when: friday april 22
where: beacon, cold spring, etc
who: just the three of us
transportation: grand central --> beacon; cold spring --> grand central
trail: i think it goes white, yellow, white, blue, white, yellow, white, blue, yellow, blue for 8 or 9 miles sometimes gaining 700 feet in a 1/4 miles.
weather/view: it was calm but chilly at times, warm at times, chilly at the end. was able to see catskill range in the north and new york city buildings in the south.
animals: i think blue birds and some circling hawk type things. humans. asian guy and a goth looking guy with a staff.
pictures: (forthcoming)
4/17/11
Lambs Hill, South Beacon, and Breakneck
when: saturday april, 16th
where: upper putnam / lower dutchess county
participants: just me
transportation: metro north trains. grand central to beacon ($14.00), cold spring to grand central ($13.25).
food: frito lay honey roasted peanuts 2/$1, frito lay salted peanuts 2/$1, frito lay mixed nuts bag $1.99, frito lay sunflower seeds, two apples of various types, one orange, blue gatorade, 2 liters of tap water.
trail: to get to the trailhead in beacon i walked 1.5 mi through town on walcott ave. i took the red trail up the metal stairs towards beacon north summit, then took a left going north on the yellow trail towards fishkill ridge. the portion of trail on fishkill ridge is marked in white, snakes through a revine and crosses some cascading water that's the outlet from the reservoir. the trail bends north east and hooks north to skirt around the last few hundred feet that round off lambs hill. this part was very nice despite the drizzly rain and gloomy clouds. beacon north was still visible but almost entirely in shadow. from atop lambs hill you can see all of beacon, beacon north and scofield ridge, and 1300 ft elevated bowl containing the reservoir. the white trail loops down the east side of lambs hill and turns south towards the blue trail and dozer junction, where's there's an actual bull dozer decaying as you descend through crevasse between scofield ridge and lambs hill. at the yellow trail junction i made a right turn heading straight south on memorial wilkinson trail, you gain a couple hundred feet here and the wind started picking up. this was the first sign i was in for really bad weather. to the east of the ridge is lake valhalla and sharp drop in elevation. the wind was hitting the ridge and making a very loud drone. still on yellow the trail traverses a few rock outcroppings and boulders until you work up to 1500 feet and a small peak that stare right at beacon south. curving west as you descend the unnamed peak there's a chance for a red-trail junction. i made a right on that going north until a white-trail junction took me up and over mt beacon south. elevation is about 1600 here, the highest in the area and the wind was scary. heading south off beacon on the white ridge trail was when things became uncomfortable. five miles and breakneck to go from the train station the wind was most intense on the open ridge. scampering down the boulders i put my gloved hand in a puddle. this was a sign of how wet i would become. off the ridge the trail joins with with the yellow trail again and crosses squirrel hollow brook. white goes back on it's own south and then west over sunset point and down to merge with the blue trail. now i'm on breakneck ridge trail in the forest traveling southwest along the contour lines and winding around some of the smaller humps. from s.h.b. to the highest point on the ridge you only gain about 500 feet but there's a lot of up and down between. atop breakneck the wind was as strong as ever and it was becoming dark. heading back on the blue trail it descends quickly heading straight south and the skies open up. within three or four minutes of the straight rain my already wet person becomes soaked down to my socks and underwear. it also feels very cold. it's dark. crossing the stream on the red trail is challenging. the one thin log is wet and the water beneath is deep and rushing. the trail is soaked and puddle filled all over. i take the blue trail at the final fork and stomp down the promenade feeling cold and wet. it's completely dark by the time i hit the parking area for bull hill. then it's on through town where i find out from a gentleman smoking underneath an awning that it's 7:56 pm. so i'd been walking for six straight hours in the rain. i sorta get lost trying to find the platform and have to sprint to catch the train that arrives about 10 or fifteen minutes after 8.
weather/view: the weather was terrible obviously. i knew it'd be bad but i didn't think that bad. some of the views of the shadowy mountains and low clouds were actually awesome. because the mountains aren't that elevated they don't become completely socked in by storm clouds.
aftermath: on the train i was completely freezing. my clothes left pools of water on the seats and my phone seemed to be broken. it's finally functioning now though.
picture:
from lambs hill, beacon north
from lambs hill, beacon south (maybe)
where: upper putnam / lower dutchess county
participants: just me
transportation: metro north trains. grand central to beacon ($14.00), cold spring to grand central ($13.25).
food: frito lay honey roasted peanuts 2/$1, frito lay salted peanuts 2/$1, frito lay mixed nuts bag $1.99, frito lay sunflower seeds, two apples of various types, one orange, blue gatorade, 2 liters of tap water.
