Another Kevin
10-05-2013, 23:26
I have some decent maps that show public ownership of land parcels in
NY/CT/MA, and I'm trying to locate "definitely good" areas where the
National Park Service - and, indeed the Federal government - does not
control the land that the A-T passes over. This section suffers a
heavy impact from the shutdown, because the NPS owns a lot of land.
We are told that "all National Parks are closed to the public",
and I'm forced to assume that the closure encompasses the land that
the NPS has acquired to protect the Trail corridor. Unfortunately,
that encompasses a good bit of the road accesses, even in areas where
there are fair distances of the trail on State lands that are
otherwise open. There are a lot of minor stretches of A-T that are
essentially unnamed National Parks.
I similarly am not considering private lands where the Trail passes
over an easement. The easements are granted to the public on condition
that the US Government indemnify the landowner; there is no indemnity
during the shutdown. A prudent landowner is likely to suspend the
easement at this time. For this reason, I'm not about to assume that a
hiker has permission, for instance, to enter Greymoor Friary lands
without specific permission from the superior.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DETAILS:
The good news: New York has not announced any closures anywhere in its
state parks. This means that the trail should be accessible anywhere
between State Route 17 near the Elk Pen and US 9 east of the
Hudson. That section passes only through the Harriman, Bear Mountain,
and Hudson Highlands state parks and on public highways, where it
presumably remains legal to walk. (If an A-T closure made it unlawful
to walk on a public highway, I'm sure that the good citizens of towns
such as Hanover would be up in arms!)
West of Harriman, the situation on the A-T is not good. There are
short sections of NPS land at close intervals; it's nearly
impossible to choose a route that would avoid trespassing on
it. Alternatives would include exiting Harriman Park farther south and
connecting into the trail system of Sterling Forest State Park, which
would get a hiker into New Jersey on the east side of Greenwood Lake
as far as Greenwood Lake Turnpike. (I am not considering New Jersey,
so I am not going to advise on connections from there.)
A less attractive but still lawful alternative would be to depart from
the A-T onto the New York Long Path northward out of Harriman, and
follow its routing (which is mostly roadwalk and rail-trail) to the
Shawangunk Ridge Trail, and take the latter south to Port Jervis. This
route is quite deficient in opportunities to camp, or even to stay in
a town, and, as I observed, is mostly on pavement.
East of US 9, it's hard to describe routes that avoid Federal land
entirely until Fahnestock Park. It's possible to enter Fahnestock Park
from several non-Federal trailheads on Dennytown Road and it would be
then possible to hike the A-T solely on State park land until reaching
Route 301. The Trail north of 301 includes NPS protected corridor
before reaching the next road crossing.
Again, it's some miles before the next "known safe" spot. There is a
short stretch of State Multiple Use Area near Depot Hill Road south of
Pawling, but Depot Hill Road is its only road crossing, and it does
not include the Morgan Stewart shelter.
Connecticut is nearly a total loss. There's the Housatonic Meadows
State Park and its connection to the Housatonic State Forest, but then
there's another short section of Federal land leading up to the next
road crossing at West Cornwall Road, so any hike there would be an
out-and-back. (It might be possible to secure permission from the
Natuonal Audubon Society to detour over their land to the west.)
On the far side of West Cornwall Road, the state forest resumes, but
about a thousand feet of trail in the vicinity of the Pine Swamp Brook
shelter is NPS land, as is the shelter itself. There are a few miles
of state forest north of there, but there is no road access until you
come to another parcel of Federal land just north of Sharon Mountain.
Bear Mountain through the Brassie Brook shelter could be accessed
without leaving AMC property (assuming AMC is continuing to allow
access). But the East Street trailhead at the state line is
essentially the only non-closed way to get to this section of trail so
it doesn't connect with anything else.
In southern Massachusetts, Mount Race and Mount Everett stand on state
land. But you'd have to access that bit of train from the Plantain
Pond trail at the south end and at the north either the Elbow Trail
from the Berkshire School or the Guilder Pond parking area. North of
that trail junction, there is NPS land again. The South Taconic Trail
might be a better choice - it is a pleasant trail and goes all the
way through to the Catamount ski area in South Egremont.
An alternative to get through from south to north would be to use the
South Taconic Trail, which would cover about twenty miles from the AMC
property to the Catamount Ski Area.
