General and Off Topic

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Suzy's picture

Why is it that whenever I hike, I hear the far-off buzzing of a chainsaw?
horicon@post.com's picture

You did not tell us where you where hiking but people us chain saws to cut trees. I live in Ulster County and that is a "common" noise. like honking of horns in NYC.
PVPatrick's picture

Living in the Highlands (not sure where you do your hiking) I have noticed this phenomenon as well. My theories are: (1)There are a lot of trees, forest cover, and much of this forest is mature, and therefore dying, necessitating pruning and take downs to protect life and property, clear drives, etc. (2) Many people use wood burning stoves and fireplaces to supplement the heat for their homes in winter and cut their own wood for fuel; typically on weekends. (3) The two fall storms, particularly the freak Halloween snowstorm did massive damage to trees still with leaves, breaking and damaging branches. Eight months later these damaged limbs are still falling and still being trimmed and cut up by chainsaw. (4) Sound travels far across the terrain, particularly when you are on ridgelines and summits, as many hiking trails traverse, making distant noise more noticable. My other theory is that there are bands of chainsaw weilding psychopaths roaming the woods, but I haven't come across any of them!
Michael K7's picture

Anyone have any recommendations for good places to eat after a hike in Cold Spring?  Must be accessible on foot, as we take the train, and vegetarian options preferred. Thanks!
Brian's picture

Was hiking Stony Brook from visitor center with my son and came upon a nice looking black bear on the powerline. Unfortunately I left my long lens at home but have two pictures posted at www.brianboland.net/Landscapes/HSP/12288327_dknmJ4#!i=1862677801&k=Pw9dG3F. I have been hiking Harriman for years and never saw a black bear. It was great to see this one out there. Brian
joemillermusic's picture

Hello everyone. My friend and I are hiking the Devil's Path over the course of a few days in May. Can anyone tell me how many calories we should plan to eat per day if we are traveling about 7 miles a day? And also please tell us what kind of food to bring with us that is light. We plan to bring a variety of Cliff products to keep our protien and energy levels up.
PVPatrick's picture

Easy, delicious, relatively cheap when you buy the boxes of pitted dates, and healthy.
Walt Daniels's picture

The most extensive information on calorie requirements are from the long distance hikers, such as AT Thru hikers, where they burn up to 6000 calories a day to avoid weight loss. As an AT section hiker doing only a week at time, this much was not an issue as some moderate weight loss was a desired result. I think we were more in the 4000 calories a day range, and backing off when you get home is hard. Oils are about twice the calories per ounce as protien or carbohydrates so eating a stick of butter or drinking a cup of oil oiive oil is the most bang for the ounce, but not particularly appetizing. Most recipes stand up to doubling the amount of oil while still remaining good tasting. While hiking strenously, more small meals or snacks keep the energy up better than fewer big meals.One of our favorites is no cook peanut butter cookies, 1 c dry milk, 1/3 c peanut butter, 1/3 c honey. Mix honey and peanut butter and kneed in dry milk. It should be quite stiff but not crumbly. 
wrbarrick@verizon.net's picture

Has anyone been through Hemlock Springs Campsite. Its about a mile North of  the bear Mt bridge. I was wondering if the spring was working 
svem175's picture

Hi all. I recently stumbled onto some info and video of hikes through the Shingle Gully and Ice Caves. From what I can gather these are not marked trails and also require permits. Can anyone tell me whether they know of an organized hike I might be able to get in touch with to do this? Or pass on any information about this hike from personal experiences? Thanks.
ThereAreGoats's picture

Last weekend, I took the ShortLine bus up to Harriman and got off at the Arden Valley Road stop without any trouble. What I forgot to figure out was how to get back! I waited at that same location (on the other side of the road) for about 45 minutes before beginning to worry that the bus only stops at Arden Valley Road if requested. My solution was to walk all the way to the Harriman NJ Transit station---not really the way I wanted to end my glorious three-day trip to the park. So what's the secret to getting back? Does the bus eventually stop there? And if so, how often? And where? There isn't a sign...
Michael K7's picture

The bus back to Port Authority will stop there, but there isn't a marked stop. You need to wait on the other side of 17(southbound), right across the road from the entrance to AVR. The bus will be coming around the bend, and you will need to wave and get the driver's attention. He will be moving, and will probably end up stopping a bit down the road, so you'll have to jog down to where he stops. As far as the times, you need to look at the Shortline schedule for the Harriman stop (the bus also stops right at the entrance to the Harriman train station), and figure that the bus will be getting to AVR about 5 minutes after it's scheduled to stop at Harriman. Although in my experience, the busses are usually running behind schedule, i would advise getting to the stop at least 10 minutes before the bus is scheduled to be there. And if you ever decide you'd rather catch the train at Harriman instead, just follow the Appalachian Trail up Agony Grind, and take the Sapphire Trail all the way to the station- the trailhead is right across from the station entrance. A much nicer way to get to the train station :) Have fun!
ThereAreGoats's picture

