Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail

The Nose in Black and White

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“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”

-John Muir

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
–Aristotle

“Details of the many walks I made along the crest have blurred, now, into a pleasing tapestry of grass and space and sunlight.”
–  Colin Fletcher

Today (8/2/16) I went to Anthony’s Nose again. Since I have written about my travels to the Nose several times, I am finding it more and more difficult to find ways to describe and chronicle just how great this hike is. As you may or may not know, my hikes to the Nose are what I use to get my mind straight. It doesn’t matter that I have traveled from South Mountain Pass to the Nose countless times, the anticipation and eventual hike are always physically demanding but at the same time mentally soothing.

In order to give you all a little bit of a different perspective of the hike to the Nose, all of the pictures that I took today are in black and white. I will admit that I do have a preference for B & W photos, so I look forward to seeing what you think.

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South Mt. pass at the start and end of the hike.

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The AT headed up to the Nose

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The view off of the AT into the woods.

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More climbing as you make your way up.

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Just to the right on the road is Camp Smith, a National Guard training facility. It is clearly marked as being “Off Limits.” You will be arrested if you are caught trespassing!!!!!

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On your return from the Nose this will be your final climb of the hike.

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One of the things that I really have not mentioned in any of my posts is that there is a viewpoint almost at the Nose where you have this incredible view looking north on the Hudson River.

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Although you can’t see it, West Point is located on the left side of the picture.

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Sugar Loaf Mountain (another excellent hike)

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A wider view taken from the same spot as the first picture.

Five minutes away from this viewpoint is Anthony’s Nose. Here are some pictures taken of Bear Mt., Iona Island, The Torne and the Bear Mt. Bridge.

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The Bear Mt. Bridge is obviously to the right with Bear Mt. to the left of the bridge and the playing fields are all of the way on the left of the picture. 

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The Torne

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A hat without a head.

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Looking south towards NYC

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A final view of Bear Mt.

So another excellent hike to the Nose ends. I hope that you enjoy the pictures, as different as they may be.

Happy hiking!!!!!!

 

 

 

Another take on the Nose

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Since I have written about my love of Anthony’s Nose and you have seen many, many pictures of it before, I will only share  with you the new pictures that I took this time (7/15/16). I can tell you that I didn’t see anyone on the way up, on the top or on the way down. It was bliss!

I usually don’t get up to the Nose early enough to catch its silhouette as the sun rises behind it. Today, however,  although it was somewhat hazy, it wasn’t bad enough to ruin the picture.

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Even though people have been flying the American Flag at the Nose for years, this is the first time that I have seen a Marine Corps flag flying with it!  I wish that the wind had been blowing the other way because I couldn’t get to the other side of the flag without risking life and limb. Very treacherous!

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If you have some time, research Hessian Lake, which is located at the bottom of Bear Mountain.

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As you look to the right of the Nose, you will find another excellent hike that will take you to the “Torne.”

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And finally, this huge cairn that has made an appearance since the last time I was here. This had to have taken hours to complete!

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And of course the cairn with my signature day pack pose:

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If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again-You gotta love the Nose!!!!

Happy hiking everyone!

 

The Horn Hill Bike Path

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“With beauty before me, may I walk 
With beauty behind me, may I walk 
With beauty above me, may I walk
With beauty below me, may I walk
With beauty all around me, may I walk
Wandering on the trail of beauty, may I walk”
–  Navajo: Walking Meditation 

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”

-Unknown

 

It was yet another beautiful day here in the Hudson Valley (7/11/16). When I got to the south parking lot of the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area (AWRA) at about 7:15 am, the temperature was in the high 60’s  with no real humidity. Their was a slight breeze, which at that time of the morning actually raised goose bumps on my arms. Without a doubt, that certainly beat the alternative of heat and bugs. For almost the middle of July, you couldn’t ask for anything better!

The other day I introduced you to a book  written by Don Weise called, Circuit Hikes in Harriman-35 Loop Hikes and Trail Runs in Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks. Since I am familiar with the AWRA, I  saw the Horn Hill Bike Path listed as one of the “trail runs, walks, ski loops, and mountain bike rides” and decided to try it out.

After you get off of the Palisades Parkway and enter the AWRA, go to the second parking lot (the south lot) and park by the kiosk. This marks the start of your hike as well as the end.

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Depending on the time of day that you begin (or end) your hike, this would be the perfect place to sit down and enjoy a snack. It is well shaded and today it even had a bed of pine needles that you could easily throw a blanket down on if you chose to do so.

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Starting out on the bike path, the walking is easy as the trail is flat and winds through the woods with a serpentine like quality. Tree roots fill the trail and almost beg you to be cautious as you move south away from the parking lot and further into the woods.

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The trail continues winding through the woods and still has not gained any appreciable elevation. As I kept walking, I couldn’t help but think about how much small(er) children would enjoy this hike. Since the area is wide open, they can actually run ahead of you (a little bit!) and do some exploring. The one thing that they will really love are the wooden bridges that guide you for the first part of the hike.

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After approximately ten minutes of hiking, the bike trail intersects with the AT for the first time. Even at 7:45 am, I could hear thru hikers in conversation as they were already making their way towards Bear Mountain.

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Crossing the AT, the trail meanders until it makes a 90 degree left turn. Weise’s book has a short loop and a long loop listed as your choices for the day. Either one would be a worthy choice, but if you choose the short loop (3.85 miles), you will continue on the Beechy Bottom Road for the remainder of the hike. If you decide to hike the longer figure eight loop (5.6 miles), the trail veers off to the right, .1 of a mile after you make the left turn. After the turn, the trail is no longer flat and you start climbing up hill pretty steadily.