There is a short section from Old Benedict Pond Road to Beartown
Mountain Road that appears to be entirely in state forest. This isn't
very many miles, but includes both Mount Wilcox shelters.
The trail gets back in state forest north of the Turnpike. A hiker
would have to go in from Tyne Road, because there is a few hundred
feet of NPS land right at the access on US 20. From there to West
Branch Road is all in state forest. A hiker would have to exit the
forest on West Branch Road or bushwhack about 300 feet to Pittsfield
Road once the trail starts paralleling it. The trail returns to NPS
corridor before the Beach Road crossing.
There's NPS land all the way to Dalton (I presume the roadwalks in
Dalton are safe!) and then comes the Chalet State Wildlife Management
Area. But it would appear that the State has ceded a corridor
surrounding the AT to the NPS all the way through the wildlife
management area up to Cheshire. I don't know there who is the formal
landowner. Someone with the Massachusetts state government could
probably advise. In any case, there are posted hiking trails
paralleling the A-T that could be accessed with very short roadwalk
detours.
The Mount Greylock state reservation should be fair game, so a hiker
could rejoin the A-T at Outlook Avenue (Not at North Street, that's
still federal!) From there to the Vermont line, the good news
resumes. The A-T is all on the Mount Greylock State Reservation, on
public roads, and in the Clarksburg State Forest up to the Vermont
line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IN SUMMARY:
NY: There are a fair number of miles through Harriman-Bear
Mountain-Hudson Highlands that are not shut down. There's also the
section through Fahnestock. Most of the rest of the trail requires
crossing NPS lands to get to the trailheads, even if much of the
treadway is State or private.
CT: Nearly a total loss, except for a short section in the Housatonic
State Forest that might be negotiable.
MA: Mount Race and Mount Everett are state land, but would have to
be approached from side trails. Mount Wilcox is open, as is
October Mountain. Chalet Wildlife Management Area has a NPS corridor
protecting the A-T whose status is uncertain. In any case, there are
other north-south trails crossing this area requiring only a small
amount of roadwalk to get to Cheshire. From Outlook Avenue in Cheshire
to the Vermont line and beyond looks to be open.
NY/CT/MA, and I'm trying to locate "definitely good" areas where the
National Park Service - and, indeed the Federal government - does not
control the land that the A-T passes over. This section suffers a
heavy impact from the shutdown, because the NPS owns a lot of land.
We are told that "all National Parks are closed to the public",
and I'm forced to assume that the closure encompasses the land that
the NPS has acquired to protect the Trail corridor. Unfortunately,
that encompasses a good bit of the road accesses, even in areas where
there are fair distances of the trail on State lands that are
otherwise open. There are a lot of minor stretches of A-T that are
essentially unnamed National Parks.
I similarly am not considering private lands where the Trail passes
over an easement. The easements are granted to the public on condition
that the US Government indemnify the landowner; there is no indemnity
during the shutdown. A prudent landowner is likely to suspend the
easement at this time. For this reason, I'm not about to assume that a
hiker has permission, for instance, to enter Greymoor Friary lands
without specific permission from the superior.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DETAILS:
The good news: New York has not announced any closures anywhere in its
state parks. This means that the trail should be accessible anywhere
between State Route 17 near the Elk Pen and US 9 east of the
Hudson. That section passes only through the Harriman, Bear Mountain,
and Hudson Highlands state parks and on public highways, where it
presumably remains legal to walk. (If an A-T closure made it unlawful
to walk on a public highway, I'm sure that the good citizens of towns
such as Hanover would be up in arms!)
West of Harriman, the situation on the A-T is not good. There are
short sections of NPS land at close intervals; it's nearly
impossible to choose a route that would avoid trespassing on
it. Alternatives would include exiting Harriman Park farther south and
connecting into the trail system of Sterling Forest State Park, which
would get a hiker into New Jersey on the east side of Greenwood Lake
as far as Greenwood Lake Turnpike. (I am not considering New Jersey,
so I am not going to advise on connections from there.)
A less attractive but still lawful alternative would be to depart from
the A-T onto the New York Long Path northward out of Harriman, and
follow its routing (which is mostly roadwalk and rail-trail) to the
Shawangunk Ridge Trail, and take the latter south to Port Jervis. This
route is quite deficient in opportunities to camp, or even to stay in
a town, and, as I observed, is mostly on pavement.
