Bear Mountain
by Sonali Gangane
Title
Bear Mountain
Artist
Sonali Gangane
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Bear Mountain is one of the best-known peaks of New York's Hudson Highlands. Located mostly in Orange County's Town of Highlands, it lends its name to a nearby bridge and the state park that contains it.
Its summit, accessible by a paved road, has several roadside viewpoints, a picnic area and observatory, the Perkins Memorial Tower. It is crossed by several hiking trails as well, including the oldest section of the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT across Bear Mountain is currently being rebuilt and realigned by the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference to minimize erosion and improve accessibility and sustainability.
The steep eastern face of the mountain overlooks the Hudson River. The eastern side of the mountain consists of a pile of massive boulders, often the size of houses, that culminate in a 50-foot (15 m) cliff face at approximately the 1,000-foot (300 m) level. A direct scramble from the shore of Hessian Lake to Perkins Memorial Drive on the summit requires a gain of about 1,000 feet (300 m) in roughly 0.8 miles (1.3 km) [1]. From the summit, one can see as far as Manhattan Island, and High Point Monument in New Jersey.The park includes Bear Mountain as well as Dunderberg Mountain and West Mountain. Fort Montgomery is adjacent to the north edge of the park while Iona Island Bird Sanctuary is on the eastern edge in the Hudson River. The park is a separate entity from the adjacent Harriman State Park which runs along the western edge of the park. It lies within the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
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Thanks for viewing.2013©Sonali T.Gangane
Uploaded
September 14th, 2013
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