[Journal entry for February 2-3, 2018; Overnight at Tom Jones Shelter] In 2006, I inaugurated my annual practice of an overnight winter hike in Harriman State Park with a visit to the shelter on Tom Jones Mountain. I returned to it now, having visited the other eleven shelters in the intervening years. The summit of this hill is a short but steep hike up the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail (RD, blazed in red) from Route 106. The crown is sparely vegetated, with many open rock ledges, small scarps and glacial boulders, and commands nice views of the adjacent hills to the north and east, and of Little Long Pond, below.

The day had started out overcast, but had gradually cleared during the course of the day. When I arrived at 3:30PM, just a few bands of clouds floated amid blue sky. The three inches of sparkling snow gave the landscape a magical appearance (though it made the trail a bit slippery). Although I was the first to hike up since the last snowfall, the indentation of the trail was pretty easy to spot. Being winter, the vegetation adds only a little color, but the umber leaves of Sweet Fern, the amber stems of grasses and the red fruit of Barberry added some highlights.

The shelter, a three-sided stone lean-to with a wooden roof, a wooden sleeping platform and two fireplaces, is built on a level area below and to the east of the summit, at the top a high scarp. I dropped off my gear and went in search of firewood. Deadfall is scarce in the immediate vicinity of the shelter, due to the intensity of harvesting, so I hiked back along RD to where I had noticed a fallen tree on the way up. I plucked off a stack of inch-thick branches and carried them back to the shelter. The sun was lower than on my way up, and the scenery was even more beautifully illuminated. In some places, drifting had made the surface of the snow very smooth; elsewhere it was very rough and wind-swept. On the way back, I visited a knoll with a natural ring of large glacial boulders.

I donned my Himalaya suit, a think down one-piece that is perfect for sitting around in winter conditions, and got ready for dinner. I set up my MSR Whisperlite stove and after some futzing got it lit up. Only gasoline stoves function well at low temperatures – and it was about 10F this evening - but they require pumping and pre-heating. I boiled riced-cauliflower, adding lots of water so that I had sort of a soup. I scrambled eggs in a tiny three-inch frying pan, with thick aluminum that prevents charring in the intense heat of the stove and, adding a slice of cheese, made them into a bagel sandwich. And I boiled water for tea. I then sat around eating my dinner, sipping my tea, and watching the sunset. Clouds on the horizon obscured the final moments, but led to some nice colors. I did my best to clean up from dinner, but lots of cauliflower fragments froze on them. I filled one pan with water and let it freeze – better for it to freeze in the pan than in the bottle – and set it aside for my morning tea.

By now the sky was pretty dark. I started up my fire, coaxing a teepee of sticks aflame by setting a small can stuffed with grass and doused in gasoline beneath them (no purist, I). I then watched the flames jump and light up the interior of the shelter and the snow beyond its open side. I sang a few songs, including Tallis’ Canon. When the flames died away, I spread a tarp on the snow and lay watching the stars for a while. The night sky above me was very clear and moonless. Orion shone above me. The glow of New York City brightened the southern horizon and a swarm of ten planes or more hovered above it.

I then set up my sleeping bag on the platform in the shelter and went to sleep. I awoke twice during the night. I walked outside and caught the moon low on the eastern horizon, just after it had arisen. And in the early morning hours I heard a Screech Owl, close by. I awoke at 6:50AM, a little before sunset. A few Chickadees were hopping about outside the shelter – looking for crumbs, I suppose. After starting up the stove to thaw the water, I poured out a bowl of cold cereal, using milk from a little bottle that I had been keeping in my pocket, to prevent its freezing solid. I stood outside against the shelter’s eastern wall and watched the sunrise, catching the first rays of the sun as it was still below the trees on the adjacent hill, eating my cereal and drinking my tea. The temperature was 5F; this was among the colder of my winter campouts. The first rays lit pink the snow around the shelter. A deer must have visited the grounds of the shelter during the night, for the snow was crossed by tracks absent the previous evening.

I then packed up and headed back. I left the Himalaya suit on, so I could walk slowly and enjoy the views. I spotted a few White Tail Deer crossing the hillside. The last part of RD was steeply downhill and I took it very cautiously, so as not to slip.

About 17:30.

I made two stops on the way back, to vie Lakes Skannatati and Sebago. They are both frozen over and snow-covered, mottled and wind-streaked. A big group of hikers were getting ready to hike the Red Cross Trail (blazed with a red cross) as I stood looking at the former. I also stopped very briefly to view the Ramapo Rover at the Seven Lakes Drive highway bridge.

I bought coffee at the Dunkin Donuts on Route 17 in Sloatsburg NY before heading home.