[Journal entry for September 30, 2018; Mailley Mills Falls, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall New York] The afternoon is grey but, unlike the last several, without heavy rain. Dallas and I parked at the hiker’s lot off of Reservoir Road and walk to Sutherland Pond. We crossed Mailley’s Mill Bridge and took the Reservoir Trail (blazed in blue) downhill to view the falls. Mailley’s Mill Brook flows out of the Upper Reservoir spillway and, for a while, maintains a low grade. However, after it passes the Science Center, it plunges steeply downhill and forms a series of waterfall, the tallest of which is perhaps fifteen feet high. The falls were vigorous today, on account of all the recent rain.

We then walked to Sutherland Pond, which is on the other side of the Forest, two and half miles away for a crow flying straight, but longer for us on winding trails and woods roads. We crossed one small hill (Honey Hill) and two reservoirs (Aleck Meadow Reservoir and Sphagnum Pond) on our way. We paid more attention to the vegetation than is typical for us, for the overcast sky lit it well, while at the same time diminishing the grander views. We encountered many kinds of mushrooms, berries such as Barberry, False Solomon’s Seal and Mapleleaf Viburnum, and several types of wildflowers.

Dallas swam in Sutherland Pond (characterizing it as very cold), while I cooked dinner. I fried pork and vegetables on my MSR PocketRocket Stove, and heated water for tea, as well. We ate a quick dinner and hurried back, for the autumn days have grown short. We took the roads back, except that we used the Stillman Trail (blazed in yellow) to cut off the loop of road by Upper Reservoir. The sun has just set as we passed the overlook on Reservoir Road. The light was noticeably dim by the time we reached our car.

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

About four hours.