Bennett Hill Envisioning

On November 11th; a day of much importance in my mythology, (Veterans Day, My Dads Birthday and the day on which my progenitors progenitor arrived in this country 150 years ago) we hiked Bennett's Hill.

Every night on the way home as I round corners I can see it coming closer as I pursue home.

It has been calling to me since we moved in...

Meadowbrook Farm Dairy at the base of the trail.

It was a lovely sunny fall day, bIRD and I hadn't been out hiking in some time, and I needed break from worrying the house.

Trailhead leading up the Southern face.

I couldn't find my blue Hiking pack as it is in a box among boxes still and subsequently I had no camera. bIRD loaned me his so I could take a few views along the way...

~

When we attained the summit plateau I pulled out my iPad to see what things looked like in Hybrid & Terrain mode on Googlemaps. We were having trouble locating the wetland indicated on the map from Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.

Terrain view. Highest point is measured 1135 ft.+/-

We took what we thought was a trail that lead there but in fact it was a deer trail. I turned back to the main trail and bIRD traipsed on into the brush with a general direction. I found it easily enough using the iPad and soon I was alone in stand of pine trees.

Hybrid View.

I called out to bIRD that I had found it and began moving in his direction based on the sound of his voice. Looking up into the sun through the trees and towards him I thought I spied a small 6" American flag in a tree waving with the wind. Keeping my eyes steady I began to walk towards it. Checking my footing; I glanced down and when I looked up again it was gone.

DAMN!

I walked to where I thought I had seen it.

NOTHING...

IT WAS THERE I SWARE!

Then, in the quiet of the forest I realized it may have been a vision. iPad in hand; I quickly brought up my writing program and began to type...

~




Hilltop Visionation:

I saw your colors America
Waving from a treetop
On Bennett's Hill

As I stood alone
In a grove of white-pines
Searching for wetland
Blinded by your sunlight

Crashing through the trees

We walked a false trail America
Circling the summit of our dreams
Taking pictures along the way

Listen to your trains
Blowing the distance
Calling us home to yesterdays


Shaman with treemask speaks
Through wood

"Lost one
Follow the oak
Don't forget to tie your shoe"



Switchback
down your spine

Into shade
your shalier side

Birch
Littering your cliff

Sloping
Down
Sharply

To moss
Covered lowlands of my America

Here

The trail less clearly marked

We search

Make our way to the
indefinite future
Drink
then onwards



Find our own sacred springs

Encourage flow

Drink


Say prayer of rest.

obeedúid~
11/nov/10

~

bIRDS vision happen thusly:

Portrait of the bIRD facing west.

~

LOGGERHEAD RISES FROM A SWAMP

hollow log fits neatly over my head
tube view of mountain brush
chill leaf fall clean sky
red-tailed hawk makes one sweep, not interested,
drifts towards escarpment uplift
visions not solutions
keep hitting small branches
legs abandoned to willywaw
grounded sense of terrain
swing turn small circle view
loggerhead mask separates me from any path
only shows ahead, steps toward familiar
shadow-side of the mountain
shadows hide secrets just don’t know them yet
under the floor the child was pleased the father said earth
inside tunnel dark come lighter
not estranged from outside
there is no future, there is no past, there is only now
tribal dancers, generations, all pick up shared rhythm
dance in uneven light, rattles reflect fire
from a sacred spring: roots, broad leaf, tall stem, full blossom flower…
water worn patterns on stone are also life forms
dead oak leaves over deep humus my foot sinks in
mushrooms climb stairs on hill-facing side of old stump
crow caws constant all the way across farm fields to another hill
make moan mock googa-booga noise to attract attention

Logger-headed.

Alan Casline
November 11, 2010
morning hike of Bennett Hill

~

WARNING! No Kinnikinnick was inhaled or consumed in the creation of this chronicle of what transpired in poetical form. Some poetic license and minor revisions have taken place since the event.

~

BUT SERIOUSLY NOW:

Here is a map obtained from the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy site at: http://www.mohawkhudson.org/preserves/Bennett.htm


We took the Green trail up to the Yellow. There are more switchbacks than indicated and I would rate this part of the trail at 2.5 to 3 Geezers. The loop around the top plateau is fairly flat with enjoyable views. The best views being from the northernmost part of the loop. Then we took the Red trail where it breaks off of the yellow and drops sharply down in a Northeasterly direction. The steep grade here is rated at 5 Geezers. Slippery and smooth going up or down. We went down slowly and carefully.

