day hike: hints of spring and scandi sweetness.

[JV3]

i'm scouting locations for the beckerhead/rat pack camp out at the end of the month and the spring-like weather yesterday was a perfect timing, i just had to get out! the trail started out innocently enough with a gentle hill.

as is typical of harriman state park, it quickly turns rocky.

...and even more rocky and steep! i like it though, it keeps the beer drinkers who tend to litter far away.

the first snake i've spotted this year (a harmless garter snake but we do have rattlers and other venomous species native here too)...purty ain't she? i wish i was packing a real camera and not a cell phone, the beautiful yellow and white on her is not showing here.

from now on, i kept my eyes wide open since this particular trail is a perfect habitat for them.

butterfly - another sure sign that spring is right around the corner!

about an hour of huffing and puffing and the trail does flatten out a lot.

one of many water sources along the way towards the lake.

this big pile of wood is now safe from me since i prefer using an emberlit

i wonder what they were planning on using this cement pipe for?

as an avid mountain biker, this sign saddens me though...every mtb'er i know has contributed far more to keeping the trails clean of trash and fixing rutted trails than any hiker i know.

or maybe that sign is for this fire road next to it to keep the atv'ers off of it?

about 2 hrs later i reach the lake...beautiful!

there's a fire pit nearby with a couple of branches so i decided to have lunch there.

my only cutting tools for the day: gerber folding saw and battle creek knives' "butter finger" and "creekster".

as is my routine with new knives, i do a "one stick fire" to get a feel for the ergonomics and edge holding.

right off the bat, i'm really liking the creekster's ergonomics. notice the lanyard hole is all the way out next to the pommel, well away from my pinky finger. that's the only thing i don't like about my spyderco bushcraft - the lanyard hole is a tad close to my pinky and in certain positions especially without a glove on it's a little annoying. also, aside from the thin handle, the fallkniven f1's lanyard hole is always under my pinky so i got rid of it...but enough of my dislikes with other knives

rob did great on the highly polished edge on the creekster. it was butter smooth cutting feather sticks. i typically hate bling looking knives but in this case it truly is function AND form - the mirror-like finish is there to make it glide through wood easier...too bad, with my sharpening skills and lack of patience, i'd probably never be able to get it back to that kinda finish again

 

[JV3]

with the perfect weather and view of the lake, i couldn't help but just zone out and do feather sticks for an hour.

some evidence of usage is starting to show - that's more like it! no safe queens here

the butter finger had to get in on the action too. the bevel on this one isn't as finely finished as the creekster and although the feathersticks doesn't show it, i had to put more effort into it. also, since the forging marks or whatever that's called on the side of the blade isn't ground out, the spine is spotty when it comes to striking a firesteel with it (some parts are sharp but some aren't)...that section where the spine and the bevel meets is a perfect striker though.

i really like the butter finger's rough unfinished look though, more so than the somewhat blingy shiny-ness of the creekster the blocky handle is also surprisingly comfy in my hands (feels a lot like the izula 2 - i think the thickness is spot on with my hands) - goes to show i really can't tell what i like until i get my hands on it (don't use that to pick up girls at the bar, it doesn't work ).

my grumbling stomach reminded me i spent too much time playing with the knives! time to boil some water.

the wind was really blowing...i guess that's why i didn't see kayakers on the lake since it was a perfect day by all measures otherwise.

lunch was raisin bagel with hot chocolate spiked with caffeine gel.

i gotta go back here and look for a spot to do an overnighter...the view is pure sweetness.

i took some wood home to work on my bow drill skill.

this is why i really like my zxr - i can jam wood and dirty stuff in the slots without risking damage to my sleeping bag or whatnot that might be in the main compartment.

one last look at that crystal clear water.

boonie hat weather! nice not to be wearing a wool hat anymore.

on the way back, nice to see someone else using natural tinder.

no idea what kind of plant this is but green is a welcome sight.

the trail maintenance crew was busy - this sign wasn't here last year.

i was too busy looking out for snakes i had to remind myself gotta look up once in awhile for the widowmakers.

perfect weather but the hotties on horses were all inside though. it's too dark for my cell's camera, just gotta take my word for it they were inside

 

[kgd]

Nice pics and nice knives. Looks like the critters are starting to wake up. Today it was the rise of the flying ants day around my parts.

