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Hatchet_1697
01-28-2018, 23:32
I’m planning a section hike of the AT across NY state around Memorial Day and need some advice.

How bad will the Black-flies be the end of May-early June?

What is the typical weather can I expect? (temps / rain)

Is backcountry camping allowed on the AT in NY?

Any other considerations for planning?

Any must see views or history?

We will start at High Point State Park and finish near Kent, CT.

Thanks!


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moldy
01-29-2018, 08:43
Black flies and skeeters will be a minor problem. Bring some deet and a bug net. Long pants and sleeves. Camp in high open areas so the wind keeps them at bay.
Expect cool but not cold possibly wet weather. Overnight lows could be in the 40's.
I camp where ever I want, avoiding peoples lawns. They don't want you to make a fire except in designated places.
This is a very nice hike and you will have a great time.

Gambit McCrae
01-29-2018, 09:13
By starting at Harriman, NY I am guessing you will be starting at the parking lot nust north of hwy 17...Harriman is beautiful but ends quickly. I would suggest, from my October experience, to get water when you see it, water may be flowing well in may-june but was pretty much dried up when we were there. You will be skipping agony grind which looking back was rewarding, but kinda wrecks your daily mileadge thru that sections.

I would stop in at the bear mountain inn and get a hot dog and cold beer/ coke. The zoo was kinda sad and like something from the 60's. I would suggest staying at the ball park at the monestary just north of the Appalachian market, it was a peaceful stay for us.

have a great trip

Slo-go'en
01-29-2018, 15:26
I'm not sure if there is a legal requirement to use only designated sites in NJ/NY, but for a practical matter you'd best use them - that's were the water is. The trail through there is a narrow corridor and often abuts peoples backyards or is crossing private land on a narrow right of way. You are hiking through suburbia - high end suburbia at that.

Most likely early summer temps, rain hit or miss.

shelb
01-31-2018, 00:45
I stayed at Fingerboard Shelter (ok..), but I went on from there to Bear Mountain. Many people mentioned that West Mountain had GREAT VIEWS of the NY SKYLINE - but they said it was a bit of a hike off the trail.

Bear Mountain: The Inn had GREAT food when we went in July. The stuffed Mac and Chz was to die for! We asked if they had any left-over discounted rooms, and received one at a decent rate. The pool is a public pool that serves the resort as well as many people who are picnicing. It was refreshing to a hiker.... I would recommend it even if you are not staying (I think it was $3 a person?).

As others mentioned, the zoo is not a big deal... If you are hiking through, it is free for thru hikers, but you need to use the thru hiking entrance/exit...

New York is lovely!

Starchild
01-31-2018, 09:42
....
Bear Mountain: The Inn had GREAT food when we went in July. The stuffed Mac and Chz was to die for! We asked if they had any left-over discounted rooms, and received one at a decent rate. The pool is a public pool that serves the resort as well as many people who are picnicing. It was refreshing to a hiker.... I would recommend it even if you are not staying (I think it was $3 a person?).

...
The inn is nice, and the restaurant is awesome (upstairs, there is a small cafe style one downstairs) but is known to be pricy you may have gotten lucky and worth a try, but also want to prepare one for sticker shock if a discount rate is well in the 3 digits.

JEBjr
01-31-2018, 09:44
We came through Bear Mountain on Father's Day. Never seen so many people on my life. ☺ Nuclear Lake was a pretty place for lunch, Dover Oak and the cute boardwalk, picturesque water tank. I would avoid dennytown camp... wnd most buggy spot I have been on the AT. You could camp behind the deli in Stormville, pic nic table, water, power, beer. The pizzeria had great pizza but not very hiker friendly... wouldn't let me charge my phone. The Appalachian Market was awesome. I would avoid the Dutchess Inn.

Have a great hike

colorado_rob
01-31-2018, 10:02
Decent little section, the only advice I might offer, furthering what Jebjr just said, is to try to time it to avoid the Bear Mountain area on a weekend. I got unlucky and cruised through there right smack on a weekend, crazy crowded. Have some single bills for the vending machines at the top area. I enjoyed a nice soda and bag of chips among the throngs. Then I enjoyed a filling, but expensive meal at the Inn later. I was pretty stinky at that point, and got some looks from tourists....

One little cool surprise is popping over a ridge and having the skyline of NY city laid out in the distance. Quite impressive!

Hatchet_1697
01-31-2018, 18:06
Great advice and tips, thanks!


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Slo-go'en
01-31-2018, 21:30
Decent little section, the only advice I might offer, furthering what Jebjr just said, is to try to time it to avoid the Bear Mountain area on a weekend.

Unless you speak Spanish, then you can probably yogi a meal from one of the many cookouts going on. It takes a lot of will power to walk by all those Barbecue grills :)

Oh yea, another highlight of this section is dogging cars doing 90 MPH on the Palisades Parkway. 2 lanes each way.. Good luck crossing the north bound lanes on a Friday afternoon.
At least there is a wooded medium in the middle.

If the sky is clear without too much haze, the skyline of Manhattan can be seen from the West Mountain shelter. When I was there, we saw the skyline best as the sun rose. The shelter is a bit of a walk off the trail, but is worth the walk. Nice view even if you can't see the city.

