[Journal Entry for November 26, 2017; Beacon Tower and Schofield Ridge, Beacon NY] Dallas and I joined Paul Bekta, Emily Hopper, Julie Oppenheimer and Rodrigo Soteres in the Highlands south of Beacon NY. We picked Emily, Julie and Rodrigo up at the Beacon train station; they came up from Manhattan on the 10:15AM train. I walked along the Hudson as we waited for the train to arrive, looking across its choppy waters to the city of Newburg its east shore. Paul drove separately and met us at the station and we all drove over to the trailhead, which is at the corner of Route 9D and Howland Avenue in Beacon NY, across from Bob’s Corner Deli. The morning is partly cloudy and breezy, with temperatures in the high forties.

We took the Casino Trail (blazed in red) steeply up Mt Beacon, following the route of the now-abandoned Incline Railway. The route begins as metal stairway that leads to a woods road, and later, to a steep hiking trail. After a bit of a huff, we reached a wide overlook by the foundation of the now-vanished casino that the railway served, and the ruins of the Wheel House that powered the railway. The overlook commands a great view of the Hudson River. I hiked over to the Wheel House to examine the several large iron pulleys, each perhaps five feet in diameter. Looking away from the river, we could see the Beacon Tower on an adjacent hill.

We continued along the Casino Trail, climbing first down into a valley and then up onto a hill, until we reached the spur trail that took us to Beacon Tower, a 60-foot fire tower atop Beacon Mt, a bald hill overlooking the Hudson River. The tower has just been restored, and the steps and handrails felt very secure as I climbed. The view from the house at the top is spectacular, for this vantage is a little higher than all the neighboring hills and offers great views of them. To the west, I can see the wide Hudson River and the town of Newburg on its western shore. To the south, I can see Mt Taurus, Breakneck Ridge and Storm King; they appear as group of closely spaced, rounded and steep sided domes. To the north, I can see the dark blue waters of Beacon Reservoir, nestled far below me between Beacon Mountain and Fishkill Ridge, and, off in the distance, with the lighter blue waters of the Hudson River fading off into the horizon. And towards the east, I can see the lower, rolling hills of the Hudson Highlands. The wind is roaring and whipping around our hair and clothes. I stay only a few minutes to avoid getting chilled.

We have lunch on the rock ledges beneath the tower. I find a sheltered spot where we can sit out of the wind and where I can operate my MSR PocketRocket stove without the flame blowing out. I boil water and we all sit around eating our lunches and sipping hot tea. The sky gradually clears and the sun begins to shine more continuously, making our hilltop picnic spot very pleasant.

We returned to the Casino Trail and continued on it, eventually joining the Wilkinson Memorial Trail (blazed in yellow). It follows northeast-southwest striking Schofield Ridge, which is the northern extension of Breakneck Ridge. We paused at several overlooks: the first has good views to the southeast, towards Mt Taurus; and the second, on a rocky knob, has a wonderful view of Beacon Reservoir and its dam and the Hudson River. We passed a large glacial erratic boulder of grey sandstone, one of the few erratics that I noticed during the hike. The trail then descends into a valley and back up onto an adjacent hill. We stopped for a snack on a broad rock ledge on the hilltop that, surrounded by trees, was sheltered from the wind. Several large glacial boulders of Highland gneiss were scattered about the ledge. One was cut by an aplite vein containing numerous hornblende crystals, up to two inches long. Most of the crystals were positioned near the edges of the vein, with their long axes perpendicular to the plane of the vein.

Continuing onward, we came to another overlook that looked down on lower hills, one of which has a large quarry (operated by Thalle Industries). A little later, we came to a spur trail that led to another overlook, this one north-facing and with a flag. I zipped up to it to admire its Hudson River view. The sky had cleared a bit from this morning, and the quartzite cliffs on Shawangunk Ridge, twenty miles to the north, are now dazzling white. I can make out the profile of the more-distant Catskill Mountains, as well, but all detail is lost in the haze.

We then joined the Fishkill Ridge Trail (blazed in white). It descends down into a valley, following a woods road and passing numerous rock walls and terraced land that must once have been in pastureland (though now it is wooded over). We came to a high waterfall, or rather a series of four of five small waterfalls, which by virtue of being fed by the outflow of the Beacon Reservoir is running strongly, even though the recent weather had been very dry. The trail then follows the outflow, called Dry Brook, down off the mountain. We switched back to the Wilkinson Memorial Trail and then the Casino Trail, which took us back to the Incline Railway and our cars.

We had burgers and beer at the Peekskill Brewery, on South Water Street in Peekskill NY.

About 5:30 on the trails.