East of US 9, it's hard to describe routes that avoid Federal land
entirely until Fahnestock Park. It's possible to enter Fahnestock Park
from several non-Federal trailheads on Dennytown Road and it would be
then possible to hike the A-T solely on State park land until reaching
Route 301. The Trail north of 301 includes NPS protected corridor
before reaching the next road crossing.
Again, it's some miles before the next "known safe" spot. There is a
short stretch of State Multiple Use Area near Depot Hill Road south of
Pawling, but Depot Hill Road is its only road crossing, and it does
not include the Morgan Stewart shelter.
Connecticut is nearly a total loss. There's the Housatonic Meadows
State Park and its connection to the Housatonic State Forest, but then
there's another short section of Federal land leading up to the next
road crossing at West Cornwall Road, so any hike there would be an
out-and-back. (It might be possible to secure permission from the
Natuonal Audubon Society to detour over their land to the west.)
On the far side of West Cornwall Road, the state forest resumes, but
about a thousand feet of trail in the vicinity of the Pine Swamp Brook
shelter is NPS land, as is the shelter itself. There are a few miles
of state forest north of there, but there is no road access until you
come to another parcel of Federal land just north of Sharon Mountain.
Bear Mountain through the Brassie Brook shelter could be accessed
without leaving AMC property (assuming AMC is continuing to allow
access). But the East Street trailhead at the state line is
essentially the only non-closed way to get to this section of trail so
it doesn't connect with anything else.
In southern Massachusetts, Mount Race and Mount Everett stand on state
land. But you'd have to access that bit of train from the Plantain
Pond trail at the south end and at the north either the Elbow Trail
from the Berkshire School or the Guilder Pond parking area. North of
that trail junction, there is NPS land again. The South Taconic Trail
might be a better choice - it is a pleasant trail and goes all the
way through to the Catamount ski area in South Egremont.
An alternative to get through from south to north would be to use the
South Taconic Trail, which would cover about twenty miles from the AMC
property to the Catamount Ski Area.
There is a short section from Old Benedict Pond Road to Beartown
Mountain Road that appears to be entirely in state forest. This isn't
very many miles, but includes both Mount Wilcox shelters.
The trail gets back in state forest north of the Turnpike. A hiker
would have to go in from Tyne Road, because there is a few hundred
feet of NPS land right at the access on US 20. From there to West
Branch Road is all in state forest. A hiker would have to exit the
forest on West Branch Road or bushwhack about 300 feet to Pittsfield
Road once the trail starts paralleling it. The trail returns to NPS
corridor before the Beach Road crossing.
There's NPS land all the way to Dalton (I presume the roadwalks in
Dalton are safe!) and then comes the Chalet State Wildlife Management
Area. But it would appear that the State has ceded a corridor
surrounding the AT to the NPS all the way through the wildlife
management area up to Cheshire. I don't know there who is the formal
landowner. Someone with the Massachusetts state government could
probably advise. In any case, there are posted hiking trails
paralleling the A-T that could be accessed with very short roadwalk
detours.
The Mount Greylock state reservation should be fair game, so a hiker
could rejoin the A-T at Outlook Avenue (Not at North Street, that's
still federal!) From there to the Vermont line, the good news
resumes. The A-T is all on the Mount Greylock State Reservation, on
public roads, and in the Clarksburg State Forest up to the Vermont
line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IN SUMMARY:
NY: There are a fair number of miles through Harriman-Bear
Mountain-Hudson Highlands that are not shut down. There's also the
section through Fahnestock. Most of the rest of the trail requires
crossing NPS lands to get to the trailheads, even if much of the
treadway is State or private.
CT: Nearly a total loss, except for a short section in the Housatonic
State Forest that might be negotiable.
MA: Mount Race and Mount Everett are state land, but would have to
be approached from side trails. Mount Wilcox is open, as is
October Mountain. Chalet Wildlife Management Area has a NPS corridor
protecting the A-T whose status is uncertain. In any case, there are
other north-south trails crossing this area requiring only a small
amount of roadwalk to get to Cheshire. From Outlook Avenue in Cheshire
to the Vermont line and beyond looks to be open.