Knee Jerk
01-31-2018, 22:25
I live here, I hike here. And yes, this section of the AT can be very challenging for all the reasons already posted above.

The house-sized boulders above Greenwood Lake are tough on the legs - Agony Grind is very steep (although, you'll be heading down) - Devil's Ladder requires you to put away your hiking poles and climb hand over hand - the Lemon Squeeze is short, but fun - Fingerboard Shelter is old, ugly and sooty - crossing Palisades Parkway is probably the most dangerous place anywhere on the AT - and there are swamps and cliffs and boardwalks and delis and ice cream stands and rebar ladders and vending machines and lakes and long climbs leading to tremendous views.

Yes, Bear Mountain State Park after Memorial Day is overrun with metropolitan-area tourists but the new rock stairway (Thanks Jolly Rovers!) is a wonder to behold. And yes, the water sources around here are scarce and brown - and the flying insects are a pain - and there are a decent amount of bears and copperheads and timber rattlers and ticks in the woods. And hell, we haven't even crossed the Hudson yet!

Yeah, New York and New Jersey are not what people expect. AWOL says: "Despite the unimposing profile, rocks and abrupt ups and downs make this section challenging."

Yup, yup and yup.

But where else could you have this much fun?

linus72
02-01-2018, 10:33
enjoyed new york, definitely some challenging areas. which area are u calling 'devils ladder'? there was one climb up a ledge on buchanan mountain that was tougher than just about anything in the state and there was no mention of it in the guide and it looks like a small blip on the profile. there's also an NYC skyline view from Black Mountain along the trail if you don't feel like going .6 off trail to stay at west mtn.

Slo-go'en
02-01-2018, 10:49
Is backcountry camping allowed on the AT in NY?


I looked it up and camping is only allowed at shelter sites in NJ/NY.

linus72
02-01-2018, 10:56
here's our full NY video. though we did sobo until 17a and then the NJ line nobo to that spot to complete. some were day hikes but most were backpacking weekend section hikes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQvAFPjiWSY&t=6s

Knee Jerk
02-01-2018, 13:27
enjoyed new york, definitely some challenging areas. which area are u calling 'devils ladder'? there was one climb up a ledge on buchanan mountain that was tougher than just about anything in the state and there was no mention of it in the guide and it looks like a small blip on the profile. there's also an NYC skyline view from Black Mountain along the trail if you don't feel like going .6 off trail to stay at west mtn.

Yes, that's the one! Buchanan Mountain.

Locals refer to it as the Devil's Ladder although that name is used all over the country. Nice little climb, grabbing roots and stepping on rocks until the top.

The views from Black Mountain are nice just before the steep descent to the PP.

linus72
02-01-2018, 13:31
good name for it! i think at the time we came up with some funny names for it when we made it to the top... we were caught off guard for sure. on the other hand, agony grind ain't much but a lot of uphill, was easy i thought...

linus72
02-01-2018, 13:37
i think we called it the 'cliffs of dispair' like from the princess bride!

linus72
02-01-2018, 13:37
or rather cliffs of insanity?

Falls Down Goes Boom
02-01-2018, 13:47
My sister and I hiked from Vernon, NJ north towards Kent in May of 2015. We experienced a couple of 94 -96 degree days that were brutal going up and over Bear Mountain, and some 50 degree days as well. We had pre-positioned a vehicle at Bear Mountain Inn for a zero day, and we needed it. She had her dog with her and by the time we came down off Bear Mountain the dog could hardly walk. We spent a couple of nights in a motel (the first night at Bear Mountain and the second night in Peekskill). Highlights of the hike included views from the ridgelines towards NYC, Bear Mountain State Park, crossing the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge, Graymoor Monastery, walking along an old raised railroad bed near Fahnestock State Park, and some good food off trail in Warwick and Peekskill and at the convenience store just down the hill west of Graymoor. The food at the Bear Mountain Inn was also pretty good. Aside from the heat for several days, the thing that really sticks out to me as a lowlight was the amount of trash and toilet paper / human waste around Bear Mountain. It is unbelievable. Bear Mountain is a beautiful spot, but people ruin it.

Knee Jerk
02-01-2018, 13:58
here's our full NY video. though we did sobo until 17a and then the NJ line nobo to that spot to complete. some were day hikes but most were backpacking weekend section hikes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQvAFPjiWSY&t=6s

I enjoyed this video very much!

linus72
02-01-2018, 14:02
Thank you! Right around 15:40 is when we got to the top of that and i had a few expletives on the matter!

We're going to finish the last 24 miles of MA this summer and will put up that full video too. Great being out there. Can't wait till i can do a much longer section at once... don't get nearly enough vacation time from work..

colorado_rob
02-01-2018, 14:26
or rather cliffs of insanity? Yep, it's "pit of despair" (said with a heavy gravelly voice...), and "cliffs of insanity".

Knee Jerk
02-03-2018, 13:25
Linus: I gotta tell you that the view from the Eastern Pinnacles is my all-time favorite. Whenever I take first-timers out on the trail to introduce them to hiking, I take them there.

In fact, I told my wife to spread my ashes at Eastern Pinnacles when I die. She responded I wasn't worth the cost and she was just going to put my body in the trash.

I said whatever - surprise me.