Tag Archives: Henry David Thoreau

Planet Fitness Fun

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“I try to get myself up and moving as early as possible. Optimum is to be on the treadmill while it is still dark outside.”-Henry Rollins

“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”-Henry David Thoreau

Five in the morning at my local Planet Fitness.

Many people don’t like walking on a treadmill. I don’t think it is so bad. With that said, as satisfying as an hour-long workout on the treadmill may be, hiking on a beautiful trail on a cool morning is much better. Just saying…

My daily walk, whether it is on the treadmill or in the woods, is how I get my brain and body out of its night-time slumber so I can get on with the day.

I have friends and relatives that ask me, “How can you walk on a treadmill? Doesn’t it get boring?” My answer? Nope. Not at all!

First, I have my iPad, and the very first thing I do is put on a Goose show. If you aren’t familiar with the band Goose, check them out. They fall in the same jam band genre as The Grateful Dead, Phish, Moe., and so many others. If they don’t get you moving and motivated, I don’t know what to tell you!

Second, the treadmills at Planet Fitness all have small TVs on them. I can’t explain the pleasure I get trying to read the closed captioning as it runs across the bottom of the screen. Often times it is jumbled, incorrect, and incoherent. It is still pretty funny!

So, as we move into the summer months, my goal is to get out hiking as much as I can. On the days that I can’t, I will continue to do my thing on the treadmill.

You just have to keep moving!!!!!

Happy Hiking!!!

Another Fine Day…

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“Hiking and happiness go hand in hand or foot in boot.”

– Diane Spicer

“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

– Henry David Thoreau

Another day means another outstanding hike in the Hudson Valley of New York!!! Today, I traveled to Fahnestock State Park to spend some time on its fine trails. Although it was a relatively short hike of 3.1 miles, I will admit that I am in the process of getting my legs used to being out in the woods again. At my kind of advanced age of 58, I can’t just jump on the trail like I used to be able to do (sigh).

The weather this morning was actually better than yesterday. The temperature at the start of the hike was a crisp 51 degrees, and the sun was shining. The best part about the cooler weather? NO GNATS!!! That was a good thing because, as with yesterday, I forgot the bug spray…Today I spared myself more hours of scratching.

The loop that I did today took me from the Blue Lakes Trail to the Appalachian Trail. I could smell the earth as I walked along, and it felt good under my boots. Each step is a constant reminder of why I have spent so much time hiking. Sometimes you just need that little nudge to keep yourself grounded!

One of the best things about hiking in Fahnestock is the large number of trails that intersect with each other. Why is this such a good thing? If you spend some time checking out the East Hudson Trails Map 103, you will see that you can make loop hikes of just about any length or hike point to point. The possibilities are only limited by how long you want to hike and your imagination.

The AT heading north to Maine! After climbing a moderate hill, the Blue Lakes trail intersects with the AT, which in my case, took me back to my car.

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Hike #2-4/13-3.1/7.1

2023 Catskills Fire Tower Challenge

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“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

– Henry David Thoreau

If you are reading this, you probably enjoy hiking. I know that I do. But one thing that makes hiking better is a challenge! I received an email today from the NYS Department of Conservation that had in it the 2023 Catskills Tower Challenge.

If you hike to each of the towers listed between 1/1/23 and 12/31/23, you will receive a certificate of completion as well as a very cool commemorative patch! (Shown above)

Here is a map showing the locations in the Catskills of each of the towers.

I won’t list all of the particulars here as I am sure that if you are like me, you like to do your own research. I can tell you that I have already Googled the distances from my house to each of the towers as well as the distance of each hike. I am thinking that since most of these are between 1.5-2.0 hours away, so I will try to do at least two a day, if not more! That will be a decision that I will make at a later date.

So, to get you started, here is the NYSDEC website address:

http://www.dec.ny.gov

You can use the link or Google Catskills Fire Tower Challenge. When you get to the site, all of the information that you need to plan for and complete the challenge is there.

One thing that is guaranteed is that no matter what order you decide to hike these in or the season you hike them, you are going to be treated to unbelievable views that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else!

Let me know in the comments if you think that this might be something that has piqued your interest and may consider attempting.

HAPPY HIKING!!!!!

Quick Saturday Morning Hike

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“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

– Henry David Thoreau

My original plan for this beautiful Saturday morning was to head out early and get in about 8-9 miles. However, as plans always do, this changed after I was 1.5 miles into the hike. As I walked, my left Achilles started to hurt. I decided pretty quickly that 8 miles was not going to happen and after a short water break I cut the loop short and headed back towards the start of the hike. All in all, I still ended hiking just over 4 miles.

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The reservoir across the street from the entrance of Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

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The same reservoir…

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The field at the start of the hike.

Happy Hiking!!!

Hike #17-4.2-101.9

Humidity=Bugs & Sweat

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“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
-Henry David Thoreau

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
-Henry David Thoreau

WOW!!!! Today was the most humid day for hiking that I have encountered so far this year. At 5:20 am the temperature was already 66 degrees and the humidity was sky high. The forecast tonight is for thunderstorms so I guess the high humidity just comes with the territory! As a matter of fact, it was so bad that as I stretched before I even started hiking I was sweating profusely. Needless to say, the sweating never stopped!

All in all it was still a great hike.

