Update: 4/11/09 - deep snow still present at Tahawus, plan for winter camping...snowshoes may be necessary to reach the campsite!

The New York Chapter of Zombie Squad will be hosting a camping trip to the ghost town of Tahawus, NY,
the weekend of April 17-19 of 2009; we hope that you will join us!

	Tahawus was opened as a series of mines in the beginning of the 20th century, and a company town grew along with it.
The mine in operation in the 1940s closed essentially overnight, and the town emptied once the work disappeared.
	The factory and town have stood empty for decades in the heart of the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York.
It makes for a cool PAW-esque world to explore.

One of the neat features to explore between the factory zone and the town is the blast furnace...a massive stone furnace used to separate valuable metals from the mined ore.
	It's incredible to find this massive construction in the middle of the woods, and to think about the processes necessary to extract iron and other metals from the ore.

One of the big and largely intact houses on the way into town along the road.

A large and somewhat less intact house on the way into town along the road...still interesting though...

A neat open-ish house that I explored a bit the last time that I was in Tahawus...

The view from the end of County Route 25, at the parking lot where we'll meet...

The last time I was able to explore Tahawus a bit, I was with my son and we were geocaching...I was amazed at the houses up in the woods, 100-200 yards away from anything, and surrounded and overgrown by mature forest (in some cases with tress growing up inside of the house)...some of the houses seem never to have been disturbed since the owners moved out...

Walking by one of the Tahawus forest houses last time, I stepped on a rotted out metal well-cover, and when I opened up the cover to check out what it was I looked down about 8 feet to what could have been a seriously un-fun afternoon, but instead was a cool discovery...

Nitty Gritty

Weather: Although mid-April is theoretically springtime, we could certainly have frost or even snow (historically, the average high for this time of year is 52 degrees, and the average low is 29 degrees, but the record high is 82degrees and the record low is 12 degrees...so be prepared for all sorts of weather).

Required Clothes: A waterproof layer, long underwear, good boots, a spare set of shoes, watershoes (in case we do a crossing of the Hudson River to explore the buildings on the far side, which look like they've been left mostly alone), serious work-gloves to protect your hands when/if we are exploring the ghost town.

Required Gear: Tent or space in someone else's, sleeping bag (rated down to at least 20 degrees), cookset, snowshoes.

Required Food: enough to feed yourself for the weekend, there is no re-supply option close by...adequate water or water treatment capability.

Any other gear and clothes and food (and drink) that you are able to bring and/or interested in testing out will be great and add to the fun and learning...

There are lots of things that we could do, in addition to exploring the ghost-town,ast furnace, and some of the factory complex (some of it was recently purchased, and is off-limits):

• Hiking a bit into the High Peaks Wilderness
• Geocaching/Orienteering
• Shooting at one of the numerous sandpits in the area
• Watching scary movies into the wee-hours...a screening of "Silent Hill" down in the heart of the ghost town is one of the planned night-time activities
• Headlamp hike amongst the rotting homes of long-dead miners up in the woods

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Important Note:

For those with concerns about their abilities/gear in camping, let me point out a couple of things: we'll be a short walk from vehicles, and you'll be camping with FAK-geeks who historically look out for each other quite well in extreme camping conditions...balance that against the fact we are a long-ass drive from the nearest medical facilities.

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What we will be doing

Friday, April 17th, 2009 -

• Arrive in the Trailhead Parking Lot in Tahawus
• Walking the 0.25 -0.50 miles into the campsite and set up camp
• Enjoy the actual company of people you previously only know through the internet in a beautiful setting
• Watch scary movies down in the ghost town

Saturday, April 18th, 2009 -

• Headcount
• Big-ass breakfast
• Fun and Games and Exploring
• Lunch
• More Fun and Games and Exploring
• Supper
• Campfire, movies, etc.

Sunday, April 19th, 2009 -

• Headcount
• Big-ass breakfast
• Fun and Games
• Break down and clean up camp
• Range-trip at a local sandpit
• Tearful farewells

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How much will it cost?

Nothing...but it would be cool if everyone who attends could bring some canned goods or some drygoods to give to the Tri-Lake Community Foodbank...

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How do I sign up?

It's easy!...send an email to me jsheffield@gmail.com expressing your interest in attendingso we have a good idea of numbers, and then we have a registration form packet that you can either do via email or in person once you arrive...

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Other points of interest:

Firearms - We may end up taking a trip to a nearby spot for some shooting, but all firearms and anyone handling them must by NY legal, and the firearms will all be locked up in a secure location at all times except when we're at the range.

Alcohol - The legal drinking age will be observed. If you drink we ask that you drink responsibly.

Drugs - We will not be able to hold/administer/supply any form of medication, including anything as minor as aspirin, so be sure to bring your own. We will not tolerate any illegal drug use on the camping trip.

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For more information (or if you have questions, please feel free to get in touch with me via email at: jsheffield@gmail.com, or participate in the ongoing threads (thread 1 & thread 2)in the ZS forums.

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