“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

Henry David Thoreau

Even though I briefly touched upon this subject in my first blog, I thought a more concise explanation was necessary.

As I was contemplating the merits of writing a blog about my journeys throughout the Hudson Valley, I found myself conflicted. Conflicted about what you may ask? How could I possibly have an issue with writing about my favorite (and maybe not so favorite) hikes? Well, It seems as though many of the hikes in the area were relatively unknown until they either appeared in a magazine, newspaper or blog. After people read about them, all of a sudden they became the place to go. Whereas in the past, even on a weekend, many excellent hikes that never had many people were now packed to the gills.

A classic example of this is Breakneck Ridge. Ever since it was voted the #1 hike in North America, it is now inundated with hikers every weekend and holiday. When I say inundated, I don’t mean a small trickle of folks. I really mean a swarm of people from places as far south as New Jersey and well into Dutchess county and north. It even now has its own tiny Metro North station! You used to have to walk to the Ridge from the Garrison station a couple of miles away.

A good friend of mine who I have been hiking with for over twenty years, used to love to hike Breakneck Ridge. When he does go now, he says that the number of people has multiplied exponentially and with it the amount of trash, poor behavior and destruction to the trail. So I thought about and I had to make a decision. If I write about the hikes I love, would I also be contributing to the demise of the places I go to reclaim my sanity and zen? I decided that it would be better to share the hikes I love as well as why I love them and hope that others will treat every trail with the same amount of affection and reverence that I do. Anyway, if I decided that I wouldn’t write about my experiences hiking in the area, what would I write about?