[Journal entry for March 31, 2018; Rattlesnake Hill, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall New York]. I parked at the Black Rock Forest hiker’s lot, off of Reservoir Road at 9AM. The day was completely clear and the temperature was just about freezing. Although most of last week’s snow has melted, shaded areas still have six inches or more. I carried micro-spikes and wound up using them about half the time. This level road hugs the flank of a steep hillside. An overlook at a point where the it turns from north to west affords an excellent view of nearby Black Rock Mountain and more distant Shawangunk Ridge. I passed the Science Center; beyond it, the road parallels the Upper Reservoir outflow stream. I made several detours down to the stream, enjoying the cascades of water from all the snow melt. I notice one big unusually mossy bolder. It is a glacial erratic boulder of limestone porphyry, reminiscent of one (also mossy) that I encountered on last year’s Mt. Beacon hike. I presume that the limestone provides the moss with some essential nutrient. I took a short detour east on the Stillman Trail (blazed in yellow), up to where I could view the spillway of Upper Reservoir Dam. The outflow was making a ten-foot tall waterfall and was really roaring.

I walked the dam westward until I connected with the Old West Point Road. This woods road winds through hardwoods on the eastern edge of the Forest, sometimes crossing into West Point Military Academy land. It slowly climbs up and passes a few picturesque streams. I took one detour up a faint and disused woods road to the top of a hill, west of the main road, that had an east-facing viewpoint that affords a great view of the rock scarp on Storm King Mountain and of the tall rolling hills along the west bank of the Hudson River (the river itself is not visible). I could see, way below me, Upper Reservoir, perched in a steep valley, its waters straining against the dam. I found a bare rock ledge, sat down for a rest, and drank some coffee that I had brought in a thermos. The vegetation around me was mainly shoulder-high Scrub Oak, still bearing last year’s acorns, and a few Red Cedars. After a while, I returned to the main road.

I reached a point where Old West Point Road passes a tall rocky scarp - one of the many glacially-plucked cliffs in the Highlands – and turns from a southerly heading to a westerly one. I could hear traffic noise below me and soon came to an overlook from which I could see Route 9W, below. The overlook was a small clearing, edged with Red Cedars, and commanded a nice view to the west of the Hudson River at Constitution Island and to the south to the West Point Ski Area. A big tow-boat was passing by on the River, on its way south. The snow on the ski area was patchy and muddy. My map showed a shelter in the general vicinity of the overlook, but I was not able to spot it. Perhaps the shelter is gone; or perhaps I was not quite where I thought myself to be.

I was making my way to what on the map is marked as a loop road around Glycerine Hollow. However, I began to lose confidence that I was on the correct road, since I did not encountered a critical intersection (the one with Carpenter Road) that I was expecting. I did, however, pass an absolutely gorgeous little waterfall, where two cascades of water bubbled down across a sloping and mossy rock ledge. A little later I came to a bridge across a substantial brook- a very solid stone foundation spanned by two very rickety planks. A gauging station with a tall antenna is installed next to the bridge. Two substantial waterfalls decorated the brook, one below the bridge and one above it. I poked around both, viewing them from many different perspectives.

I did not know it at the time, but I had come to the Cascade Brook Stream Station, at the southern end of the Glycerine Hollow, which was precisely where I wanted to be. However, the pattern of roads appear different than I expected; in particular, once the road crossed Cascade Brook, it followed the brook downhill and to the south, which contradicted the map, which showed it wrapping around back uphill and to the north. I decided that I had better go to high ground where I could see the terrain. I followed Cascade Brook upstream to a tributary that headed steeply uphill and to the west. It was marked by a Black Rock Hunting and Fishing Club sign, and may have had a trail beneath the snow, but if so, I saw no blazes and could not follow it consistently. I followed a little stream uphill, past some substantial rock scarps, to a south-facing overlook that I was hoping would turn out to be Rattlesnake Hill. Once there, I could see that it was actually one hill to the south, unlabeled on my map and on Academy land.

I set off north in search of Rattlesnake Hill, keeping as much as I could to the high ground. I passed two small ponds, one irregularly shaped and next to a glacially-plucked scarp, and the other circular and in a boggy area. Both were ringed by shoulder-high swamp bushes. A little further along, I intersected the Scenic Trail (blazed in white), just below the steep southern flank of Rattlesnake Hill. I took it up onto the Hill.

I came to a wide and smooth rock ledge, bare except for a couple of Pitch Pines, that commanded a fantastic view of Bog Meadow Pond and of rolling hills beyond t to the southwest. I sat down on the ledge and had a rather late lunch, for it was well past 1PM. I ate two strawberry Pop Tarts and drank more of my coffee, still kept hot by my thermos. Two hikers passed by, going in the direction from which I had just come. I then continued along the trail, passing another southwest-looking rock ledge (this one with a cairn) and later, a third viewpoint with rounded knobs of rock set between bushes and Pitch Pines. It afforded an excellent view northward of the bare rock summit of Hill of Pines. I then descended off the hill and joined Carpenters Road, which I took west to Bog Meadow Road.

Bog Meadow Road follows the steep rocky flank of Hill of Pines, paralleling a small stream. It passes to the east of Aleck Meadow Reservoir, visible through the leafless trees, and crosses its inflow stream. After a few minutes, I was back at Upper Reservoir Dam. I walked Reservoir Road back to my car. The day had warmed up considerably from its cold beginnings, and the temperature was now about 50F. I came across several yellow flowers blooming in damp areas near the Science Center. About 5:00.

I bought a snack at the Chestnut Mart, on Route 9W in Ft Montgomery, on my way home.