2021-2022
OCTOBER 2021 ALUMNI / TROOP HIKE
The weekend forecast was perfect so we headed out on a trail that was used by the American Colonial Army in 1779. We came upon an open area that has filled in with Boston Ferns & Mt. Laurel bushes since the last time that we hiked here. ( In the 1970's & 1980's it was the width of a lane of traffic; now it was filling in & was the width of a single footpath. )
Scout Hikers were Nick R. & Sal V. ( Since this was a football weekend our high school athletes were otherwise occupied. ). Alumni were Trent G. ( after a long drive down from Syracuse ), Ronak C., Ben B., & Howard.
I gave the Scouts a headsup that snakes often look for prey in an area like this .....within a few minutes the lead hikers spotted this 4 foot black snake who was not exactly happy that we were walking through !
Lacking any conifer wood to start the fire, Sal made shavings to get things started,
After watching us take his picture he decided to depart without adieu ....
The mosquitos were merciless from the nearby swamp.... but once the fire was working that annoyance quickly abated. ( With nightime temps at 50 degress, the bugs were back in bed before we were)
Howard, Nick, Ben, & Trent relaxing before each made their dinner ( Ronak & Sal are behind the camera ) It is apparent behind Trent how nature is reclaiming this once wide " woods road" with mountain laurel , etc. In these pictures you can partly see how we always line the entire fire site with rocks to prevent underground fires.
TROOP 4 TRADITION: before departing after breakfast, the fire site ( which is always totally lined on the bottom with rocks for fire prevention ) is always returned to nature ----" take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints". This weekend the Alumni went "all out" by even implanting a moss covered rock to add to the re-created "natural look". :o) This is an ingrained point of pride of all Troop 4 backpackers !
November Hike - Harrassed by Hudson Hailstones
The forecast was for mid-afternoon rain so the hike route & time on the trail was planned accordingly ==
instead of usual additional hiking after lunch we set up camp to "Be Prepared". The morning was cool but quite sunny & pleasant. On the hike we passed a colonial iron mine and an abandonned Civil Ward Era cemetery. ( This graveyard had been "restored" as an Eagle Scout Service Project )
The sunny weather was reflected in their smiles ----
even the first time hiker, Morgan (behind his mask) .
The group from left to right:
Alumnus Mike C. ( down from Troy), Mr.M,
Morgan S., Ronak C.,Howard, Finnegan A.,
brothers David & John Paul M.
We were setting up the Troop sleeping tarp & 4 more
tarps around the fire site ( which we always do when
rain is forecast so that we can cook & eat sheltered
from the rain). On time , as forecast , thunder started
--- but it had a very strange sound to it. Soon sleet started to fall which turned into a 2 hour pelting of pea size hail that aggregated for the final half hour to hailstones the diameter of a quarter !! [ Needless to say, we were very happy to be watching from under the tarps ( which had been pitched to avoid damage).
This "sunny November hike" now looked more like a winter one . Howard told the Scouts that they had just experienced a "once in a lifetime event".... that the only other time that he had experienced this was in 1960 when hiking at Philont Scout Ranch in N.M.
A hike weather event that they too would remember
:o)
December == a Hike to the Mines
Within the confines of current Harriman State Park there are quite a few mines that date as far back as the 18th Century --- some provided iron, nickel and mica , "isinglass" & graphite including resources for the American Revolution, the War of 1812, & the Civil War. On this hike we visited several of these sites.
"Times Square" [ below] is a location where 3 main trails intersect so passing hikers are quite numerous. >>> From Troop 4 ( l. to r.) Mike , Koichiro S. , JP Margand, Howard, Morgan S., Tom M., Ben, Mr. M. ( AND Ronak the person behind the camera )
Most of the day was overcast but the weather came through when the clouds parted providing sunshine for our lunch break. [ Decades ago this area was in deep shade from a centuries old Hemlock forest ...but that came to an end when yet another invasive insect from Asia ==the Hemlock Adelgid == killed off almost all these trees.]
Troop Alumnus , Mike C. , again came down from Troy, N.Y. for the hike this weekend.
The flooded remains of one shaft of the several that remain of the Hogencamp Mine.
Koichiro & Tom took advantage of the sun's warmth on the flat rock surface by providing mutual backrests.
Pine Swamp Mine has 8 openings
This mine was first worked in 1830 by the owner of the West Point Foundry across the Hudson.
Now small foundations are all that remain of a small town that used to exist here.
After our camp was set up some went exploring in the wooded area ... while others took a pre-dinner nap :o)
JANUARY 2022 TROOP HIKE
Friday prior to the hike we had an 8 inch snow fall. Since the roads were forecast to be cleared by Saturday we altered the hiking trail that we chose so that we would camp in an area of mature Hemlock trees for firewood that we knew of from prior hikes. The entire day remained sunny, the snow soft underfoot and the streams that we crossed were deeper than usual from the melting snow === a few boots got wet from sliding off mid-stream slippery stepping stones ...but they were carefully dried near the campfire in the evening.
[ Pix courtesy of Ronak C. ]
With commendable effort by Alumni Ben, Ronak, Mike & Ryo the routine Troop 4 "contained fire site" was assembled from local flat boulders... and we created "backrests" from fallen tree trunks around the fire area. As anticipated , plentiuful dead wood was visible through the snow .
A never to be forgotten moment happened when a large male & female deer , unaware of our prescence, came sailing over the adjacent escarpment & landed only a dozen feet from the Scouts collecting wood. It was hard to tell who was startled more === us or them !! ....but they wasted no time to turn 90 degrees & hightail it away into the forest .... [ Sure would have made a great video.... ]
With the sleeping tarps up, wood collected, & fire site set up it was still sunny enough to relax in the warming sunshine before diner. Koichiro S., Henry B., Tom M., and Alumnus Ryo . [ Off camera were Alumni Ben B., Ronak C., Mike C., & The Bald Eagle, Howard...]
Three Alumni prefer above ground sleepiing in hammocks under the cover of their tarps. The rest of us slept on ground sheets, foam pads & on the snow under other tarps.
The nightime sky was clear with a bright quarter moon but also lots of stars including a prominent Orion overhead. Our thermometer showed a low of 18 degrees F.
Everyone was so comfortable by the fire that bedtime was delayed & the extra time by the fire was spent completely drying all our clothes for Sunday breakfast & the hike out to the pickup spot.
After lunch Tom & Koichiro went polypad sledding down the nearby hill & returned with some impressive ice formations
At dinner it became a cook-off rivalry as Tom & Koichiro made steak complete with rosemary & thyme, Ben & Ronak cooked Italian vegetarian dinners, Mike cooked several large cheese quesadillas, Ryo went with two jumbo chopped beef patties. Henry & Howard had more modest dinners BUT benefitted from multiple "donations" from the other cooks. :o)
APRIL HIGH ADVENTURE DAY at the Scout Cabin
>After cancelled hikes in the prior two months everyone was glad to be together outdoors for basic rappelling instruction ( only four Scouts were missing = due to vacation trips ).
>As the day progressed the confidence grew .... When July arrives the Troop will attend
Camp Waubeeka in the Adirondacks & climb & rappell on the 10 story Climbing Tower &
on Mt. Stevens at our Greater Hudson Valley Council's Read Reservation.
For adult supervision = Steve B +Ben B + Ronak C + Sequoyah L + Henry B & Howard
Below are a few of the pix taken by Ronak during the day.
To conclude the day we had lunch & visited at the riverside fire ring.
