[Journal entry for October 5-6, 2009; The Timp]

October 5, 2009. I stand on Bear Mountain Bridge, pleased to have finished this last piece of the Appalachian Trail that finishes up my goal of walking the NY/NJ section. But it’s now 4:30 PM. I’ve come twenty-two kilometers today and I need to continue on to find somewhere I can camp for the night. The nearest shelter – the only places where a backpacker can officially camp – is at West Mountain. I’ve slept there before. It’s in wonderful location with a great view. I figure that I have two hours of daylight left and can just make it if I hurry.

The Zoo, which I walked through a few minutes ago, is now closed. I detour around it. At this point, I have two choices: The shelter is on the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail (SBM); I can take the direct route, the SBM, which is rather hilly, or I can take a longer but flatter route that might be faster, given my rather tired condition. I opt for the latter and walk directly south through Doodletown, via the 1779E and 1779 trails. But here things go awry. I make several wrong turns, each taking some tens of minutes to correct. Unfortunately, I do not know this area well, and many of the trail intersections are tricky. The evening slowly dims and I find that I am barely halfway to West Mountain shelter. I give up, and decide to bivouac for the night. I pick a place along the 1779 trail near where it crosses Timp Brook, ear the foot of Bald Mountain. I set up my tent, nicknamed the Tent-of-Death by my kids, who found its cold weather performance below their expectations and lay out my sleeping pad and sleeping bag within it.

My campsite is in a stand of tall oak trees, just to the east side of the trail. By this time, the light has failed entirely and I cook my dinner of rice and sausage and instant decaf coffee by flashlight. I hear owls hooting in the distance. I am very tired, and go to sleep soon after finishing my dinner, cleaning up and hanging my supplies from a branch to deter animals.

October 6, 2009. Although my campsite is in shadow, owing to being in a deep valley, I can see that the sky is bright blue and that the day promises to be splendid. I hike down to Timp Creek for water. I encounter a fox, walking towards me on the trail. It looks at me curiously for a second or two and then dashes away into the brush. I cook breakfast of Ramen Noodles and eggs. Afterward, I pack up, don my knapsack and head off. In just about a quarter mile I come to a grassy spot with some sort of small shelter. This would have been a more picturesque spot to have camped, had I known it was there – not that there was anything wrong with my oak grove, of course. I continue south along the 1779 trail, which steeply climbs up onto a ridge, until I meet the Timp-Torne Trail (TT), which I take to the east. I spot a doe among the trees there. The TT leads past many boulder piles and torn-up south-facing scarps, created by glaciers during the Ice Age. I climb to the top of one massive rock outcrop, hoping for a view, only to find the surrounding trees to be too tall. Finally I come to an overlook that affords a very nice view of Stony Point, Hook Mountain and the Hudson River. I continue on, and am soon at the top of the Timp.

The Timp is a hill with an oval, sparsely wooded summit area ringed with rock ledges that offer truly spectacular views. I slowly walk around, admiring first the vegetation on the Timp, itself – goldenrod, moss, fern, blueberries, trees in fall colors, and then gazing out from the overlooks. I can see last night’s unrealized goal, the shelter on West Mountain. The trees on the southern flank of West Mountain are rather sparse, with blueberry and fern filling in the spaces. I suppose that to be the result of a fire. The view northward, up the axis of the Hudson River valley is probably the most spectacular in the park. I am taken by narrowness of the gorge and the steep yet smooth hills that surround it. It is a truly wonderful sight.

I then descend the steep western flank of the Timp, past a towering cliff, its base littered with numerous giant blocks of fallen rocks, to reach Timp Pass. I refill my water bottles here at a little stream. I then ascend the equally steep eastern flank of West Mountain. The TT here follows a rocky ledge that looks to the southeast, affording a great view of the Timp. It’s about 11:30 when I reach West Mountain Shelter. The sun is shining brightly and the rock pavement is pleasantly warm. I spend a hour there relaxing, writing in my journal. I then cross West Mountain, connect with the SBM, and head south. My pickup point is in Stony Point, just beyond the southeastern edge of the park.

The scenery along the SBM is very pleasant, with several beautiful fields of fern and blueberry. The views are nice, too, though much less dramatic than from the Timp. I have specifically chosen a route that avoids the section of the SBM that descends the southern flank of Pingyp Mountain, for I remember it to be very difficult. But I do have to descend the Cat’s Elbow, which is almost as bad, especially at the end of a long day and with a backpack. But I take it slowly and carefully and have no problems.

I connect with the 1777 trail, which follows an old, deeply eroded woods road, and follow it eastward and steeply downhill to the park border in Stony Point, New York. I come across a small timber rattler along the way. It coils itself up into a protective posture and waits for me to pass. It’s about 3PM when I reach the park gate, so today’s hike has taken about six and a half hours.