[Journal entry for Sept 5, 2014; Lake Te-Ata, Harriman State Park, New York]. The morning is clear, though rather humid and hot. I park at hiker’s lot on the north side of Route 6, just east of the Route 293 intersection. I cross Route 6 and walk east along its margin as far as the causeway between Lake Massawippa on the north and Lake Te-Ata on the south. The rush hour traffic is heavy, noisy and a little intimidating. The causeway seconds as a dam; the water level is higher in Te-Ata than in Massawippa. I get a good look down Lake Te-Ata from the causeway. It’s a long, thin lake, about a half mile long and a few hundred yards wide. Its surface is mostly open water, with aquatic plants growing only near the shore. Its shores are wooded, with the western, which is lit up brightly by the morning sun, being the hillier. Except for one large rock ledge in the southwest, the woods grow right up to the lakeshore.

I follow an informal trail along the east shore. It winds among trees and Mountain Laurel bushes, with only occasional openings from which the lake can be viewed. Some of the viewpoints are small rock ledges, but others are wider grassy areas where, judging from fire rings and litter, people have picnicked. The trail parallels a paved camp access road, set further up the hillside, but I avoid the road because of it proximity to the camp, which is closed to the public.

The trail approaches the camp road at the south end of the lake. I can see across it, to an archway over a stream. I walk the streambed, which is mostly dry, beneath the arch, past a beautiful spray of Cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis). The archway is part of an old aqueduct, and though now covered with vines and somewhat dilapidated is nevertheless still in use. A black plastic pipe runs across its top. I come to what appears to be a low concrete dam – like a curb stone – a few yards east of the archway. Although the view is blocked by dense brush, I suspect that Lower Twin Lake lies just beyond, for the ground east of the dam is bogey.

I walk south, roughly following the aqueduct, until I have a clear path to Lower Twin Lake. This lake is immediately east of Te-Ata and somewhat smaller than it. I stand on a rock at the lake shore, looking out past water lily towards the open water and am treated to a beautiful view of the lake and of the surrounding hills. I can see a camp on a point on the east side of the lake, about halfway along the shore.

I then return to the trail by Lake Te-Ata. Its southern shore seems too straight to be natural; furthermore, the shore is covered with low vegetation, not trees. However, when I cross it, I notice nothing overtly build-up. Perhaps it was once a beach or a clearing for some now-vanished structure.

I then head back along the west shore of the lake. I can find no obvious trail and so bushwhack among boulders strewn beneath the trees. Some of these are quite large, reaching four of five feet in height. One group of boulders, leaning against one another, creates a small cave. I sight a couple of White Tail Deer running through the woods. I walk out onto the large rock ledge that I could see from across the lake. It offers a nice view of the lake, and especially its south shore. About halfway up the lakeshore, I encounter a trail that widens into an old woods road. It brings me back to Route 6, a hundred yards or so west of the causeway.

By the time I reach my car, my shirt is completely soaked with sweat; the humidity today has made the hiking tough. I drink a liter of water to rehydrate.

About two hours.