Since my local superior indicated that he wanted me back in College Park right after retreat (Aug. 11-17) and I should take my intended couple of days off for hiking
before retreat, I did so this weekend, Aug. 9-11:
Friday a.m. thru Sunday a.m.
I hiked relatively short distances (all
that my out-of-shape legs would allow), less than 2 miles each day. On Friday my legs groaned well before I reached my destination, the
shelter at Bald Rocks. On Saturday they were decidedly more cooperative as I made my way on the Dunning Trail from Bald Rocks to a pleasant camping site above Green Pond.
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| 20 minutes up the White Bar Trail from 106 |
I used some trail sections that were new to
me—yes, there are parts of Harriman SP that I haven’t been to yet: the White Bar Trail from the parking area along Rte. 106 up to its intersection with the Dunning Trail, then the Dunning to the Ramapo-Dunderberg just north of Bald Rocks. I'm very familiar with the R-D. I'd never been on the Dunning between Bald Rocks and Green Pond. The trails were pleasantly shaded by balsam
firs and hardwoods and also had loads of ferns.
Despite all our recent rain, there were no really muddy sections. The Dunning from White Bar to R-D had no drastic ascents or descents, which also made for happy hiking; it had several of them west of White Bar, however.
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Setting sun from Bald Rocks
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I encountered relatively few day hikers and a
few backpackers, including 1 who'd just left Bald Rocks and assured me the shelter would be available, 7 (in 2 parties) who camped at Bald Rocks, and on Saturday 3 who were heading up there along the Dunning.
On Friday I secured
the shelter by arriving in late morning, and I had to area to myself for a few hours before a trio of hikers came in. They set themselves up very comfortably about 100 yards north of the shelter, mostly screened by trees and bushes. 3 more guys and a boy showed up shortly before sunset, and they set up at another good spot with a big fire pit.
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| 3 men and a boy--from Long Island--enjoying a tremendous breakfast of steaks, ribs, eggs, and more. They invited me to partake, which I did modestly, having already had my own breakfast--I was actually hiking out when they detained me. |
I'd hoped to be able to resupply my water at Green Pond, but dense cattails made the open water completely inaccessible. Consequently, I had
to hike a third of a mile on the Nurian Trail down a steep descent to a brook to get enuf water to
get me thru Sunday breakfast, and then tote that back uphill. All the exercise and the fresh air left me so pooped out that I didn't even start a fire after having collected a good stash of wood--which was abundant around the camping area. Apparently the site hasn't seen a lot of use lately, altho I did clean up some litter from the firepit.
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| My camp above Green Pond (before I put the tent fly on). |
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| Mid-afternoon clouds west of Green Pond |
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| Supper: a full packet of freeze-dried lasagna. Not quite like what you get at home or an Italian restaurant, but hearty enuf at the end of a day in the woods, and very simple to prepare. |
The hike out on Sunday a.m. followed the Nurian Trail (also mostly new to me) until its junction with the White Bar. It would be have been a little easier and quicker to take Island Pond Road when the Nurian crossed it; that road the White Bar come together at Rte. 106.
More photos: https://pix.sfly.com/Qqasnu.
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