Popolopen

Popolopen is the name of several landmarks in Orange County, New York in the United States.

Popolopen Torne

Popolopen Torne is a small mountain, part of the Hudson Highlands. The blue-blazed, horseshoe-shaped Timp Torne trail makes a loop from Mine Torne Road to the summit and back again. It is a steep ascent and has a bald peak, affording 360° views of the Hudson River, West Point, Bear Mountain, and Harriman State Park. U.S. Route 6 passes through the valley formed between Popolopen Torne and Bear Mountain just before it reaches the Bear Mountain Bridge.

A cairn stands at the summit as a memorial to U.S. servicemen. Hikers can carry rocks with them from the base of the mountain to the top and add them to the pile. A homemade sign detailing its creation and meaning is attached to the monument.

Lake Popolopen

Lake Popolopen is a lake northwest of the mountain, on the West Point Military Reservation. Camp Buckner is located at Popolopen, and the lake is a common site for training and recreation. During World War II it was the site of a POW camp.

Popolopen Creek

Description

Popolopen Creek is a stream, fed by the lake, that flows into the Hudson River. It runs mainly through Popolopen Gorge, the valley between Bear Mountain and Popolopen Torne. For most of its length, the creek is narrow and extremely rocky, with fast moving rapids and several waterfalls. It can only be reached on foot and is not navigable by boat.

The road north from Hessian Lake to Fort Montgomery once crossed Hell Hole, in the lower part of the gorge, by an iron bridge. The steep descents into the gorge and sharp turns onto the bridge made it dangerous, and the road (then Route 3, renumbered U.S. Route 9W in 1930) was re-routed over a high steel viaduct further downstream, near the site of Fort Montgomery, in 1916. Another bridge was built immediately adjacent in 1936 to widen it. [Myles, p. 410] The old bridge over Hell Hole was demolished in the 1950s, although its high stone abutments remain.Myles, pp. 154–155]

The red-blazed Popolopen Gorge Trail runs along the south side of the creek to a foot bridge just south of Popolopen Torne. Here, it joins the blue-blazed Timp-Torne, 1777 West and 1779 Trails. These run along the north side of the creek from Hell Hole to the bridge, with the Timp-Torne detouring over the summit of Popolopen Torne. They cross the footbridge and join the Popolopen Gorge Trail to detour around West Point property, and the combined trails turn southwest and follow the valley of Queensboro Brook. A long suspension foot bridge also spans the creek a short distance further downstream, carrying the Twin Forts Trail to its intersection with the Appalachian Trail on the western side of the Bear Mountain Bridge. [NYNJTC Trail Map 4]

Recreation

Some advanced riders have run the gorge in kayaks, but the unpredictable depth, the waterfalls, and the large number of strainers and sweepers have prevented it from becoming as popular as other spots. The gorge contains numerous swimming holes, most notably in Hell Hole.

On 8 June 2008, a man was arrested for parachuting into the creek from the 9W overpass. He was charged with disorderly conduct, unauthorized use of an aircraft (the parachute), and unauthorized swimming. His two assistants were also charged with unauthorized swimming for pulling him out of the water. [cite news|title=Three issued tickets in Popolopen bridge jump|url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080609/NEWS/806090324/-1/COMM|date=June 9, 2008|author=Sullivan, John|publisher=The Times Herald Record]

A girl of sixteen suffered a head injury when she fell from a cliff over Hell Hole on 20 July 2008 and died three days later. [cite news|title=Girl who fell at Bear Mountain dies|publisher=The Rockland Journal News|url=http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807230370|date=July 23, 2008|author=Nackman, Barbara L.] She had been with a swimming party although swimming in the creek is forbidden by park authorities. [cite news|title=A fall on Bear Mountain|publisher=The Rockland Journal News|date=July 24, 2008|url=http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807240352]

Industry

Iron mining and smelting once took place along the upper reaches of Popolopen Creek. The Forest of Dean Mine produced iron ore from the Revolutionary era into the twentieth century, operating a narrow gauge railroad along the creek as far as the eastern slopes of Popolopen Torne. The mine site is now submerged under Stillwell Lake. Queensboro Furnace, located just above the outlet of Queensboro Brook into the creek, smelted iron during the late 18th century. The remains of the furnace have been preserved but are located on the grounds of the West Point Military Reservation.

A grist mill was built in 1799 by Eugene Lucet, just above the later site of the Route 9W crossing.Myles, p. 154] A dam was built upstream in 1901, just above the old Hell Hole bridge, to improve the water supply to the mill. The dam is still intact today, and water pools behind it when the creek flow exceeds that of the outlet near the bottom. This intermittent body of water is marked "Roe Pond" on some maps although at least one other pond in the area has that name. The mill was later converted to a hydroelectric plant, and was demolished in the 1950s.

An aqueduct was built on the north side of the gorge in 1906 to bring water from Queensboro Brook and Popolopen Creek to West Point. [Myles, p. 191] Another was built on the south side in 1929–30 to supply Bear Mountain State Park with water from Queensboro Lake. [Myles, p. 100] Repairs to the latter will cause the closing of the combined Popolopen Gorge–1777 West–1779–Timp-Torne Trails from the fall of 2008 to spring 2009. [cite web | title=Popolopen Gorge Trail Closure | url=http://www.nynjtc.org/news/2008/PopolopenGorgeTrailClosure.html | publisher=New York-New Jersey Trail Conference | accessdate=2008-08-19]

References

*cite book | last=Myles | first=William J. | title=Harriman Trails, A Guide and History | editor=Daniel D. Chazin | publisher=The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference | location=New York, N.Y. | year=1999 | isbn=1-880775-18-2
*"Harriman Bear Mtn. Trails", Trail Maps 3 & 4. 10th ed. (2005) The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

Notes

External links

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-U4jiUGBgA Video report on girl's death]