Nyack to Peekskill (April 10)
In April I hiked from Nyack to Peekskill via the Bear Mountain Bridge; unfortunately this entry has been sitting on my computer desktop since then...
Last year Kris and I walked along the New Jersey Hudson shore for a few miles just north of the George Washington Bridge. There was a quiet path, with not too much activity, and it made for a pleasant day. Since then I have been meaning to walk a little further along the river, and to that end worked out a hike a little further north. I used the "Batt to Bear Trail" as my guide (see www.shorewalkers.org for details), and decided to walk up the west shore from Nyack (a town just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge) to Bear Mountain Park. Since it was a weekday, and public transportation is a little scarce in that neck of the woods, I planned to cross over the Bear Mountain bridge and walk down the other side of the river until I reached Peekskill, with a handy commuter rail station that would get me back to Manhattan.
The route kept me pretty close to the river most of the way, although there were time when the waterfront was dominated by private property, or industry, and there were times when I choose a woods trail over walking along the highway beside the river. The geography was pretty diverse, as was the scenery.
Starting in Nyack (a $6.75 bus ride from the George Washington Bridge bus terminal) I walked along residential streets on the way towards Hook Mountain, a ridge that parallels the river to the north of town. The part of town I walked through seemed to be divided into an area of pleasant, modest houses lining quiet streets and an area of riverside mansions.
Trail near Nyack
As I got closer to the ridge I began to notice a fair number of soaring birds well above me -- through the day I would see dozens of what I think were vultures, although it was hard to tell at a distance since I forgot my binoculars. When I arrived at the park there was a nice big sign informing me that the bike path I was going to take was closed due to "hazardous conditions." This sign was further supported by a locked gate about 1km down the trail. But if there is one thing I've learned in New York it is that rules don't really apply to you unless someone in a uniform blocks your path, so I started along the path as originally planned. As it turns out, the most hazardous condition I encountered was a two inch deep mud puddle. The day was sunny, and the breeze cool, so it was excellent walking weather. The first section of the path (before the gate) was frequented by dog walkers, and people out for their morning constitutionals. But at the end of the section, where it left the riverbank and entered the woods, I came across a pileated woodpecker digging for something in a dead tree at the trail's edge. It seemed so engrossed that it took no notice of me, another walker, or a bike zipping by within 20ft of its perch.
Leave me alone, can't you see I'm busy pecking?
Just after climbing around the gate I spooked a wild turkey -- another type of bird I would see lots of on the walk. I really like these birds, I mean how could you not like a bird named after a brand of whisky? The path continued within sight of the Hudson, but somewhat back from the river's edge for a few miles, passing many ruined stone houses along the way. I'm not sure what the story is on them, but this route must have seen a lot more use decades ago than it does to day. Finally, just past a plaque commemorating the treason of revolutionary US General Benedict Arnold, the path gave way to pavement and I walked through a small hamlet, followed by a huge gravel plant. Walking underneath conveyor belts carrying gravel over the road was a new and unnerving experience, and one I would repeat a number of times during the day. This first experience was most harrying because every few seconds a "small" piece of crushed rock would tumble off the edge of the belt to the ground forty feet below. Yikes.
Gravel transporter ... watch out below!
After winding my way through a few streets I was in downtown Haverstraw, a town literally built on the brick industry (they excavated so much clay locally that they caused a large landslide in the early 20th century, killing a number of town residents). They don't make too many bricks anymore, and whatever it is the town does now it seems to be fueled on latin american food. If it wasn't still early I would have been tempted to stop in for lunch. At this point I had walked about 10 miles, and had reached the end of the portion of the hike I had topo maps for. From here on, I had a hiking guide with poorly reproduced maps (it also tended to recommend walking along the active railroad tracks just about all the time, which made me uneasy).
After a quick break on the bleachers of the local little league field, I continues north along a roadway. There were lots of deer and ducks and not too many cars. There as a small boat launch along this section, part of the Hudson Valley Greenway effort to make the entire river accessible to canoes and kayaks. The idea being that every fifteen miles or so there should be an accessible boat launch with some minimal facilities. It's a great idea that opens up the river to just about anybody able to rent a canoe for a weekend. Another mile along the road I cam across the Marina -- filled with boats that most of us couldn't afford to rent for the weekend.
The next village (Stoney Point) I walked through had a large population of woodchucks -- I saw two in a period of ten minutes, and heard movement in the brush that probably meant there were many more. I wonder what was special about this place, since I didn't see any other woodchucks before or after this area. The route of of town was to walk along the shoulder of the highway -- not very pleasant, although it did offer unobstructed views across the Hudson to the twin cooling towers of the Indian Point nuclear plant that helps provide power so that I can write this blog entry.
