I never seem to share how I end up at the random places I seem to wind up. A note on these directions - they're great if you can read Brian Sniatkowski's mind. Unfortunately, he blocked my attempts at the Vulcan Mind Meld. Therefore, the secret to avoid random wandering is when the directions say 'the road that skirts the lake', it is not the paved one. Essentially, 3 roads/paths converge near McEvoy Trailhead - follow the road that keeps Lake Ramapo on your left for approximately 500 yards instead of the 50 he describes. Otherwise, his directions are very useful and, aside fromn the weather, the hike described was enjoyable.
Me blocking the view of some stuff!!!In this instance, that is 240 pounds of Kyle in front of the ruins that put the castle in the Castle Point Trail in Ramapo State Forest. The ruins, also known as Van Slyke Castle, were once a mansion known as Foxcroft built around the turn of the century, abandoned, and eventually burnt down in 1959. Currently, the ruins of Van Slyke Castle stand on top of a mountain in Ramapo State Forest near Oakland, NJ. Sorry, Pirates fans, no direct relation to Andy Van Slyke.
Melissa and I wandered through the forest cursing both the directions we had as well as the wet weather and the gathering dark. The mist and clouds added mystique to the ruins and if we were living in a movie we would have been scared off by the ghosts of the Van Slykes. However, we do not live in a movie so we hiked past the ruins and through the rain with little incident aside from slipping on the wet, leaf covered trail.
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