Hello Hikers!
Wednesday Nov 4
Shindagin Hollow SF, rim trail along the gorge, followed by a get-together at Mary’s
I hate a heat wave
in April or August —
but boy is one fun
in November!
Sounds like something from the Great American Songbook, I can modestly say, but I came up with it myself trying to think of something catchy to say about Wednesday’s hike
Fantastic morning — it hit 75 later in the day — this is a great walk in any weather and it was spectacular with the balmy temps and some colorful leaves and the very low slanting sunlight
It’s typically too dark on this trail for me to get shots in the most striking areas, but thanks to the very low angle of the sun enough light was coming in this time.
Official head count: 19 hikers, two dogs
We drove a few miles up the road to Mary’s house right afterwards and she served us donuts, coffee and apple cider — a couple of other people brought things — Mary’s back yard is a great place to hang out after a hike — it has a really nice domestic feeling — great way to finish off a wonderful morning
You can see seven more shots by me online here
You can see photos by Jack V online here
Saturday Nov 7
Bob Cameron Loop, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area
Tiger and I were out of town — this hike was led by Jack V
Jack did a brief report:
Saturday’s hike was very unusual. We started with 20 hikers and finished with 8. The trail was in good condition but the majority of the hikers did not want to hike for 2 hours.
Explanation: The Bob Cameron Loop itself doesn’t take a full two hours — you need to cross the road and hike a little more to stretch this walk to the advertised length — it’s very tempting to skip this bit after you finish the loop section, and quit a little early.
You can see Annie’s photos of the hike here
Sunday Nov 8
Woodard Road NW to Hines Road, Enfield
Tiger and I were still out of town. This was a true leaderless hike. Annie and Brenda sent me hike reports:
Annie:
I think there were 21 hikers and 5 dogs. We departed pretty promptly and were fabulously led by Tracie and Gonzo. With most of the leaves gone, it was splendid seeing blue skies and sunshine throughout the woods. We slithered up and down the leafy trail and were thrilled to come out to a lovely field on Hines Road that featured a gorgeous red barn with a beautiful stone fence. (Perhaps you know what this place is. I do not.) After a relaxing break on Hines Road, some of us chose to go back on the road to Woodard to stay in the sun to enjoy the blue skies and billowing clouds. You’ll have to find out from the forest hikers how the return trip was.
Brenda:
Roger set the course for us and gave us directions. Tracy and Gonzo were in the lead with the rest of us trailing behind.
There were a lot of hikers who showed up but I did not have the presence of mind to count them.
I did, however, count the dogs ( no surprise there).
There was a Tori look alike who passed us on the road before the hike began but upon closer examination Roger noticed that the dog was too heavy and much younger then Tori.
Dogs participating in the actual hike were Gonzo, Nelson,(also Nelson’s owner’s cocker spaniel whose name I don’t remember) Ruby and Yoda – for a total of five.
There were very lively ups and downs but they did not compare to the challenge of yesterdays more then lively Connecticut Hill Ups and downs.
We passed by the beautiful Barn converted to a home with magnificent stone walls which seemed more extensive then the last time we visited.
The weather warmed up about half way through the hike and there was heavenly sunlight filtering into the forest. A magical setting.
As was anticipated we arrived back at the cars early so we decided to show hikers that had not seen it before the remains of the Civilian Conservation Corp.Camp.
The creek beside it was crystal clear and the dogs enjoyed either a drink, a dip or both. Along the creek bed were a few lovely stone cairns which we admired before heading back to the cars
Here is a link describing the history of the CCC camp:
Annie again:
Brenda, I’m so glad you captured the part of the hike I wasn’t on! As I was preparing my photos, I realized that I didn’t include Sabina in my count, so it rises to 22, but that’s not necessarily accurate! Brenda and I do agree about the dogs!
You can see Annie’s photos of the hike here
*********************************************************
Meanwhile, Tiger and I spent Saturday and Sunday in Piermont, NY, a small Hudson River village a few miles from Nyack, my home town. Piermont is notable for having a pier that extends a mile into the Hudson, and a large marsh that stretch south from the pier along the shoreline (map here). Here’s a shot of the marsh taken from the pier and looking at Tallman Mountain State Park.
I worked in a paperboard box factory on the pier for three summers when I was a teenager. Tiger used to walk out on the pier with her dad when she was a girl, looking for interesting debris that had washed up. After we married, we used to canoe in the marsh, and we lived in a house on the pier for three months — so we have some history here. One of my sisters lives a few minutes from the pier — here she is with her husband and Tiger at the end of the pier — that’s the Tappan Zee Bridge and Tarrytown across the river in the background.
