[Journal entry for February18-19, 2015; Overnight at Caver Shelter, Harriman State Park]. The afternoon is clear and cold, about twenty degrees Fahrenheit. I arrive at the Silvermine Lake parking lot, off of Seven Lakes Drive, at about 3PM. I don my snowshoes and backpack, cross the Drive and head uphill on the Menomine Trail (blazed in yellow).

The trail passes the shore of Lake Nawahunta, a small body of water impounded by a low earthfill dam on its east side. Stately White Pines grow along its northern and western shore. The trail crosses an inlet stream, winds through the pines, enters the hardwood forest beyond the lake, and begins to ascend Stockbridge Mountain. The trail is well packed and is crossed by the long shadows of tree trunks, cast by the late afternoon sun. I switch to a woods road about halfway up, which branches off to the north. It follows the base of a long cliff on the eastern side of the mountain and gradually ascends up to the ridge, a little beyond where the cliff terminates. The cliff is broken up in places and below it lay strewn giant blocks of gneiss, torn out by glaciers long ago. The northern terminus is a tumble of house-size blocks. Cave Shelter’s is formed by an overhang, were one of the large blocks leans against another. It is located just below the ridge crest, where the woods road joins the Long Path (blazed in blue).

I stashed my pack in the cave and then walk the Long Path northward. The open snow fields on the ridge crest, punctuated by glacial boulders, and the sparse woods are very pretty. I detour to a west-looking overlook. Tall bushes mar the view, but I get a glimpse of the hills further to the west. I continue southward along the Long Path until I reach Stockbridge Shelter, which is located about a quarter mile from the Cave. It is a sturdy three-walled stone cabin. I stayed in it during a winter campout a few years ago. It’s empty today. I’ll have no neighbors tonight. I then walked back to the cave. I glimpse Bear Mountain through the trees, to my northeast.

I busied myself gathering firewood, tearing branches off a fallen tree that I found just off the woods road, below the Cave. I collected about thirty inch-thick pieces, each two or three feet long, and twenty pencil thick ones, for tinder. My intent was to make a bright but short-lived fire, just to cheer up the cave for a while before bed. I hauled the wood up to the Cave and sorted it out into piles near the fireplace. The stone roof of the cave creates a space about ten feet square and five high. The Cave might be said to have two walls, with the fireplace set in the corner between them. Only about half of the overhang, along the back wall, has a flat floor. I spread out a tarp by the wall and sorted out my belongings on top of it. I switched into my TheNorthFace Himalayan suit, a down jumpsuit that keeps me warm even when sitting in the cold. I busied myself preparing dinner. I assembled and fired up my little MSR stove, a gasoline-powered gadget that functions well in the cold, but requires pumping and pre-heating. I then prepared a simple dinner of Dinty Moore canned stew, couscous and tea. The cave darkened as I ate. An Eastern Screech Owl began its high pitched whinney somewhere in trees on the ridge above me.

I lit my fire when the sky was completely dark. As usual, I used a fire-starter, a tin can stuffed with leaves splashed with gasoline from my stove. After some futzing with the twigs, I was able to get a roaring fire going. The draft of the little stone fireplace, set in the corner of the cave, was very strong, so I had no problem with smoke - but I can’t say that I felt much heat, either. Still, I put my boots in front of it, so that they would soak in what heat there was. I relaxed, drank my tea and sang a few songs, including Tallis’ Cannon. I turned in after the fire had burned down to embers, around nine o’clock.

The night passed uneventfully. I awoke at about six to clear skies and a temperature of nine degrees Fahrenheit. After a bit, the sun began to light up the snow and trees. I could not see the sunrise from the Cave; by the time I ventured out, after seven, it had already risen above the tops of the eastern hills. I fired up the stove again and made more tea and had Pop Tarts for breakfast. I then began to pack up all my gear, a process slowed by the warm but clumsy mittens that I wore.

The hike back to the car took about a half hour. It was covered with a dusting of snow which must have fallen sometime during the night. The temperature was about fifteen Fahrenheit and the sky was beginning to cloud over as I drove away.

About eighteen hours.