Camping with Tom Jones

Camping with Tom Jones

My friend and hiking companion Fr. Jim Mulloy was taking the 2d week of his vacation at home (Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J.) and invited me to join him for a camping trip.  I wasn’t on vacation, so could take just 1 nite out in the woods, which my schedule and an abatement of the oppressive heat we’ve been suffering from permitted on Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 10-11.

The weather forecast called for possible thunderstorms, so we chose to go to a shelter in Harriman State Park rather than tent camp near water.  We hadn’t been to Tom Jones Shelter for a while and made it our destination (even tho the roof leaks—in fact, someone had covered over a big hole with a FEMA-style blue tarp).

We were slow getting away from DBP and parked at the Victory trailhead on Kanawauke Rd. only at 11 o’clock.  There were 3 other cars in the lot, but we didn’t see anyone else—only some fresh footprints on the trail. It was 10 minutes later that we got onto the trail. Somehow both of us completely missed the intersection with the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail and hiked another half mile or so before admitting our error. We backtracked and, at least northbound, the crossing was very clearly blazed, and there was the fireplace (as marked on the map) as well.

So up we went on the RDT. It’s a strenuous climb and in some places treacherous because of loose stones in addition to steepness. But we made it up to the Tom Jones ridge safely and without having to stop for breath (an accomplishment at our age!). The total hike in from the road should have been just half a mile—¼ on the Victory, and ¼ up the RDT.

We reached the shelter, which is a short hike down from the ridge, about 12:10 p.m. and found it empty. It was a beautiful sunny day, Old Sol running in and out of clouds, with a nice breeze, very quiet, hardly any road noise audible. The vista toward Lake Skenonto to the south is always impressive, 

Lake Skenonto in the southward distance

and eastward there’s just acres and acres of trees and hills, with a communications tower in the distance. To the west and north is the ridge. A dozen or so campsites are scattered around the area, some of them ample and well shaded. 

One of the campsites along the ridge

There wasn’t much firewood to be found except for twigs and tree bark, all of it tinder-dry. Not that we wanted a lot of wood—just enuf to cook our supper.

Fr. Jim settled into his hammock with his mp3, but also set up a tent in case of rain during the nite. 

I had lunch (sandwich, breakfast bar, and apricots), then did some email, especially letting people back home know where we were. Naturally, I also took pictures.

I usually bring a lightweight camping chair with back support, and I settled down to read when I wasn’t roaming about with my camera or hunting up a bit of firewood. A couple of day hikers with a dog came by, and we chatted about 10 minutes before they went their way.

The RDT along the ridge

About 4:30, after I’d prayed Evening Prayer on my iPad, I laid a fire in one of the fireplaces (Tom Jones has 2), and Fr. Jim showed up and prayed as well; by the time he finished, I had a nice fire going. We used a couple of chunks of wood left from someone’s previous fire in the outside fire ring. I placed by little grill and laid 2 burgers on it—supplied by the DBP pantry, and still half frozen, so that they took a while to cook. 

Fr. Jim was embarrassed that he'd forgotten the buns, but we managed anyway, with some cheese and condiments, and washed supper down with Crystal Lite. We let the fire die out.

The weather remained clear without much indication that there might be rain. After hanging our bear bag, using the new cable apparatus put up by either the park rangers or the NY-NJ Trail Conference, 

and an hour or so of chit-chat, I went up the ridge to explore a little more and wait for sunset, which wouldn’t be visible from the shelter. Fr. Jim retired to his hammock. A backpacker passed thru, saw the shelter was occupied, and proceeded downhill to one of the campsites; he, too, used the bear-bag cables.

The wildlife consisted of some birds, including a hummingbird that came briefly into the shelter, lots of dragonflies, a mouse scurrying up one of the chimneys, and some moths attracted by my headlamp when I was reading.

I took more pictures, especially of the sun setting. I had trouble with the camera because the door to the battery compartment wouldn’t close securely, and that disturbed the power supply. The sun set a bit before 8 o’clock, 

and I returned to the shelter to read. I went into my lightweight sleep sack (a sleeping bag liner) around 9 o’clock, and soon was up trying to take pictures of the full moon amid dark clouds. Later the moon climbed well out of the clouds and really illumined the area till the wee hours of the morning, when a lot of clouds obscured it completely.

Even with 2 sleeping pads (1 foam, about 30 years old, and 1 Thermarest), I slept poorly on the wooden floor of the shelter. I got up before 6:00 a.m. There was a spectacular sunrise, which I couldn’t shoot with my camera because of the aforementioned problem; I finally used my phone but missed the better part of the show.

Our neighboring camper was already gone before 6:00 a.m.

After breakfast (oatmeal, a breakfast bar, apricots, and coffee) and the Divine Office, I started to pack. Fr. Jim appeared. He’d left his hammock, he said, at 3 or 4 o’clock because he’d gotten cold and took to his tent. (It was probably 10 degrees warmer in the shelter than in the open air.)

The clouds at first made rain look likely in the morning, but eventually they dissipated and it got sunny and warm. We hung out a while longer with our reading or music, but by 9 o’clock we’d packed up to head home. We met a backpacker heading south; he’d been at Bald Rocks Shelter overnite and had seen a bear there.

Looking east from behind Tom Jones Shelter

We didn’t want to descend the RDT the way we’d come up, so headed north on it. The ridge hiking was fine. It got trickier when we reached the descent toward the road—tricky not only in the sense of having to be real careful with our footing but also following the trail. We failed the latter part, missed a turn, and found ourselves following a runoff for the last quarter mile down the mountain. We emerged onto the road about 100 yards from the RDT trail crossing parking lot. I left Fr. Jim and my backpack at the roadside and hiked half a mile up to the Victory parking lot and our car; there was just one other car there--from Indiana, which I had to mention to Fr. Jim later (his native state). I picked up Fr. Jim (and my pack) exactly an hour since we’d left the shelter.

We counted our campout a success, notwithstanding our having lost the trail twice. And maybe my photos bear that out: https://link.shutterfly.com/mWaNgcz9psb