Navigation Practice in an upstate N.Y. Rural Cemetery. Sculpture, solitude and navigation tactics on the ridge above above an 1840s iron and steel boomtown.
Here's another set of practice sessions in another of the Rural Cemeteries. I make an initial foray then learn as much as possible from maps and internet recon. This time I use Ranger pacing beads along with the compass and gps.
This cemetery is known to be haunted.
So here goes...My initial map recon indicated the closest public parking to be at the Knickerbacker Park and Ice Rink. The park closes at dusk but the arena is open until fairly late most days, more than late enough for me.
I notice two monuments, one in the park and one much higher on the hill. I am guessing the one on the hill is within Oakwood which I know to be to the East and running roughly slightly east of North to slightly west of South.
What I didn't expect, having not looked at topos carefully first is that there is quite a climb up from the Uncle Sam Bike path that runs below the hill to the East of Knickerbacker Park.
The cliffs there looked quite nasty; I avoided them and moved to the South until I saw a good place to enter. The Cemetery itself has posted the area which is somewhat problematic; I need to find another way in. This time though I worked my way up a creek draw then sidehilled awhile until I got to the Cemetery itself.
Note the careful taking of waypoints as I encounter landmarks or change direction. I want to refine this by also using a set of 'Ranger pacing beads' and compass bearings recorded in a notebook.
The Ranger pacing beads are to the left. They sell much nicer ones; I just put together some with some machine nuts,electrical tape and twine I had lying around. Cost = 0 $ :)
Basically every time your left foot touches the ground (every second step), you count it as 1 pace. Each time you count 100 paces you move one of the nine 'beads' over the knot to the side that is covered with electrical tape (it just makes it easier to see which beads are on which side of the knot.) Then when you have moved all nine over and counted out yet another 100 paces you then move one of the four 'beads' on the upper portion over the knot to the taped section in the upper portion to indicate you have counted out 1000 paces which is somewhat less than a mile ( a typical pace might be between four and five feet) with maybe 500-800 paces to the kilometer. Anyway, you start in with the nine all over again. Ultimately you can count up to 5000 paces.
A bit of internet research indicates the bike path has an Eastern branch that enters the cemetery through a ravine known as the "Devil's Kitchen".
I'm guessing this may be a fairly dangerous route this time of year. It is obviously steep and bears the same name as that in the Plattekill Clove which has claimed many lives on it's waterfalls.
Note the white marker. It is a waterfall found there. I will approach this area with great caution and carry some webbing/rope just in case.
Alternatively I might be able to:
- climb out of the ravine fairly early on and climb the hill heading on a South Southwest bearing.
- Or just back out...
...and go up to where the bike path meets the 104th street entrance.
The shale cliffs are another giveaway. The ravine is probably much like those in Albany Rural Cemetery. I can usually navigate those with microspikes ( a mild mannered cousin to crampons) and careful choice of climbing line. But you have to stay off the shale itself; it is treacherous.
For points to the south in the Cemetery I might just go down the bike path to the 101st street entrance. You can learn a lot from maps and the internet!
All the routes together...
Here I am looking at possible features either well above or well below the ridge on which the cemetery is sited. I might be able to see some of these; it would pay to note them as orienting features depending on the vantage point. I have learned on mountains that it pays to know what can be seen from what side of the mountain. Then, at a glance at least you have an idea what side of the mountain you should be descending. It's a good last second check of your heading and provides reassurance you haven't somehow done something stupid. It can be very hard to go back up again, and, if altitude is involved, physically so exhausting as to seem near impossible.
Some features I have picked out here include the Hudson and Mohawk to the Westand the Troy and Lansingburg Reservoirs to the East and North North East respectively. Mount Rafinesque Mountain might also be visible to the Northeast and the city of Troy to the South.
So there it was, a bit of research, an initial approach and some map recon afterwards. Encountering some shale cliffs above an old railroad bed near sunset both motivates and informs.
A few pictures of the first visit...
This is actually looking back to the West on the way to the Uncle Sam bike path after climbing hill above Knickerbacker Park.
It's a phenomenal sledding spot :)
The bike path on the path of the old Troy and Boston railroad. The cemetery is farther up on the ridge. Note the cliffs created when they built the railroad. Buried in the snow while crumbling shale underneath, they will prove dangerous unpredictable footing. No,no,no!!!! I head South.
The Robert Ross memorial to the north most portion of the evenings hike. Notice how deep the snow is! I did not wear snowshoes and should have. So I mostly stuck to the drives once I got into the cemetery itself.
(Robert Ross was a wealthy young republican who was, with a group of friends, defending the ballot box from repeat voting by
henchmen of a local Democrat political boss. There was a scuffle, shots rang out, and Robert was killed. His anguished friends
erected the memorial to him. )
I think both the Hudson and the Mohawk can be seen from here although I can only pick out the Hudson.
Up to now I have been using the sun and the slope to keep me generally oriented; I know I have been moving roughly North and the compass confirms this.
The Wool monument, dedicated to a general who served in three wars; the last was the Civil War. The monument is solid granite and 75 feet tall! (which is why it was the first monument I saw from Knickerbacker Park and why I use it to orient myself to the Northwest portion of the cemetery). I will include additional photos in future posts...
This is a photo of its erection using wooden scaffolding. You can read a bit more here:
http://www.oakwoodcemetery.org/john_wool.html
The Warren chapel in background to the East.
Okay, it's time to get out.
The last photo of the day. As the gps track shows I had some tricky sidehilling ahead of me and had to leave the cemetery at
the correct spot so as to most easily find it. I often stack up factors to give myself more understanding of navigation under difficult circumstances (e.g. near darkness, in a cemetery (somewhat unnerving), windy, wet and uncomfortable etc. This is because when you need those skills the most you are often compromised in one way or another. Nevertheless, I go well equipped and with the odds in my favor as I hope you do too.
As always I include the struggle along with the beauty and wonder so that you might have a safe journey should you decide to try this for yourself.
May you be happy.