Neversink Gorge
The Neversink Gorge is surrounded by the gently rolling terrain of the huge, plateau-like shale uplands of Sullivan County, NY. The river cuts steeply through about 600 feet of bedrock, forming a pretty large-scale landform, but it's tucked out of the way in this thinly-populated (except with lakeside cabins), forested area.
Where we parked at the top of the gorge, the ground was pretty much flat all around. The forest was dry and open: pitch pines (and maybe red pines?) and scrubby oaks with a low tangle of mountain laurel. There was a lot of wintergreen on the ground. As we walked, the ground gradually began to slope towards the gorge. We dipped into a stream's ravine and saw some hemlocks. Descending into the gorge, things started to get a bit wetter and more diverse, with red and white oaks becoming common, and some other hardwoods mixed in. Towards the bottom, things got quite steep, and all of a sudden there was Rhododendron everywhere. Very near the river, there were some beautiful tall trees. I remember great white pines and a tulip poplar. I really want to come here when the Rhododendron are flowering.
A few hundred feet of slope above the gorge was quite steep. On the flatter ground above, the trees were small and I'd guess the forest was logged not too many decades ago. However deep in the gorge, it seemed pretty wild and relatively undisturbed. The rhododendron was really quite extensive. It seems like in this part of NY State it does very well.
The Neversink River itself is wide, fast-moving, and underlain with flat, dark grey upstate NY shale. Denton Falls was a layer of shale just a few feet tall that the stream tumbled across. In April when we were there, the water filled up pretty much the entire riverbed, and it was mostly steep slopes directly up from there. It was quite cold, though I hope to come back in the summer. From the river's edge there was a view of a steep hillside covered with big trees.
The waterfall in the small stream that the trail followed down was worth mentioning. More than the expected pleasant cascade, it was a big drop down a cliff, surrounded of course by Rhododendrons.
From a powerline clearing on the dirt road leading to the trailhead, there was a desolate view across low forested ridges with some Catskills in the background.
Where we parked at the top of the gorge, the ground was pretty much flat all around. The forest was dry and open: pitch pines (and maybe red pines?) and scrubby oaks with a low tangle of mountain laurel. There was a lot of wintergreen on the ground. As we walked, the ground gradually began to slope towards the gorge. We dipped into a stream's ravine and saw some hemlocks. Descending into the gorge, things started to get a bit wetter and more diverse, with red and white oaks becoming common, and some other hardwoods mixed in. Towards the bottom, things got quite steep, and all of a sudden there was Rhododendron everywhere. Very near the river, there were some beautiful tall trees. I remember great white pines and a tulip poplar. I really want to come here when the Rhododendron are flowering.
A few hundred feet of slope above the gorge was quite steep. On the flatter ground above, the trees were small and I'd guess the forest was logged not too many decades ago. However deep in the gorge, it seemed pretty wild and relatively undisturbed. The rhododendron was really quite extensive. It seems like in this part of NY State it does very well.
The Neversink River itself is wide, fast-moving, and underlain with flat, dark grey upstate NY shale. Denton Falls was a layer of shale just a few feet tall that the stream tumbled across. In April when we were there, the water filled up pretty much the entire riverbed, and it was mostly steep slopes directly up from there. It was quite cold, though I hope to come back in the summer. From the river's edge there was a view of a steep hillside covered with big trees.
The waterfall in the small stream that the trail followed down was worth mentioning. More than the expected pleasant cascade, it was a big drop down a cliff, surrounded of course by Rhododendrons.
From a powerline clearing on the dirt road leading to the trailhead, there was a desolate view across low forested ridges with some Catskills in the background.
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