Ten-Mile River (App Trail) write-up

[Jeff Smith]

Thought this was a pretty good article:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011 ... ile-river/

A little-known marvel of New York’s public transportation system is that Metro-North, one of the busiest commuter railroads in the country, manages to connect the city to the Appalachian Trail. Just north of Pawling, N.Y., the Harlem Line’s weekend-only Appalachian Trail stop was built 20 years ago at the suggestion of Howard Permut, an avid hiker and former vice president of planning and development for the train. (He is now its president.) The small wooden structure is the only train station along the entire 2,181-mile footpath, and from it you can get to a number of magnificent spots, among them the Ten Mile River Lean-To, a charming shelter near the New York-Connecticut border situated between a large meadow and the roaring Housatonic River.

Arrive at Grand Central early Saturday morning and grab a window seat on a Wassaic-bound train (and a few Take 5 bars from Hudson News). Including a short transfer at the Southeast station, the entire trip is just under two hours. As the train nears the stop, be sure to move to the last car, the only one from which you can exit onto the 18-foot long platform. At the impossible-to-miss garden store nearby, Native Landscapes, fill up your water bottle and check out the exotic birds in the back.

[DutchRailnut]

only station at Appelachian trail ?? no way, Breakneck ridge on Hudson is other MNCR station serving the Appelachian trail.

[6sunset6]

Begging your pardon but the Appalacian trail is nowhere near Breakneck Ridge. Breakneck is a stop for hikers but is is not an AT stop. I had started a thread a while ago about the AT stop and the work we ( volunteers ) were doing to improve access. Thread was locked as I was thought to be stirring up trouble. Not true.

[njtmnrrbuff]

The Appalacian Trail runs over the Bear Mountain Bridge. Breakneck Ridge is a bit to the north.

[AMK0123]

If you want to access the Appalacian Trail from the Hudson line you can get off at Manitou Train Station on the weekend and follow the road up to Route 9D and head south toward the Bear Mountain Bridge.

[njtmnrrbuff]

Yes, the closest station on the Hudson Line for the trail is Manitou. Keep in mind that VERY FEW trains stop there.

[bigK]

unless the NJ trails conference radicaly changed the AT route as far as I know the AT stop is in the TOWN OF PAWLING near SR 22 just a tad north of the station in the VILLAGE - the 10 mile River STATION is NORTH of Dover Plains in the twn. of Amenia - this stop is near the NYS Wassaic campus of the Taconic Developmental center which will be closing in 2013 - and yes technicaly the Breakneck Ridge stop is not the AT

however,there is a potential SECOND stop for the AT in west Pawling in the town of Pawling (I think West Pawling is just in the town of Pawling - the virtualy abandoned Beacon line actualy crosses the AT here - this is along/near old SR 55 - this is part of the NYS DEC Depot Hill multi use area - Whaley lake is just south of here - this is a very scenic area - also nearby is Nuclear Lake

[R36 Combine Coach]

The Trail crosses over the Port Jervis Line at Arden. If the Arden station was currently open, it could allow WoH and NJT passengers to access the AT.

[M&Eman]

The Trail crosses over the Port Jervis Line at Arden. If the Arden station was currently open, it could allow WoH and NJT passengers to access the AT.

Currently the AT has indirect access to the Port Jervis Line via the Tuxedo station stop, which ties into the Harriman State Park trail system, which connects to the AT.

[pumpers]

Well that would be a fun day -- taking the Harlem line to AT or the Hudson line to Manitou, hiking the trail and crossing the Hudson, and then coming back on the Port Jervis Line. How long would the walk be from the AT stop to Tuxedo station?
JS

[krispy]

There are several spots to access the AT from the railroad, including the portion west of the Hudson. I never got it to work to catch the train at Ten Mile, but I was sure surprised to see it there the first time I tranversed the line. Before the shelter there was just a metal sign on either side of the ROW, with no other sign of the station and I was thinking it was a joke at the time. The people I was with were absolutely spent, and wanted to stay in hopes of catching the train. It was before smart phones, and the one phone we had couldn't hit a cell tower. Out comes the ham radio I asked a local if he could call MNC and asked if there was any trains stopping at the station (think it was called "Appalachian Trail", not TMR, but am not sure) and the local thought I was pulling his leg. Manitou was always the start point for the hikers, but it was served by 1 early train on the weekends if I recall, and you had to be at GCT too early for most casual hikers.

Alot of people would go to Peekskill and take a cab to the bridge, or the other trailhead not too far from Camp Smith. I was dumb and when told how much cab fare was, said no thanks and walked Rt 9. I was lucky I wasn't run off of the side of the hill, what a crazy road for pedestrians. One thing folks do is take it to Garrison and then walk up the hill to pick up the trail at the southern edge of Fahnestock park. From then on the trail is less crazy as it is from that point South to the Bridge. It was a day's hike for me to do that, Manitou to Garrison, and had the best views, but it was a tough, calf-busting hike. I would definitely recommend to anyone though hiking the area close to Bear Mtn. Bridge, especially if they have more service to Manitou in the future. There is a hill just off of the side called Anthony's Nose, which has one of the top 3 views in all of NY, but I drive to the trailhead north of the Camp due to how few stops are made at Manitou.

Breakneck has a different trail from the AT, but it is accessible from the station. It is managed by the NY/NJ trail conference (http://www.nynjtc.org/hike/breakneck-ridge-trail) and is a great (but tough, don't do this one your first time) This organizaton has trails all over the state, and is worth a look if you do walking...