[Journal entry for September 12, 2016; Popolopen Torne, Harriman State Park, New York]. In the early evening, I parked at the trailhead on Mine Road, and took the Timp-Torne Trail (blazed in blue) to the summit of Popolopen Torne, a hill on the northern boundary of Harriman State Park. The Torne is smaller than Bear Mountain, the hill immediately to its south, but steeper and narrower, and hence more tower-like.(Torne is from the Dutch word toren, meaning tower). The trail is a loop; I took it in a counterclockwise direction, which provides a relatively gradual ascent through hardwood forest up to its rocky summit, and then a much steeper climb down over rock ledges back to the bottom. The summit area is a ridge of bare granite knobs and ledges, punctuated by copses of Pitch Pine. The three hundred sixty degree view is extraordinary. The view to the east is of the Hudson River, and includes the Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony’s Nose, a dramatic hill on the river’s eastern shore. The dome of Bear Mountain is an imposing sight to the south, though it also mostly blocks the view of the more distant Iona Marsh and Dunderberg Moutain. Popolopen Creek flows through a wetland to the north. And Weyants Pond, looking rather overgrown with weeds, is nestled among hills to the west. I hiked up to the summit cairn, a six foot high cone of rocks that serves as a memorial, which I presume is maintained by soldiers from the nearby United States Military Academy at West Point. It bears the plaque, “these rocks were carried from the bottom and stacked here as a tribute to American soldiers now serving on the frontier of freedom – to their safe return” and some of the stones have been painted with names and short inscriptions. I sat by the cairn for a while, admiring the view, but left well before sunset. I continued on the trail, which crossed several steep and rocky ledges before entering the woods. I was glad that the daylight was still bright, for the scramble would have been dangerous had the light been dim. About an hour and a half.