I know....I really shouldn't show stuff from "outside" north Brooklyn but I just had to show this photo of the Timber Rattlesnake that stopped my little group on the Mount Tuxedo trail last Sunday. Here are two photos, one of the snake and the other of the views ( 300 foot drop behind us...I stayed away from the edge) .Our walk pre- teen leader Jacob ( to my right next to his Mom) found the snake . A great day hiking in Harriman State Park with Jacob, his mom Beth , Tiffany and Adele.. By the way, below over that cliff behind us, is a famous 18th century horse thief cave called Claudius Smith Den...we checked it out...pretty cool. ( excerpt from the NY NJ Trail conference website on this trail profile"
The trail now descends briefly, then turns right onto a woods road. A short distance beyond, you’ll reach a junction. The R-D Trail continues ahead, but you should turn right onto the red-dash-on-white-blazed Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy (T-MI) Trail (be careful here, as both trails have red-on-white blazes!). The T-MI Trail climbs on a woods road, crosses a swampy area, and soon arrives at the base of the massive Claudius Smith’s Rock. Claudius Smith, after whom this rock formation is named, was a thief who was reputed to have used the “caves” at its base as a hideout during the Revolutionary War. He was captured by an officer of the Continental Army and hanged at the jail in Goshen in 1779.)
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| Timber Rattlesnake, photo by Adele Abrams |
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| Atop Mount Tuxedo on Claudius Smith Rock, photo by Adele Abrams |
