Vacationing on the Hill

Vacationing on the Hill

Excellent spring weather (daytimes around 70⸰ and nites in the mid-40s) and the Catholic schools’ Easter break coincided to induce Fr. Jim Mulloy and your humble blogger to take to the woods for 2 days, specifically Tuesday noon to Thursday 9:00 a.m., April 6-8.

It was our 1st hike of the year, and neither of us is in tip-top shape.  So we chose a short jaunt in Harriman State Park without a lot of elevation:  about 1.8 miles in each direction from a hiker’s parking lot on St. John’s Rd. to Big Hill Shelter, mostly following the Long Path.

The shelter, built in 1927 (Harriman Trail Guide, p. 116), is a sturdy 3-sided stone construction with a wide interior platform and 2 fireplaces—a favorite destination of hikers.  It’s at the intersection of the Long Path and the Suffern-Bear Mountain (SBM) Trail.  Weather conditions and foliage permitting, it offers grand views of the Hudson River to the east and Manhattan’s skyline to the south (some 36 miles distant).  Thru a gap in the hills, you can also see the tops of the towers of the Tappan Zee Bridge.  The leaves weren't out, so our views were unobstructed. 

Manhattan skyline, late Tuesday afternoon

On the way up the Long Path there’s a memorial to a 1974 plane crash (Northwest 6231from Buffalo to LaGuardia to pick up the Baltimore Colts; only 3 crew were aboard and died).  The memorial was put up in 2015, after the last time I’d hiked that particular approach to Big Hill.

On our 1st 2 days, we saw a good many day hikers passing by our encampment—maybe a dozen each day, some singly, some in groups.  There were a couple of dogs, too.  Only one other backpacker came by; he set up his tent in a nice spot about 150 yards farther west along the SBM.  There are quite a few decent camping spots around the shelter.

Fr. Jim and I have a settled routine when we camp.  He fetches water, and I hunt up and cut firewood.  Around the shelters it’s usually a challenge to do either; you have to hike a half mile or more to water, and ready fallen wood has long since been picked up and burnt.  (Some barbarians resort to cutting live standing trees and shrubs.  Seasoned, environmentally conscious campers don’t.)  Since I carry a small Sven folding saw, I can take on some larger woodfalls.  

The log in photo center was part of fallen tree (the rest is at the left) 

snagged in the fork of the upright tree, which Fr. Mike cut in 2, 

then used rope to haul the upper part from its snag and cut off usable portions for our firewood.

Consequently, we accumulated a fine pile of firewood, had blazing fires both chilly nites (about 50⸰ inside the shelter), 

When this settles down a bit, it'll "host" our hot dogs.

and even left a modest pile for the next visitors to the shelter.  Fr. Jim has an interesting way to filter the water that he hauls in from lake or stream, using components of the Sawyer “system.”

Besides those chores, we pass the time by reading, praying, chatting about camping, school, and Salesian life, and taking naps.  This was actually the 1st time we’ve camped 2 nites in the same spot instead of hiking from one place to another (see 1s paragraph!).  Both of us get up before the sun does,

Wednesday dawn

Early sun on Wednesday turns the SBM 

leading west from the shelter to gold

 and we go to bed earlier than we would at home.  Fr. Jim is a hammock-lover, but he did spend the 1st nite in the shelter because it was chilly.  I exasperate him a little by refusing even to try a hammock because I have a bad back (which, fortunately, tolerates a 35-lb. pack and steady movement).

Our supper the 1st evening was hot dogs roasted at the fire with some sides of cheese, trail mix, dried apricots, and nuts.  

Hot dog in hand

We followed up with a freeze-dried chocolate cheesecake dessert.  Both of us pack Crystal Lite for a beverage.  On the 2d nite, he opted for Ramen noodles, cheese, and crackers (putting aside a freeze-dried package of chili), while I tried out a new pot with macaroni and cheese (plus some of the aforementioned sides).  

He doesn’t take much of anything for breakfast or lunch.  One of my lunches was a sandwich packed in from home, the other peanut butter and crackers.  My 1st breakfast was oatmeal, nuts, and apricots; my 2d one, a freeze dried granola mix plus the nuts and apricots.

One experience we could’ve done without:  a problem raccoon.  On Tuesday nite around 11:15, it intruded 3 times into the shelter, ratting some of our pots, and I chased it out; since I got up the 3d time, I fed our fire.  Fr. Jim slept thru all that!  

From the funnies the Sunday after our outing!

On Wednesday nite, somehow it got at our bear bags—specifically at Fr. Jim’s, which was just a plastic bag hung with my sturdy cloth one.  

They were about 20 feet off the ground (10 feet above a sloped rock) and 3 or 4 feet below the tree limb they hung from.  The critter must have dropped from the limb, shredded the plastic open, and fallen to the ground.  That was the end of the uneaten chili, another pack of Ramen noodles, and the pecans.  Fortunately, my granola, nuts, trail mix, and Mass kit were intact—and our trash bag.

Our backpacking neighbor also had a food problem.  The coon got into his food on Tuesday nite altho (he said) it was hung high, and he had to forgo a 2d nite of comping.

But at least we didn’t have any bear sightings!  Not even a deer, for that matter, except along the highways.