The Clove

Back in 2023 I took a trip down to Tuxedo Park in Rockland County to visit the site of the hangout of the villains in my novel. Claudius Smith’s “Den” is a well-documented location on one of the peaks that make up Dunderberg Mountain in the middle of Harriman State Park.

I’m game for a good hike, but also in my 70’s and usually don’t choose hikes of this description. I was determined to get to the Den. Parking was about a mile from the actual trailhead, I passed a few hikers heading back to their cars. I asked some had they visited the Den and none of them knew anything about it! One couple were interested enough to listen to me ramble on about it, most were just friendly enough to greet the old guy heading up the mountain.

It was quite a climb, the AllTrails description was accurate, maybe a bit of an understatement. The path alternated between long stretches with beautiful vistas and endless boulder-strewn switchback climbs. It took me the better part of two hours to make it to a flattened peak of huge conglomerate plates, twisted pines and blueberry bushes. According to map I was close to the cave the outlaws used as their Den, but this spot looked nothing like the photos I had seen of the place. My GPS was acting strange too, I’d walk a few hundred feet towards where the Den was supposed to be and when I arrived it would tell me go in another direction. I finally realized I must be on top of the thing and headed down the mountain a bit making my own path through some tunnels in the Mountain Laurel. After a mosquito-y slog I came to a trail back over some rocks, I had an easy climb where I came about twenty feet from a bus-sized Black Bear who was as surprised as I was. The bear took off like a big dog down the mountain. The hair stood up on my neck and I couldn’t move, I could hear it crashing through the brush away from me. I sat down and laughed nervously, finally I decided to give the Den one last chance and found it on the way to the trail down. It was impressive but somehow anti-climatic. All the way back down the mountain I looked over my shoulder, and pausing, listening for anything that sounded like a Dunderbear.

You can bet I used this experience for the novel. It was well worth the trip down the thruway and the hike up the mountain to see what the Smith Gang was dealing with back in the day. I’m glad I finally made it. On my way back to the car I spotted this sign in the yard of some folks living near the trailhead.