Pigeon Lodge today

Photos by Dan Weir.

the day after

Forking to the left is the county road (route 47) heading away from camp. Forking to the right is the road going past Lake Cole and up the hill toward Hird Lodge.

The road coming down from the dining hall toward Big Tree Field.

Gail on the '72 flood & Pigeon Lodge

Gail McNeill writes: "In ’72, I was late getting to FV for my first summer because the bridges were washed out on the road, and we were kayaking on Big Tree Field that year. I remember the waters lapping at Pigeon many times. . . but gone? Wow. Memories. . . doing linens on Sunday afternoons, and many a root beer float (and budding romance) at the staff lounge. I can believe there is much work to do."

Yes, it's true: Pigeon Lodge was for many years the summertime staff lounge, open in the evenings with a full kitchen (cheesburgers, root beer floats, etc.).

Irene hits FV: everyone is safe but Pigeon Lodge is gone

The timing of Irene's arrival at Frost Valley was in many ways lucky. Summer camp campers and almost all the staff had just left. Family Camp campers had not yet arrived. The staff currently on the property are waiting out the storm in the dining hall. Everyone is safe.

But Biscuit Creek rose and flooded just at the waterfall by Smith Lodge and Pigeon Lodge. Its waters eroded the bank next to Pigeon Lodge and the building--built in the early 1920s by Forstmann--collapsed and slid into the creek. From what I hear, big chunks of the building are jammed against the little bridge that crosses Biscuit between the Olympic Circle/Ad Office and the road heading up to the Castle. That in turn forced more water up and into the field going one way toward the Neversink River and the other way across the road to Reflection Pond. Hemlock Brook or Trickle Creek (the stream that flows between cabins 21-25 and the dining hall) has overflowed also.

Everyone is safe. Family Camp is cancelled but there is a great deal of clean-up to be done once the storm passes.

There were similar floods in 1937, 1969, and 1972. The latter two happened in June.

Photos above taken by Dan Weir on Sunday early afternoon.

Big Tree Field, flooded

This morning there was a lake in the Big Tree Field. Big Tree Field Lake is I suppose what it needs to be called. Last night and this morning the region was buffeted by high winds and sheets of hard rain. One could hear boulders rumbling down Biscuit Creek. The road from Claryville was washed out.