trail: to get to the trailhead in beacon i walked 1.5 mi through town on walcott ave. i took the red trail up the metal stairs towards beacon north summit, then took a left going north on the yellow trail towards fishkill ridge. the portion of trail on fishkill ridge is marked in white, snakes through a revine and crosses some cascading water that's the outlet from the reservoir. the trail bends north east and hooks north to skirt around the last few hundred feet that round off lambs hill. this part was very nice despite the drizzly rain and gloomy clouds. beacon north was still visible but almost entirely in shadow. from atop lambs hill you can see all of beacon, beacon north and scofield ridge, and 1300 ft elevated bowl containing the reservoir. the white trail loops down the east side of lambs hill and turns south towards the blue trail and dozer junction, where's there's an actual bull dozer decaying as you descend through crevasse between scofield ridge and lambs hill. at the yellow trail junction i made a right turn heading straight south on memorial wilkinson trail, you gain a couple hundred feet here and the wind started picking up. this was the first sign i was in for really bad weather. to the east of the ridge is lake valhalla and sharp drop in elevation. the wind was hitting the ridge and making a very loud drone. still on yellow the trail traverses a few rock outcroppings and boulders until you work up to 1500 feet and a small peak that stare right at beacon south. curving west as you descend the unnamed peak there's a chance for a red-trail junction. i made a right on that going north until a white-trail junction took me up and over mt beacon south. elevation is about 1600 here, the highest in the area and the wind was scary. heading south off beacon on the white ridge trail was when things became uncomfortable. five miles and breakneck to go from the train station the wind was most intense on the open ridge. scampering down the boulders i put my gloved hand in a puddle. this was a sign of how wet i would become. off the ridge the trail joins with with the yellow trail again and crosses squirrel hollow brook. white goes back on it's own south and then west over sunset point and down to merge with the blue trail. now i'm on breakneck ridge trail in the forest traveling southwest along the contour lines and winding around some of the smaller humps. from s.h.b. to the highest point on the ridge you only gain about 500 feet but there's a lot of up and down between. atop breakneck the wind was as strong as ever and it was becoming dark. heading back on the blue trail it descends quickly heading straight south and the skies open up. within three or four minutes of the straight rain my already wet person becomes soaked down to my socks and underwear. it also feels very cold. it's dark. crossing the stream on the red trail is challenging. the one thin log is wet and the water beneath is deep and rushing. the trail is soaked and puddle filled all over. i take the blue trail at the final fork and stomp down the promenade feeling cold and wet. it's completely dark by the time i hit the parking area for bull hill. then it's on through town where i find out from a gentleman smoking underneath an awning that it's 7:56 pm. so i'd been walking for six straight hours in the rain. i sorta get lost trying to find the platform and have to sprint to catch the train that arrives about 10 or fifteen minutes after 8.
weather/view: the weather was terrible obviously. i knew it'd be bad but i didn't think that bad. some of the views of the shadowy mountains and low clouds were actually awesome. because the mountains aren't that elevated they don't become completely socked in by storm clouds.
aftermath: on the train i was completely freezing. my clothes left pools of water on the seats and my phone seemed to be broken. it's finally functioning now though.
picture:
from lambs hill, beacon north
from lambs hill, beacon south (maybe)
4/4/11
turkey mountain
when: march 19th
where: dorktown, new york
participants: elizabeth, benjamin, muah
transportation: ben picked me up from metro north; we drove to the trail head. liz met us there.
food: water and beer, (heh)
trail: traffic in the parking lot created a serious mud pit in the center. the trail was dry though. the trail slopes down then up quickly then down into a flat swampy area. after the footbridge over the wet swamp part it gets steep all the way to the summit. a bunch of bro-types were coming down and we sat on the top alone for a while. we drank beer and took a few pictures. a person we knew through my brother came to the top and we talked to her for a while. we continued the loop north from the summit, along the ridge. after 3/4 a mile the trail turns east and steeply descends - there's some rocky footing and some slanted footing cut across the hill that winds around trees and rocks. the last bit flattens out but slopes up and down gently, crossing streams and cutting through a few old stone walls. the whole loop is maybe 2 miles.
view/weather: the weather was warm but windy. you could see the buildings of manhattan, hills of the highlands and waters of the resevior and hudson. high ceiling of broad clouds overhead.
note: a week or so prior a body was found in these woods, believed to be a suicide victim.
where: dorktown, new york
participants: elizabeth, benjamin, muah
transportation: ben picked me up from metro north; we drove to the trail head. liz met us there.
food: water and beer, (heh)
trail: traffic in the parking lot created a serious mud pit in the center. the trail was dry though. the trail slopes down then up quickly then down into a flat swampy area. after the footbridge over the wet swamp part it gets steep all the way to the summit. a bunch of bro-types were coming down and we sat on the top alone for a while. we drank beer and took a few pictures. a person we knew through my brother came to the top and we talked to her for a while. we continued the loop north from the summit, along the ridge. after 3/4 a mile the trail turns east and steeply descends - there's some rocky footing and some slanted footing cut across the hill that winds around trees and rocks. the last bit flattens out but slopes up and down gently, crossing streams and cutting through a few old stone walls. the whole loop is maybe 2 miles.
view/weather: the weather was warm but windy. you could see the buildings of manhattan, hills of the highlands and waters of the resevior and hudson. high ceiling of broad clouds overhead.
note: a week or so prior a body was found in these woods, believed to be a suicide victim.
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