Pine Swamp Mountain Snow Hike

Harriman State Park
Orange County,
New York

Trails:
Arden Surebridge Trail: Red blaze
Long Path: Green blaze

Total Time: 30 min
Estimated Distance: 0.75 Miles

This was a very short hike on a beatiful winter day. This was my first hike after the big blizzard that dumped over 2 feet of snow. (See previous posting as we were hiking in the beginning of that storm. The storm took place Sunday/Monday, and I had not had a chance to go hiking until Friday. The weather warmed up that week and alot of snow melted, but it takes a very long time for 2 feet to melt, so there was still plenty of snow around.

New Years was on Saturday, so I took the oppurtunity to take some time off of work to enjoy this hike. I parked off 7 Lakes Drive by Lake Skanatati, and took the Arden Surebridge Trail up Pine Swamp Mountain to the viewpoint. I then bushwacked down from the viewpoint to the Long Path, and had gone into some crazy drifts several feet deep. I had not expected so much snow, and was not dressed in my regular snow gear, so I came home quite wet and snowy because of this. Once I hit the Long Path took at back along the shore of the lake back to the car.

I had forgotten to take my camera so picture below are from cell phone and low quality.

Map of the Route.

Frozen Lake Skanatati

At the beginning of the Arden Surebridge Trail
Ascending Pine Swamp Mountain

Continuing the short but worthwhile ascent.

Short scramble part climbing up

View from the top of Pine Swamp Mountain.
Facing south towards Lake Skanatati and Lake Kanawauke in distance
(You've seen this view before in this blog and will see it many times
again. It's one of the most famous views in Harriman State Park.

Same view but facing southwest
towards Black Rock Mountain

Facing west-southwest.
Towards Black Rock Mountain and beyond.

Lake Skanatati from the Long Path.

Evergreen rhododendron grove

Nope. Not yet.
I wait all winter for these to turn green...