Having attained the base of the Red trail at it's most northernly point; the trail became poorly marked. We wandered around for a bit until we found a downed Birch with a marker on it. (...A poor choice of tree to mark as they fall frequently and rot quickly...) With no real marker, and rather than resort to the iPad, we simply relied on common sense and followed the base of the Mountain. As it it possible to hike the trail and avoid going on the Red trail my overall Geezer Rating is 3.5 Somewhere between Hard and Difficult. A 3 if you avoid the Red trail, 4 if you take the Red trail down and 5 perhaps if you scale the Red trail up.

Overall Geezer Rating 3.5

There are a number of springs on the southern face and that is what lead us to seek out the wetland on the top. When we found it we were a bit disappointed as it was choked with scrub. We identified a number of species of Pine. White and Pitch being the most prevalent.




Views from the Northern edge gave us spectacular sights of the Valley looking directly towards my new home and beyond to my old home.
Hence the poetic reference. We did actually hear trains but they could very well have come from Selkirk which is also visible from the Northeast side through the treeline.





This trail is popular, I can only assume that this comes from it's easy accessibility and the range of terrain for hikers of differing skill levels. Many people brought along their dogs. They seemed to have the most fun jumping in the water and bounding threw the underbrush. From my experience this is a jewel right under your nose. Check it out with the family or perhaps a second date for a good day hike!

~

Having written this as a poetic experiment; I am also attempting another. As the content seems to contain elements of more than one of my blogs I have decided to test out a new feature with the Updated version of this App and post it simultaneously to "Glebe Homie" and "Helder~Hiking Adventures!"

I can't say that I will ever have need of this feature in the future but it's nice to know I can do it if I want.

:&)

~

11/11/10- 11/14/10

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.
obeedúid~

Shiffendecker Farms Preserve, Town of Bethlehem

An area that can be seen when driving on Route 32 (The Delmar By-Pass) is interesting at all times of the year. When driving towards the east and the connect to 9-W you can look down into an inviting small valley with stream, shaped by mounds of steep-hilled terrain. During hunting season, I'll see trucks parked off the highway and I expect the deer walk a little more wary on their paths in and out of the brush. I've often thought I'd like to venture into those hollows to perhaps find an unknown spring or wildlife inhabitation in a sanctuary area created by geology more than by man. I wasn't sure where Shiffendecker Farms Preserve was exactly but I was hoping the property was within the Normanskill watershed. Those hunters (if they were such) will have to find others fields because, yes, the land I had looked at for so many years (thinking that land should be a park or something) is actually now Shiffendecker Farm Preserve held by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy. I went on a hike on those lands on April 29, 2009 led by Dan Driscoll of the Conservancy. "Wear boots" and be ready for rugged terrain was the advise given to those who had an interest in getting out into the fresh air.

The hike itself was a near bushwack as the property is not marked with trails yet. Part of the purpose of the hike was for feedback from the group on what orientation to natural features and terrain would make the "best" trail system. Being close to a large mall with large parking lots has both advantages and disadvantages. My own feeling is to make the trailhead away from the mall area on one of the other sides of the property. I do not think this would limit potential access but could discourage people looking for a quick hide-a-way.

For our hike we started on a ridge dune-like feature and walked this spine downhill through thick understory (including brambles). The advantage was the view on both sides down into the valley. Once lower the land sloped more gradually till we reached the bottom land. There was running water in the form of a small stream. Beaver signs were abundant, although few were fresh signs. They left a carved totem pole in the form of a large trunk with interesting markings. There is no bridge so we forded the stream using some deadfall that make an adequate crossing. Up the hill on the other bank till we reached an old farm road and the property's boundary. We started to circle back, walking through a nice wooded upland. Trout lilys had bloomed and the undergrowth flowers along with apple blossoms at peak made this part of the hike very nice. There was another crossing of the gully stream that took some manuevering

to get all parties across.

We descended to the valley floor to a nice glade of fir. A number of us on the hike thought this peaceful spot was a tour highlight and definitely should be a center piece to any trail system. We climbed partway up the hill we had just descended and walked out on the Bender Road side of the property. it was noted that there were some parking spots available near this exit.

To hike this area it would be necessary to contact Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy

(518) 436-6346.

A Map of The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve at Rensselaerville Falls, Rensselaerville N.Y.

View Larger Map

The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve: Rensselaerville Falls, Rensselaerville N.Y. Episode 1.

I started this blog the day after we did the Hike. We shot so many pictures that it has taken more time than usual to sort through them and post. This is how I started out last Monday:

...Just woke up... crashed on the couch after I got home from the hike and took a shower... Whata GEEZER!

