• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Sam's Point, NY 07/28/2007

andyzee

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
10,884
Points
0
Location
Home
Website
www.nsmountainsports.com
Date(s) Hiked: 7/15/2007

Trails(s) Hiked: Long Path Trail

Total Distance:approx. 7-8 miles RT

Difficulty: No seriously difficult sections, but overall a fair amount of vertical and a good workout

Conditions: Hot and muggy.

Trip Report:

This summer we've been checking out the Shawangunk Ridge. First we went hiking to Minnewaska State Park, which is in the middle of the Shawangunk Ridge, the we went to Monhonk Preserve, northern most section, and the yesterday it was the southern most section, the Sam's point Preserve. Never realize it was part of the Mohonk Ridge, for that matter never knew about the Shawangunk Ridge until this season, but I used to go to Sam's point about 30 years ago. Back then it was owned by a private corporation and was advertised as the Ice Caves, ice could be found year round. Used to be able to drive up to the caves back then, now you have to hike. Now it's owned by a non-profit organization.
With this hike we hit Sam's Point, normally a nice view, but the air was a bit thick yesterday and as a result, visibility wasn't the good. Next up the Ice Cave, not real cave, more like big crevices in the rock, but still cool(about 40 degrees, if not less) From there we hiked through miles of wild blueberry fields. Many years ago they had migrant pickers come here to pick berries, they actually have a large number of shacks that were used by these pickers. Next stop was the Verkeeder Falls, pretty impressive, the cliff the falls came down was a 90 degree wall of rock. Next up, search for the lost trail. The Long Path Trail starts at the George Washington Bridge and goes all the way to Albany, it goes through the Shawangunk Ridge. However, due to private ownership of land between Sams Point and Minnewaska, the trail at this point was closed. Two years ago, the state took over this land and the trail was to be reopened. I found reports going back two years that work was to be started on this, but nothing confirming that it has. These two areas are so close, I was determined to go from one to the other. Well, we did find the trail, in fine shape, markers freshly painted and it was open. It's not yet on any maps, but it does allow for some great hiking.
Overall we covered about 8 miles, 1300 feet vertical. Ate some tasty berries along the way and got a great workout. Here's some pics:

Begining of the hike:
normal_P7280002.JPG

Going into the Ice Caves:
normal_P7280009.JPG

The Falls:
normal_P7280049.JPG

And the falls from a differnt angle:
normal_P7280068.JPG
 
Top