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Although this is a climb, it certainly is manageable and shouldn’t cause much distress. After several minutes of heading up hill, the trail flattens out and you are directed to make a right turn to continue the climb.

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As you move along, make sure that you take the time to check out everything around you. I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of the trees, plants and bushes in the middle of July and I can only imagine what this area looks like when the fall foliage is in full effect later in the year.

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The loop will continue on a downwards slope and as you near the end and just before you rejoin the Beechy Bottom Road, you will literally be yards from the Palisades Interstate Parkway. I had originally planned to take a water break at this point, but I quickly changed my mind. After enjoying so much quiet, I found that the vehicle noise from the Parkway disturbing to say the least. Wanting to get away from the cars, buses and horns as quickly as I could, I forged ahead and didn’t stop until the quiet returned. Luckily, at this time of year, the woods are pretty dense and this has a habit of dulling all of the extraneous noise that civilization produces, which meant a return to peace was not far off.

Soon after my water break I finished the loop and headed on to the Beechy Bottom Road. Since I could only hear the clicking of my hiking poles and the sound of my boots propelling me forward, I knew that the peace I longed for on the trail was with me again.

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Once again, the AT runs through the bike trail and heads steeply up West Mountain (Not noted on the sign below).

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Moving on, the road remains flat and there are many places to stop and eat lunch, a snack or just to rest. If you choose not to stop for an extended amount of time, you will find that the miles disappear quickly. Although the hike never really gets difficult, the fact that you have been walking on roots and rocks for most of the way make for some sore feet. At this point you are beginning to feel it!!!

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As you near the end of the hike, you will go down a short downhill section and you will see a sign that tells you to go right. After you make this right turn, immediately veer left instead of staying on the road. I make this point because even though I read the description in Don Weise’s book, I continued on the road itself. This, of course, is no fault of the author, it was my not reading it correctly! Anyway, that added about 1/2 mile onto the hike as I figured out my mistake when the road ended and I had nowhere else to go.

Turning back around and heading back on the road, I made the correct turn and about 15 minutes later, you will see this locked gate, signifying the end of your hike in the woods.

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At this point you will turn left and walk all the way to the far parking lot where you began. Since I did the longer loop and added about a half of a mile due to my mistake, this hike ended up being just a little over six miles.

Although I was tired, the walk back on the road next to the main parking lot had several interesting things to photograph. Here is a sample of what I saw on my walk back to my car:

As with every hike that I do, I can tell you that this was a truly an excellent way to start the day! It helps to keep things in perspective and allows for time to reflect without all of the distractions that we are faced with each and every day.

Thank again to Don Weise as this proved to be another superb circuit hike that I not only look forward to doing again this summer, but also as the seasons change.

Don’t have all day to hike and still want to get out? Here’s a hike for you.

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If you only have a couple of hours and want to get a good sweat going, I have a pretty decent 2.5 mile hike for you. Located in the Hudson Valley, (Carmel, NY to be exact) Fahnestock State Park has over 500 miles of quality hiking trails that are well worth visiting. The best thing that I have found about Fahnestock is that as compared to other hiking areas in the Hudson Valley, most of the hikes here do not begin with a thigh hammering and lung busting climb. Sure, eventually you will have hills to climb, but I have found that for the most part, Fahnestock’s trails are meandering and actually quite pleasurable.

This particular hike begins on the Appalachian Trail (heading South) next to Canopus Lake on route 301.

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Although you start on the road on the AT, after descending some stone steps, the AT will continue to the right. You, however, will continue hiking until you reach the blue trail  (Three Lakes Trail). Don’t worry, it’s not that far.

IMG_8116 IMG_8113As you work your way down the trail, you will notice a mine entrance on your right off into the woods. Even though they are incredibly interesting, my advice to you is to not leave the trail to investigate them. Several people have done so and lost their lives. If you didn’t know, Fahnestock State Park is known for its rich iron ore mining that ocurred from the mid 18th century to the early 20th century.

About a half mile into the hike, the terrain levels off and as the path winds through the woods, you will notice the changing vegetation and a drastic increase in the number of mosquitoes. Obviously from late spring and into the fall, bug spray is a must, especially if you are hiking with small children. Don’t think that just because it is a short hike you won’t suffer from bug bites. Take it from me, you WILL be eaten alive!

As you make your way up the trail, three quarters of a mile in you will come to a point where you can continue straight or turn right and stay on the blue trail. For this hike we are going to continue on the blue trail.

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The trail remains flat for a short time and then quickly descends to a small stream. The amount of water in the stream varies based on the time of year as well as how much rain has fallen in the recent past. On this day, not much water was running so crossing was a breeze!

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IMG_8126After you cross the stream, continue on the trail and hike up a small hill where you will see this on your right-

IMG_8136Even though the entire hike is only 2.5 miles long, this would be a perfect place to stop for water or eat lunch or a snack with the kids. After a break you will head downhill for a very short time and then you will begin climbing again. On this hike, this will be your only somewhat major climb. Walking steadily uphill for 5-10 minutes you will come across a large mound of rocks.

You need to pay careful attention at this point to the trail. As you look at the picture below, you can see a trail straight ahead and to the right. You will want to go right and you will now be on the AT (North). The Three Lakes Trail continues straight ahead for a few more miles. (that’s a hike for another day!) What you can not see in this picture is that the AT is also on the left, and that goes South.

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As you make the right turn onto the AT, it’s pretty much smooth sailing all the way back to where you began your hike on Route 301.

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This is the last landmark that you will see on the AT as you head up to the left back to the road. Like I said at the beginning of this post, this is the perfect hike if you only have a couple of hours to get out. I used to do this hike with my kids when they were younger and it proved to be the right length and difficulty to keep them interested in the hike.

 

 

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