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Another fine trail at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

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The trail was partially obscured by the brush on both sides.

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Early in the morning the peace and stillness of the woods is mesmerizing.

Happy Hiking!!!

Hike # 14-7.6-82.3

Reflections

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“On the still waters of surrender, the reflections of clarity appears.”

-Bryant McGill

“The world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

-Henry David Thoreau

My daughter is taking a photography class as an elective in her high school and her most recent assignment was to capture “reflections.” So today we ventured out to Fahnestock State Park to Pelton Pond to look for some reflections on the water. Since I had to drive her there, I figured that I would bring my own camera to see what pictures I could get. Even though it was a cloudy day, I think these photos came out reasonably well.

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It’s Finally August!!! (23)

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“What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?” 

Henry David Thoreau

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Compare this picture to the one taken a few days ago. You can feel the humidity sitting on you just looking at it!

Since I didn’t get out yesterday, I knew that I had to do a hike today. Since the forecast today is for a high of 84 degrees with a real feel of 93, it was important to get out early since I tend to sweat profusely on days when it is in the mid 20’s! Starting out at 5:50 am, the temperature was already 72 degrees with the humidity hovering at 94 percent. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for the water to start running off of me.

I don’t think that I need to state the obvious but I will anyway. It’s days like these that remind me of the importance of making sure that you stay hydrated when you are out in the woods. Before I even left my house I made sure that I drank 48 ounces water. I then brought another 96 ounces for the hike.  Since I knew that I was going to be hiking between 6 and 6 1/2 miles, I knew that making periodic water stops would be crucial.

With heat index already in the 80’s  (remember, the sun hasn’t even risen yet!) making sure that you drink enough water and not running out of water can be a delicate balancing act. This is why when I plan a hike I try my best to factor everything (weather, terrain, difficulty) into how much water I will need to bring.

Today I ended up doing the Red Trail again at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation as well as a little extra. Since I have already done this hike, I won’t bother to write it up again except to say, IT WAS HUMID!!!!!

Happy Hiking!!!

Summer 2017 Mileage:

8/19/17-6.4-119.12

Long Mountain and Turkey Hill Lake (18)

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“It is a surprising and memorable, as well as valuable experience, to be lost in the woods any time.”

-Henry David Thoreau

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.”

-John Lubbock

The weather for hiking this summer has been pretty good. Even though we have gotten more rain than in past summers, we have only had just a few days where the temperature has actually got into the 90’s. The Hudson Valley has also been spared the oppressive humidity that usually define the months of July and August. Until today. With the temperature hovering just around 70 and the dew point being just as high or even higher, I anticipated  sweating even more than normally do!

As usual, I got to the trail at about 6:30 am and was hiking before 6:40. Starting at the kiosk on the Long Path, the trail starts off level and then heads sharply downhill.

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The beginning of the hike on the Long Path.

After hiking for around 10 minutes, you will cross paths with the Popolopen Gorge trail on the right. At this point, stay on the blue blazed Long Path where you begin a relatively steep and winding climb to get to the top of Long Mountain.

Once you get to the top, not only do get some awesome views, but you see this memorial.

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The Raymond H. Torrey Memorial on top of Long Mountain.

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Turkey Hill Lake from Long Mountain.

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The opposite side of Bear Mountain. Note Perkins Memorial Tower on the right hand side of the picture.

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Looking towards NYC from Long Mountain on a really hazy day.

After spending some time checking out the views, I pulled out my map and saw that the descent looked like it might be steeper than the ascent. It also didn’t help that  it had rained the night and added with that some steep drop offs to the left of the trail, the way down was more than a little treacherous. I actually slipped a couple of times and thought that the end might be near!

After getting to the bottom, the Long Path continues straight ahead. You should take the woods road that cuts sharply to the left and follow that until you meet up again with the Popolopen Gorge Trail. Remain on the PG Trail until you get to Turkey Hill Lake.

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Turkey Hill Lake. Long Mountain is in the background.

 

As I made my way around the lake, I came across this shelter. It was actually very well built and looked as though it would keep you relatively dry during a rainstorm.

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Obviously someone had some time on their hands to construct this shelter.

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The tail end of Turkey Hill Lake.

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A small flower alongside the trail.

Summer 2017 Mileage;

8/4/17-5.1-92.12

Second Reservoir (10)

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“One step at a time is good walking.”
–   Chinese Proverb

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

-Henry David Thoreau

For today’s hike I went back to Don Weise’s Circuit Hikes in Harriman. Last summer I tried several of his hikes and I really enjoyed the variety of what he had to offer. This hike, starting at the Lake Sebago boat launch, stayed primarily on woods roads. Despite a steady ascent right after you turn on to the road from Seven Lakes Drive, the rest of the hike spent more time rolling through the woods rather than climbing unreasonably steep hills.

Along with some walking in the general area of the lake, this hike measured 10.1 miles.

Since it is covered in detail in chapter 32 of Don Weise’s book, I won’t spend much any time going into the logistics of the hike.  Instead, take a look at the pictures that I took along the way.

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Pine Meadow Road

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An awesome sign about a mile into the hike.

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Cranberry Mountain Trail

 

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Second Reservoir

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Another view of the Second Reservoir

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A snake on the trail.

Summer 2017 Mileage:

7/17/17-10.1-50.92