 

[mete]

A warning here !! These are prime conditions for brush fires here in the Catskills and other areas ! We did see smoke from a far off fire.

It's so long since I went to Harriman I can't remember at thing about it .We went to a shooting range today, then had lunch there and watched the birds .Saw eagles and one was trailing something so my friend asked what it was .With my binocs I saw it was an eagle who had picked up a branch for it's nest .Must have been 7-8' long and he was having a bit of a problem holding on .Hawks, a few more eagles and lots of sounds of other smaller birds.
Then we went to a nearby ,wonderful place , Basha Kill. This is off 209 south of Rt 17. Always lots of things to see. Eagles ,ospreys,ducks, geese, seagulls today.Always a treat so if you've never been there give it a visit ! You can hike from there north maybe as far as Ellenville as they've extended the trail. It's the old Ontario and Western RR bed.Easy hiking and lots to see.

 

[trailbum]

Nice spot.

I need to buyt one of those tripod seats.

 

[ivan51]

great post man i need to get outside!

 

[LMT66]

Cool knives, great scenery and beautiful weather!

The greenery looks like Mayapple??

 

[scruffuk]

Great photos bro.

That Butterfinger looks fantastic in the light of day! Lover the big burlap.

Thanks for taking the time with the snaps.

 

[dialton]

Looks like a good area for your campout. Except for sleeping on rocks .

 

[OwenM]

Hilly, rocky, ending at a lake. Nice.

i wonder what they were planning on using this cement pipe for?

So...you did pack that trash out, right?

 

[tknife]

I always like your pics, looks like a great area to hike. Love all that water! Nice Creekster too. I just picked up a flat ground version. He makes a super nice knife :thumbup:

 

[Mistwalker]

Nice photos man, I always look forward to your posts. I always take my SLR when I am hunting for photos because they are used on websites and sometimes in magazines and I want good quality images. If I am not hunting for specific photos (and that's rare) I don't even bother with photos anymore and just go minus a camera period and enjoy the peaceful hike.

 

[hung-solo]

hope you were gathering water up stream from where the horses roam .. nice pics. glad you can get out.

 

[Rockywolf]

I enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

[daizee]

Heheh, you say you're impatient, but you'll build a fire and boil water for lunch!

no idea what kind of plant this is but green is a welcome sight.

Looks like Mountain Laurel to me. State flower (shrub?) of nearby Connecticut.

Nice hike and pix!

-Daizee

 

[Shotgun]

The "pedestrian only" sign was probably to keep the horses off of it. There's a park near here that has those for that specific reason. Of course that doesn't stop people. I had to reverse direction on one trail because a horse had obliterated it. I'll never understand why people would make a poor animal carry there fat asses when they can just walk it themselves.

 

[JV3]

Nice pics and nice knives. Looks like the critters are starting to wake up. Today it was the rise of the flying ants day around my parts.

thanks, ken! yup, looks like the bug nets will be out at the camp out.

A warning here !! These are prime conditions for brush fires here in the Catskills and other areas ! We did see smoke from a far off fire.

It's so long since I went to Harriman I can't remember at thing about it .We went to a shooting range today, then had lunch there and watched the birds .Saw eagles and one was trailing something so my friend asked what it was .With my binocs I saw it was an eagle who had picked up a branch for it's nest .Must have been 7-8' long and he was having a bit of a problem holding on .Hawks, a few more eagles and lots of sounds of other smaller birds.
Then we went to a nearby ,wonderful place , Basha Kill. This is off 209 south of Rt 17. Always lots of things to see. Eagles ,ospreys,ducks, geese, seagulls today.Always a treat so if you've never been there give it a visit ! You can hike from there north maybe as far as Ellenville as they've extended the trail. It's the old Ontario and Western RR bed.Easy hiking and lots to see.

warning noted...thanks for the tips, i'll try and check them out!

Nice spot.

