[Journal entry for July 13, 2018, Mineral Springs Falls, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall New York] I parked at the Scenic Trailhead (blazed in white), off of Old Mineral Springs Road in Moutainville New York at about 4PM, on a hot afternoon with a sky full of puffy blue cumulous clouds. Mineral Springs Brook had barely a trickle or water.

Mineral Springs Falls is formed where the brook cascades down a tall, smooth, and steeply sloping rock face composed of tan gneiss that is fifty feet high (or more). Trees growing along the sides of the brook overarch the falls, giving me the impression that I am looking up into a green cave. Boulders at the base of the falls have been moved about to create a wide pool, about two feet deep, at its base. I stand by the pool and gazed up at the falls, listening to the tinkling sounds of water. Today the falls have only a tiny flow.

I follow the trail as it ascends steeply besides the falls, and then, at the point where it flattens out, take a side trail to the Upper Falls. At eight feet high, they are much smaller than the main falls, and quite different in shape. The water plunges straight down off of a step in the gneiss. A little rock garden of fern and moss grows on the face of the falls, barely wet by today’s tiny flow. I spot a Scarlet Tanager drinking from a pool. I consider these colorful birds rare in the Hudson Highlands, since I spot only one or two per year. This one is my first for 2018.

I make a brief visit Blueberry Overlook, a open meadow on a ridge that looks south towards Mount Rascal (though the view is rather obstructed by trees). The area is full of both high and low bush Blueberries, fern, moss and grass, with some bare rock ledges, too. The evening sun is lighting up the meadow and surrounding trees beautifully. I also stop briefly at Jupiter’s Boulder Overlook, which commands a spectacular view to the north.

I took the Scenic Trail all the way to Golden Ridge, where I joined the Split Rock Trail (blazed in blue) and took it to Split Rock Overlook. This overlook commands a terrific view of Sutherland Pond, the big swamp at its southern end, and the rolling green hills of the Forest that surround them. The sun was getting pretty low on the horizon, so the overlook itself was mostly in shadow. I hustled down the trail to Sutherland Road (a woods road), which follows the shore of the pond. I found a little side trail that led to a rock ledge on the shore of the pond. The sun had dipped below clouds, and its dim orange light gave the lake and the surrounding trees pastel hues.

I took Sutherland Road to the Arthur Trail (blazed in yellow). It corsses Sutherland Pond Marsh, and consequently is rather damop and muddy, though the worst spot is bridged by a puncheon. Buttonbush, with its globular white flowers the size of golf balls, was in bloom. Later, back on firmer ground, I passed several impressive cliffs, each with a pile of huge angular boulders at it base. I joined Jim’s Pond Road and then transferred to the Ryerson Trail (blazed in yellow).

I spent a few minutes viewing a wetland. Only its most distant edge was in sunlight; the part near me was dim in the fading light, It was full of the voices of frogs, including the low-pitch call of the Bullfrog. The Ryerson Trail took me back to the Scenic Trail. I reached Jupiter’s Boulder well before sunset, with the big boulder that gives the overlook it name was glowing orange. I stopped to examine a small cluster of blooming Pipsissewa plants. They are small and delicate plants, with tree white blossoms on the end of a slender stalk, extending up from a pair of oval green leaves with white veins (an arrangement reminiscent of an orchid). I consider them rare in the Highlands; I come across no others this season.

About a half hour later I reached my car. I bought a pizza and soda at Leo’s, in a shopping mall off of Quaker Avenue in Cornwall, before heading home.

About four and a half hours of hiking.