Hudson Highlands Jaunt

38.2k · March 26, 2004

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I think it's time we northern NJ geocachers (and any others who are interested) took our long planned geocaching trip to the Hudson Highlands.

Saturdays would be best for me. Let me know if you're interested and I'll try to set a date that is acceptable to most.

March 26, 2004

I am in. Saturday's are good for me.

I have done a few caches already in the Hudson Highlands, but there is lots to choose from. The HH are the home base of Jonboy, which is one of the great cache placers (after BrianSnat, of course).

March 26, 2004

Add me to the list. I'm looking foward to attending some geocaching events.

March 26, 2004

im down with it sat/sun are my days of choice!

March 26, 2004

We are a definate maybe! well depending on WHICH saturday.

April 3rd is currently open

scoobydooers

March 26, 2004

Sounds fun. I would probably come along on a Saturday if it's not April 10th (my son's birthday) or April 17th (CITO).

38.2k · March 26, 2004

How about next Saturday, the 3rd?

March 26, 2004

That sounds cool - JMB and I had the 3rd as a tentative day of caching - so if you guys are heading there I am sure he and I would be up for it. Can we make an event of it?

38.2k · March 26, 2004

You mean an event cache to go find more caches?

Edited March 26, 2004 by briansnat

March 26, 2004

You mean an event cache to go find more caches?

Exactly! :rolleyes:

March 27, 2004

You are just going to love the Hudson Highlands, with a great many caches to choose from

3.9k · March 27, 2004

That works for me. I'm down. Mark me down! How long of a hike is it?

38.2k · March 27, 2004

That works for me. I'm down. Mark me down! How long of a hike is it?

That depends. I think something around 6 miles should be good. Not too much for the non hikers. Maybe I'll e-mail Jonboy to get some recommendations. Breakneck Ridge sounds like a good possiblity. I hear there are a bunch of caches there.

March 27, 2004

we are in, Ive offically marked it in my schedule.

look forward to recieving more info and time

wally

March 27, 2004

I attempted to hit Breakneck Ridge back in October - it was a touch climb up and it started to rain so we headed back down. I am definitely looking forward to going back and hitting some caches would make it even better. Just let me know which caches - and I'll be there.

Great idea, Brian. Thanks.

March 27, 2004

First of all, the Hudson Highlands are on both sides of the river, and there are good caches on each side. The Breakneck-Taurus area has a rich cluster of caches, but also some of the toughest climbs in the area. There is only one cache on Breakneck, one on a remote flank, two in the valley and two on Mt Taurus. To give you an idea of the difficulty of this cluster, Bassoon Pilot set out to do this group and wasn't able to finish them all in a day( he did have time constraints).

There is another rich cluster on the north end of the ridge, with the same tough climb up, without so much up and down once you get up there. Helmut did some of these with his girls and KBer knocked them off in a day, but he is pretty fast.

There is also quite a group of caches on West and Dunderberg Mountains across the river in Harriman. There are five up on those ridges, with about six down in the Doodletown Valley. A group could spot cars at the trailhead on 9D, opposite Iona Island, and then drive up to the small parking lot on Seven Lakes Drive, between Bear Mt. and West Mt.. This saves you almost 700 feet and climbing, you come up the ridge on the AT. The nice thing about this option is that those who can't take a whole day of ridge walking, can drop down into Doodletown Valley and scoop up some easier caches. This ridge loop is one of the classic Hudson Highlands Hikes.

March 27, 2004

i'd like to try to make it up for this. what time would you be meeting?

~melissa

March 27, 2004

To give you an idea of the difficulty of this cluster, Bassoon Pilot set out to do this group and wasn't able to finish them all in a day( he did have time constraints).

Jonboy is on the money with this. We hit the area in July of 2003 with hopes of grabbing 5 caches and came away with only 2. I read BP's logs the morning of our hike and I was thinking he must have had a bad day or something. Once we started on our first assent I knew what BP was talking about and I also realized we would be lucky to get 4 out of the 5 I had planned (ended up only getting 2). Having said that-the hiking and views are awesome. I Have been itching to get back to the area ever since.

I'm tentitivly in for the 3rd, if we can get an early start. I might have to bail out in the early afternoon but I'll have a good 6-7 hours if we can meet around 7:00.

