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  1. #1
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    seeking trail suggestions for first solo trip near NYC

    Hey all! going for my first solo overnight hang tomorrow and hoping to get suggestions for a good trail. I'm in Brooklyn and have tent camped all over the catskills (love) but hoping to avoid a 2.5 hour drive. Considering Harriman but sounds like a the parking fills up fast and water is scarce on the trail. Any suggestions?
    thanks!

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardny View Post
    Hey all! going for my first solo overnight hang tomorrow and hoping to get suggestions for a good trail. I'm in Brooklyn and have tent camped all over the catskills (love) but hoping to avoid a 2.5 hour drive. Considering Harriman but sounds like a the parking fills up fast and water is scarce on the trail. Any suggestions?
    thanks!
    While I have no suggestions for your endeavor. Given your prior excursions, I was wondering if you could shed some light on good spots in the Catskills for me to go. I can't find many resources with specifics so I thought this is a good opportunity to get someone else's experience.

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  3. #3
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    Well harriman would be the option i would tell you....
    There is water at ponds and lakes and some streams


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    Member blackmagic's Avatar
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    Dispersed camping is against the rules in Harriman, though many people still do it. Your best option is to take NJT to Tuxedo station and do a loop to Tom Jones or Dutch Doctor. Get water from Lake Sebago or Skenonto. I advise carrying no less than 2 L.

    You can also get off at Suffern and do an out-and-back on S-BM to Stone Memorial, or a two day S-BM thru (Suffern-Bear Mountain trail), staying at Big Hill. When you finish, you can walk over the bridge and up the road a mile to the Manitou Metro North station (or call a taxi). But be warned that doing S-BM in two days is very strenuous. The terrain is a lot tougher and slower than it looks on a map. Lots of boulder fields and scrambles.

    For water, there is a stream in front of Stone Memorial that was still running a week and a half ago, but might have dried up by now in the warm weather and no rain, so you might need to do a side trip to Pine Meadow for water. The third reservoir is just before Big Hill. However, the hike from Big Hill to Bear Mountain is long and dry and strenuous, so I highly recommend having at least 3 L of water, if not more. At this time of year, I will easily go through 0.25 L of water per mile.
    Last edited by blackmagic; 06-18-2020 at 13:53.

  5. #5
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardny View Post
    Hey all! going for my first solo overnight hang tomorrow and hoping to get suggestions for a good trail. I'm in Brooklyn and have tent camped all over the catskills (love) but hoping to avoid a 2.5 hour drive. Considering Harriman but sounds like a the parking fills up fast and water is scarce on the trail. Any suggestions?
    thanks!
    As long as you arrive around 8am there is plenty of parking at most trail heads, even Skannatati and Silvermine Lake. Sometimes it looks mobbed but once you walk into the woods a bit the crowds thin out considerably. I would avoid Reeves Meadow, however... that really is the worst crowd situation in the whole park. Good advice from others to plan on lakes for water, but there are a few fairly reliable streams that are the last to dry up. Along the AT where it crosses the Palisades Pkwy, there is a stream on the west side of the Pkwy and another on the east side (Beechy Bottom), and Bockey Swamp stream (on the Menomine/yellow trail between Silvermine lake and Brien Shelter) is fairly reliable, although I have seen it dry as well with persistent drought.
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nachodaddy0828 View Post
    While I have no suggestions for your endeavor. Given your prior excursions, I was wondering if you could shed some light on good spots in the Catskills for me to go. I can't find many resources with specifics so I thought this is a good opportunity to get someone else's experience.
    I love the Denning trail head and the trail heads near Elka Park NY - also Tabletop mountain!
    Alltrails is really good with Catskills recommendations

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardny View Post
    I love the Denning trail head and the trail heads near Elka Park NY - also Tabletop mountain!
    Alltrails is really good with Catskills recommendations
    Thank you for the information!

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  8. #8
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    I ended up having a super nice hang in Harriman - much bigger than I remember. had some bears and rattle snakes come through the camp but otherwise very chill. I went on the AT and camped near the William Brien shelter. Few other people on the AT camped out near by and was pretty nice. would recommend.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardny View Post
    I ended up having a super nice hang in Harriman - much bigger than I remember. had some bears and rattle snakes come through the camp but otherwise very chill. I went on the AT and camped near the William Brien shelter. Few other people on the AT camped out near by and was pretty nice. would recommend.
    Bears and rattlesnakes...?

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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardny View Post
    I ended up having a super nice hang in Harriman - much bigger than I remember. had some bears and rattle snakes come through the camp but otherwise very chill. I went on the AT and camped near the William Brien shelter. Few other people on the AT camped out near by and was pretty nice. would recommend.
    Pretty sure I would poop my pants. How do you handle that? Especially solo.

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