Looking for some help planning on a 2 night section hike

[MaximusD]

I am a Kiwi looking for some help planning a section hike

Want to do a 2 night 3 day section of the AT. Am going to be in Boston the morning of the 27th and i need to be in New York City by about 3-4pm on the 29th. (May)

I was thinking I could maybe do something around Bear Mountain State park, but am open to suggestions, just trying to fit something in between that

I am in reasonable good condition, so am all good with a challenging one, especially on the 28th day

[Slo-go'en]

That really doesn't give you enough time. The only possible way to make this work would be to rent a car as soon as you arrive in Boston and drive directly to the nearest trail head.

The kicker is having to be in NYC by 4 pm on a Wednesday, a time when traffic in and out of the city is at a virtual standstill. If you need to rely on public transportation, it would simply be impossible. If only you had few more days - or a week.

[tdoczi]

do a loop in harriman state park and i'd also consider taking mass transit into the city from there if you can go back for the car later.

part of the loop can incorporate the AT. i think doing a hike just on the AT and then having to deal with a shuttle would make this too difficult.

[Strategic]

You could try doing NY17 to Bear Mountain, which is possible. You'd take the MetroNorth commuter train out of NYC to Harriman station, then walk the 2 miles south to the Elk Pen trailhead on NY17 and hike in to spend the night at Fingerboard shelter. If you put in a good day on the 28th, you could stay at West Mountain shelter that night and hike out to Bear Mountain early on the 29th to take the Short Line bus into NYC. It would be tight, but should work.

[Gambit McCrae]

I agree Harriman Sp and or Bear mountain area would be best from a time standpoint. I really enjoyed that stretch of trail.

[tdoczi]

You could try doing NY17 to Bear Mountain, which is possible. You'd take the MetroNorth commuter train out of NYC to Harriman station, then walk the 2 miles south to the Elk Pen trailhead on NY17 and hike in to spend the night at Fingerboard shelter. If you put in a good day on the 28th, you could stay at West Mountain shelter that night and hike out to Bear Mountain early on the 29th to take the Short Line bus into NYC. It would be tight, but should work.

but then hes driving from boston all the way to NYC to get on a train or bus back out of the city.

thats probably not the best way to do it, though what he needs to do after he visits NYC (ie is going to retrieve the car later feasible) might determine that.

one could also find a spot to leave the car closer to the city.

i'd look at a loop from rt 17 to west mountain or thereabouts using the ramapo-dunderberg, timp torne and possibly one other trail to close the loop. i'd estimate it at about a 25 mile loop. the exact trails near the harriman train station i'm fuzzy on, but the RD starts at the tuxedo train station. you could probably do a loop that ends at one station and starts at the other.

if you do do this when you're near the far end of the loop take the time to actually go to the top of the timp, better view than anything along the AT near there. in fact most of the views on that end of the RD are as well. in general if 25 miles isnt enough theres a number of side trips to make.

you could also look at looping the suffern-bear mountail trail with the AT (or the RD if you are ok with skipping the AT mostly) though that might be a bit longer.

[Slo-go'en]

A bus ride from Boston the NYC take on average about 5-6 hours. That pretty much eats up one day. Which basically leaves one day to hike and part of the next morning to get somewhere he can get back into the city. Hardly seems worth the effort, but what do I know?

[tdoczi]

A bus ride from Boston the NYC take on average about 5-6 hours. That pretty much eats up one day. Which basically leaves one day to hike and part of the next morning to get somewhere he can get back into the city. Hardly seems worth the effort, but what do I know?

well i somehow assumed he had a car, but reading it again, no, it doesnt specify he does.

yeah, without a car thats going to be a tough one, though one could maybe bus from the city to bear mountain for the day and then come back in the morning?

[Mouser999]

if you can get to Springfield Ma, you can do sections in either Mass or Conn. Can arrange ride for you. See my PM

[Feral Bill]

From NYC, an over night trip in Harriman/Bear Mountain is very worth while. Bus to Bear Mountain, AT to West Mountain, return via Doodletown Road or Suffern Bear Mountain Trail. If you ac squeeze in two nights, The AT across the park is lovely. See post #4.