38.2k · March 27, 2004

hours if we can meet around 7:00.

Ouch!

There is another rich cluster on the north end of the ridge, with the same tough climb up, without so much up and down once you get up there. Helmut did some of these with his girls and KBer knocked them off in a day, but he is pretty fast.

This one sounds pretty good.

Edited March 27, 2004 by briansnat

March 27, 2004

Im up for the 3rd as far as I can see right now. The 4th is the VW show and go @ raceway park so i cant go then. I like the west moutain/ doodletown area idea. Some nice hiking over there. But i am game for just about anything.

38.2k · March 27, 2004

I just downloaded a bunch of waypoints and imported them to NG Topo! I see two nice looking clusters. One on the north end of Breakneck Ridge near Lambda Mtn. Another further southwest surrounding Bull Hill. The latter has a lot more caches. I have to check them against my trail map to see which looks like a better route. Oddly enough, I didn't see a single cache along Breakneck Ridge itself. What's with that?

Edited March 27, 2004 by briansnat

38.2k · March 28, 2004

Here's what I came up with:

Now I just have to compare it to my trail map to see how we can do this.

3.9k · March 28, 2004

Oddly enough, I didn't see a single cache along Breakneck Ridge itself. What's with that?

I'm all for hiding one or two.

This looks great I'm looking forward to it. It doesn't matter to me which route we take. I'd like to hit more caches than less but that's not too important. The hike will be great.

3.9k · March 28, 2004

hours if we can meet around 7:00.

Ouch!

Ouch is right. Not that I won't do it but I'd have to leave my house at like 5:00, maybe 4:30 so I can grab 1 or 2 on the way. :rolleyes: What is that about 45 minutes form NYC?

I think this is worthy of an event.

Edited March 28, 2004 by JMBella

March 28, 2004

I'd give it at least an hour from the city. I'm 13 miles north east of the southern bull hill cluster and it takes an hour to the city but even though these caches are a bit closer, the area along the hudson there has no real direct quick moving routes. Route 9.. traffic haven.. or back roads that wind you through the mountains.

I'm in for this hike for sure. I'll volunteer to hold up the rear though.. to keep the slow movers from being uncomfortable ;-) (I love to hike and climb mountains but I don't do it quickly)I've hiked and hidden on this ridge quite a few times now and it never fails that I always over estimate my ability to navigate it in a time frame that the body still cooperates. I believe the event cache we have here has to be a camping one up top. I'm still interested in the Malouf's Mountain campsite as an event site. They never did open up last year.. I talked to them on the phone last year and they sounded open to the idea of a cache event there but would not go into it till the campground was up and running. Thier cache page now says they open April 15th.. guess we'll see. I'm not talking about camping up there real soon though.. it's a bit early for me to be camping on top of mountains along the hudson valley.. I overpack for any vacation but having to carry it all to the top of the mountain when the temps are going to be so variable... call me a wimp but I'd rather wait a couple months. I love the idea of being up top there and then seeing how much area we can cover. ... and then coming back to common site to tell our stories... oh yeah we gotta do an event up there... but we'll let you guys decide after you've been up there. Always more to go back for :rolleyes:

38.2k · March 28, 2004

Oddly enough, I didn't see a single cache along Breakneck Ridge itself. What's with that?

Looking at the trail map, I answered my own question. It appears that a good portion of Breakneck Ridge is on private land.

I looked at the trail map and both areas have a trail system that can make for a nice loop. Since I've never hiked here, I'll need some input from Jonboy, Ttepee and other locals as to what is doable. I think 6-7 miles would be the max we want to take on, considering the numerous ups and downs in the terrain.

The first one I was thinking of would be the southern part. Starting at the parking area on Lobell Fishkill Rd. This would involved a loop using the Washburn, Nelsionville, Notch and Underhill trialls. This is looks good because there are a number of outs where we can cut the trip shorter if we're running out of time, or if some have to leave early. There are about 8 caches we can bag along this route.

The second idea is to park on Old Albany Post Rd and use the Wilkinson and Fishkill Ridge trails. This is a much shorter route and there are 5 caches along the way. The down side is that there are no shortcuts if we're running short on time.

So if Jonboy, or other people who've done either of these can chime in and let me know what they think is possible, or perhaps recommed another route, I'd appreciate it.