~~

Lets face it, most people who hike the The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve: Rensselaerville Falls just do the falls and thats all. I admit it. That was me. I've done the falls numerous times over the past few years. ...Relationships have begun and ended there... (There was this blonde once... but thats another story...)

~~

That having been said, There is much more to this preserve than just the falls, don't get me wrong, the falls are spectacular, and thats a good reason to go there, but there is so much more! There is so much more that between Adventure-bIRD~ and I we shot close to 300 pictures, and the short hike we intended to take became an afternoon into evening journey. Be that as it may, this blog may be broken up into more than one entry. The second and for me the most Picturesque will come soon at a later date when I finish choosing from the vast amount of photos.

~~

The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve is also a Biological Research Station. Actually, it is one of the oldest Biological Research Station in the nation and was established in 1931. The preserve is a member of the OBFS and you can learn more about this by following this link: Organization of Biological Research Stations. It is also the host station for the IOBFS.

~~

First off, the Rensselaerville Falls. We entered at the main entrance-way from Livingston Ave., or County Route 353 from Rensselaerville. Rensselaerville, has been referred to as a town that time forgot. It is the home of many Artists and Writers who have moved here for just that reason. Its most famous resident is Andy Rooney. But thats not why your here....

The Memorial Plaque at the entrance to the parking lot.
(Map Location #1-a)

Edmund Niles Huyck died in 1930. In 1931, his wife, Jessie Van Antwerp Huyck, founded the Edmund Niles Huyck Nature Preserve in his memory with the forward-looking mission of preserving the watershed of Lake Myosotis, Rensselaerville’s water supply, located at the edge of the Huyck estate.

~~

The Gazebo in the parking lot is under renovation now and the parking lot is limited to about ten cars at this point. There is a large Events-Board at the entrance noting the many programs that take place here over the course of the summer, but a site specific map is conspicuously absent. There is also a lack of a sign-in board to let anyone know that you have entered the trail and what your hiking intentions are. Not good. Many is the hiker who has fallen and been located based on this simple information, provided that is, if you provide it.

Rules of Hiking engagement.
(#1-b)

As you may have guessed the lower part if this preserve which consists of the Rensselaerville Falls is a popular high traffic site, partly because of its location in the very center of Rensselaerville and also because of its accessible spectacular natural beauty. Unfortunately because of its high traffic the ware on the trails and their vicinities are quite evident.

The trail map we obtained from the web site is not very detailed. Therefore I have taken the liberty of enlarging it to better suit my purposes.

The trail begins by following along the Ten Mile Creek up to the first bridge indicated on the map simply by a left angle over the creek.

The Lower Falls environs.
(Location #2-a)

Trail terrain along the Creek bed.
(#2-b)

The trail crosses at this point at what I will refer to as the Lower Falls. Adventure-bIRD~ and I took several views and found it hard to deal with the strong sunlight and reflections. Here are some of the results:

I decided to ignore the Rules of Hiking Engagement

in the name of Artistic License

and Adventure-bIRD~ caught me in the act....
(#2-c)

Adventure-bIRD~ crosses over the bridge.

(Map Location # 3-a)

A closer look at the bridge.
(#3-b)

I of course crossed under the bridge.

Look closely and you will see the bIRD

along the opposite bank.

(#3-d)

This is the best shot I got from this location.

(#3-e)

bIRD tries his best from his side of the Creek bed.

(#3-f)

I do my best from my side...

"Ahhh.. the light... it buuurns!"

(#3-g)

Eventually we gave up and climbed back to the trail. After you cross the bridge you come to the site of the Huyck Felt Paper Mill. Here is a plaque celebrating the 100th year of the Huycks Corporation in September of 1970.

Memorial Plaque, at site of Felt Mill.
(#3-h)

A Close up of plaque.

(#3-i)

At this point I ran into a family of friends from V'ville who were just coming down from their hike along the falls. They recommended a location for a future hike that may show up here if I can ever remember the name and location. I hope I remember to ask the next time I run into them at the Supermarket.

obee-hikin-dude~ chats with a friend.
(#3-j)

At this point the bIRD got all Artsy Fartsy on me and managed some really nice close up shots seen here:

Close up of Dragonfly. bIRD~ said that he tried several times

to get it to open its wings but was unsucessful in doing do.
(#4-a)

Watershed masterwork.
(#4-b)

Found Art by Adventure-bIRD~.

(#4-c)

There is a side trail along this side of the Lower Falls that is not indicated on the map that affords some better views:

The Lower Falls side trail.

(#4-d)

Just to prove that I can get Artsy-Fartsy I climbed down along the Falls and bIRD~ caught me in the act again:

Me being foolish for my Art.

