So! Table Rock Ridge is a local geographical formation featuring big rocks. It used to be accessible via the French Tract, but then a sportsmen's group bought up the land and started restricting access. I had actually hiked some of the French Tract trails before, looking for Table Rock, but the last time I was up there, an old dude on a four-wheeler had some stern words for me. He agreed to let me continue hiking as long as it was just me, "and don't go bringing any of those damn hiking clubs up here!", but hey, I don't wanna be where I'm not wanted. If there is one thing hiking does, it teaches you to respect boundaries. That, and stay away from drunk guys with guns.
Then! A while back, I heard that you could access the ridge via Aqua-Terra Park. By this time, Table Rock Ridge had achieved mythical status in my mind. It was a local hiking landmark, and I couldn't find it! Clearly, this could not stand.
The side of Aqua-Terra from which you could gain access to Table Rock Ridge is basically a swamp most of the year. A wet, boggy, boot-sucking swamp. But a couple of weekends ago, the weather had been fairly dry, and armed with some rudimentary, hand-drawn maps I had gleaned of the area, I was off! To find Table Rock Ridge!
Yeah! As in, "no"! I tramped around and tramped around and bushwhacked and swore and could not find Table Rock Ridge. None of the trails were marked, and lots of them petered off into nothing. Chastened, I headed back home.
Yesterday, it was time for another shot. Now that I had a better idea of the existing trail system, such as it was, I was ready to give it another try. It was a nice day for a walk, if awfully chilly.
Here we go ...
After about a half an hour of flailing around, I caught a glimpse of a rock formation a ways off a trail. Could it be ... Table Rock? More bushwhacking (and swearing) ensued.
Eureka! There it was!
Oh, Table Rock Ridge. You were there all the time. I just had to find you!
5 comments:
What a quest. Pics are gorgeous and the colors glorious. Jealous until I remember you have to want to walk in the woods to see that stuff.
Proof that persistence pays. I like those rocks, the layering, like that area had been under water eons ago. I wonder if there might be fossils. I especially am fascinated by that tunnel. Did you walk through it? Is it large enough? I'd want to stand in the middle and listen to the rock.
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Now, a challenge. Your initial post, the teaser, led me to think you were talking about a Table Rock Ridge I know, near Mohonk. Nope, but the difficulty finding it is about the same, even though the one I know is on marked trails. Excellent description and photos at http://hikethehudsonvalley.com/bonticou-crag-table-rocks/
If you ever have a few days, I recommend the trip. I also recommend that you print out that website instead of using the formal trail maps. Using the trail maps, you could get lost for days.
fmcetc., you could always Google Earth it. Although that's not the same as being there ...
and ~~Silk, I clicked that link, looked at the first pic of the guy perched on the edge of the giant rocks, and shook my head "nope". Me and heights do not get along. But it was fun to read - I pictured myself getting lost at any given one of those 34 steps.
Oh, and that tunnel is only about three feet tall - You could shove a toddler through there, but I don't think an adult would fit.
I suspect I'd have more trouble with the width than the height. I'm about 4'9" tall.
The first photo at that website is Bonticou Crag. Yeah, high. The Table Rocks are about step #22 - less high, flatter, but with scary chasms here and there. I was last at the tables maybe 35-40 years ago, hiked in on cross-country skis. The trails are technically closed in the winter because the snow can be deceptively deep.
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