Overnite at Island Pond

Overnite at Island Pond

On Thursday afternoon, July 4, to Friday morning, I camped out at Island Pond in Harriman State Park.  It was hot and humid with a couple of brief rain showers during the nite and another while I was preparing breakfast.

The parking lot on Kanawauke Rd. was full, but few hikers were going to Island Pond (which surprised me).  The hike from the parking lot to the pond takes about an hour if you're not hurrying and is slightly uphill.

I met 2 day hikers and a dog coming out, found a couple at the pond finishing up a swim (followed by blueberry picking), and much later a half dozen (or so) young adults arrived.  The YAs camped in the woods off the trail at a place Fr. Mulloy and I have used.  I camped, instead, in the ruins of the old ranger cabin.  Everyone tried out the water--which I found bathtub warm for the top inch or 2 on the surface, pleasantly chilled below that.

My supper was 1 large hot dog--the same as those prepared by Fr. Mike Conway for the house cookout--plus some trail mix and dried fruit, washed down with Crystal Lite.  Breakfast was hot granola with dried fruit, washed down with coffee.

Island Pond from the cabin ruins

I gathered some firewood by the fireplace.  But it was too warm to think about actually kindling a fire.  Maybe the smoke would have helped ward off the insects, which were nasty.  I came home with a lot of bites.  A head net I'd bought in Champaign in anticipation of a trip with Troop 9 to the Boundary Waters but had never used (because I moved before the trip) worked wonderfully well, and so did repellant.  I should've used more of the latter.

There were a lot of fireworks coming from (I think) 2 places, possibly Tuxedo and Arden or Harriman.  I couldn't see them--chiefly because I was so tired that I went to bed before 8 o'clock!  I couldn't even stay up to read. 

The window view during Mass rivals the view at Villa Maria overlooking Eastchester Bay.

After the 2022 Provincial Chapter

After the 2022 Provincial Chapter

Our Eastern U.S.-Canada Province held its every-3-years provincial chapter from July 10 to 15.  At the "invitation" of Fr. Provincial, I'd been working on its preparation and organization since last September.  The chapter ended on Friday (except for remaining paperwork), I prepared for and celebrated one Sunday Mass, and I had 2 medical appointments on Monday.  Then, as soon as I could "escape," I took a clear-my-mind camping trip in Harriman State Park on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 19-20.

Photos:  https://link.shutterfly.com/rjuAR4vHQrb

I parked along Rte 106 (Kanawauke Rd) in the lot where the White Bar Trail crosses the road. There were 4 or 5 cars there 

(and when I returned on Wednesday nite, no others), but I didn’t encounter anyone on my trails.

Instead of going straight up Island Pond Road, the easier way to go, the way Fr. Jim Mulloy and I've used too many times to count, for a variation and some exploration, I hiked up the White Bar and Nurian trails (a combined 1 mile, thus .25 mile longer than the direct road) to the Nurian's intersection with Island Pond Road.  (On my way back, I took the direct IPR route all the way).

Another hiker reports the same basic hike, adding a couple of side trips: https://scenesfromthetrail.com/2017/05/20/boston-mine-and-island-pond-harriman-state-park/

There's a secluded, shaded camping area just before Island Pond where Fr. Jim and I have camped several times.  I reached it in about an hour, set up camp, 

and ate lunch (peanut butter and Ritz crackers).  I hung up my bear bag 

so as not to have to worry about my food while I was at the pond.  

At the pond I met a couple of seniors and 2 dogs enjoying the sun and the water.  I fetched about 4 liters of water from the pond (filtering, of course) and swam.  Before I retired for the nite, I took a couple more dips--such a relief from the heat!  Other traffic on the pond included a few kayakers.  

If it hadn't been so hot (above 90 degrees), I'd have pitched my tent inside the ruins of the ranger station at lakeside. 

But there's precious little shelter from the heat there.

Back in camp, I read, prayed, and had supper around 5:30.  In the sun the heat was oppressive; it must have been 10 degrees cooler in the shade, not really uncomfortable.  I didn’t need my tent fly in the warm, dry weather.  Insects weren’t bad at all on Tuesday and most of Wednesday, but I did come home with several itchy bites.  The site includes a fine fire pit, but no fire was necessary.  I slept better than I usually do when camping, and better than I did at the chapter.

I heard more visitors heading to the pond in early evening but didn’t see them (the campsite is well off the trail); judging from the noise they were pre-adolescent females screeching (anyone who has a sister or has worked a day camp understands!).  

On Wednesday, I was up at dawn and went to pond but only took pictures.  I celebrated Mass, ate, 

Coffee and oatmeal for breakast

prayed, read some more.  I had to move my chair from time to time to keep in the shade. 

No real napping.  Another gent and pooch visited the lake.  I swam some more.

