Neversink crossing for Rocky and Lone

[hermit]

Does anyone know how the crossing is for the Neversink River where it comes off Table and heads for Slide Mtn?I fell off the log last Winter because it was full of ice and snow, and had a chilly,wet trip to Rocky and Lone .I know the river is quite high now,and was wondering if the State put in a safer way to cross,like a bridge.Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[hikethe115]

They have not put in a new bridge or any other crossing. The log has initiated many discussions and complaints. People say the Neversink is not bad to cross if you go upstream a bit from the log, but as you say, it might be a little high right now. I prefer to go a little later in the season since all of the crossings are easier. Donovan Brook and the other tributaries can be a problem when waters are high, but in the middle of winter they are so much easier! This is being offered as a 3500 club hike on 2/27 in case you're interested.

 

[ajtiv]

I crossed the "bridge" second week of November. I know it is too far back to give info on ice or snow on the log but I hiked Rocky and BC from the valley and if you hike in along the river it is much easier to cross the river, it breaks into many smaller tributaries.
There are countless footpaths along each side of the river and numerous crossings that keep your boots dry.
The Neversink is a great valley to hike through enjoy.
Al

 

[Jay H]

I'll find out tomorrow

I am going to be crossing the Neversink tomorrow (12/26), water and ice willing with my friend Jim to do Rocky->Lone->table tomorrow. So if you have the patience and assuming we make it across, I'll try to post something afterwards... I'll probably post one in the NY Trail conditions too..

Jay

 

[hermit]

Thanks everyone,and I am looking forward to your report Jay.I usually climb Rocky and Lone from Balsam Cap from Moonhaw,but I am helping a friend finish up her 3500 Winters and I want to make it a pleasant hike.I will be hiking in the Northern Catskills today.

 

[Jay H]

This is a picture at 5pm of the crossing, after my friend Jim and I went across it on our return from Rocky/Lone. As you can see, it's snowing and there is about an inch of snow on that log. Fortunately, it was just snow and not freezing rain. Today or in a couple of days, if there is a refreeze that log might be a scary trip! The log is level though. I remember reading sometime ago that it was crooked at one point.

Here's the full TC report submitted by me.

VFTT NY trail condition report

Conditions were pretty good, it was somewhat in the upper teens/lower 20s when we left but it actually peaked around the mid 20s and was fairly warm for a winter hike. Found the canister on Rocky after going through the balsam and then found Lone's canister pretty easy. The hardest part was getting the cap off Rocky, seems like the last person to sign the canister on Rocky was 11/19 which is more than a month ago. I tried my hiking poles and some small rocks until my friend was able to prop it off with a stick and some heavy hammering. I saw a couple of VFTT'ers I recognized incluing H Rampe, Porky... Saw E. Schlimmer sign in on the trail register on 12/24. Hi Erik!

Didn't see anybody on the trail and that fisherman's path has some old red blazes on it. Not sure if that was done by the fisherman or did it used to be an official trail? Very nice trail BTW, made the long hike out not much of a bushwack and made for fast hiking.

As far as the Neversink itself, it's not high, though I don't know what the normal flow rate for it. In other words, in the summer, I would not be afraid to simply wade across the brook with bare feet.

Jay

 

[hermit]

Thanks Jay,
A picture is worth a thousand words When I crossed it last Winter the log was rounded with ice and snow. I see that they flattened the top of the log some.I will be hiking Balsam Cap and Friday soon,for the 12x35 grid.Send me a e-mail if you are interested in joining in.I know them quite well,I have hiked them since pre-canister days.I see that the river is not as high as I had thought. I had 2" of rain at my house,on the other side of the range.

 

[Jay H]

Hi Hermit, sent you a PM, I tried sending you an email but you seem to have that turned off.

Dawn, we crossed the Donovan Brook, the edges are sort of frozen but there are small braids of still flowing water that hasn't iced over. A couple of places it looked like the path crosed the Neversink (at least on the TC map, it does so) but there are multiple paths, some that stay on the south side of the Neversink and that is what my friend and I did since we knew we'd have to go south to do Lone/Rocky anyway. About 1/4 mile before hitting the brook that goes towards Rocky, we just started making a beeline south towards Rocky since the south side of the Neversink gets very steep there and we didn't want to cross the braid again. On the way back we crossed the Donovan Brook much futher upstream before following that north back to the f-path. The Donovan crossing upstream where we did is trivial (but icy of course) upstream.

That must be spectacular hike in February. I was having so much fun when it was snowing when we hit Lone. I love hiking in snow.

Jay

 

[ajtiv]

Jay great picture
I am glad you got out. The Neversink valley and those bushwacks are now my favorites in the Catskills I love the area
I have been sick the last couple of weeks but hopefully I can maybe join you the week after New Years
I will email you this weekend and let you know
Al

 

[Tom Rankin]

This is a picture at 5pm of the crossing, after my friend Jim and I went across it on our return from Rocky/Lone. As you can see, it's snowing and there is about an inch of snow on that log.

That's a cool picture! The only thing you don't 'see' is just how long the log is. It's about 40 feet or so, correct?

Some incarnations of the log have been quite springy!

 

[erd]

The present log is very springy/bouncy. It's one of the worst in a long series of replacement crossings. I have brought the matter to the notice of the NYNJTC (I'm the trail supervisor for this section of the Long Path and wearing that hat as I write this) but the long and the short of it is that the DEC is convinced that the solution is a re-route, and I have the sense that this may take years to be accomplished.