(#4-e)

I decided to play around with the motion feature on my camera and here are some of the results:

(#4-f)

(#4-f)

(#4-g)

(#4-h)

Then I messed with the close-up function....

I was really more intrigued with

the petal-less flower-heads than the one remaining flower.

It wouldn't have been half as interesting

without that one remaining though.

(#4-i)

I have been known to do almost

anything for a shot.

Again, bIRD catches me in the act...

(#4-j)

This was the result. Maybe not worth the effort

involved in getting my old bones back up off the path.

I was interested in the crooked tree up above me,

but its shape and real beauty evaded me

and my camera this time I think.

(#4-k)

We returned to the quest at hand and proceeded up the path through old growth forest and along a diagonal incline to the switchback that leads to the Upper Falls Area:

bIRD leads the way uphill.

(#5-a)

Some of the trees along the path towards the switchback.

(#5-b)

Looking back down the hill towards the area of

the Lower Falls at the old growth forest.

(#5-c)

Again looking uphill to the switchback.

(#5-d)

At this point on the map there is a trail not indicated on the original map (Map Location #6) that runs back to the rear parking lot of the Co-op and Post Office. It would seem to be used to enter the preserve with the intent of going directly to the Upper Falls and the Lake Trail.

The signpost at the switchback.

(#7-a)

bIRD's hat takes a rest on the trail post.

(#7-b)

As we proceeded along the trail we frequently came across numbered stations in varying degrees of disrepair. Obviously at one point these signs must have accompanied a trail guide. Each one we came across began to make us wonder more what we might be missing by this neglect.

Propped up and neglected.

(#8-a)

We came upon these mushrooms popping up

from the decomposing fallen leaf covered ground.

Lack of light would seem to allow only this type of growth here.

(#8-b)

We were taken be surprise while we were concentrating
on the Mushrooms, when these Yearling's bounded by.
I was trying to use my close-up function and got only one

photo of a yearling darting behind a tree which I have
edited out. Adventure-bIRD~ managed this slightly out
of focus shot, as we were being checked out:

"Why those dumb humans were staring at those silly mushrooms?"

(#8-c)

The path to the Upper Falls covered with last years fallen leaves.

(#9-a)

At this point my camera battery died. bIRD~ passed his camera over to me and I persevered to continue photographing while learning the intricacies of someone else's camera under pressure. ;)

The directions to the falls or the Lake trail.

(#10-a)

At the Upper Falls we encountered this sign post.

The other side of the same post with a more detailed sign.

(#10-b)

(Map Location #11-a the Upper Falls Bridge.)

Just downhill from the sign post you reach the Upper Bridge over the falls. When you cross over this bridge the trail meets with the Lake trail returning from the Lake/Pond hike. From that point the trail proceeds down hill to the road and along the streets of Rensselaerville to the Preserve parking lot.

Ten Mile Creek as it approaches the Upper Falls Bridge.

(#11-b)

The Upper Falls from the Upper Bridge.

(#11-b)

A view of the falls fist decent.

(#11-c)

One of the frustrating things for me and also for Adventure-bIRD~ has always been the fact that there is no real look out point where one can view the Upper Falls. From previous hikes I was aware of a side trail. This is quite dangerous and I do not recommend it. I convinced bIRD to lay back while I broke the rules again and did the mountaineering thingie.

Yes BV, I climbed over this thing!

It looks somewhat like a Car Frame and I'm sure it was installed

to protect the water pipe that you can see running just under the steel bars.

(#12-a)

A view of the metal frame I crossed from the creek bank

after I scaled my way down to that point.

(STUPID obee-hikin-dúid~ !!! )

(#12-b)

The Spectacular View of the Upper Falls I was searching for.

(#13-a)

Looking downstream from the same spot.

(#13-b)

This would be a perfect place for the Huyck Preserve Foundation

to erect a viewing platform that would satisfy people

like bIRD and I desirous of a definitive view.

(#13-c)

This part of the Huyck Preserve is a short afternoon hike. Once you reach the top of the Falls you have the option of crossing the Upper Falls Bridge and walking down the streets back to the parking lot or returning by the way that you came. In episode 2 we will take you around the Myosotis Lake and Lincoln Pond. I was fascinated by the setting light so I took almost twice the pictures that I took along the Falls.

Overall Geezer Difficulty Rating:

Two and a half Geezers for the steep inclines and unkempt trails. It could have been higher if I included the silly mountaineering that I did and you won't! I took the dangerous views so you could see them and not have to risk your life. I am an experienced climber and you don't need to bring out the Hill towns Medivac Helicopter... Right?!!!

obee-hikin-dúid~
10/Aug/08