Harriman State Park in NY (just over the NJ border) offers a large and diverse set of trails that include beautiful vista's, waterfalls and mountain streams, swamps, forests and more. Often all this diversity can be experienced on the same trail!
On Black Friday, instead of hiking through a mall or Walmart, I chose the AT / Lemon Squeezer trail. Walking a section of the Appalachian trail is akin to a spiritual experience for me, even just 3 miles worth. The overall 8 mile route on this hike included a visit to pristine Island Pond. During peak Fall colors, this would be a magnificent trail - and yet didn't disappoint on this unseasonable warm day.
The hike was not overly challenging except for the abundance of wet slippery leaves, resulting in one slide down a small embankment. Thankfully no one was around to see this embarrassing moment, save for some possible wildlife. I will admit to being somewhat disappointed with the Lemon Squeezer; it was not a challenge, as I was led to believe. However, the rock structure and formation is amazing to see.
However, a second embarrassing moment was my inability to scale the rock face just on the other side of the Squeeze. I didn't have the height nor any real leverage to pull myself over so was forced to take the "easy trail" around this point. In hindsight, I would have looked for a log or large sturdy branch to give myself a leg-up. I recommended this hike and any trail in Harriman State Park.
View my images from my Harriman State Park / Lemon Squeeze hike.
