General and Off Topic

Forum for General and Off-topic Discussions

Try to pick a specific forum if possible, to post your comments. Otherwise post here.


 

rshiking14's picture

I am beginning to extend my hiking trips and over weekends, therfore I am looking intobuying a new frame pack. I'm not too sure about the pros an cons of external or internal frame, so do you guys have any suggestions? Also brands/models would be great. Thanks!
Daniel Chazin's picture

The external frame packs shift most of the weight of the gear to your hips.  They are also generally somewhat lighter and less expensive than internal frame packs.  But they are very rigid and will not easily follow your body if you twist to get around obstacles.  Internal frame packs fit your body better and are more maneuverable in tight situations where you need to maintain your balance.  If you plan on hiking on steep, rocky trails (and we have many of those in our area!), the internal frame pack is a better choice.  If you are hiking on smooth, graded trails, you might prefer the external frame pack.
rshiking14's picture

Great facts that I will take into consideration
mikefmbklyn@verizon.net's picture

I just thought I would mention this.  I recently met someone in the Tarrytown area that teachs at the school that stands above the Old Croton Aquiduct.  She told me that she is part of a group that wanted to close that section of the aquiduct near the school.  I hope this never comes to pass and that's why I'm bringing it up here.  Could you imagine that part being closed and having to do a detour?  Hopefully it never comes down to having to fight over public acces to that state park area.
horicon@post.com's picture

I know this is last minute but is there any one that wants or is willing to hiking this week?????  Out of New Paltz, (Mohonk or Minnnawaska),  Kingston (Eastern Catskills), or Sam Point(Ellenville).   Today is Sunday the 14th of April.
PVPatrick's picture

Maybe post these requests in the Meetup/Rideshare category?  Also, check out meetup dot com for hiking groups in your area.
horicon@post.com's picture

Is there any hikes meeting in New Paltz, NY on Saturday,  April 13???  If not does any one want to go hiking???
Michael K7's picture

Hi, i'm wondering if there are any facilities in the LW area that are available year-round? Specifically, i'm interested in water fountains with clean drinkable water, or soda machines to buy water from. Thanks for any Help!
smithg2010's picture

   .... coming soon to a park near you?    Virtual hikes ... LOL   http://capeandislands.org/post/google-street-view-takes-hike-so
johnm's picture

The murderer has not been found.  I understand that with use of search dogs and  searching the park for weeks with many rangers and police conducting a grid search, no trace had been found.  Also, extensive other police activities such as interviewing anyone who might have any information were also undertaken. 
Michael K7's picture

Thank you for your reply.
Michael K7's picture

I haven't heard any updates on this. Supposedly the guy was hiding out in Harriman after killing his daughter-in-law in Haverstraw. Was he ever caught?
Zolmonster's picture

I have been wondering what "torne" means since I moved here. I have only ever seen it used in the NY/NJ area, except for a river in Sweden.   I tried to translate it from Dutch, thinking that it might be derived from their language like the word "kill" (as used in such streams as Arthur Kill, Bush Kill, etc.), but I had no luck.   I would appreciate any information, this is driving me crazy!   Thanks!
Estelle's picture

(The term Torne is derived from from the Dutch word Torenberg, mean tower or pinnacle).   This is what I have always been told,  as you know there are various Torne's or Torne mountains around the area and we did have lots of Dutch settlers.    Hope you are not so crazy now!
pintoj's picture

Does anyone know when was the last time a bear mauled or killed someone hiking in New Jersey?  I am trying to convince some friends to start hiking in NJ but they are so afraid of encountering a bear that I want to re-assure them that being harmed by a bear in New Jersey when hiking is an extremely rare occurence.
Daniel Chazin's picture

I cannot directly answer the question with absolute certainty, but I am not aware of any incident where a hiker has been harmed by a bear in New Jersey.  I have seen bears on hikes in New Jersey a number of times, and in no case did I feel in any way threatened by the bear.  I would tell your friends that it is not common for a hiker in New Jersey -- even today -- to see a bear on a hike, and if they do see a bear, just leave it alone and don't disturb it, and it will go away.
pintoj's picture

Thanks Dan!  That's about what I recalled but wanted some confirmation that I wasn't forgetting some well-known incident in the past.  I always recommend to my friends when hiking in bear-country (from my past hiking adventures in the Rockies's Grizzly country) to make sure the bears can hear you coming so they have a chance to move themselves (and their cubs) away from you.
tommi's picture

Hi.On the NY/NJ TC East Hudson Trails map set (2010 Edition), the map legend states that "Blue UTM gridlines are True North." However, I had thought that only the central meridian in a UTM zone coincided with True North. Can someone help me better understand the relationship between UTM gridlines and True North on these maps?Thanks!
Jeremy Apgar's picture

You are correct that the central meridian in a UTM zone is the only location where the gridlines actually represent True North.  As one moves away from the meridian within a zone, the angle to True North does change slightly.  However, all of our maps are near the center of zone 18T (longitude 75W), and even the maps furthest from the central meridian have a grid declination of less than 1 degree.  Therefore, based on the scales of our maps and this barely noticeable difference, we do not specifiy this less-than-1-degree Grid North declination on our maps.  If the difference were larger (which could occur if we were at a higher latitude and closer to the edge of a zone), this information would certainly be useful to include for navigational purposes, but it is negligible in the areas covered by our maps.Thanks for your inquiry!~Jeremy, TC cartographer
tommi's picture

Thanks very much for the explanation. That makes sense. What is confusing then is the UTM gridlines that are rendered on maps generated by National Geographic Topo! software, which appear to show a more dramatic difference between True North and UTM Grid North (for the same areas as the NYNJ TC map). On the NG Topo map, the UTM grid is visually "crooked" w.r.t. the neatline of the map (which I had throught was TN.) But perhaps that's a question for NG Topo customer support. Thanks for your help.