[Slo-go'en]

From NYC, an over night trip in Harriman/Bear Mountain is very worth while. Bus to Bear Mountain, AT to West Mountain, return via Doodletown Road or Suffern Bear Mountain Trail. If you ac squeeze in two nights, The AT across the park is lovely. See post #4.

Don't forget the OP is from Australia and will have to figure this all out on the fly and it can all be very confusing and will be a lot of rushing around and tight time tables to adhere to. That's a lot of ands.

[MaximusD]

Thanks all for the advice, no i do not have a car, i wouldn't rule out hiring one if needs be. But in my ignorance i thought i would be able to catch an express train somewhere early in the morning on the 27th from Boston, and then go to from there. I could prob push NY arrival to about 6pm on the 29th, I have a friends 30th dinner that starts at 6.30. If i am little late - i can live with that. (not sure how she or my partner will feel about it though )

I also know it seems like a whole lot of effort and not giving it the right amount of time i need, but unfortunately that is what i have to work with, and not sure if i will get another chance for a long time

[tdoczi]

Thanks all for the advice, no i do not have a car, i wouldn't rule out hiring one if needs be. But in my ignorance i thought i would be able to catch an express train somewhere early in the morning on the 27th from Boston, and then go to from there. I could prob push NY arrival to about 6pm on the 29th, I have a friends 30th dinner that starts at 6.30. If i am little late - i can live with that. (not sure how she or my partner will feel about it though )

I also know it seems like a whole lot of effort and not giving it the right amount of time i need, but unfortunately that is what i have to work with, and not sure if i will get another chance for a long time

the trouble is you cant get from boston to someplace like bear mountain via public transportation without going all the way to NYC and then back

but if you really wanted to an overnight is probably not impossible

[Slo-go'en]

I also know it seems like a whole lot of effort and not giving it the right amount of time i need, but unfortunately that is what i have to work with, and not sure if i will get another chance for a long time

That's certainly understandable.

There are reasonably frequent trains to NYC from Boston through out the day. But we don't have anything which resembles a high speed train. They claim 4-5 hours travel time depending on the train, but they are not noted to be reliably on time. The Boston/NYC run typically doesn't have major delays. It's definitely a better ride then the bus.

I still think your best option is to rent a car in Boston (airport I imagine) and drive out to western Mass. Sage Ravine is a neat place to visit. It's a good three hour drive out there from Boston, so depending on how early you can leave Boston, you might be able to make it before dark. I believe there is a short, quick access trail into the raven, but I don't have those maps handy.

The next day you could hike up to the highest point in Connecticut and return. Drive back to Boston as early as possible and take the train to NYC. The only iffy part of that plan is getting from the airport to drop off the car and over to South Station where the train is. I think there is a subway connection.

[Mouser999]

I'm pointing MaximusD to Mass. Sections 2/3/& 4 as I live nearby. Either Peter Pan to NYC or Amtrack. All he has to do is get Peter Pan to Springfield, I can drop off at trailheads

[Strategic]

It is possible to make this work by train (and bus on the Bear Mountain end) but it does take some navigating. You'd need to start fairly early in the day in Boston to get on the trail by a reasonable hour. Start with Amtrak for the train from Boston (South Station) to NYC (Penn Station). You'd need to take one of the earlier Northeast Regional trains (195, 99, or 161) to get to Penn Station no later than 2pm. Then you'd need to take a NJ Transit train to hop one station over from Penn Station to Secaucus Junction (virtually any line will do, they all go through Secaucus Junction and it's only about 10 minutes.) From Secaucus Junction you hop the MTA's Port Jervis line train (the 47 or 49) up to the Harriman station. That would put you at Harriman between 2pm (the 47 train) and 3:45pm (the 49 train).

Coming back is a lot easier, since you only need to grab the Short Line bus that runs straight from Bear Mountain Inn to NYC. The real trick there is to make sure you get to the inn by 3pm, since the last bus leaves at 3:19pm on weekdays. It will have you back in NYC by about 5pm or so, depending on traffic.

Hope this helps. Have fun, it's a great section of trail with some famous landmarks (the Lemon Squeezer, the "Sleepy Hollow rustic" shelters of Harriman State Park, Perkins Tower on top of Bear Mountain, Bear Mountain Inn, and the Trailside Museums and Zoo in Bear Mountain).