Saturday, January 19, 2019

Black Rock Forest, NY


ABOUT THE PARK:
Black Rock Forest - Black Rock Forest Consortium

DIRECTIONS:

GPS Coordinates 41.420258, -74.027786
Parking at 9W and Peck Road

TRAIL MAP:
West Hudson Trails Map 113 - New York New Jersey Trail Conference
This map on the Avenza app comes in very handy as intersections can be confusing.
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HIKE DISTANCE:  8.8 miles

THE HIKE:
The white-blazed Black Rock Hollow Trail starts from the parking area.
A kiosk a short distance along with unmarked Hulse Road to the right which would be our return route.
The trail follows a pretty creek on the left.
It was 24 degrees so there was lots of ice.
Coyote tracks on the ice and we would be seeing many more of those tracks in the snow.
Just before the water filtration plant, blue starts to the left, white leaves the road to the right.
Right on white for us.
I almost got ....
... a pileated woodpecker.
Had much better luck with this white-breasted nuthatch.
We had a few minutes of sunrise before clouds started taking over in preparation for a snow storm coming later in the afternoon.
Looking back at Butter Hill in Storm King State Park.
Brodie was an excellent indicator of hidden ice under snow when he would wipe out :(  Did he learn not to step on the snow?  Of course not.
At the end of white with Aleck Meadow Reservoir down below ...
... right on the teal Highlands Trail/yellow Stillman Trail for a short distance.
A leaping mouse?
Then left on White Oak Road.  Based on the footprints and paw prints, this is apparently a very popular road.  On almost all of the other trails we were on during this hike, it was mostly me, Brodie and the coyotes.
The White Oak Tree up ahead where the rest of the world turned right ...
... and Brodie and I followed a single set of coyote tracks to the left.  It always fascinates me how they follow the roads.
A short distance ahead, right on white (this is looking back the way we came).
This is not noted on the map but we went to check it out.
A short unmarked trail leads to ...
... a boardwalk to  ...
... a bird viewing platform at the swamp but nobody was out and about so we headed back.
Continuing on the white trail.
Coming up on the Sphagnum Pond dam.
Someone else had been on the dam before us according to the footprints.
Another little critter had been there, too.
We went out on the dam  ...
... where I snapped this picture of frozen Sphagnum Pond.  We suddenly heard the most awful breaking sound underneath us.  It sounded like the dam was collapsing.  Brodie and I made it off of that dam in record time.  I am sure it was just ice cracking under the surface but OMG, scary!
Back on solid ground, continuing on white.
At the end of white, left on the teal Highlands Trail/yellow Stillman Trail.
Watch for a white trail to the left just opposite where yellow turns right and is joined  by the blue trail coming in with the Highlands Trail straight ahead.
This leads a short distance to ...
Split Rock Overlook with Sutherland Pond down below.
Heading back I had forgotten that I should have turned left on the Highlands Trail/blue trail and accidentally followed blue/yellow downhill 1/10th of a mile before I figured out what I had done and headed back up to the Highlands Trail.  The bonus was I saw one of those elusive coyotes whose tracks we had been following.  He was skittering away while ducking behind logs to avoid being seen by us so all I got was a picture of logs and branches.
Back on track on the Highlands Trail which is now joined by blue.
I needed to follow the Highlands Trail to the Hall Road gate to connect up to where I had hiked before.  Just in case the day comes where I can say I hiked to entire trail, don't want to me missing a short section.
Retracing from the gate and staying on Hall Road following the tracks of yet another (or the same?) coyote.
Left on the yellow triangle Short Cut Trail.
At the end of yellow triangle, left on the yellow Stillman Trail.
This trail goes uphill then downhill to the end of the Stillman Trail at ...
... an overlook.
A prefect spot for a break with snacks for Brodie ...
... and hot tea for me.
Retracing on the Stillman Trail.
Where we had come in from the right on the yellow triangle Short Cut Trail, now staying on the yellow Stillman Trail.
At the next intersection, keeping right on yellow Stillman ...
... when yellow circle goes to Mine Hill Road parking.
Yellow Stillman turns right on Hall Road.
Just after yellow leaves Hall Road to the left, we turned left on the blue Compartment Trail when yellow turned right.
I am thinking some sort of weasel or a mink.
At the end of blue ...
... a brief right on yellow then left on Hall Road.
This part of Hall Road doesn't appear to be traveled by humans hardly at all.
Downy woodpecker on the right.

At the intersection we turned right on Continental Road, and followed that to the gate shortly after yellow joins in from the right..
From the gate, a left on the Highlands Trail then left on Hulse Road when the Highlands Trail leaves to the right.
Now it's all the way to the bottom, sometimes steeply, on Hulse Road.
That is a glimpse of the Hudson River ahead on the horizon.
Coming out at the kiosk on the white trail ...
... where we turned left on white ...
... back to the parking lot which was a lot busier than when we started at 7:30 AM.