Loss of Head in Doodletown

It was Friday afternoon when I happened to ask some coworkers for recommendations of places to visit. I definitely got more than a few, but one spot was recommended more than once was Doodletown in Bear Mountain/Harriman. Officially it seems that the park is located in Stony Point, NY.

Now, hear me out, Doodletown...probably the silliest name, I know. In fact, when I told my hairdresser Saturday morning that I was planning on hiking Doodletown she laughed in my face.

Entrance sign near where we parked off of 9w

Buuuuut, the story goes that in the 1700s the town was settled, partially by the June family. Residents of the village made a living logging, mining, farming, and ice harvesting around nearby Iona Island. The fact that people were able to farm kind of amazes me. It seems like it would be so absurdly rocky. That's besides the point. The town continued to grow and was lived in until the 1960s. Around the 1920s the Palisades Park Commission began purchasing land around the little hamlet and the population continued to decline as residents moved away. What properties remained were later bought out on eminent domain. The town has since been abandoned and evidence of it remains. Clearly, if you've read any of my previous posts you can tell I like my history. I also like my abandoned stuff. As it turned out, this hike wouldn't let me down.

I will just throw this disclaimer out. When I went out hike, I didn't even do the whole thing. One site said the whole trek would take something like 3 hours, which would have been no problem at all if it wasn't 3 in the afternoon with an ominous looking sky. I also was wearing just regular shoes and the first part of the hike was very wet. Finally, there was some sort of race going on and I kept having to dodge strings of joggers. It's definitely on my list of places to completely hike though.

Up the stairs I go

Young Chicken of the Woods? I'm not too great with fungus i.d.

The first thing i witnessed (besides lots of water and mud on the way uphill), were the stone foundations of old buildings and the degraded remnants of asphalt roads. Labels stood before the old foundations, enticing my imagination. Here was once a house with a beautiful airy porch with an open view to mountains and the picturesque Hudson. There was where the blacksmith worked under the heat of the sun and the heat of his flame. Certainly there was a nostalgic feeling to the place.

I really wondered if the daffodils were a remnant of a previous lifetime when the house still stood

As the hike continued I walked through some creepy feeling woods an ugly gravel path leading towards the "plant nursery"/"first cemetery." Before reaching the cemetery I came across a giant water cistern. Alarmingly, the lids down into the cistern were open. I thought about climbing down but it was a little too unnerving. After all, it was pitch black and all I could see besides the metal rungs of the ladder was water.

On top of the cistern

Down the hatch

Eventually I passed by the "cemetery" which was no more than a memorial marker claiming that the location of the first cemetery was probably somewhere around.

I then meandered around until we came across the dam. It was built in the 1970s and resulted in a rather nice, albeit small reservoir. The building below the reservoir is what really caught my eye. I ended up having the easiest time in the world getting into it, as all the doors along the side and the back were open. The parts I went into didn't feature too much, other than some hanging chains, some machine labeled "sex box" (how original!), some old borings, and directions to something.

The reservoir

Front of the building. Lots of poorly done graffiti like "Stu Eats Cock."

No way this could be unsafe

Taken from the rear area of the building, facing the dam.

In we go!

Down the hallway and around the corner

SEX BOX. Whatever that means.

Missing more than a few knobs

Loss of Head. 

Borings done by Hiller & Skoglund

"For Handling and Installing BIF Butterfly Valves Product"

So despite the fact that I didn't really get that far into the hike, I'd say it was really quite enjoyable and I can't wait to see the whole thing next time I go.