Tag Archives: hudson valley ny

Early Morning Bliss!!!

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“I felt like summer had taken me over.”-Junot Diaz

“Everything good, everything magical, happens between the months of June and August.”-Jenny Han

“Summer breeze makes me feel fine.”-Seals & Crofts

What a beautiful morning!!! That is the only way to describe it. Not many days during the month of June start off with a cool 57 degrees with no humidity and an awesome breeze. Not only that, I didn’t see a single fly, mosquito or gnat during the entire hike. Could it get any better? I don’t think so!

Even though I have been on some of the trails on this hike previously, I would say I have never hiked probably three of the six miles. As with the rest of Ward Pound Ridge, it was outstanding. The trails were well maintained and since I haven’t been in this part of WPR since before COVID, I was met with a nice surprise very early into the hike.

A wonderful addition to Ward Pound Ridge.

After several years of disrepair to existing bridges, the folks at WPR apparently made the decision to install two of these covered bridges across a stream that runs through a portion of the park.

Five thirty in the morning at the start of the hike.

The entrance to my happy place!

I’m going to guess that this area floods when it rains…

It was almost as if the trees were standing guard over this part of the trail.

Even though you can’t really tell by the photo, this stream is running and provided a great soundtrack with the breeze blowing through the trees as I took a break.

Call me crazy, but can you see the shape of the turtle?

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, today was an absolutely beautiful morning to be out hiking. These are the kind of days where you can head out into the woods and use the time to reenergize and refocus with no distractions.

Today, like many other hikes I have done in WPR, I didn’t see to many folks out on the trail. However, one person who I saw should be an inspiration to us all. As I was working my way up a hill, I felt good about myself and was happy that I wasn’t that tired or winded. About 3/4 of the way up the hill, I heard a trail runner approaching from my rear. As I turned around, I saw a man who was easily 10 years older than me (I’m 58) who blew by me like I was standing still.

Needless to say, the good feeling I had quickly disappeared.

Of course, I say this with just a little bit of humor, because this guy, for as old he is, is in phenomenal shape. Kudos to him!!!

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Hike #5-6/15-6.0-20.9

Purple Haze??? Not Quite…

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“Bad weather makes for good photography.” ~ Ansel Adams

“Oh, That Wasn’t A Bit Nice. You Have Made Me Very Angry. Very Angry Indeed!”Marvin the Martian

The sun and sky in my backyard with the haze.

The last three to four days around here have been crazy weather-wise. I should have known something weird was coming when I left my house on Monday morning to go to the gym and I smelled smoke. I didn’t give it much thought then, but as Monday turned to Tuesday, it continued to worsen.

Three days removed from Monday, the haze continues and has provided a view of this area that I can’t remember ever seeing. Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday), it truly looked like the pictures you see of Mars. Barren and red, I almost half expected Marvin the Martian to come hang out with me!

If anything, that last comment should date me…

The view of Lake Mahopac from the beach of a local country club.

Same view as above.

I decided that I would take some before and after photos to show how out of control this haze is. I rarely watch the local news these days, but I wanted to see if they had an idea of how long it would last and when we might see a return to June’s normal sticky and nasty days. As with most everything else on the news these days, it was all doom and gloom. Time to turn it off…

A slightly different view from the beach.

Looking out at Lake Mahopac from the parking lot of Four Brothers Pizza.

More haze…

Could this be a run-up to the apocalypse? Could we be looking at the end of the world? Of course, I say that with a certain amount of sarcasm, but sometimes you have to wonder.

Could this have happened at a worse time? I wonder about that as well. As if breathing wasn’t difficult enough at times in the Northeast of the United States during “normal” summer days, Now they are saying that due to the severity of the forest fires in Canada, this could continue on and off for some time. This could make for an interesting summer of hiking.

I can tell you that for the first time in my life, I am actually listening to the warnings that are saying if you have health issues, you should just stay inside!!

Anyway, hopefully in a couple of days this will run its course and we can get back to a haze free life! Stay tuned for pictures of the same areas on a nice clear day.

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Ward Pound Ridge In Spring

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 “If everyone in the world took care of each other the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place.” – Jon Tullis

“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” – Frank A. Clark

“We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.” – Finis Mitchel

Spring has been good for Ward Pound Ridge Reservation this year. A good amount of rain has provided the moisture necessary to turn the woods from a greyish-naked landscape to a beautiful lush wonderland. The smell of the trail is overwhelming!!

When I started this relatively short hike, it was a cool and breezy 53 degrees under clear blue skies. I ended up taking the green trail to the yellow trail for a distance of 3.7 miles. Although there were no real views to speak of, just being in the woods on such an excellent day was good enough for me!

This area of New York, especially in WPR, is marked by miles and miles of these stone walls. When you first look at them strewn throughout the park, they seem really random. With that said, I can’t imagine that when they were built, they were just put there for no reason. I am sure it has to do something with land boundaries. The amount of back-breaking work it had to have taken to build them is absolutely crazy!

