The monster awaits.
Steely dark eyes mask each day,
Ignoring the truth
The Monster Awaits
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Author Archives: Freedom Hiker
The Start of Summer
March, April, May and June,
The end to which could not come to soon.
School is out and the summer is here,
I can get back to hiking without any fear.
I haven’t been blogging, and that is a shame,
The work piled up and I have no one to blame.
But now that it’s over and there is time to be had,
The blogging resumes and for this I am glad.
So as you now read this, please forget the bad rhymes,
The summer is here hopefully full of good times!
Please join me as I get back on the trail,
Blogging my hikes with pictures and tales….
The Catfish Loop Trail
“Hiking is a bit like life:
The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit.”
-Anonymous
“Remember to turn everything off once a week including your brain and walk somewhere quiet.”
-Anonymous
Today’s hike, located just across the street on Dennytown Road from the parking lot, was a decent one. It started on the Appalachian Trail and after 100 ft made a right turn onto the Catfish Loop Trail. Five miles of up, down and all around!
Just cross the street to start the hike.
The trail as it heads deeper into the woods.
And deeper…
The view to the left as I made my way down a hill.
At the bottom of a hill.
The trail went on like this for about 1.5 miles.
A little scramble through this tight space.
Almost at the end of the hike.
Stormville Flea Market
It’s Memorial Day weekend so once again it must be time for the Stormville Flea Market. Beautiful weather, lots of vendors and many, many people made the morning an enjoyable one. From the weird to the obscure, it’s all here!
One of the parking fields at 7:00 am.
According to the vendor as well as a subsequent investigation on the internet, I found out that back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, this is how this company shipped the Photographic History of the Civil War.
One of the rows before the crowds descended on Stormville.
An antique baby stroller.
Fist bump!
The Fahnestock Special (in reverse)
“While you’ll feel compelled to charge forward it’s often a gentle step back that will reveal to you where you and what you truly seek.”
― Rasheed Ogunlaru
“How weird it was to drive streets I knew so well. What a different perspective.”
-Suzanne Vega
To change things up a little and get a new perspective on a hike that I’ve done many, many times, I reversed the route the route on the Fahnestock Special. For many years I have done this circular clockwise route in the same direction because it offers a hill that gives your legs, heart and mind a workout. The reverse route has a couple of very short climbs, but nothing like what is offered in the other direction.
Anyway, taking a new way did make the hike seem a lot quicker than it usually is and I did get a much different perspective than what I am used to seeing.
I had passed this tree just a couple of days earlier and did not see any mushrooms.
A close up of one of the mushrooms.
Prophecy
A change in my mind
Veils lifted from my eyes
Prescient warning
Wool Wins!
Even though I have been hiking for a good part of my life (40 years), I have never considered wearing anything but cotton socks for my adventures. When the temperature started climbing earlier in the week and the usual hot spots reappeared, I figured that it might be time to try something new. For me the pattern is the same. As my feet sweat, they became soaked and it feels as though I am walking in a puddle of water. And this is when it isn’t raining!
As I could pretty much predict, as they became soaked from my sweat, they bunched up and it just became very uncomfortable to hike.
So when I got home I did a little investigating, read several articles and ended up at Amazon looking for wool socks. Now I know that anyone reading this is probably thinking that I am a little late to the game on this one (and you’re right), but in the past I could never justify paying what they wanted for wool socks. What a mistake….
I settled on the MERIWOOl 3 pack Merino Wool Blend socks.
What an eye opener! Even as I slipped on them on for the first time yesterday, I knew that I had been missing something. Soft and comfortable, it literally felt like I was putting gloves on my feet. Yesterday’s 6 mile hike had rain, lots of sweat, and plenty of walking through wet grass and stepping in puddles, sometimes up to the top of my boot. I know that if I had been in my usual cotton socks, my feet would have been in agony. But they weren’t. These socks didn’t bunch up at the toes, really get wet from the rain, puddles or sweat and kept my feet comfortable the entire hike.
Needless to say I am now a believer. I will never, ever wear cotton socks hiking ever again. Ever…
A Baker’s Dozen (Phish Style)
At the end of January the band Phish announced that they would be playing thirteen nights at Madison Square Garden, aptly titled “A Baker’s Dozen”. Running from late July into early August, this announcement has excited Phishheads everywhere. I have to admit that when I first saw that they would be spending so much time in my backyard (I live an hour outside of NYC), I knew that I would be able to see a couple of shows.
When the shows went on sale in mid February, I was lucky enough to get the two shows that I wanted and I thought that would be enough. But as any fan of Phish (or any jam band) knows, if more shows are for sale, then you have to see what is available! So a couple of weeks after getting my initial two shows, I went back to Ticketmaster fully expecting the run to be sold out. But lo and behold, it wasn’t. Now I am going to three shows.
Over the next five weeks I kept getting alerts from Ticketmaster and ended up going to the website to see if tickets were still around for this unprecedented string of shows. I soon added a fourth, a fifth and then a sixth show. My question is, when will it end? Isn’t six out of thirteen shows enough? Spread out over the full run, it’s not like I’m going to first six, last six or the middle six shows. I should get a full representation of what they will offer their fans this summer. So what do I do?
Oh crap, can’t answer that now. I have to go. I just another alert from Ticketmaster…
Charcoal Burners/Perkins/Fahnestock Loop
“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”
-Thomas Jefferson
“Open the window of your mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter.” – Amit Ray
“A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open…quiet mind.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
Yesterday, 5/20/17, I was able to experience a beautiful 6.2 mile hike around a section of Fahnestock state park. After several days with temperatures in the high 80’s with matching humidity, today proved to be much cooler. As I parked my jeep, I noticed a couple of raindrops on my windshield. Since I hadn’t heard about any rain, I checked my cell and it confirmed what I had thought, no rain for at least 120 minutes.
Of course within 15 minutes later it started to rain and didn’t stop for well over an hour.
With that said, it was nice to hear the rain falling through the woods and it promoted a nice sense of isolation.
My pack and poles at the second juncture of the hike.
Stay to the left on the yellow marked Perkins Trail.
The view as you make your way through a farm.
A cairn to keep you moving in right direction.
A friendly face on the trail. He stared at me for a good five minutes…
In about one and half hours, you will be hiking along the far side of this lake.
The path moving downhill towards the stream seen in the picture below.
You get to hike next to this stream for about 1/2 mile.
This is a good place to take a break, drink some water and listen to the stream. (right after this you will climb a pretty steep hill so rest up!!!)
The Fahnestock Trail
More awesome hiking on a trail that says “peace.”
The Fahnestock Special (again and again)
“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.”
One of the best things about hiking this time of year is you get to see the woods come back to life literally right before your eyes after a long winter. If you are familiar with my blog, you know that I have a 2.7 mile hike in Fahnestock State Park that I enjoying doing when I don’t have much time but have the need to get out on the trail. In the last couple of weeks I have done this hike several times and the change I have witnessed is nothing short of remarkable!
This is why I hike!!!
The Appalachian Trail
When thru hikers go to cross route 301, they will see this sign.
A waterfall after almost three inches of rain four days ago.
Quite simply-a dandelion.
Compare this to other pictures from the hike a couple of weeks ago. What a difference!!!!
The AT headed back to Route 301.
More of the AT.
The Zen Hiker 