As far as an event, not a bad idea. I'd be happy to post it as soon as we can finalize the route. Stay tuned.

Edited March 28, 2004 by briansnat

March 28, 2004

I nice morning hike on the 3rd is still good for me. I guess I'll be about an hour away also since I'm coming from Clifton,NJ.

March 28, 2004

I'm going to try and make it as well - but geez, how about a reasonable time? I'm not even sure the Dunkin' Donuts guy is up that early on weekends! :rolleyes:

March 28, 2004

Brian.. your first suggestion sounds great to me. These are newer caches planted in the fall that I haven't hit yet but have been wanting to get to. If we can figure out a relay system to park cars on either side of the mtn we'll be in good shape. The front side I've mostly gotten already (first cache outing with Planet) but there are quite a few caches on that SE side that I haven't found yet. I've never taken this trail though so my experience there won't help. My belief is that it's an easier way up than going from the west side of Taurus. There will also be alternate routes down to the other side. Gates of the Hudson is a classic Jonboy cache highlighting the view, so either way down I suggest making it to this one. Eagleflyby amongst his other great hides that would bring us up the back route has one on the front face The Funnel that he rated a 4 on one of the easier escapes down.. I'd love to try that one so those slow goers hiking with me can plan on a nice little break or a "you think we took the easy route?" experience to share afterwards :rolleyes:

What ever we do this is an area that planning pays off. Everyone considering going should take a good look at the topos and familiarze themselves somewhat. Once you get up there most of us are too tired to make decisions. But when your tired it's helpful to have your own inside information rather than just following.

March 28, 2004

First suggestion meaning southern Taurus. If there's a group that wants to go out earlier no reason we can't do this in waves too. Skully and Mulder looks like you've got some bed rattling to do. hehehe good luck.. hope to see you out there :rolleyes:

Edited March 28, 2004 by Ttepee

22.1k · March 28, 2004

Before you get too far along, I just wanted to whisper that "getting together to hunt for some caches" doesn't in and of itself constitute an "Event Cache." Even the cache machines in the Pacific Northwest conclude with a big dinner party. A group of friends joining forces for a day of caching is really just that. You don't get an extra smiley besides the one for finding the cache.

If the focus shifted away from a challenging day of hiking and more towards reserving a picnic pavilion or meeting at a restaurant, then that would be an Event Cache (with geocaching before or afterwards).

OK, back to your regularly scheduled fun. Sounds like a great plan!

3.9k · March 28, 2004

Before you get too far along, I just wanted to whisper that "getting together to hunt for some caches" doesn't in and of itself constitute an "Event Cache." Even the cache machines in the Pacific Northwest conclude with a big dinner party. A group of friends joining forces for a day of caching is really just that. You don't get an extra smiley besides the one for finding the cache.

If the focus shifted away from a challenging day of hiking and more towards reserving a picnic pavilion or meeting at a restaurant, then that would be an Event Cache (with geocaching before or afterwards).

OK, back to your regularly scheduled fun. Sounds like a great plan!

Did you notice who the people are that are responding? Going out drinking afterward is a given. Can I get an Amen my brothers?!

March 28, 2004

Skully and Mulder looks like you've got some bed rattling to do. hehehe good luck.. hope to see you out there

Tell me about it ... If I tell my kids we need to get up by 10:00 on a weekend they look at me like I'm from another planet.

Ok, I'll admit 7:00 am is a little ambitious. I’ll go no matter what time the group decides on.

March 28, 2004

Going out drinking afterward is a given. Can I get an Amen my brothers?!

Amen to that! But friends don't let friends drink and cache.

March 28, 2004

I just downloaded a bunch of waypoints and imported them to NG Topo! I see two nice looking clusters. One on the north end of Breakneck Ridge near Lambda Mtn. Another further southwest surrounding Bull Hill. The latter has a lot more caches.

If we are taking votes - I vote for the Bull Hill caches. Thats only because we have never been there.

