The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28
RAMAPO MOUNTAIN WALKS
WILD COUNTRY WITHIN EtS1
nv lCH or THE CITY.
ane Tract ~ Forty square Miles Nearly
Virgin Forest Few Trares sf Human.
settlement stony Brook We'll worth
visit some Rare Flow ers OF Region.

settletuent -StOny BROOK wen w Orth
visit some Rare W Of Region.
Another region near New York which
offers opportunities for tramps through
wild and beautiful country. fully equal In
natural attractions and quite AZ accessible
as the Highlands of the HUDSON described
inTHE sun several weeks ago, is the Ramapo
Mountains They extend from q point a
few miles west Of Haverstraw and run
southwest ward. crossing the New Jersey
line at Suffern and extending abOut ten
miles into that State.
The curved and notched ridge back Of
Haverstraw. running north from Verdreit-
ege Hook on the Hudson. familiar to voya-
gers on the river. is almost o part Of the
Ramapo range. The northeastern ex-
treinity Of h Ramapos. too, merges into
the Dunderberg above Stony Point. which
forms the west pillar Of the Southern Gate
of the Highlands.
Several lines Of railroad take the ex-
plorer to convenient points Of entrance into
the wilder parts OF the Ramapos. One may
approach tue centre and western side of
the broad line of hills os one branch of
railroad and walk across over hills and
swamps To another to return to the city.
Or IL a longer walk IL desired one may
reach the Hudson and return 10 New York
by rail or steamboat.
A good route is 10 20 by train on the main
line OF the Erie To Suffern. Hillburn, Sloats-
burg, Tuxedo. or S~outhfield, all these
stations being in the valley of the Ramapo
River. which cuts the range in half. From
any Of them the explorer may strike north
eastward toward Haverstraw. or eastward
toward Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain,
TO penetrate to the widest parts OF the
Ramapos.
II Hsverstraw il to be the end OF the
tramp it means a good long fifteen miles.
and nearly 200 feet altitude TO climb. This
is saying nothing of side excursions, which
tempt one everywhere on the route.
Going due east, crossing the range and
descending it's steep southeastern face, the
explorer strikes two short lines OF the Erie
Railroad. by which he may reach the main
lines Of the Erie or the West Shore and
thus get back TO New York.
To the west is a ten mile stretch of hills
to Greenwood Lake. and beyond that the
hills and wide swamps of the Wawayanda
Lake region. Southwest the Ramapos
extend for ten miles into New Jersey.
As in the Hudson Highlands. the topo-
graphical sheets Of the United States Geo.
logical Survey are a necessity for the ex-
plorer of the Ramapo Mountains. Armed
with the Ramapo and Tarrytown sheets
any one who has never been in these hills
can enter them anywhere with confidence
and arrange his routes as he pleases. subject
to railroad time tables for the return.
A remarkable feature Of the northern half
of the Ramapo Mountains. and wholly
within New York State, il a large section OF
as near virgin wilderness IA may be found
within fifty miles of New York. II is a
roughly oblong tract with its length north
east and southwest. parallel 10 the general
direction OF the mountains. and the breadth
directly across the range.
IL covers more than forty square miles,
being about ten miles long and from three
to Ave miles wide IL ia bounded by the
road from Sloatsburg to Haverstraw On
the northwest and north. by the Ramapo
River on the southwest and the Mahwah
River on the east. Within there boundaries
there ia not a travelled road in the entire
tract. Dimly marked and nearly obliter-
ated wood paths. made years ago when the
original timber was cut ON, are the only
ways through IL.
Traces Of man may sometimes be found
in scattered and lonely white daisy plants
or humble barnyard weeds, far removed
from their comrades outside the region
and huddled together as if for protection
in some small patch Of sunlight.
The most convenient approach 20 This
part OF the Ramapos is from the Sloatshurg-
Haverstraw road. Here and there on this
road wood paths branch of TO the south
They soon fade and are lost in the maze
OF hills, brooks and wooded swamps. Bv
establishing the position Of their entrance
on the survey map, however, NJ idea OF
the width ot the part OF the range To be
crossed may he gained as p guide for ex-
plorations and the return to civilization.
Through a large part Of the tract is the
drainage system OF Stony Brook. one of the
tributaries Of the Ramapo River. A large
part OF the water accumulates from springs
and mountain rivulets in two large swamps,
each Of more than a square mile in area at
attitudes Of 700 and 1 900 feet. These swamps
we're cnce glacial LIKES. but only a few
pools remain of the ancient expanses of
water. They appear TO rave dried sooner
than similar lakes in the Hudson Highlands,
and the whole Ramapo region is poor in
lakes compared with the Highlands. al
though they are much the same in geological
structure.
Good sized streams empty these swamps.
and after turning two or three miles in steep
courses JON in q deep, horseshoe shaped
valley between three 200 foot hills to
make Stony Brook.
This brook in worth all the rocks and
hriars and sw0mDa and hills that must he
traversed TO reach il. We're il flowing on
anything like n level it has enough water
for a good canoeing stream, but it's red
is so thickly strewn with boulders from
the size Of a small house TO that OF a mans