Camping Again at Island Pond

Camping Again at Island Pond

July 25 was the first Saturday in July when I didn’t have an evening Mass.  So Bro. Lorenzo D’Alessandro and I went camping in Harriman State Park on Friday the 24th. 

We parked on Kanawauke Rd. a couple of miles west of 7 Lakes Drive.  There were just 5 other cars in the lot, plus one up the road at Island Pond Road.  We left the lot at 4:10 p.m. and reached IPR via the White Bar Trail from the parking lot.  Heading up IPR, we met an older couple coming down the road with trail bikes (that’s a no-no, destructive of the trails), then a pair of young fishermen.

We got to our site near the pond around 5:00.  After pitching our tents, we fetched water, prayed, prepared supper, and went for a swim.  There were some fishermen on the pond, but otherwise we had the place to ourselves till about 7:00, when a gang of youths came down the trail and hung out at the pond for an hour or so.  They were out of sight and not very loud.

We made a fine fire and lingered by that, chatting, till about 9:00 p.m.  On Saturday morning, I got up around 5:30, went to the pond with camera and Divine Office, returned and had breakfast,

and read Smithsonian till Bro. Lorenzo got up.  After a suitable interval, we celebrated Mass,

went for another dip, had lunch, and broke camp.  There were some kayakers on the pond, and on its north shore a couple of campsites.

We left the site at 1:25 p.m., met one couple heading to the pond and saw a pair of guys veer off IPR on the Nurian Trail toward Green Pond.  The parking lot was jammed with vehicles.  In it, one young woman struggled with a huge backpack and moved out north, apparently heading for the White Bar Trail or Island Pond Rd.  We were back to the house in N.R. around 3:50 p.m.

Photos: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/wiJJ83