Crazies in the Woods

Crazies in the Woods

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the crazies would've been my usual camping companion Fr. Jim Mulloy, his longtime friend Arthur from Boston, and I.  On a foggy, damp, soupy day with some serious rain in the forecast, we set off for a hike and a nite encampment in Harriman State Park.

Your humble blogger with Arthur Demopoulous

in the parking lot at Tiorati Circle.

We left our tents at Don Bosco Prep, resolved to seek the Fingerboard shelter, and if it should already be occupied to return to our car and try Big Hill instead.  None of us relished the thought of camping in an all-nite rain.

We parked at the lot at Tiorati Circle, encouraged that there were no other cars to be seen.  We hiked up a short connecting trail, then followed the Appalachian Trail south just over a mile to reach the shelter.  There were lots of footprints in the mud, but nary a soul.  One spot, perhaps 100 yards long, as the AT climbed up from the water tanks was very icy, and we were very cautious skirting it.

We reached the shelter around 12:30 after an hour's slow, careful hike, and were happy to find it empty.  We were also happy to discover that a previous occupant had left a nice stack of short logs by one of the fireplaces.  (Inside fireplaces was one of the reasons why we chose Fingerboard as our destination.)

The shelter was damp inside on account of the low cloud covering everything.  At this season, from the shelter we should have been able to see Lake Tiorati far below. But the fog/low cloud was too thick to see 100 yards.  

Looking downhill from the shelter, 1:40 p.m.

We were a little damp, too, from our hike, and maybe a little chilled.  Fr. Jim and Arthur immediately tested their mattresses and sleeping bags.

I went out to gather firewood.  It wasn't hard to find, but it required a lot of trips hiking back up the ridge from the shelter and foraging in several directions, then carefully picking my way back down the steep decline to the shelter.

We got pretty nervous when we checked the weather on our phones.  The check told us that it was 43 in Harriman (N.Y.), and the day's low would be 28.  We hadn't expected that!  In fact, however, it stayed in the 40s all afternoon and all nite.  The day's low had already occurred in Tuesday's early hours.  Wind gusts were as forecast, however, and that was one more reason to be happy to be inside a shelter.

I kindled a fire much earlier than I'd usually do, around 3:30.  Since I carry good tinder with me, and Fr. Jim carries homemade fire starters, that was no problem.  I skinned wet bark off the twigs and small branches that I'd collected, and they fed the fire well enuf that larger stuff, also scraped off, could soon be added to the flames.  Fr. Jim handled the camp saw.

Both Fr. Jim and I prayed Evening Prayer with my iPad.

We let the flames go down around 5:00, and I inserted the little grill I carry. Fr. Jim sliced some kielbasa, and I put that onto the grill.  Before long we were indulging in that with hot dog buns, plus sundry other items like cheese, nuts, apricots, Ramen noodles, and beverages (Crystal lite, in my case).  

Another advantage of Fingerboard shelter is the bear bag cables rigged on the ridge behind the shelter.  I hung 2 bags up there with our remaining food and the trash bag.

There was lots of conversation till about 7:00 p.m., when Fr. Jim and Arthur called it a day.  Fr. Jim turned in entirely, while Arthur read for a while.  I kept the fire going and did some reading.  With rain still falling and wind still gusting, I put some of those nice logs onto the fire around 8:30 and retired.

When I got up at 12:15 a.m. to visit Mother Nature, but the fog had lifted, and lights at Tiorati Circle could be seen thru the trees, and the lights glowing out along the Hudson River (beyond the hills).  The fire had died out, but there was no need to rekindle it.

We got up after 7:00 a.m.  Fr. Jim and I celebrated Mass on the big rock table outside the left side of the shelter.  My comrades ate light.  I had my usual sturdy breakfast of oatmeal, coffee, apricots, and nuts.  We all packed up.  I poured water on the embers in the fireplace.

Fr. Jim was ready to go well before Arthur or me.  He suggested we take the half-mile Hurst Trail straight down to 7 Lakes Drive, and we agreed.  He went ahead while we were still packing up.  When Arthur and I reached the road, we called for taxi service, Fr. Jim came with the van to pick us up.  In the meantime, Arthur and I shot a few photos.  

Lake Tiorati, mostly iced over

He thought I looked good with a Bud can camped on a rock behind me while we waited.  Fr. Jim advised him that anyone who knows me knows that I always pick up trash, especially recyclables, in the woods.

It was still gray with low clouds, and still no one else was nuts enuf to be out in the woods at that point on Wednesday a.m.  But on our way back down 7 Lakes Drive we saw a few bikers, and when we stopped at the Reeves Meadow visitor center, the sun was beginning to emerge; lots of people were getting out to hike or bike, or were already on the trail.