Arden-17A: Greenwood Lake Area question
Hey All,
Advance apologies if this is not in the right forum.
I'm local to the Greenwood Lake/Harriman/Bear Mountain area, so I hike there often. In the past, I noticed a really interesting clear flat spot on the Arden-17A section of the AT--located between Fitzgerald Falls and the wooden foot bridge just before reaching the road to Greenwood Lake. I always wondered if it was there for scout groups or whatever. Anyway, I was recently hiking over there and it looked like people were living over there--there was a makeshift shelter, couch cushions, tons of trash, laundry hanging out, fire pit (which isn't allowed in this section) etc. Now, unless I'm totally clueless (I'm not, I promise) these were not backpackers or day hikers. I passed there quickly and continued my hike. Later, on my hike back, I noticed a few people hanging out over there. All good, sure, but I was hiking alone and honestly, I was a bit concerned for my safety. Usually during the fall and spring, I pack out trash from that area but didn't feel safe enough to stop and do that on this hike.
I bring this up because I've done plenty of day hikes, but next year I plan to section hike a portion of the New York AT and I was wondering if this is something that's common in between shelters on the NY section. I know that people are urged to use the shelters but this set up was still a few miles short of Wildcat and pretty far from Fingerboard, and did not look particularly portable. Thanks.
