Trail Conditions Forum

Mud? Ice? High water at stream crossings?

This is the place to let the trail community know what you encountered, where and when (be as precise as possible). Suggestion: Make the trail or park name your subject.

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neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/02/2011 - 8:41am
Lichen is blue and white, right? 
Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/02/2011 - 10:03am
White blazes with blue "L" painted on them. Sections of the trail are not blazed, but marked with cairns, and still easy to follow.
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/02/2011 - 12:19pm
yep - i have hiked that trail a couple of times doing an island pond lemon squeezer loop - i think i'll head over to the park and park at either elk pen and do something like what you said and add some lenght to each day - or park at anthony wayne area hike the AT to fingerboard and back - thanks a lot for your info
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/01/2011 - 11:57am
I was also thinking Anthony Wayne parking area to Fingerboard - maybe hike around Tiorati a bit and what not - spend  the night and then hike back - how would that be?  I never did that part of the park.
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/13/2011 - 12:04pm
FYI - I hiked Anthony Wayne parking area - AT to Fingerboard - stayed the night then hiked AT back to Arden Valley Road to Long Path - Long Path to red and white trail (forget the name right now) then to the white Anthony Wayne trail - all conditions were very good and pretty well marked - no issues - Anthony Wayne was muddy in spots and missed the blazes a few times but other than that it was a great hike, great weather and a great time
banjolady's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/30/2011 - 9:42pm
i have not seen mention of this but the southern harriman trail crew has done a great job rerouting the TMI near ladentown up an alternative route and extending the red arrow to meet it. this was a previously cairn blazed route which was far superior to the rocky stream bed route of the former TMI. thanks to the trail crew for all their great maintenance and rerouting. could there also be a map section posted until the new maps come out with this reroute? i knew the route but not sure if everyone will understand how the trail relates to the present map as the red arrow has been extended quite a bit...
Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 01/14/2012 - 6:34pm
I hiked that section of the TMI today for the first time, and had no problems. The only thing that's confusing is does the Red Arrow Trail stil exist? There are 3 blazes in both directions where it "meets" the TMI, but then i didn't see a single other blaze for that trail- just the blazes for the TMI.
Jeremy Apgar's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/01/2011 - 4:12pm
Thanks for your kind words about this great reroute.  You'll be glad to hear that we are actively working on a new edition of the Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails map set, and this reroute will be included along with a number of other additions/revisions.  The map should be available in the beginning of 2012, so be on the look out for it then!~Jeremy, TC Cartographer
stephensherman's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 12/01/2011 - 8:31am
That new section includes a nice viewpoint, too. Much better than the old route.
Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/25/2011 - 9:01pm
The blue trail that begins near the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring (you can walk to the beginning from the south end of the train patform) is almost completely submerged. If you are heading to Cold Spring, i highly advise skipping this if it was part of your plans. This trail is in the worst shape of any i have seen since the storms/rains, with much of it covered in 3-6 inches of water, and tons of blowdowns/branches all over. Not worth it in my opinion. The Undercliff Trail is in very good shape, although could use some blazing touch ups in the section from the southern trailhead (at Pearl St) to the rocks at the top of the first climb. Cornish Trail is fine.
bklynhiker's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/23/2011 - 6:47pm
There used to be a pond along that trail right around the ruins of the old Cornish Estate dairy barn.  A large portion of the wall is gone so the pond is no longer there.  Will the wall be rebuilt (as it was a good spot for my dog to cool off mid-hike)?  Two bridges are also out on the trail up Bull/Taurus.  The first along the red brook trail has had the trail redirected to hop across the brook at a rocky point, so I assume that's not going to be replaced.  A second bridge is now gone on the blue Notch trail close to the ruins of the Cornish Estate dairy barn (crosses the brook just after turning right onto the blue Notch trail).  We were able to cross the water with a big jump across rocks, but that could become harder to do if the water rises given the missing damn that was provided by the wall that has been washed out. 
Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/23/2011 - 9:35pm
Thanks for the info, i was thinking of hiking in that area on Friday, so it's good to know what i'll have to deal with if i go. Hard to believe that entire pond is gone- it was one of my favorite spots :(
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/22/2011 - 4:10pm
thanks a lot - those landmarks will help   i have that map - i love the nynjtc maps - they are great
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/22/2011 - 1:04pm
Hi,   I am looking to do a red dot mt tammany hike to mt tammany fire road to turquoise to sunfish pond to dunnfiled creek green loop this saturday - its supposed to be a nice sunny day.   Anyone know of the conditions on these trails at this time?   Also, does anyone know how far down the fire road it is until you make a left onto turquoise trail?  Last time I missed it and wound up bushwhacking over to Sunfish Pond - I'd rather not do that this time ;)  I think last time I just didn't go far enough.
tamcelwee's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/22/2011 - 3:28pm
Hey Neil,   I haven't been up there in a few months but if I remember correctly, it is about a mile past the helipad to the turquoise trail in the direction your going. There were 2 small rocks on the left with turquoise blazes on them that were fading and a large cairn on the right. There were also branches over the fire road after the trail to signal that's where it becomes a restricted area (reservoir property).   You could always get one of these: http://www.nynjtc.org/product/kittatinny-trails-map Very helpful.... -Tim
neil's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/28/2011 - 8:01am
thank you - the cairn and blazes were exactly where you said they were - i guess the first time i did this i just didn't go far enough - had a great day on saturday - the water is very high in dunfield creek - so if you go be prepared for multiple stream crossings - some a bit tricky - had to take my shoes off and wade once - but it was a great day
Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/19/2011 - 9:57pm
The Indian Rock Trail in Ramapo Mountain State Forest from the trailhead at Back beach Park immediately crosses 2 streams. BOTH are impassable without getting your feet wet (i mean saoked), unless you have knee-high waterproof boots or you do like i did, and put plastic bags over your shoes. Report with pictures will be sent to the TC.
Georgette Weir's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/22/2011 - 10:08am

Hi Michael--I'm glad that you were near the start of your hike so that you had the option of easily changing your plans. That stone bridge over the Wanaque River has been around for a long time and has withstood many floods; however it does go underwater on occasion. That usually happens during periods of heavy rain water when the nearby Wanaque Reservoir has to release excess water. The back channel is usuallly blocked by rock debris washed down from a nearby steep mountain stream, but the channel sometimes opens up after massive flooding, such as recent Irene/ Leo. Hopefully water levels will recede sometime soon.  --John Moran, Co-Chair North Jersey Trails.   

Michael K7's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/22/2011 - 8:58pm
Thanks for the response John- this was the first time i had ever been to this trail, so i wasn't sure if it was a known condition or not. As i said, i did manage to stay dry over the WR by putting plastic bags over my shoes, but the back channel was more problematic. Maybe some stone steps could be placed through the back channel?? Either way, the next time i head to this area i'll bring either my overboots (if it's winter), or my sandals (spring/summer). Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to respond.- Michael
dshecht's picture

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on 11/19/2011 - 8:07pm

11/19/11 Today I tried to access the Red Cross Trail from the Menomine to Owl Lake Road. It appears that there hasn't been any maintenance on this section of the trail since Irene. Trail is impassable by the Burned House and east of tje Stilllwater Trail.

Donald Hecht