March 28, 2004

Tell me about it ... If I tell my kids we need to get up by 10:00 on a weekend they look at me like I'm from another planet

you could do what we do and just tell them to stay up.

only kidding <G>

I am a little concerned about my ability to keep up with the group

I have already had two heart attacks and I dont want to slow the groups pace down

normally when we hike, we are on a much leasurely pace so we may very well

decide to fall behind and take it easy and catch up with the rest of the group later

we will have to see. in any case, we are looking forward to meeting everyone again and enjoying the views

Wally

Edited March 28, 2004 by scoobydooers

38.2k · March 28, 2004

The southern route (Mt Taurus, or Bull Mtn depending on what map you look at) seems to have the most support. I like it because there are more caches and the trail system gives us a number of options.

Is 8:30 a reasonable time to meet? If everyone agrees, we'll go with that. I'll try to discuss the logistics with some of the locals who've done this area to see what se can come up with. I had been thinkng a loop hike, but I also like Ttepee's idea of a car shuttle.

March 28, 2004

Is 8:30 a reasonable time to meet?

8:30 works for me.

3.9k · March 28, 2004

8:30 is doable.

If I had my choice I would take the route with more caches, but I'm psyched for the hike.

March 28, 2004

we are supposed to drive up to niagara falls sunday morning. i was thinking maybe we could meet up and do this trip, stay the night somewhere and then head to canada from there. that would save us driving up, down and up again. does anyone know any reasonable places nearby?

if joe doesn't take my bait (it will take some convincing...) i will still try to come up anyway. i also have some concerns about keeping up with the pack. we haven't really hiked this distance on this kind of terrain. of the ones we've done the watchung reservation caches come closest, but they don't seem comparable. we're both healthy and in pretty good shape, but i'd hate to overestimate our ability and slow down the whole pack.

~melissa

March 28, 2004

no problem with 8:30 here

3.9k · March 28, 2004

Those with concerns about keeping up, it's not a race. I'm certainly not in my best shape so I won't be leading the pack. The longest I've hiked is only about 10 miles but on the easy terrain of Long Island. I wouldn't worry too much, were going to have a blast.

Last one to the top is a rotten egg!!! :rolleyes: just kidding.

March 28, 2004

Hey all,

I'm interested in going. How do I find out exactly when and where we are all meeting? And is Saturday, April 3rd a definite?

Thanks,

Batonka

3.9k · March 28, 2004

Hey all,
I'm interested in going. How do I find out exactly when and where we are all meeting? And is Saturday, April 3rd a definite?

Thanks,

Batonka

Just stay tuned to this thread.

3k · March 28, 2004

I am going to say yes, but with my work I may not be able to and won't know until the day before or so. But i'd love to! I still need to get Bearcat's Crack in the Rock and a few others up there. I've already done a few of them with Ttepee, the Bryno and the mann. I'll get in touch with Ttepee for details. I volunteer to be the one following behind her, to make sure nothing falls out of her pack or anything. :rolleyes:

edit because I hate misspellings

Edited March 29, 2004 by Planet

3k · March 28, 2004

Before you get too far along, I just wanted to whisper that "getting together to hunt for some caches" doesn't in and of itself constitute an "Event Cache." .........OK, back to your regularly scheduled fun. Sounds like a great plan!

We don't need no stinkin' smilies! :rolleyes: :lol: :lol: It's not about the numbers, it's the hike, the comeraderie! Here in the NYMAGG area we get together just for the fun of it, and if we need to post our pictures we'll just do it here! HAHAHAHAHA! It is just an event in our minds and our lives to remember. :lol:

March 28, 2004

Don't let JMB fool ya - he's been at my house at 7'ish to go caching. Make it lots of caches and he'll be there!

Which ever ones you guys are up for is cool with me. I am looking forward to taking a good long hike - it has been a while. If we can hit caches on the way - even better.

March 28, 2004

Darn. The 3rd doesn't work for me - I'll be on call for work that weekend. Oh well, maybe next time. :rolleyes:

1.1k · March 29, 2004

I'm looking after the REAL Quoddy the next two weekends and I don't think going with a group would work out for the rambunctious pup. Keep me in mind... just in case.

38.2k · March 29, 2004

but they don't seem comparable. we're both healthy and in pretty good shape, but i'd hate to overestimate our ability and slow down the whole pack.

Don't worry. I'm not exactly a marathon runner. It's not easy pulling my 240 lb body up and down those hills, so I'm not all that fast...esp on the uphills. I can go a long way, but I take my time.

Hudson Highlands Jaunt

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