Great to know! Although if the Agony Grind is as tough as it sounds, I might stick to the highway!   Thanks a bunch, Robert
jessemarc's picture

I might be interested in volunteering with the big Bear Mountain project. My personal issue is that I work many weekends. I do have many weekdays off however. I've been waiting for a Bear Mtn orientation class to occur on a day that I am not working and I finally see one coming up which I may attend.  My question is, do they work on this project on weekdays or only weekends? Will there be many opportunities for me to volunteer on those weekdays? Is there a better place to ask this question?
Larry Wheelock's picture

There are opportunities to work on the Bear Mountain Project on weekdays. Our crews are generally active Thursday through Monday. Because we use rather advanced technical procedures for this particular project we do require that volunteers meet a minimum of training to become eligible to participate. The requirements are that you attend the Orientation and at least two of the additional workshops (Tool Use and Safety, Stone Splitting, etc). Since there are opportunities for you here I hope you'll make the effort to attend the workshops. We need your enthusiasm.
LindaC's picture

http://www.coachusa.com/ss.tickets.asp   It's the bus to Bear Mountain that stops at Jones Point.  If you choose NY to Bear Mountain in the above link, you will see the schedule.  You do have to request the stop of the driver.  Early on weekend days there are usually at least a couple of other hikers on the bus. Enjoy your trip.
matadorm's picture

First off, I have been spending a lot of time searching for the answer to this question and can't figure this out.  I couldn't find a place for this post so felt I would post it here.    Problem #1: I'm trying to connect the dots on a multi-day trip I'm planning to Harriman.  I've looked at the "You Don't Need a Car" section and it recommends the "Jones Point" stop in order to get to the Ramapo-Dunderberg trail.  When I go to the Shortline schedule, there is no such stop listed. See schedule here: http://www.coachusa.com/CoachUsaAssets/sites/default/files/98/pough-nwbr... What am I missing?    Problem #2: I have purchased the Harriman Trails book along with trail maps 118, and 119. I see that there are bus stops on the map.  What bus stops are these?  I see bus stops on the east side and west side of Harriman.  I'm not familiar with upstate NY bus stops or the local area at all, so I'm having a hard time piecing together the map locations with the lack of map locations on the Shortline route (no map available on the website, only a time table).  I can make sense of the Tuxedo, Sloatsburg and Southfields stops but what is that stop on the east side near 1777?  And where is the Jones Point stop on the map?    Ideally I'm attempting a bus trip arrival on the east side and ending up on the west side MTA train departure from the Tuxedo or Harriman train stops.  I live in Brooklyn and trying to avoid renting a car.  If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know as well.   Thanks for anyone's help on this.
Michael K7's picture

I'm pretty sure that bus stop near 1777 is the Jones Point stop. Many times with bus stops, they aren't located right at a trailhead, and require some roadside walking to get to the trails. As stated, the Bear Mountain bus is the one that stops at Jones Point, you must tell the driver that you wish to stop there, and be prepared for a driver to ask you if you know where it is. Many times i've had to figure out the stop with the driver when using the bus to get somewhere. Dozing off or zoning out to your Ipod is not recommended when taking the bus to one of these stops. The bus that goes to Harriman also stops at Suffern, Sloatsburg, Tuxedo, Sterling Forest (the Wildcat Mountain Trail trailhead), Southfields, and Arden Valley Road. Drivers will usually automatically stop at Suffern, Tuxedo, and Sterling Forest, but don't bet on it, make sure they know you'e getting off there. The other stops you will have to request, and they may not be familiar with them, so you will have to help them figure it out. Note also that many of these stops are not marked in any way, you are just beng let off (or picked up) on the side of the road. Any other questions, let me know, and have fun!
ThereAreGoats's picture

Can you flag down the Short Line bus at the Arden Valley Road stop to get back to New York or do you have to walk all the way to one of the towns to catch it? I forgot to check on this last time I went to Harriman and ended up walking on the highway from Arden Valley stop to catch the nearest train.    Robert
Michael K7's picture

You asked this same question once before, and i answered it- just scroll up the page to see  my reply. In short, yes, the bus stops there going back to NYC.