October 2014 Blog Posts (5)

On a Saturday in October, I brought my mountain bike back to the Huber Warbler Preserve to see if I could finally reach the back trails. On all my hikes, I never got much farther than the creek crossing. The trails are not great for biking. The sand on the main roads doesn't give great tire traction, and on the smaller side trails, which don't get much use, you're mostly riding on close-cropped foliage stems.

Still, the leaves were pretty in the fall, and it was pleasant enough. A…

We hadn't hiked this route in over 5 years, so it was time to head back and try to spot a little foliage.

Why not quite at total peak, the color was quite good. The monument area was hopping with tons of people, bikes, motorcycles and a car club but we only saw a handful of people on the trail on a perfect fall day.

Check out the updated …

A short, fun, challenging rock scramble up Bonticou Crag and a hike to Table Rocks in New York's Shawangunks.

Our two cents: The Bonticou Crag rock scramble and the views from the top are the stars here and are a must-do. The rest of the hiking in this area is ok and while Table Rocks is worthwhile and has a nice view – it's not overly enthralling.

Trail surface: ranges from dirt woods roads to somewhat rocky…

Explore an ice cave, a waterfall, and enjoy spectacular views of the Shawangunks region and the Catskill mountains.

Seasonal Notes: The ice caves fill with ice and are closed until passable in spring or summer – but by late summer won’t have much or any ice in them. The falls can dwindle to a trickle in the…

My hiking partner wife finally agreed to backpack with me on an overnight and it went so well that I thought I would share.  We parked at Lake Tiorati in Harriman State Park, and backpacked mainly on the Long Path about 3.5 miles to the summit of Stockbridge Mountain, where we found lots of tent spots and several fire rings.  There is a manmade shelter there, as well as a…