our phones back on, we had messages from 3 different state police barracks. So over the course of the evening we called each back and they confirmed who we were and then gave us the story about the concerned citizen and that they were just doing their best to follow up and make sure that we were safe.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      It turns out that some "concerned citizen" saw our car parked at the parking lot late on Monday and thought that we might need rescuing in the park because of the bad weather. They called the state police who then did what they could to check up on us by making phone calls to our home, cell phones, and even phoned up our son at 4:30 in the morning. My son assured them that we often spend a few days in the park with our cell phones turned off. When we got out of the park, and turned our phones back on, we had messages from 3 different state police barracks. So over the course of the evening we called each back and they confirmed who we were and then gave us the story about the concerned citizen and that they were just doing their best to follow up and make sure that we were safe.
      wow, I didn't think you were gonna say that...just figured you broke down or sumthin'

    • Oh and we did do some hiking on this trip too.
      Starting from the Tuxedo trailhead we followed the Ramapo-Dunderberg trail north to the Tom Jones shelter.
      About 1/2 way there we noticed that a wide area had been burned over. The next day we found out that it happened 2-3 months ago from natural causes.
      Along the way I slipped and fell on some ice and went down very hard on my right knee and leg. Knowing how much my wife was looking forward to this trip I didn't mention the pain and we continued on. At the shelter, on top of the mountain, it was white out conditions from fog and rain. We sat down, had lunch, and discussed if we should continue with our plan to finish the day at a different shelter. We decided to stay put as the weather was getting worse and so was the pain in my leg. It was still afternoon at this point so the only right thing to do was take a couple of vitamin I and take a nap. We layed out our pads and bags in the shelter and slept away the afternoon, waking up around 6PM. As I opened my eyes I noticed that there were Christmas lights strung along a beam in the shelter so I got up and turned them on. I was surprised to find that the batteries still worked. There was 1 string of white led lights and another of assorted colors. It gave a nice glow to the place. We cooked up dinner and sat around talking before getting ready for bed. Kathy went out of the shelter to answer the call of nature and couldn't find her way back because of the limited visibility, so we started calling out to each other and she followed the sound of my voice back. After that we changed in to our sleep clothes and climbed into our sleeping bags for the night. My new winter bag was way too warm for the conditions so I only had it zipped part way up and also had my head out of it. In the morning, after a leisurely, hot breakfast we packed up. Everything was soaking wet from being in the heavy fog but we didn't wait for stuff to dry out before packing up. Then we followed a different trail back to the trail head and totally enjoyed the day as it cleared into a sunny day with a high of 60 degrees. The next stop was at the orange roof dinner for a late lunch and then we drove over to Campmor so Kathy could return some socks that she's been waiting to do. We wandered through the whole place and enjoyed looking at the outdoor gear. We then climbed back into the car and made our way home in slow, heavy, holiday traffic. And in various times and places we made the calls to the state police that I mentioned above.

    • We stop at Campmor most times after hiking in Harriman State Park as it's not too far out of the way.
      Unless it's a Sunday because Campmor is closed Sundays.
      The nice part is that we rarely spend any significant money there anymore.
      My wife always checks out the sale rack of women's clothing and occasionally will find something.
      Usually it's just stuff like shoe laces, seam sealer, water filter element, or various specialized washing products for things like down or DWR rain gear.
      It's nice that whatever we do buy we get a 10% discount because we're members of the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Darn y'all with all these nice pictures. I got three months before I can do any overnighters. :)
      Then drop what you're doing and come to Harriman for the MLK weekend hike next week!
      If it was closer I might
      Same here. 1200 miles a bit too far for a weekend hike, even a 3 day weekend.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Darn y'all with all these nice pictures. I got three months before I can do any overnighters. :)
      Then drop what you're doing and come to Harriman for the MLK weekend hike next week!
      If it was closer I might
      There's a MLK hike going on in Maryland too, run by Teacher.
      She's an alumni of the Harriman Hike so it'll count as coming to NY
      Check the TOS for details.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Darn y'all with all these nice pictures. I got three months before I can do any overnighters. :)
      Then drop what you're doing and come to Harriman for the MLK weekend hike next week!
      If it was closer I might
      There's a MLK hike going on in Maryland too, run by Teacher.She's an alumni of the Harriman Hike so it'll count as coming to NY
      Check the TOS for details.
      Thanks, but still 950 miles one way for me.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General