There was a real bridge at this point some years ago, and there has been an endless succession of logs, but any crossing is exposed periodically to the combined force of the Deer Shanty and Neversink (one stream captured the other upstream of the crossing, perhaps within the last decade, which is probably why the bridge failed). The last solid crossing was erected by an ADK trail crew the summer before last. It lasted about three months, maybe less, before washing out.

This place is, in my opinion, an accident waiting to happen. I urge great care, especially at periods of high water. Anyone falling in then is not necessarily going to come out again. For that matter, a fall from the log at low water would be no fun. I suggest crossing about a hundred yards upstream, where there is a natural ford.

Ted

 

[funkyfreddy]

That crossing has always given me the creeps and I've always gone around it, most times by going upstream a bit. Maybe that's because I'm a klutz with balance and height issues, but I'd much rather wind up in the water intentionally then unintentionally. In other words - I'd rather get a little wet than a lot wet, especially at the beginning of a winter hike!

I remember a few years back when I went down there in the spring by myself and the Neversink was literally roaring with snowmelt, the water rushing underneath the "bridge". I had a full pack on loaded for a 3 day trip. Just looking at the stream from the log gave me vertigo, so I decided to look upstream for another crossing. I ended up taking my boots off and crossing where the water was shallower and boy was that water COLD, so cold that when I got to the other side of the stream stepping on the snow felt warm! It was a beautiful day and I basked in the sun as I dried my feet off, very glad that me and my socks, boots, pack, etc. were still dry instead of rolling down the Neversink.

That was the trip where I really got to explore Lone, a mountain which I am quite fond of. There's something quite charming about the summit, it has a "vibe" about it that I really like.

 

[Jay H]

Yup, I would reckon that the length is 40ft. Just looking down, I saw some small rocks that could be used to hop across but there was a point where the rocks end and the current was stronger so that kind of nixed that idea. The log itself is a good 6-8 inches wide and to think 16 year old girls flip around on a 4" balance beam makes me want to think this 33 year old man can walk across the log. Of course, I have a decent sense of balance and ability to kind of clear my mind to focus on getting across. Going back to the trailhead with the snow on the log though was kind of scary, but I knew I was close enough to the end that I could get out and change if I did manage to fall in and my friend was with me at the time.

I just came back from a 1 night camp in Harriman SP, I must have twanged my left knee from the balsam bushwacks cause it hurt like hell getting to Pyngyp mt on the Sebago Bear Mtn trail... ouch, managed to skirt most of the hills on the way back to rest my knee.

Jay

 

[moose_mckenzie]

There are some plans in the works to rebuild that famous stream crossing. As some of you may remember, NYS DEC put in a bridge in August, 2003, which washed downstream in Nov. 2003.

Moose

 

[erd]

That was the bridge to which I referred in my earlier posting. It was, in fact, an expansion of the single, rather solid log that had been in place for a while--a second log was added, with a handrail. It felt great, but it also probably increased water resistance, and it was gone in three months. The original bridge, of which I know only be repute, was built by DEC 20 years ago, more or less.

As to plans in the works, I hope so. I seemed to have poked a bit of a hornet's nest when I bought the matter up to DEC and NYNJTC this fall.

Ted.

 

[ajtiv]

ERD et al.
For what it is worth a simple remedy to give people better support is to add a number or 4' long 2"x4" vertical outriggers along one side 6' on center and string a steel cable through them. It is not very stabe but gives you something to hold onto to while crossing aid in balance. They have a lot of these simple "handrails" on log crossings in the Rainier National Forest.
No added logs and little added resistance to water passing over the existing log.

 

[erd]

A three strand bridge has been looked at, but not what you suggest. Interesting. I guess the issue is that the logs periodically wash downstream regardless. Still, if an effort was made to anchor the log and then the superstructure you suggest was put in place it might be good for a couple of years (emphasis on the might). It would be worth a try, in my opinion. Thanks for the suggestion--I'll try to make sure it gets to the appropriate places.

Ted.

 

[ajtiv]

Upgrade crossing

erd
I know the log is a temporary affair, the suggestion was only a relatively easy add-on to help with peoples balance.
Out west my 5 and 7 year old children croosed bridges of this design with relative ease once they got their nerves in check.
The existing does not bother me all too much except for crossing it a couple of years ago with a full pack and my then 3 year old son on the front of me, I was the scared one then, with AJ not even undrestanding the consequences.

If the existing can be upgraded to diminish the number of complaints to the trail conference and 3500 club why not give it a try.
I would be willing to assist in the install if it would be accepted.
Thanks for your response.
You can emial or PM me if this goes further.
Al

 

[erd]

Thanks, Al. BTW, the log of two years ago was a very robust affair in comparison to the springy spar presently in place. You might find it a bit more daunting today! I have crossed it a couple of tines, but I'm no lightweight, and I have to say the trampoline effect was unnerving.

In the event that by some miracle the TC or 3500 Club get the OK from DEC to upgrade this, I'll announce the fact here and ask for volunteers. I would, however, want to start with a more robust log.

 

[Jay H]

How about one of these???

link to picture

This monstrosity is on the Red Cross trail in Harriman State park in Rockland County, right by Camp Addison Boyce. it is basically two cables with planks fastened across to form a swinging bridge. The two cables that serve as the support are anchored into 4 trees (or a post) and those cables are further anchored by cables that run about 20 ft from the bridge itself. This overkill of a bridge is on a stream that one could easily just rock hop over but it happens to be one girl's project from the camp. Because of the slope and the snow and the fact that the bridge sways to and fro with the weight, the bridge is kind of slippery.

Jay