[Journal Entry for October 10, 2018; Tamarack Pond, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall New York]. Dallas and I took a late afternoon hike in Black Rock Forest. We chose a longer route than usual to get from the hiker’s lot on Reservoir Road to Sutherland Pond, one that took us past Tamarack Pond. We took White Oak Road to the White Oak Trail (blazed in white), crossing the Arthur’s Pond outflow below the dam. We passed many beautiful wildflowers and especially Roadside Aster and Goldenrod. I spotted a “true” Solomon’s Seal plant. Both the true and false plants have a single frond with leaves of similar shape. The true plant is distinguished from False Solomon Seal by having its berries distributed along the length of its frond, while the False plant has them in a single cluster. Both inhabit the Forest, but the False Solomon Seal is more common (or so it seems to me). I also spotted leaves of a Chestnut on suckers growing from the roots of a dead sapling. It’s one of the survivors (but just barely so) of the Blight that in the early 1900’s killed off most of the Chestnut Trees in North America.

We found several excellent views of Arthur’s Pond: atop the dam; by the boat launch; along Walter’s Way; and by the Stone House. The eastern shore of this narrow little reservoir is very steep and rocky, making it very picturesque. However, most trees are not yet showing their fall colors. Dallas pumped water from the old-style hand-cranked well at the Stone House to get a drink.

We connected with Chatfield Road (another woods road). It follows the shore of Tamerack Pond for part of its length, a reservoir that’s rounder than Arthur’s Pond but roughly the same size. We found three nice viewpoints; one by the Moretti Outpost picnic pavilion, another along Chatfield Road, and a third by the dam. The late afternoon sun was lighting up the shore of pond, highlighting a few trees that were in their fall colors, and making the Blueberry bushes on a little island glow red.

We connected with Sutherland Road and took it and an informal trail to the swimming spot on Sutherland Pond, which is on little rocky peninsula. I walked over to a rock ledge that affords a good view of Sutherland Swamp, a wetland at one end of the pond. Dallas swam for a few minutes and I made dinner, cooking lamb and vegetables on my MSR PocketRocket hiking stove, and heating water for tea, too. We ate dinner as the sun set behind Golden Ridge, behind us. We cleaned up and hurried back, taking a shorter route that took us across the Sphagnum Pond dam. A last bit of sunlight fell on the stonework of the dam, making it glow golden brown. Aleck Meadow Reservoir was in shadow when we reached it. When we reached them a few minutes later, the waters of Upper Reservoir were an even deeper shade of evening blue.

We hurried along, catching glimpses of the red glow of the western sky along Reservoir Road.

We stopped for a snack at the Chestnut Mart in Fort Montgomery New York on the way home.

About four hours.