At just over 2 miles into this hike is a rock that I stop at every time I am on this trail to take a water break and just chill. It is positioned in such a place that you can feel the breeze come through the trees, but if you walk up the trail another 50 feet, the breeze is gone. I know that is pretty random, but random is ok.

Unfortunately, as spring turns to summer, the lush greenness that I am seeing now will disappear. The woods will still be beautiful but will start to take on a depleted look.

Would I drink this water even if it was filtered? I don’t know…

It doesn’t look this way in the photo, but this is a nice incline on the trail. Luckily for me, I was going down it instead of up! Maybe next time.

Overall, this hike is a good one if you don’t have much time or just want to get out into the woods for a break. Since it was Memorial Day yesterday, I thought that I would see more folks heading out but I guess at the early hour I chose to hike it was not to be.

One of the best things about WPR is that if I had decided that I wanted to hike some more, the possibilities would have been endless. With many of the trails connecting and close by each other, adding another mile or five miles wouldn’t have been an issue.

Happy Hiking!!!!

Hike #4-5/30-3.7-14.9

School Mountain Road

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

— John Lubbock 

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

-Gary Snyder

Although this hike is only about three miles from the one that I did the other day, it couldn’t have been more different. This section of the park, at one period of time, seems to have been a somewhat residential area. Fahnestock State Park was used for mining during the 19th and 20th centuries.

One of the nicest things about this hike is that the folks who maintain the park have made some really substantial improvements to this section of the park. Not necessarily at this point of the hike but in others. In the photo above, you can see that to traverse the stream, you have to walk down the steps to the right and cross on the metal beams.

After a winter where we did not see much snow, I was pleasantly surprised to see this stream running as strongly as it was. Nothing is more serene than sitting next to a running stream!

When I last hiked here almost a decade ago, these bridges (and several others) did not exist. In a partnership with West Point and its School of Engineering, several of these bridges were built so that hikers would have an easier time navigating what used to be some pretty tricky terrain. Read the information below for a full explanation of how they worked together to make the trail safer.

Happy Hiking!!!

Hike #3-4/15-4.1/11.2

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

The First Of Many

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“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”–John Burroughs

 “You can visit the same trail twice, but you’ll never take the same hike – We Dream of Travel

“I could never resist the call of the trail.” – Buffalo Bill

Today is a beautiful day. Why? It was the official start of my spring/summer hiking season! To start things off, I decided to head to Ward Pound Ridge to hike a loop that covered portions of several trails so I could test out my legs. Although I have been walking on the treadmill for several months, it is never the same as being out on the trail. I’ll let you guess as to which one is better!!!

Since it is still early spring, the landscape still had the cold and barren look of winter. I imagine that in a few weeks things will change drastically, which will make every hike new again.

Although the park still looked like winter, spring was definitely in the air. At 7:20 am, the temperature was an incredibly comfortable 62 degrees. I don’t know about where you live, but temperatures like this, although not unheard of in mid-April, are certainly not the norm. My biggest surprise were the gnats that I thought were a summer time phenomena. Being eaten alive by these airborne piranhas was not fun. Of course, I didn’t think that I needed to bring any bug spray. Big mistake.

So how did the hike go? It was awesome. I can’t put into words how nice it was to be out on the trail again. I usually turn my phone off while I am hiking, but today I sent a celebratory text to my daughter to let her know the old man was back on the trail! The dirt under my feet felt so much better than the treadmill that I have become used to, and being able to listen to the wind in the trees was mesmerizing.

The verdict? It was an excellent hike on an excellent day. I couldn’t have asked for a better day at Ward Pound Ridge. Three years and three months after my heart attack, I felt great physically and continue to be incredibly thankful that I am still able to hike. I am looking forward to the next few months of hiking in the Hudson Valley!

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Hike #1-4/12-4.0/4.0

Is Trail Etiquette A Thing Of The Past?

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Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential.-Will Cuppy

I don’t know about you, but the reason I love being out in the woods is to get away from the insanity of what has become today’s society. Unfortunately, over the course of the last 10 years, I have noticed a marked decline in the actions that used to be the norm when you would be out hiking. The poor behavior that folks exhibit in everyday life is now quickly becoming an unwanted reality in the one place where so many go to seek refuge.

Granted, I can’t say that this occurs everywhere, but in my neck of the woods, the Hudson Valley of New York, I have been witness to a willful disregard of what I consider to be common sense trail etiquette.

Here are three of my biggest pet peeves (in no particular order):

Noise on the Trail:

If I’m hiking alone, I really enjoy listening to the sounds of nature. The leaves rustling in the winds, the sound of my boots in the dirt as I hike along the trail, and the water running in a stream. Each of these is incredibly soothing to my mind and body.

Now, if I am hiking with another person or in a small group, I do like to talk, oftentimes because it is to catch up with them because I might not have seen them in some time. When we do hold a conversation, it is at a reasonable level.

