Bear encounter in the Gunks!

What do you do when you arrive at Sam’s Point and find out you can’t get in because advance reservations are now required on weekends? You find another way in, that’s what. And the South Gully Trail gives you just that.

The South Gully Trail begins on Route 52 (you park by the roadside) in Ellenville and ends at Loop Road inside Sam’s Point. The trek isn’t for everyone though as it requires a 1,440-foot climb 2.75 miles long. Then again, that’s why you came to Sam’s Point, right? To climb and to hike?

And it’s a beautiful hike.

Shaded by tall, upright trees in all directions with nothing but dried leaves, rocks, and moss on the ground, a ravine to one side and a mountain on the other, I never felt more “in-the-woods” than when I hiked on South Gully Trail.

I did not go all the way to Sam’s Point, however. Midway there’s a peaceful little nook off-trail, a watering hole with small waterfalls—an “escape”, if you will—called, Diana’s Pool.

It’s an ideal resting spot for taking in the beauty of Nature either on the way to Sam’s Point or before the return hike back to the trailhead on Route 52 which was what I did.

A word of caution, though. The Shawangunk Ridge in which the South Gully flows may promise adventures for the explorer but it is also habitat to wildlife—including bears.

A friend of mine in nearby Cragsmoor once had an encounter with a bear in her property and said the experience was terrifying. To make the bear keep its distance, my friend yelled and stood as tall as she possibly could given her little over 5-foot frame.

I remember being dismissive when she told the story, like maybe she was trying to build drama where there wasn’t, because she was, after all, there in front of me telling me this.

But I found out how wrong I was when I had my own encounter on South Gully Trail.

On the return hike, I spotted some chipmunks and decided to take photos of one. While fiddling with the camera controls setting the exposure right, I heard leaves rustling in the distance and so I looked up. I spotted a big, black bear past the chipmunk making its way down the hill heading in my direction. For some reason—perhaps because of its size and its gait—I felt it was male. I neither articulated nor made an inventory of the thoughts running through my head in rapid fire at the time boosted perhaps by adrenaline, but I knew the bear was too close for comfort. In 3 seconds flat I felt sure it could bound its way and be on top of me if it somehow considered me a threat. Fortunately, it slowly turned to my left instead and so I turned right as casually as I could, given my whole body\’s predilection to somehow quickly vanish and scram the heck out of there, and continued on for the trailhead.

Now I know my Cragsmoor friend was not exaggerating. Until you have your own bear encounter alone in the woods, you may never know how primal and instinctive you truly are being as yet just another creature on the planet.

Still, there was a thrill. It gave me a new way of looking at life. It was, perhaps, like being shot at and the gun misfires. You want to do it again. Trees, streams, rocks, and mountains may all be a given on any Nature hike, but the animals are the narcotic that keeps me addicted and wanting to come back and hit the trails for more of the same, again—and again—and again.