Cooling towers by the river
After a stroll through the quieter streets of Tompkins Cove, I was back on the highway until a place named Jones Point -- where there was a kestrel swooping around doing some hunting. The highway used to pass through this hamlet, but was rerouted years back. The old roadbed is used as a biking and walking trail and brought me to Bear Mountain Park along a much more pleasant route than the highway. The trails through the park were pleasant, and much narrower than anything I had been walking on so far -- this is definitely the type of walking trail I prefer. After passing by the park facilities (a big lodge, a merry-go-round, and parking for untold thousands of cars) I picked up the Appalachian trail across the Bear Mountain Bridge. If I had arrived a little earlier I might have been able to pass through the trail side zoo (yes, the Appalachian trail _does_ go through a zoo!), but instead I walked along the highway (again) to the bridge. This section of the Appalachian trail was the first to be opened as such, in 1923.
Bear Mountain bridge
Once across the bridge, I followed the Appalachian trail until a second trail split off going south over "Anthony's Nose," skirting the edge of the National Guard Reservation (and by the sound of things, quite close to their rifle range). I didn't realize quite how much rough rocky up-and-down this entailed, and it was pretty slow going especially since I had already covered twenty miles before starting the ascent (and I am somewhat out of practice in terms of hiking). At any rate, the view from the Nose was wonderful, and gave me a good idea of the geography of this region of the Hudson valley. It was worth it, but boy were my feet ever tired after the descent on the far side.
Unfortunately, there was still another three or so miles into town and a quickly setting sun. Walking along the side of the highway again, in failing light is not my idea of a safe trip, but there weren't a lot of alternatives, and I made it into Peekskill as the evening light went from failing to gone. Somehow I managed to speed up enough to hop onto the 8pm MetroNorth train back to the city (I made it with about 90 seconds to spare, and arrived back home at 930 pm -- almost 15 hours after leaving in the morning. It was a neat walk, although at the upper end of my abilities in terms of distance (about 26 miles for this walk).
A view from on top of Anthony's Nose, north up the Hudson River
Close to the trail's end...
It is wonderful to walk along these areas since it really gives you an exposure to the places and sets in my mind the geography and relationships between various places. But I have to admit that I would prefer a walk in the woods over most of the pseudo-urban walking almost any day of the week.
Last year Kris and I walked along the New Jersey Hudson shore for a few miles just north of the George Washington Bridge. There was a quiet path, with not too much activity, and it made for a pleasant day. Since then I have been meaning to walk a little further along the river, and to that end worked out a hike a little further north. I used the "Batt to Bear Trail" as my guide (see www.shorewalkers.org for details), and decided to walk up the west shore from Nyack (a town just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge) to Bear Mountain Park. Since it was a weekday, and public transportation is a little scarce in that neck of the woods, I planned to cross over the Bear Mountain bridge and walk down the other side of the river until I reached Peekskill, with a handy commuter rail station that would get me back to Manhattan.
The route kept me pretty close to the river most of the way, although there were time when the waterfront was dominated by private property, or industry, and there were times when I choose a woods trail over walking along the highway beside the river. The geography was pretty diverse, as was the scenery.
Starting in Nyack (a $6.75 bus ride from the George Washington Bridge bus terminal) I walked along residential streets on the way towards Hook Mountain, a ridge that parallels the river to the north of town. The part of town I walked through seemed to be divided into an area of pleasant, modest houses lining quiet streets and an area of riverside mansions.
Trail near Nyack
As I got closer to the ridge I began to notice a fair number of soaring birds well above me -- through the day I would see dozens of what I think were vultures, although it was hard to tell at a distance since I forgot my binoculars. When I arrived at the park there was a nice big sign informing me that the bike path I was going to take was closed due to "hazardous conditions." This sign was further supported by a locked gate about 1km down the trail. But if there is one thing I've learned in New York it is that rules don't really apply to you unless someone in a uniform blocks your path, so I started along the path as originally planned. As it turns out, the most hazardous condition I encountered was a two inch deep mud puddle. The day was sunny, and the breeze cool, so it was excellent walking weather. The first section of the path (before the gate) was frequented by dog walkers, and people out for their morning constitutionals. But at the end of the section, where it left the riverbank and entered the woods, I came across a pileated woodpecker digging for something in a dead tree at the trail's edge. It seemed so engrossed that it took no notice of me, another walker, or a bike zipping by within 20ft of its perch.
Leave me alone, can't you see I'm busy pecking?
