Hike Date: July 21, 2012
Location: Dater Mountain County Park, Rockland County, NY
Description: A rainy spell had granted some respite from the hot and humid July weather, and the sky having cleared on Saturday, I felt tempted to capitalize on this and get some exercise and fresh air. Not wanting to devote a full day to a hiking excursion, I decided on Dater Mountain County Park which is easily reachable and seemed just right for an afternoon outing. And thus it was that a few minutes after 1:00 p.m. I found myself walking towards Hoboken Terminal to catch the 1:25 p.m. Port Jervis line train from which I alighted in Sloatsburg at around 2:35 p.m. I walked down Seven Lakes Drive and then turned left onto Johnsontown Road. Following it onwards, at around 3:00 p.m. I found myself at the tiny "parking lot" on the left side of the road where the orange-blazed park trail begins. I followed this up a brief ascending segment till it intersects with a blue-blazed trail. I turned left onto the blue-blazed trail and continued on this along a gently ascending stretch till at around 3:15 p.m., I got to an overlook where some rocky ledges reveal a view of the NYS thruway and the nearby hills. I stopped here awhile to take photographs (I had earlier discovered that I had foolishly forgotten to insert a memory card in my DSLR and thus had to use my cellphone for this purpose). By this time it was almost 3:25 p.m. I had allowed myself a very tight time budget and wanted to avoid missing the 4:28 p.m. back to Hoboken (the next train leaves at 6:45 p.m.) and thus thought it best to turn back instead of completing the loop formed by the blue-blazed trail, though I did continue on just a bit further up another ascending segment in the (unfulfilled) hope of finding another overlook. The descent took me only 10min, and thus at around 3:40 p.m. I found myself back at the parking lot, and a leisurely stroll got me back to the station by 4:05 p.m. By 5:35 p.m. I was back in Hoboken. All said and done, this made for a nice short afternoon excursion which did involve a little over 4 miles of walking cumulatively.
Relevant Trail Map: NY-NJTC Trail Map #118
Location: Dater Mountain County Park, Rockland County, NY
Description: A rainy spell had granted some respite from the hot and humid July weather, and the sky having cleared on Saturday, I felt tempted to capitalize on this and get some exercise and fresh air. Not wanting to devote a full day to a hiking excursion, I decided on Dater Mountain County Park which is easily reachable and seemed just right for an afternoon outing. And thus it was that a few minutes after 1:00 p.m. I found myself walking towards Hoboken Terminal to catch the 1:25 p.m. Port Jervis line train from which I alighted in Sloatsburg at around 2:35 p.m. I walked down Seven Lakes Drive and then turned left onto Johnsontown Road. Following it onwards, at around 3:00 p.m. I found myself at the tiny "parking lot" on the left side of the road where the orange-blazed park trail begins. I followed this up a brief ascending segment till it intersects with a blue-blazed trail. I turned left onto the blue-blazed trail and continued on this along a gently ascending stretch till at around 3:15 p.m., I got to an overlook where some rocky ledges reveal a view of the NYS thruway and the nearby hills. I stopped here awhile to take photographs (I had earlier discovered that I had foolishly forgotten to insert a memory card in my DSLR and thus had to use my cellphone for this purpose). By this time it was almost 3:25 p.m. I had allowed myself a very tight time budget and wanted to avoid missing the 4:28 p.m. back to Hoboken (the next train leaves at 6:45 p.m.) and thus thought it best to turn back instead of completing the loop formed by the blue-blazed trail, though I did continue on just a bit further up another ascending segment in the (unfulfilled) hope of finding another overlook. The descent took me only 10min, and thus at around 3:40 p.m. I found myself back at the parking lot, and a leisurely stroll got me back to the station by 4:05 p.m. By 5:35 p.m. I was back in Hoboken. All said and done, this made for a nice short afternoon excursion which did involve a little over 4 miles of walking cumulatively.
Relevant Trail Map: NY-NJTC Trail Map #118
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| NYS Thruway and surrounding hills |
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| The trail passes through a fern-covered area |
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| This tree had an interesting shape |
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