This is a photo of the Appalachian Trail in Bear Mt., which is located just off of the Hudson River in New York. Since we are getting some snow today where I am in New York, I though a reminder of what we have ahead of us would be nice!
“Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
“While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best.”
-Tom Allen
The first hike of December!!!! As you probably can imagine, it was pretty cold when I started my hike this morning. Not frigidly cold (as it certainly could have been), but cold enough to where I couldn’t just where shorts and a t-shirt (my favorite hiking attire). At 22 degrees, this was one of the coldest mornings that I have hiked this year. With no wind blowing, although it was chilly, it made the hiking easy.
A frosty way to start the day!
2017 Mileage:
12/2/17-6.4-349.32
It was truly an odd feeling to be on the trail today and after almost always being a party to the woods waking up, I was instead for once looking at the coming night. Being pretty deep in the woods and surrounded by many hills, the darkness enveloped me much quicker than the morning light does as the sun rises. As I exited the woods in almost total darkness, I was able to catch the last of the sunset off in the distance.
The sky at Ward Pound Reservation as the sun sets.
More of the same sunset.
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
11/27/17-3.8-342.92
Two of my favorite things: A beautiful sunset and naked trees!
It’s a rare day in late, late November when you can actually hike for a few hours in shorts and a t-shirt and not feel chilly at some point. Today, I decided to hold off starting my hike until around 10:30 am. My original thought was that it would be much warmer than the usual 6:00 am start which would make things a little more comfortable.
The one thing that I tend to forget when I start my hikes later, especially on days like today, are the number of people who come out to hike. Because I usually get out so early, I rarely see anyone with the exception of some trail runners. On my hike today it seemed like I was running into someone ever couple of minutes. I actually started wondering where they were all coming from…
All in all it was another excellent hike. I got to meet a couple of nice people and as usual they had some incredibly friendly dogs who were eager to make my acquaintance. I really should start taking picture of all of the dogs that I meet when I am hiking.
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
11/25/17-7.7-339.12
One of the things that I love most about fall hiking are the trees. No longer covered in leaves, the bare branches stand a lonely guard over the rest of the woods. I don’t know why, but I find that once they have been prepped for winter, they are truly fascinating. At dawn or under a clear blue sky, each branch, large and small, present themselves as the one true guardian of nature as it sinks into its winter slumber.
The transformation that has taken place in the woods at Ward Pound Ridge over the last month and a half has been incredible. My first exposure to these trails was late July, when summer was already in full swing. Now, as time passes and the leaves have fallen, the view changes almost daily.
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
11/24/17-4.1-331.42
Have you ever had a day when you were hiking where everything just clicked? Where each stride you took was effortless and you felt like you could hike forever? These days don’t happen very often, but when they do, watch out!
Luckily for me, today was one of those days. From the minute I started, I knew that I was going to be able to add a few miles on to what I had originally intended to do. My legs were loose, the air was a crisp 27 degrees and with no discernible breeze, the woods were silent.
2017 Mileage:
11/23/17-8.2-327.32
“Nature is not mute. It is man who is deaf.”
-Terence McKenna
Even though I don’t know anyone who had pink eye, I managed to get a rather nasty case of it in both of my eyes. After waking up with both of my eyes crusted shut, I made my way into work and after about an hour was banished by the school nurse to seek medical treatment. A trip to my local urgent care confirmed the obvious…that I had pink eye in both eyes. The remedy? Eye drops every six hours for five days.
Since I couldn’t return to school and didn’t want to sit at home, I decided to…you guessed it, go hiking! The day was clear and the temperature hovered around fifty degrees. Even though a steady breeze made the relatively warm day for November seem just a little cooler, it was still a perfect day to be out in the woods.
Heading out to Ward Pound Ridge, I figured it would be smart to carry a whole bunch of paper towels to wipe my eyes if I needed to. Besides the gritty feeling I had in my eyes every time I blinked, I felt pretty good and was ready to move! Crusty eyes be damned!
Overall it was a decent hike. I took it a lot slower than I normally would have, but that’s ok, just being able to clear my mind was good enough. As you can see by the pictures, the colors of fall are now gone and the long dark days of winter are almost here.
2017 Mileage:
11/21/17-5.2-319.12
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”
-Jim Rohn
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
The best thing about coming to work at this time of the morning (6:20 am) are the sunrises that I get to see on a daily basis, especially this time of year. With the clocks falling back just about a couple of weeks ago, the timing is perfect to watch the sun come up as I am getting out of my car in the parking lot. Although I deeply mourn the loss of daylight in the afternoon, I do cherish the quality sunrises that I get to experience on a daily basis. Every day I hope that it sets the tone for the rest of the day…
Have a great day!!!!
The Zen Hiker 