Sunday, November 12, 2017

West Mountain Fall Hike

Harriman/Bear Mountain State Parks,
Orange/Rockland Counties,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Anthony Wayne Trail: White blaze
Fawn Trail: Red blaze
Timp-Torne Trail: Blue blaze
Appalachian Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 2:15 hour
Estimated Distance: 3.4 Miles

Pros: Very scenic area in Harriman, Good Views
Cons: None

Hiking Partner:
Josef Friedman

It was a late autumn  day with cold weather but bright skies. The previous two days were unseasonably cold, and this day, although still very cold, was at least warmer than the others.

West Mountain is one of my favorite hikes in the area, and my last several hikes up West Mountain were the southern portion. So I decided to do the northern part this time and catch what I felt would be the last of the foliage.

We parked in the Anthony Wayne Rec Area parking lot, and took the Anthony Wayne Trail, to the Fawn Trail, and then to the Timp Torne Trail. We took the Timp Torne Trail south, climbing up the mountain including the rocky scrambles. At the intersection with the Appalachian Trail, we took the combined trail route to the view on both sides of the ridge, and then turned back and took the Appalachian Trail down the mountain. We took the Appalachian Trail to the Fawn Trail, and the Fawn Trail back to where it meets the Timp Torne Trail. BUt this time we took the Timp Torne south, down to the very bottom of West Mountain, to the Anthony Wayne Trail, which we took back to the parking area and our car.

Map of the Route

Bear Mountain While Ascending the Timp Torne Trail

Last of the Foliage on the West Mountain Ridge

Joseph at the top of one of the Rock Scrambles

View Facing North

View of Bear Mountain

Me on West Mountain

Me at the View

Hudson River Towards Peekskill

Bear Mountain in the Distance

Bear Mountain and Anthony's Nose

View on West Mountain Facing Northwest

View from West Mountain Towards the Parking Lot

Hudson River and Iona Island, with Dunderberg Mountain on the Right

3 comments:

  1. Hi, Heshy. I'm a big fan of your trail write-ups, which I found via Google! You're THE Harriman trail guy!...This is one of my favorite hikes in the Park (though I usually approach it from the other side) & I was thinking doing it tomorrow (4/14/18), or maybe going to Black Rock Mt. I wondering about the snow situation on trails in Harriman right now. If you happen to see this before say noon tomorrow, and if you've been hiking this past week, would you let me know what conditions you're encountering on the trails in this area (Harriman or Kakiat Co. Park)? Thanks so much!

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  2. I don't think there is any snow remaining. I went hiking at Kakiat last Monday after the snowstorm, where there was 6 inches, but it quickly melted within 2 days. Except in some deep valleys on the shade-facing side, all the snow is gone in Harriman.

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