I’d considered staying out one more nite but decided I’d had enuf R&R.  So I packed up gradually, alternating with reading and a bit of prayer (no ecstasies or other mystical experiences).  I had my freeze-dried supper between 5:00 and 5:30, 

Mac and cheese with Crystal Lite, 

followed by freeze-dried chocolate cheesecake (not shown)

finished packing, and was on the outward trail (Island Pond Road) at 6:25, back at the car at 7:20, home at 8:30.  On my hike out, I saw a flock of turkeys, 1 little snake in the road, and 1 deer 20 feet off the road that didn’t even go bounding off into the woods.  I hope no one’s disappointed that I had no ursine encounters.

It was a nice, relaxing, peaceful trip.  Solitude is good for the soul and even for the body!

Cooling Off in the Woods at Island Pond

Cooling Off in the Woods at Island Pond

Fr. Jim Mulloy and I took a couple of days, August 10-12, to traipse again into Harriman State Park.  He’d finished his camp season in North Haledon, N.J., and taken a vacation with family and was quite looking forward to another camping adventure.

We made a late start because I had an 11:00 a.m. Mass.  We met at his home, Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, around 1:45 p.m. and aimed ourselves at the Elk Pen parking lot off Rte. 17 in Arden, planning a hike southward on the Arden-Surebridge Trail to a good camping spot along a brook.  But Arden Valley Road was closed, and there was no backroads way to get to the Elk Pen.

So we opted to go to Island Pond.  With the temperature in the upper 80s, we wanted to be in shade and near water.  By the time we’d parked in the lot along Kanawauke Rd. (Rte. 106), it was almost 3:00 p.m.  The lot was full, indicating there were a lot of day hikers taking off on the White Bar Trail, possibly to further connections (like us).  Of course, we couldn’t know whether there were some backpackers too (like us).

We got off to a good start.  But altho we were hiking northward, our plan quickly went south (to use an idiom):  we didn’t pay attention to Island Pond Road’s wide left bend and kept going straight up the narrow White Bar Trail (really a dumb thing to do).  When the trail climbed unexpectedly for a while, we realized our error.  A map check confirmed it, and we decided to continue until we reached the Dunning Trail crossing; we could follow that west .6 mile to our intended road.

We met 5 or 6 hikers coming down the White Bar Trail, some singles and a family trio.

Our actual route turned out to be comparatively difficult, not just because of more ups and downs and rocks, but because Fr. Jim’s bad ankle acted up.  Eventually we hobbled into our campsite near Island Pond around 5:00 p.m., having required 2 hours to get there instead of 45 minutes (mostly because of adding distance to our hike, but also because of my buddy’s pain).

Island Pond seen from our camp

Fr. Jim did his usual chore of fetching water from the pond, and I did mine of hunting up firewood.  The site has an excellent, well used fire ring, and it was soon set up for our cooking fire, which I ignited and photographed.  Then I went for a refreshing dip.

When I returned, the fire had gone down to embers, and Fr. Jim had gone into his tent instead of cooking the meal he’d prepared (tinfoil hot dogs or chicken).  I didn’t have any trouble rekindling the fire out of the embers.  I couldn’t rekindle Fr. Jim, tho.  He was in severe pain and stayed holed up in his new tent till 8:30 a.m.

So I cooked and ate supper—the aforementioned hot dogs with some veggies, Crystal Lite, and some dried apricots.  Then I hung up our bear bag, heavy with uneaten food (including what would be tomorrow’s anyway), put the rainfly on my tent since we had imminent rain, and prayed the Divine Office.

I was too tired to stay up and read.  So around 8:45 p.m. I retired—and I was barely inside when the rain started.  It lasted in the form of scattered showers, off and on, until almost 7:00 a.m.  Fortunately, our tents were secure and dry.  This was a shakedown trip for Fr. Jim’s new tent, and he was very pleased with it (like mine, a Kelty but different model).

The nite was quiet—nothing but the constant croaking of the frogs in the swamp adjacent to our campsite.  Unlike our last venture to this particular site, no raccoons (or other critters) carted off any food or anything else.  Nevertheless, I didn’t sleep well, which isn’t uncommon on my campouts.

I rose at 6:35 and, after retrieving our food, cooked my oatmeal and coffee, which were followed by nuts, trail mix, and apricots—and a pile of pills for my various ailments.  Then, with a misty rain coming down, I went to the pond with my iPad and prayed the Hours.

Eventually I checked on Fr. Jim, who was awake and feeling much better.  Shortly, we celebrated Mass.  While he went to the pond for more water, I did some exploring of the relatively thick thickets behind our camp, discovering 2 well hidden fire rings (not much used of late) and making it almost to the end of the little point aiming at an island that looks so enticing from the other point where the cabin ruins are (where one wing of Island Pond Road ends).

