An Overnite at Stockbridge Shelter

HIKING-CAMPING TRIP TO STOCKBRIDGE SHELTER
IN HARRIMAN STATE PARK

November 24-25, 2023

After stopping at Campmor in Paramus to get an extra propane canister—and lucking into a Black Friday sale, by which I got 2 canisters and a freeze-dried dessert for under $10 including the sales tax—I parked at the hikers’ parking lot on Rte. 6/Long Mountain Pkwy at 11:30 a.m.  I checked the elevation at 950'.

I was on the Long Path southward before noon.  It’s about 2.2 miles from the lot to the Stockbridge Shelter, and that took me an hour and a half with one short breather.  It’s a lot of uphill hiking; the shelter registered at 1250' above sea level. 

I met 3 day hikers who were returning to the parking lot: a woman with a dog and a couple.  Both told me there was no one at the shelter, which I was happy to hear.  I got to the around 1:15, settled in a little bit, and ate a late lunch.  

A couple of backpackers showed up as I was finishing; they’d hiked up from Silvermine Lake.  We greeted each other, and they kept going.  As it turned out, they pitched tents about 100 yards beyond the shelter.  

With a steady stiff, cold wind blowing out of the west, they later relocated their camp a little bit below the ridge and somewhat out of the wind.  These guys seemed to be regulars in Harriman.

The wind touched the front of the shelter a little, but it was appreciably more pleasant inside.  When I set out some tea candles, they stayed lit.

They and I scoured the area for firewood, and they and I found an ample supply—they for their fire pit and I for one of the 2 fireplaces in the shelter.  The last occupants of the shelter had also left a couple of large logs in the fireplace.

While I was gathering, another chap came up from Silvermine and pitched a hammock with tarp below the shelter, well out of the wind.  

He came up later and introduced himself as Seth from Rhode Island, making his first venture into Harriman.  He was pleased to find hills and such a neat shelter, for his future reference, I suppose.  Very friendly guy.  He came in again later to eat his supper and enjoy the fire I’d made after nightfall and to chat a bit.  The sun had set by 4:30, but dusk lingered for quite a while.  A lovely almost-full moon shone above.

Meanwhile, I’d prayed the Liturgy of the Hours and had my own supper:  freeze-dried lasagna with meat sauce (pretty good, tho nothing like Bro. Bernie’s real lasagna), Crystal Lite, and for dessert the 2d half of a package of freeze-dried apple cinnamon crisp (delicious).

I used the bear bag cabling system to hang my remaining food and trash.  These are nicely supplied at all the Harriman shelters by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference—kudos to them, again, for all their trail maintenance and, as time and funds allow, repairing shelters.

Around 6:30, well after dark, 3 more guys showed up (coming up from Silvermine).  They’re engineering students at Manhattan College—one from the Bronx, one from Queens, one from Dobbs Ferry.  They asked to stay in the shelter, and I acquiesced (the only decent answer).  They assured me they wouldn’t be noisy, and they weren’t.  They’d hauled leftover Thanksgiving turkey and a big pan of pasta that one of their mothers had made; all this they warmed up over the fire.  

They repeatedly offered me some, plus bread, but I politely declined, having already eaten quite enuf supper.

The 3 went out about some business of their own for a while.  I read for a while, till it got to cold even when I was wearing a jacket over several layers of shirts.  So around 8:00 I turned it, wearing 5 layers of shirts, long johns under my pants, and 3 pairs of socks (1 heavy, 2 light).  That was sufficient for the nite, but (as usual) I tossed and turned between 3 positions all nite, never getting really comfortable on the wooden floor, even with 2 pads under me.  I did doze a bit, and I must have gotten into one good sleep when I thought I heard strange noise and forced myself ever so slowly to wake up; I must have been dreaming.

With first light, about 6:15, I got up to visit Mother Nature, then tried to rekindle the fire.  My 3 young friends had burned all the firewood except one log left in the fireplace, and gathered some fresh-cut green birch of their own (it’s a no-no to cut standing wood!), which of course wouldn’t burn.  So no morning fire to relieve the chill a little.

I’d turned off my phone, so I don’t know how cold it was.  It was forecast to go down to 20º in Harriman (town).  When I did turn on my phone at 8:00 a.m., it was 27.  Meanwhile, I’d celebrated Mass on a flat ledge in the shelter, with my confreres worldwide remembering our deceased parents.  My fingers were so numb I could scarcely turn the pages of my worship aid.

I retrieved my food from the bear-bag cables.  Then I made oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, topped off with mixed nuts.  I decided not to mess with a fresh orange and took it home.

My young friends stirred gradually and went out to do their business and gather legit firewood.  I prayed the Hours, then packed up.  We said good-byes, and I headed back north around 8:30.  I met one day hiker just setting out on the trail, and I got to the car at 9:50, then spent about 30 minutes stowing my gear and doing some clean-up in the parking lot.  I came away with a large bag full of plastic and aluminum—my contribution to the work of the Trail Conference, I guess you could say.

The weather both days was sunny and pleasant (except for that biting wind), great for hiking.

Photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/qKBe93PO1Eb