Here’s the problem. When I can hear a group coming from half a mile away, you are talking too loudly. Common courtesy says that you should at least make an attempt to keep your conversation amongst yourselves. Remember when we used to tell our kids to use their “inside voices?”

This all becomes moot, of course, if you see a bear. Then you are free to yell as loud as you want.

I never thought I would say this, but music has also become a problem on the trail. Regardless of whether I like the music you listen to or not, I shouldn’t have to listen along with you while I am trying to enjoy my hike. With technological advances, this has become even most evident at popular viewpoints where hikers have no problem taking out small portable speakers and subjecting the rest of us to their musical tastes instead of enjoying what nature offers. That’s what headphones are made for.

Leave No Trace

The amount of garbage I have picked up over the years, even in remote areas, is, quite frankly, unbelievable. Even before “leave no trace” became a thing, it was pretty much understood that you DON’T LITTER!!! It really isn’t that difficult to pick up your trash and dispose of it properly. Or is it?

Dogs on the trail

Being a lifelong dog owner, I can tell you that I love dogs. I have always considered each one that I have had as a member of my family. With that said, I knew that a couple of them didn’t have the temperament to take out hiking. Not that they were aggressively mean, but they tended to be on the rambunctious side, and I knew that this might scare small children and unexpecting adults. The solution is simple: keep your dog on a leash if you are going to bring them hiking. I have met some really nice dogs on the trail, but when you are in the zone, an unleashed dog, no matter how nice, can be an issue.

For some of you, none of this may be a problem. I respect that, But just as I do, please remember that you aren’t alone out there. Everyone out there, young and old, should be able to hike in peace if they choose to do so.

HAPPY HIKING!!!

Spring Is Closer Than You Think

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“Hiking is not escapism; it’s realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are returning to where we belong.”– Jennifer Pharr Davis

“We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down.”– Robert Sweetgall

It has been a pretty mild winter here in the Hudson Valley of NY. With no major snowstorms and except for one cold snap (if you could call it that), it has been a serious bummer for all of the skiers out there! Now that we are in mid-February, spring is right around the corner. With spring, of course, comes the promise of longer, warmer days and many hikes, both old and new.

Since I am retired and have lots of time, I have armed myself with updated maps of all of the awesome places to hike in the area. The last couple of weeks have been spent planning my spring adventures.

My plan is a simple one. Mix the old in with the new and also the ones that I haven’t done in some time.

 I will readily admit that once I find a hike that I really like, I tend to go back to it time and again. While that isn’t necessarily a totally bad thing, it would be nice to explore some areas near me that I have ignored over the years. Now is as good a time as any to get to some of the places that I have wanted to hike, but for one reason or another, I never did.

In the meantime, I will continue walking at the gym and getting into hiking shape. I know walking on the treadmill isn’t the same as hitting the trail, but it is part of my daily routine, and I enjoy it! I get to manipulate each workout based on how I feel that day or if I just feel like pushing harder than I normally do. Nothing grabs your attention like increasing the incline to try and simulate some of the hills like I might find out in the woods.  

The last three years have been interesting. I was hoping to be further along with my return to hiking than I am, but I’ll continue to take it one day at a time. I figure now is as good a time as any to take the plunge and stop being afraid of what might happen. If I worry about it 24/7, I’ll never get back into the woods.

For me, that is unacceptable.

Back On The Trail…Soon Enough

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As the coldest air of the season sets in, thoughts turn toward spring hiking. When I was younger, the idea of hiking in the cold, rain, and snow was never an issue. One time in the early 2000s, my hiking buddy and I hiked Anthony’s Nose in a blizzard. While it was an awesome hike, it probably wasn’t the best decision I have ever made.

As I have grown older, my desire to hike in extreme conditions has waned. The need for every hike to have an epic view has waned. Needless to say, my hiking priorities have changed, and every chance that I have to be out in the woods is just that, a day spent on the trail. If the hike is two miles or eight, the focus is on the hike, not on checking off boxes that some folks think are important.

So, why am I telling you this? Today is the day before Christmas, and with the “once in a generation” storm now over, the frigid air has settled in, and it truly feels like winter. All I can think of now is planning hikes for the spring. With new maps in hand, my thoughts are now consumed with preparing for and getting out hiking.

While It is true that I have not been able to get out hiking much in the last year, it is my hope that 2023 will be much different. I miss being out on any trail. I miss the smell of the earth, the feel of the trail under my feet, and most of all, just being outside.

The first step in this process is complete. I have updated each of my maps: Bear Mt. (Northern & Southern), East and West Hudson, and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Now I can pore over them and revisit hikes of the past, as well as combining different trails to make new hikes.  

As in the past, this sometimes time consuming task is a vital one. I don’t find many things to be calming, but this happens to be one of them. Sitting with each of the maps, I can spend hours going over trails, distances and calculating the time needed to complete a hike. It is, quite simply, soothing.

Does this mean I won’t venture out before spring? We’ll see…

So feel free to join me as I begin my journey back to the trail.