I went for another refreshing swim.  By then the sun was out in force, and the temperature was well on its way to the 90s.  (It was much more comfortable in our well shaded campsite.)  I met a hiker and her dog; the latter also frolicked in the water.  Later, Fr. Jim also met a hiker and dog.  We weren’t aware of any other trail traffic all day.  There were some kayakers out on the water.  We both had some serious nap time.

I did some more woods exploring after lunch (tuna sandwiches, etc., washed down with plain water), chiefly to retrieve a red bag I’d spotted in the woods, which turned out to be a little aluminum-lined thermos bag.  I hiked down the trail to the Arden-Surebridge crossing, then followed that west a short distance, as far as the other branch of Island Pond Road, which runs up the pond’s west shore.  I returned to camp with a bit more firewood.  The rest of the afternoon passed with idle chatter between us and some reading (Biblical Archeology Review, for those who have to know).

At 4:30 we made a new fire and cooked the remaining tinfoil meals and finished up assorted cheeses and other munchies.  After Evening Prayer I returned to the pond and cooled off in the water for 20 minutes.

We’d been hearing distant thunder for a couple of hours; weren’t even sure it was thunder.  At the pond, I could tell it definitely was, and it was much closer by then.  Back in camp, Fr. Jim unstrapped his hammock (where he’d lounged much of the day and was planning to sleep, weather permitting).  At 7:30 the rain came, and into our tents we went.

The rain didn’t last long—and neither did I in the tent.  I was too tired even to finish a Rosary.  Around 10:00 p.m. we heard briefly some loud voices from the trail, but nothing more.

After another poor nite’s sleep, I bestirred myself at 5:45 and got to packing up sleeping bag liner (it was too warm for a full bag), 2 pads, and my backpack.  I could hear Fr. Jim packing up too.  He planned to leave about a half hour before me in case he had any hiking trouble.

By the time I emerged from my tent, he was completely packed and had retrieved the bear bag.  I had my breakfast, then took down my tent and finished my packing.  The Hours would have to wait till I got home because I had another 11:00 a.m. Mass to celebrate in New Rochelle.

I left camp at 7:29 and was back at our car by 8:05.  The day was going to be another scorcher, and our car was the only one in the lot.  Fr. Jim was waiting—no difficulty on the outward trek.  Back to Ramsey, and the end of another pretty happy hiking (and camping) experience.  God willing, there will be more before long.

I can add that we left the campsite cleaner than we found it (and it was pretty clean when we arrived).

Return to Island Pond

Return to Island Pond

Last September, 4 of us camped close to Island Pond in Harriman State Park.  On Friday Fr. Jim Mulloy and I returned, along with candidate John Taylor, who is, like Fr. Jim, a member of the SDB community at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.

The Prep had an early dismissal on Friday, thanks to a career day, so the 3 of us got on our way at 1:00 p.m.  We parked along Rte. 106 and hiked about half an hour north Island Pond Rd., an old woods road, about a mile and a half, generally uphill.

It was a cloudless spring day, and it would have been pleasantly warm but for a vigorous north wind blowing consistently all day, stopping only around sunset.

We realized our plan to "seize" the ruins of an old park ranger cabin--outer stone walls with a fireplace and chimney in the middle, roughly dividing the ruins into 2 rooms. 

The building overlooks the pond on one side and is just 100 feet or so from the end of the trail and the open water of the pond.  The walls didn't provide as much shelter from the wind as we expected, but something, anyway.

Fr. Jim procured water, and John and I hunted up firewood.  Beavers had taken down a pine sapling nearby, and there was plenty to be found a little farther away.  John did good service with my Sven folding saw, which still (as they say) cuts thru wood like a knife thru butter.  We amassed plenty of wood for cooking, heating, and camp atmosphere, and even left a good stash behind us in the morning.

Besides that, we enjoyed the fresh air, did some exploring, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, and grilled hot dogs on a very fine fire in the fireplace.  Even after recent rain, the wood was mostly tinder-dry, and I didn't need anything but some newspaper and 1 match to get it started--no firestarters (Fr. Jim makes some dandy ones with old candles and dryer lint inside egg carton sections).

To the dogs and buns we added cheese, trail mix, oatmeal cookies, and dried apricots, according to our individual tastes.  We had plenty of time just to sit by the fire and talk.

Fr. Jim decided to sleep outdoors and felt quite cozy inside his sleeping bag--which he had to save from blowing into the pond well before bedtime.  A couple of our logs weighted it down safely.  John and I were tented within the walls, he in one "room," I in the other.  (My tent was downwind from the fire and smelled of smoke when I unpacked it at home; airing it out helped a little.)

A nearly full moon added to the atmosphere, well before sunset.  Geese on the pond honked all nite long, and we also heard crickets and a whip-or-will.  After the wind let up, we heard the steady whirrr of traffic on the N.Y. Thruway.  

