Green Settlement, Greenwood Park 1/19/13

I would rate this hike moderate difficulty for regular hikers, maybe hard for less-frequent hikers. Estimate of 5-7 miles round trip, incline of nearly 2000 feet. We went up Mt. Cutler trail to the turn for Mt. Muscoco.  We followed that to Daniel's Pass and then instead of heading back down to the road we followed a much-less-worn trail the opposite direction that took us down to the ruins of Green Settlement and then on to the ruins of Greenwood Park.  We do not know the history of these places  - if any reader does, please let us know.  Green Settlement appeared to be potentially quite old and probably related to similar ruins in the Jones Park area from the late 1800's- very little left of the two structures and what we saw involved no nails and had been done apparently by hand with an axe, not a saw - although we did see a few places that had evidence of saw work but that was on a tree inside the walls of a structure so appeared to be later.  Trees to make the two structures had been cut right on site and their stumps still remain - again cut with axe, not saw.  Greenwood Park on the other hand is much newer - it had electricity, well water and propane.  Appliances dating to perhaps the 70's lay strewn about.

Just off the Mt. Cutler trail, accessing the trail to Muscoco.

View from Mt. Cutler area.

View from a hilltop west of Muscoco

I think this is fox

One of three chimneys in one structure's ruins in Greenwood Park.

One of the stumps left from making the two buildings in Green Settlement.

Corner of a hand-made building in Green Settlement.  This is about all that's left.  

Tub in Greenwood Park

Chimney with Irma for scale

From a wood-burning stove

Best-preserved structure - can see propane (?) tank on right, and just the edge of the power pole. (I had dropped my camera in the snow - that is why there is blur.)

Jeep doors?

The other structure in Green settlement - again this is basically all that's left.

You can see the hand-made divets for logs to rest in.

You can see the axed wood in the structure - the sawn piece seems to be later date?  Same corner as seen earlier, but on the way back.

Notched logs that used to support other logs as walls.

Getting ready to cross the creek to get to the road.  We could hear the water under the ice as we passed, but the ice had no give - it was easily thick enough for us.

In this part, it looks like the ice wasn't thick enough for someone.

On the road heading to the car.

Saw a portion of the creek that flowed really fast - you could see it was frozen over but the ice was thin and clear enough that you could see the creek running under it.