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View Full Version : Sanity Check: NY 17A--NJ State Line



dperry
09-22-2008, 23:53
Hello, All,

The wife and I's original plan this fall was to do a three-day camp in Northern VA, but for various reasons that isn't going to work out. However, we hate to waste an entire fall with no AT hiking, so we have searched for an alternative. The area between Arden, NY and Vernon, NJ does not seem to lend itself to weekend camping trips (poor shelter spacing), so we've decided to instead to do it in day hikes, starting this fall and perhaps finishing up in the spring. This Saturday (Sept. 27), we're going to go from NY 17A to the State Line Trail, then use the latter to get down to the parking area by Greenwood Lake where we will have left our car. I am interested in any commentary on this section, in particular:

1.) How bad are the bears? We're not camping, so it's not as much of a problem, but we would still like to know if there's a decent chance that we will run into one.
2.) Where are the good views?
3.) I understand from the guide that there is a ladder to be climbed at one point. How difficult is this? Fortunately, we won't have big packs on, but I'm still a bit concerned about my 5' wife if the rungs are really big or something.
4.) Any hunting in this area?

Also, we need a shuttle from the State Line trailhead to NY 17A; see the post under the parking & shuttle forum for more details. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

rafe
09-23-2008, 00:11
This is a pretty active bear territory, but I wouldn't worry much. I saw fresh tracks, but no bear. Great views from the ridge just west of Greenwood Lake.

dperry
09-24-2008, 15:30
Never mind on the shuttle, all. The weather's supposed to be pretty bad this weekend, and I'm experiencing some health problems as well. Please keep any comments coming, though, as we will try to reschedule for later this fall.

Pedaling Fool
09-24-2008, 16:43
This is one of the areas I had a problem with a bear. He kept circling me while I was eating dinner at a shelter (I think it was Wildcat shelter). I couldn't bang my pots together since I was eating, but yelling at it didn't really work. I could see he wanted some food and I wasn't much of a deterrent.

I wouldn’t really worry about this incident, since I, for some reason, get ******ed with a lot by wildlife, including bears. Most people’s encounters with bears result in the bear high-tailing it out of the area, but they just seem to want to mess with me.

With my luck, I probably should stop sleeping with my food in my tent.:-?

rafe
09-24-2008, 16:53
A woman I met at Highpoint shelter showed me photos (from her camera's LCD screen) of a large bear gazing over her (not quite legal) campsite at some lake further down the Kitatinny ridge in NJ. I forget the name of the lake, except that the trail goes right by it. (Crater Lake? Could it be? Something absurd like that.)

brianos
09-24-2008, 18:11
Maybe Sunfish Pond?
Back in 2004 I hiked with a group from High Point to the Delaware Water Gap. Not too far south of the observation platform near High Point we encountered a hiker spooked out of his wits after running into a big mama bear. We never saw the mama, but did see a cub frolicking in the woods not much farther down the trail. Didn't run into any more bears that trip, but seems all of the locals had stories about the bears tipping trash cans, etc.

Blissful
09-24-2008, 19:43
Never saw a single bear in NJ or NY (and after all we heard about, too). Must have gone into hiding.

Yes, there is a ladder, no big deal (here's a picture (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=22245&catid=member&imageuser=6008) of it from my gallery). Some rocky outcroppings and such to maneuver up over and around. View of NYC skyline from Mombasha High Point, and you can look back and see the monument tof High Pt state park at different times. With day packs, no sweat in this area. We liked the ice cream place south of wildcat shelter at the road crossing.

rafe
09-24-2008, 20:21
Maybe Sunfish Pond?

Nah, it really is (was) Crater Lake. No joking.

karoberts
09-24-2008, 20:29
My dog climbed the ladder.

We also saw 11 bears in that area.

A-Train
09-25-2008, 10:53
Nah, it really is (was) Crater Lake. No joking.

Tis true. Just north of Blue Mtn Lakes Road, around mile 18-19 north of DWG. The Lake is visibile from the trail. Good place to swim!

sasquatch2014
09-28-2008, 23:13
Never saw a single bear in NJ or NY (and after all we heard about, too). Must have gone into hiding.



What you didn't stop in at the zoo?