I need to buyt one of those tripod seats.

i got that stool from rei, for i think $20. it's pretty light and very study and a few friends bought several too once they tried it out.

great post man i need to get outside!

thanks man! perfect timing since the past two days the cold is back.

Cool knives, great scenery and beautiful weather!

The greenery looks like Mayapple??

thanks, chris! noticed the 2qt utility pouch? thanks again

it doesn't look like mayapple though...here's a closer crop:

Great photos bro.

That Butterfinger looks fantastic in the light of day! Lover the big burlap.

Thanks for taking the time with the snaps.

thanks, bro! yeah, i really like the burlap texture and the orange in general. the creekster especially has details that's hard to show - the scales are semi-transparent (you can see the different layers of burlap) and the subtle orange liner too.

Looks like a good area for your campout. Except for sleeping on rocks .

those rocks and the snake put a hammock in my to-try list soon i can almost guarantee i'll have a nightmare though if i sleep on my back so i'll have to try a hammock that lets me sleep on my side.

Hilly, rocky, ending at a lake. Nice.

So...you did pack that trash out, right?

thanks, owen...i'm saving that trash for the group camp out attendees - we're going to roll it down that fire road

I always like your pics, looks like a great area to hike. Love all that water! Nice Creekster too. I just picked up a flat ground version. He makes a super nice knife :thumbup:

thanks! there's a lot of stagnant water in that area though so mosquitos are going to be a problem come summer. the ergonomics on the creekster is indeed awesome...he's coming out with a lil' creekster too

Nice photos man, I always look forward to your posts. I always take my SLR when I am hunting for photos because they are used on websites and sometimes in magazines and I want good quality images. If I am not hunting for specific photos (and that's rare) I don't even bother with photos anymore and just go minus a camera period and enjoy the peaceful hike.

thanks, man! the pics are mainly for me when i'm too old to hike and i can relive my trips...and that's why i tend to put a description for each one, when forgetfulness kicks in too

hope you were gathering water up stream from where the horses roam .. nice pics. glad you can get out.

thanks! so that's what the after-taste was in my hot chocolate that i couldn't put my finger on

I enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing!

thanks!

Heheh, you say you're impatient, but you'll build a fire and boil water for lunch!



Looks like Mountain Laurel to me. State flower (shrub?) of nearby Connecticut.

Nice hike and pix!

-Daizee

thanks, daizee! funny thing is i did bring my snowpeak but i couldn't just leave those feathersticks there. besides, everyone already knows how boring a gas stove is

i googled mountain laurel too, it doesn't look like it. i'm going to ask a few locals if i see them next time.

The "pedestrian only" sign was probably to keep the horses off of it. There's a park near here that has those for that specific reason. Of course that doesn't stop people. I had to reverse direction on one trail because a horse had obliterated it. I'll never understand why people would make a poor animal carry there fat asses when they can just walk it themselves.

ah, makes sense since i did see horse poop near the power lines. i don't know about fat asses, man...the ones i've seen here are pretty hot - or i just have low standards

 

[Shotgun]

ah, makes sense since i did see horse poop near the power lines. i don't know about fat asses, man...the ones i've seen here are pretty hot - or i just have low standards

Yeah you see one or two cute girls but it's usually a 300 pound old person. I hardly make any fat jokes but I really do feel bad for those horses. Poor bastids. Thanks for the pics by the way.

 

[GSDNPWC]

Seems like fun to me! Great pictures! Ok, so what kind of metal stove if that? I have seen them everywhere, but never asked the brand/where to buy.Thanks!

 

[JV3]

Yeah you see one or two cute girls but it's usually a 300 pound old person. I hardly make any fat jokes but I really do feel bad for those horses. Poor bastids. Thanks for the pics by the way.

you're welcome!

Seems like fun to me! Great pictures! Ok, so what kind of metal stove if that? I have seen them everywhere, but never asked the brand/where to buy.Thanks!

thanks! it's an "emberlit" - crazy efficient stove. i can't put a direct link to his site since it's against the site rules but you should be able to find his site easily. i have more pics of it and a review on my previous trip: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/928770-another-2-nighter-emberlit-stove-and-happy-feet!