Unlike the outing Fr. Jim and I had to Big Hill a few weeks earlier, we had no critter visits.  I had a hard time getting our bear bag up into a tree (found out the hard way that pines aren't a good choice because there are too many little branches that snag the line, and in fact my mesh ditty bag for my mess kit was destroyed).  But eventually I accomplished the task in a birch (?) sapling, the bag about 15' above the ground.  It passed the nite in safety.

Fr. Jim and John said they slept very well.  Not I (no surprise).  We all got up between 6:15 and 6:25 a.m., and made the Eucharist our 1st order of business (other than visiting Mother Nature).  I had a solid breakfast of PB & J, coffee, and apricots.  John also indulged in coffee, but otherwise my companions went light on breakfast.  Both broke down and packed their gear rapidly.  As usual, I was slower (and very methodical, as they remarked).

Fr. Jim doused what little was left of our fire, we checked to make sure we hadn't left anything behind (in fact, we picked up a little of others' trash--there wasn't really much), and we were on the homeward trail before 8:00 a.m.

On our way out we met a couple of guys going in.  On Friday there'd been a few day hikers up to the cabin ruins, including 1 with a very friendly dog.  No doubt, plenty more hikers came down the trail later on Saturday; as we drove home, we noted that all the parking lots were full to overflowing (and there were also many dozens of bicyclists on the roads).  It was a delightful spring day, so much that when I got home my confreres asked why I hadn't stayed out another nite.  Well, they hadn't paid attention to the forecast (an abundance of rain after midnite on Sunday morning), and of course there were parish Masses to be celebrated.  In fact, I had one at 5:00 p.m. Saturday.  1st things 1st!

On Island Pond

On Island Pond

My usual camping partner Fr. Jim Mulloy and I were joined by Fr. Paul from our New Rochelle community and prenovice Thomas Nguyen from Fr. Jim’s Ramsey community.  We camped Friday-Saturday, Sept. 4-5, near the south shore of Island Pond in the northwest section of Harriman State Park (near Tuxedo Park).  The Appalachian Trail runs by its north shore.

There were a lot of people fishing or paddling about the pond, and we met a few day hikers, including one with a very nice set-up near the ruins of a house on the rocky south shore.  

He had a chair, food and beverages, and a book, and he told me he'd also been swimming.  Later in the evening 3 people came to camp next to the ruins and made themselves a fine fire in its fireplace.  They'd driven up from Philadelphia, they told us in the morning.

Fr. Jim had been to this area a few years ago and remembered an excellent camping spot, which he managed to find via a side path off the old woods road.  It was more than ample, had a good fire ring, and had a view of the lake.  Fr. Jim and Thomas set up hammocks, and Fr. Paul and I pitched our tents.  Everyone was comfortable enuf.

As usual, Fr. Jim took care of fetching and filtering water.

Altho there was plenty of fallen wood about, the morons who'd been there last had cut a bunch of live wood for their fire--both pine and rhododendron.  We didn't use that but gathered our own for both our cooking fire and our "atmosphere" fire.  Having my folding saw helped a lot.

Fr. Paul at work

We cooked hamburgers on my little grill and munched on other goodies that we'd brought.  Fr. Jim always brings cheese; he had a small block of cheddar but was distressed that he couldn't find the slices he'd brought for the burgers.  (He found them in the morning.)

Fr. Jim and Fr. Paul returned to the lake at dusk to watch the sunset--which wasn't much because of the intervening western hill, but the sky was pretty--and view the stars. 

I rigged up our bear bag, which was pretty heavy with 4 guys' remaining food plus our trash bag.  But I overlooked a little cooler bag that Fr. Jim had brought, containing some sausages.  And in the morning it was nowhere to be found; a raccoon had visited, we figured.

Thomas went to bed fairly early, evidently tired.  I stayed up past 9:00, tending the fire and reading by flashlight.  As I was turning in, with the fire down low, Fr. Jim came back, but Fr. Paul stayed out.

Very late, Fr. Paul met 2 hikers from Brooklyn lost in the dark and led them to our camp and had them set up just a few feet from us.  They'd taken the train to Harriman and had a long hike southward and eastward, and apparently gotten a little disoriented.  They didn't have a map.  We enjoyed talking with them on Saturday a.m. as we broke camp, and the lady was delighted to accept some of my leftover instant coffee powder.  Others gave them some of their leftover chow, too.

Fr. Paul got up early to watch the sun come up.

At left, our 2 friends from Brooklyn; then Fr. Paul, Fr. Jim, and Thomas.

First we celebrated Mass on the rocks at lakeside and then chatted with 2 of the folks camping at the house ruins.

Posing after Mass
pic by Thomas w Fr Paul's phone

By 9:30 we were on our way back to our car and to Don Bosco Prep.