Harriman State Park
Rockland Co.,
New York
Hiking Trails:
Mountain Trail: Orange blaze
Kakiat Trail: White blaze
Old Mill Trail: Blue blaze
Total Time: 1:30 minutes
Estimated Distance: 2.4 miles
Pros: Good climb with scenic view and waterfalls
Cons: None
Hiking Partner:
Josef Friedman
It was another delightful spring day with warm weather, though after our hike it began raining. We parked in the main parking area at Kakiat, crossed the Mahwah River bridge, and then took the Mountain Trail up the mountain. We cut across the switchback by the lower view, and then climbed to the summit view at Kakiat. We then continued along the Mountain Trail beyond the power lines and then down to the Kakiat Trail.
We took the Kakiat Trail down as it goes through the valley between Kakiat Mountain and Cobus Mountain. After crossing the gas line, we cut a short distance to the stream towards the Kakiat waterfalls. There had been plenty of rain lately so the waterfalls were very strong. We cut back to the Kakiat Trail, and at the bottom of the mountain cut through on the very short connector to the Old Mill Trail, which we took back to the car.
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| Map of the Route |
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| Start of the Mountain Trail |
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| Mountain Trail at the Foot of the Mountain |
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| Near the Top of the Mountain |
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| View at the Top of Kakiat Mountain |
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| Josef at the Top Rock at Kakiat |
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| View from Kakiat Facing North Towards Cobus |
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| View from Kakiat Facing Southeast with the NYC Skyline in the Distance |
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| Me at the Top of Kakiat |
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| Sweeping View from the top of the Ramapo Escarpment |
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| Me at the Top |
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| The Upper Waterfall at Kakiat |
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| The Lower Waterfall at Kakiat |
looking forward to doing my 6th hike of the season. But it's only May still. That's more hikes than I've ever done in a whole spring/summer/fall season. But not just quantity also quality. I only did short one hour hikes, loops,in Kakiat pk. for exercise. This is no longer primarily about exercise. By accident, about a month ago, I discovered the experience of just taking long hikes of seclusion in the woods. Now I see why The Bal Shem, Henry Thoreau, Jim Calloway, Zen and the art of motorcycle mechanics, Reb Nachmun, ... And many other people who are just not famous, (like Heshy, fer xample) recluse into the woods for long periods of time. It's an incredible feeling of being routed to your source. Like a fish being put back in water. You interconnect, melt, fade, back into the Earth from where you came and to where you will return. You get to just exist, to be, to live, to exist again, in your natural spiritual water. You get profoundly reminded that in life in general from the moment you wake up till the moment you go to sleep you're living inside of a construct that OTHER people have constructed FOR you. Your clothes are not designed by you. Your religion was not designed by you, your job was not designed by you, the things that are considered okay and not okay was not decided by you, the foods you eat are put together by a massive company -not you.you do not get to be with and share with whomever you want to. There's rules around that. Rules that you did not make. Just about the zero of your daily experience is you living in your natural state. But Deep in the woods you get to reconnect to your nature once again - albeit only temporarily.
ReplyDeleteThis is what The Bal Shem, Henry Thoreau, and many other deep thinkers discovered... and now, finally,me too.
What? Where are these waterfalls? I've done the kakiat Loop a dozen times. I've never seen waterfalls. What am I missing? Where do I go? I've gone up the red past the power lines to where it connects with the white and back down the white. Where are these waterfalls?
ReplyDeleteThe waterfalls are not directly on the trail. If you take the Kakiat Trail (White) past the gas line, the trail starts a steep ascent. At that point where it ascends, bushwack to the north (the right side) and follow the stream up, and you'll reach the waterfalls. They are only impressive during the wet season. During dry spells in the summer and fall they are but a trickle.
ReplyDeleteTonight/this evening/today I did that trail off of call Hollow Trailhead by the parking pull outs by that rock that says 347 on it. Don't know the name of the trail. Perhaps you do? So I hiked up and pass a gravel road wide made obviously for off-road vehicles and then further on cross the stream and then I ran out of daylight so I had to turn around. My question is where would that Trill ultimately have taken me and how much longer was I away from there.
ReplyDeleteBtw, saw yer sis biking down as I was fixing to start the hike, I. E.,
eating lunch on my bike (motorcycle)
Tonight/this evening/today I did that trail off of call Hollow Trailhead by the parking pull outs by that rock that says 347 on it. Don't know the name of the trail. Perhaps you do? So I hiked up and pass a gravel road wide made obviously for off-road vehicles and then further on cross the stream and then I ran out of daylight so I had to turn around. My question is where would that Trill ultimately have taken me and how much longer was I away from there.
ReplyDeleteBtw, saw yer sis biking down as I was fixing to start the hike, I. E.,
eating lunch on my bike (motorcycle)
I'm assuming that trail off of call hallow ends on Willow Grove.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna head up there at 7 and try to find a trail head and hike down to find where I stopped yesterday coming up the other way. So I can to (to myself) that I completed that trail.
It's marked with light blue (or "oyster green" as women would probably call it)
Since you haven't responded to yesterdays post and questions if anything happens n the trail ~like if I have to use the bathroom or something unexpectedly ~ it's your fault responsibility and achreius.
Jus fyi
I'm assuming that trail off of call hallow ends on Willow Grove.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna head up there at 7 and try to find a trail head and hike down to find where I stopped yesterday coming up the other way. So I can to (to myself) that I completed that trail.
It's marked with light blue (or "oyster green" as women would probably call it)
Since you haven't responded to yesterdays post and questions if anything happens n the trail ~like if I have to use the bathroom or something unexpectedly ~ it's your fault responsibility and achreius.
Jus fyi
Friday gonna do the one off 202 horse farm past the stream and burnt down section w/ my nephew
ReplyDeleteLike 3 hrs.?
Got new hiking poles!
ReplyDeleteGreen like the forest
Shabbos to do 10 hikes at least this season
ReplyDeleteThat's the Pine Meadow Trail starting at the Ramapo Equestrian enter. To get to the burnt area on the upper area of the escarpment is about 1/2 hour. You can take the yellow-blazed SBM Trail either north or south from there, both have excellent views along the way. You can also do a loop to Pine Meadow Lake and then through the Conklin's Crossing, which takes about 3 hours.
ReplyDelete