[Journal entry for March 22, 2015; Little Tor, High Tor State Park, NY]. Dallas and I parked at the crest of the ridge of the Palisades Sill, by the Long Trail crossing off of South Central Parkway. The day was sunny and a little above freezing. More than a foot of snow lay on the ground, but the snow on the trails was solidly packed, enabling us to use microspikes. We took the Long Path (blazed in blue) south (actually east). It follows a woods road along the ridge crest and passes through hardwood forest. The ridge is a hogback, with the cliff on the northern side and a gentler slope on the southern. We stopped to examine many large glacial boulders that lay scattered around. One five-foot high boulder had cracked in two, as if cleaved by some giant axe. Dallas was able to squeeze through the gap between the halves.

Dallas did not want to take the side trail that ascended up to the top of the rocky spur called Little Tor, so I hustled up alone, taking about four minutes to reach the summit. This Tor – the Dutch word for tower – is a steep-sided knob of dark brown rock with cliffs on its northern side. It stands above the treetops and affords a great view of the ridge of the Palisades, of the Hudson River and of the hills of the Hudson Highland, to the north. A large glacial erratic boulder of Highlands granite, beige in color, stands sentinel near its summit. I dallied only a moment and then hustled down to catch up with Dallas. I caught up with her at a point where the Long Trail passes a narrow valley set further to the south which parallels the trail. The valley has steep, rocky sides. I suppose it to have been gouged by a glacier during the Ice Age.

I took a short detour to examine a large clearing with exposed stone pavement that I had not noticed on my many previous hikes though this park. The hexagonal jointing characteristic of the Palisades and many other volcanic rocks was clearly visible on its surface. The pavement was smooth and flat, so I searched around for glacial striae. I found none; I suppose that they all have been weathered off. The only well preserved glacial scratches that I have found in this park are on outcrop near the swimming pool, well below the level of the ridge. They had been protected by layers of soil before human excavation uncovered them.

We knew we were approaching High Tor, the taller of the two rocky knobs on this section of the ridge, when we passed several sets of low cliffs. We then began a short but steep ascent of the Tor, itself. The sun had melted off most of the ice and snow, facilitating our climbing. Like Little Tor, the summit is well above the treetops and the view is fabulous. We gazed north across the Hudson River and south down the long axis of Lake deForest. We poked around the summit, which is made of a dark brown volcanic rock called Palisades diabase. Weathering has brought out the hexagonal jointing extremely well. A few picturesque gnarled trees grew in protected spots; otherwise the summit is bare of vegetation.

We then headed back, taking the Long Path back north (actually west). We made a short detour to the cliff-edge, both for the view and to examine an extremely large glacial erratic boulder – larger than a car – set near its edge. It was also composed of Highlands granite. Just before reaching the car, we paused to view a small seasonal pond. A deer had struggled to cross it and had left a trail across the now-decaying ice.

About three hours.