Tag Archives: autumn

A Foggy, Misty Morning

“You can walk in a dream while you are awake: Just walk in the misty morning of a forest!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“For a spiritual journey, you don’t have to meditate or visit a temple or listen to a guru! Just live a misty morning while the sun is rising!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

Even though sunny fall days are excellent, so are days like these when a light mist is falling and the fog surrounds you. It is peaceful and the tranquility it provides a sense of calm. These photos and the ones from the other day are the reason I love Autumn so much!

Back To The AT RR Station

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Before I took the photos from the last post, I stopped by the Appalachian Trail RR station to get some pictures. I have been there before but since it was such a nice crisp morning, I went back to see if I get a different perspective.

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The AT headed south at the Appalachian Trial RR station.

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Happy Hiking!!!

 

 

 

A Beautiful Fall Morning

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

– George Eliot

Today was a beautiful day in the Hudson Valley. Thankfully, my daughters hockey game was early enough in the morning that I was able to get some good pictures at Trinity Pawling school prior to her game.

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Start In The Dark, End In The…

“Nature is not our enemy, to be raped and conquered. Nature is ourselves, to be cherished and explored.” 

-Terence McKenna

What a beautiful and exhilarating morning! I decided that on my hike today (11/4/17) I would test out the headlamp that I recently purchased (previous post). Starting out at just about 5:20 am, it was still fully dark and would remain so for almost the full duration of my hike. I also finally got the chilly morning that I have been waiting for! Even though the temperature was 35 degrees, it didn’t feel that cold and as I entered the woods, it was almost perfectly silent. The only sound that I could hear were my boots shuffling through the fallen leaves as I walked up the trail.

With the exception of the last 15 minutes of the hike, I used the headlamp to illuminate the ground as I walked. I thought at first that it would be difficult to see the trail in front of me, but the lamp proved to be very effective in making sure that I could see any rocks or roots that could prove to be an issue as I hiked.

The picture below, although it is a really crappy cell phone photo, shows you how well the trail was lit during this hike.

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As I made my way out of the woods, I saw the last of a huge moon setting and when I turned to the east, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise.

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Happy Hiking!!!

2017 Mileage:

11/4/17-5.3-313.92

The Green Machine

“If you don’t have a plan, you become part of somebody else’s plan.” 
―Terence Mckenna

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Autumn this year has been a strange one. Even though you have to expect some pretty drastic temperature changes during the months of October and November, at this point it has been way to warm to count as weather that you would associate with the coming winter. With that said, at four in the afternoon today (11/2/17) it was a toasty 72 degrees. Even with the higher temps, the absence of any humidity actually made for another incredible hike.

It seems that with my afternoon hikes I am resorting to a “go to” on the Green Trail at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. It is a nice loop wth a couple of hills that will actually make you work.

Happy Hiking!!!

2017 Mileage:

11/2/17-4.1-308.62

Fall Colors Are Finally Here!!!!

“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”

-Unknown

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The trail at the start of the hike.

After not hiking for several days, I got back on the trail on Thursday to see what I could see. And finally, I saw some pretty intense fall colors as I made my way around the Green Trail and up a rocky road to a shelter. Due to a busy week, not only have I not been out hiking, but I also did not get on my stationary bike as much as I would have liked. Needless to say, my legs felt out of sorts and I knew that I was moving a little slower than I usually do.

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Some nice fall colors in the woods.

With that said, it did feel good to get the legs moving and to breathe in the crisp fall air. Today I did bring my decent camera with me so I was hoping to get some decent pictures that adequately represented the day. Although it wasn’t brilliantly sunny, as the sun set it keep peeking through the clouds offering me a pretty nice array of colors and shades within the clouds.

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An awesome sight!!

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Happy Hiking!!!

2017 Mileage:

10/26/17-4.1-300.92

Reverse Green

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”

-Lauren DeStefano

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Another beautiful autumn day means another day to get out and hike. Since it’s the end of a work day and daylight is dwindling, that means a shorter hike than usual. That’s no problem however, because it’s just good to get out into the  woods, no matter what time of day!

Today I did the Green Trail again and instead of going in the direction where I would end my journey on a steep downhill, I reversed directions and went up the steepest portion first. Even when I do the Red and Green Trails (they are together for the first 2.4 miles), I usually go in one specific direction. The opposite way proved to be much challenging than I am used to. That’s ok though, sometimes you need to get the old ticker moving!!!

Happy Hiking!!!

2017 Mileage:

10/3/17-3.6-260.62

It’s Officially Fall!

“Our minds, as well as our bodies, have need of the out-of-doors. Our spirits, too, need simple things, elemental things, the sun and the wind and the rain, moonlight and starlight, sunrise and mist and mossy forest trails, the perfumes of dawn and the smell of fresh-turned earth and the ancient music of wind among the trees.”

-Edwin Way Teale

“Although the vast majority of walkers never even think of using a walking staff, I unhesitatingly include it among the foundations of the house that travels on my back.”

-Colin Fletcher

If you have read this blog of mine, you know that fall is my favorite time of year. Apple picking, college football, cool days, cooler nights and of course awesome hiking make every day truly magnificent. Today I was back hiking the Labyrinth at Ward Pound Ridge. As I was in sight of the finish, I felt good and decided to make the left turn onto the Yellow Trail to add some mileage.

Making my way up the trail. I pulled out the map and saw that the RT Trail would soon take me off of the Yellow trail and then put me on the Red Trail for literally a couple of hundred feet. Heading up a small hill, it then finished on the Green Trail.

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On the Red/Green trail.

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My trusty pack and poles leaning on my favorite resting rock at 2.5 miles. 

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The view directly behind the rock where I take a break just before the Green trail veers off to the left.

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The trail about one mile from the finish.

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Some of the more interesting rock formations along the trail.

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More of the Red Trail.

 

From this point on I will be listing my mileage as an accumulation for the entire calendar year. Taking the information from my blog as well as my GPS, I have calculated that prior to the first hike of the summer I had hiked 45.2 miles. I am adding that to the 181.22 that I did for the summer, giving me a total of 226.42 miles. With the addition of the 7.7 miles that I hiked today, that brings my total for the year to 234.12 miles.

2017 Mileage:

Hikes from 1/1/17-6/26/17-45.2-226.42

9/23/17-7.7-234.12