Just after climbing around the gate I spooked a wild turkey -- another type of bird I would see lots of on the walk. I really like these birds, I mean how could you not like a bird named after a brand of whisky? The path continued within sight of the Hudson, but somewhat back from the river's edge for a few miles, passing many ruined stone houses along the way. I'm not sure what the story is on them, but this route must have seen a lot more use decades ago than it does to day. Finally, just past a plaque commemorating the treason of revolutionary US General Benedict Arnold, the path gave way to pavement and I walked through a small hamlet, followed by a huge gravel plant. Walking underneath conveyor belts carrying gravel over the road was a new and unnerving experience, and one I would repeat a number of times during the day. This first experience was most harrying because every few seconds a "small" piece of crushed rock would tumble off the edge of the belt to the ground forty feet below. Yikes.
Gravel transporter ... watch out below!
After winding my way through a few streets I was in downtown Haverstraw, a town literally built on the brick industry (they excavated so much clay locally that they caused a large landslide in the early 20th century, killing a number of town residents). They don't make too many bricks anymore, and whatever it is the town does now it seems to be fueled on latin american food. If it wasn't still early I would have been tempted to stop in for lunch. At this point I had walked about 10 miles, and had reached the end of the portion of the hike I had topo maps for. From here on, I had a hiking guide with poorly reproduced maps (it also tended to recommend walking along the active railroad tracks just about all the time, which made me uneasy).
After a quick break on the bleachers of the local little league field, I continues north along a roadway. There were lots of deer and ducks and not too many cars. There as a small boat launch along this section, part of the Hudson Valley Greenway effort to make the entire river accessible to canoes and kayaks. The idea being that every fifteen miles or so there should be an accessible boat launch with some minimal facilities. It's a great idea that opens up the river to just about anybody able to rent a canoe for a weekend. Another mile along the road I cam across the Marina -- filled with boats that most of us couldn't afford to rent for the weekend.
The next village (Stoney Point) I walked through had a large population of woodchucks -- I saw two in a period of ten minutes, and heard movement in the brush that probably meant there were many more. I wonder what was special about this place, since I didn't see any other woodchucks before or after this area. The route of of town was to walk along the shoulder of the highway -- not very pleasant, although it did offer unobstructed views across the Hudson to the twin cooling towers of the Indian Point nuclear plant that helps provide power so that I can write this blog entry.
Cooling towers by the river
After a stroll through the quieter streets of Tompkins Cove, I was back on the highway until a place named Jones Point -- where there was a kestrel swooping around doing some hunting. The highway used to pass through this hamlet, but was rerouted years back. The old roadbed is used as a biking and walking trail and brought me to Bear Mountain Park along a much more pleasant route than the highway. The trails through the park were pleasant, and much narrower than anything I had been walking on so far -- this is definitely the type of walking trail I prefer. After passing by the park facilities (a big lodge, a merry-go-round, and parking for untold thousands of cars) I picked up the Appalachian trail across the Bear Mountain Bridge. If I had arrived a little earlier I might have been able to pass through the trail side zoo (yes, the Appalachian trail _does_ go through a zoo!), but instead I walked along the highway (again) to the bridge. This section of the Appalachian trail was the first to be opened as such, in 1923.
Bear Mountain bridge
Once across the bridge, I followed the Appalachian trail until a second trail split off going south over "Anthony's Nose," skirting the edge of the National Guard Reservation (and by the sound of things, quite close to their rifle range). I didn't realize quite how much rough rocky up-and-down this entailed, and it was pretty slow going especially since I had already covered twenty miles before starting the ascent (and I am somewhat out of practice in terms of hiking). At any rate, the view from the Nose was wonderful, and gave me a good idea of the geography of this region of the Hudson valley. It was worth it, but boy were my feet ever tired after the descent on the far side.
Unfortunately, there was still another three or so miles into town and a quickly setting sun. Walking along the side of the highway again, in failing light is not my idea of a safe trip, but there weren't a lot of alternatives, and I made it into Peekskill as the evening light went from failing to gone. Somehow I managed to speed up enough to hop onto the 8pm MetroNorth train back to the city (I made it with about 90 seconds to spare, and arrived back home at 930 pm -- almost 15 hours after leaving in the morning. It was a neat walk, although at the upper end of my abilities in terms of distance (about 26 miles for this walk).
A view from on top of Anthony's Nose, north up the Hudson River
Close to the trail's end...
It is wonderful to walk along these areas since it really gives you an exposure to the places and sets in my mind the geography and relationships between various places. But I have to admit that I would prefer a walk in the woods over most of the pseudo-urban walking almost any day of the week.
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