[Journal entry for November 5, 2016] I parked on Call Hollow Road in Pomona NY by the Long Path crossing and hiked to Third Reservoir, in Harriman State Park. The morning was clear but fairly warm. I first poked around Horse Chock Brook, beneath the Long Path footbridge. The brook has very low flow, on account of the paucity of rain, but a few pools are motionless and reflect the autumnal colors very well. I walked Camp Winaki Road pas the waterworks to First Reservoir, the smallest of a set of three impoundments on Horse Chock Brook. A little upstream from it, I bushwhacked down to the brook, which has been turned into a swamp by beaver, who have built a long arcuate dam that has flooded a broad swath of forest. The pond was in shade, for the morning sun had not yet crept over the hills. Several substantial trees had been felled and many more notched by the beaver. I then rejoined the road and took it as far as the dam on Second Reservoir. I was surprised at the low level of the lake. Broad swaths of yellow lake bottom, full of brown boulders, were exposed. I took an informal trail up onto a high rock ledge that overlooked the lake. Beautiful dull red blueberry bushes and amber brown trees ringed the shoreline. I climbed down to the lake bed and walked around it. It is full of grass, so I suppose that the lake level has been low for a long time. I rejoined Camp Winaki Road at the concrete retaining wall and took it to Third Reservoir. Its level, too, is very low. I walked an informal trail along its shore, findings several spectacular views that combined red blueberry bushes and grey rock ledges in the foreground, the deep blue water of the lake in the mid-ground and the amber brown of the trees on background of the far shore. I visited a broad rock ledge with excellently preserved glacial polish that I had first noticed on a previous hike. I scouted around the exposed parts of the lakebed for more glacial features, but found none. I crossed the high earth-fill dam and poked around a field full of red bushes and tan grasses adjacent to the lakeshore. I came upon several Witch Hazel bushes, devoid of any leaves, yet in bloom with lime green blossoms shaped like little tuffs of yarn. I connected with the Suffern Bear Mountain Trail (SBM, blazed in yellow) and took it over several high rock ledges, their margins beautifully decorated with red blueberry bushes and golden brown oaks. I soon reached Big Hill, passing a wonderful Scarlet Oak before arriving at the hiker’s shelter. The Hudson River is visible from Big Hill and though the hill has only a little relief, it is clearly well above the peak of High Tor, a prominent hill near the river. I connected with the Long Path (LP, blazed in blue) and took it back to my car. The sky was beginning to cloud over and the air was becoming rather chilly. About three hours.