5.7 miles | 1,391 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★
This was our first real climb we did this year. After almost a year of living mostly in a single floor apartment during the pandemic, climbing is HARD. Sure, when we’re not hiking, I’m out walking or “running” (read: super-slow trot) but the reality is, my new normal is pretty flat. Running up or down flights of stairs to catch a train seems like a distance memory. I used to laugh when I my rheumatologist check in questionnaire asked if I had pain walking 2 miles. While it might seem like a lot to some, 4-5 miles for commuting and running errands alone used to be my norm.
The trailhead parking lot for Bull Hill might have been the most treacherous part of our trip. Like any sane driver, I tend to enter a parking lot slowly, aware that people might be wondering around, completely unaware that this is, first and foremost, a parking lot. My slow entry was met dead on with a wall of ice, that I rocked backwards on. We had to take it from a running start, up the short hill and into the flat but ribbed lot of frozen ice and snow. Luckily, the lot was only half full, so it didn’t matter that the closest we could park to the next car without fear of sliding into it was at least 4 feet away.
This was my first time really wearing my Hillsound Crampons. I’ve never felt more invincible. I could stand, walk, SPRINT knowing my boots were solidly gripping the ice below. I’m clumsy to begin with, and even in the best of conditions, I often find myself drunkenly wavering around. I’m contemplating a shift to permanent crampons, year round.
The assent was immediately uphill. I like that about the Hudson Valley. Hikes often close to the river and steeply climb to the mountains just overlooking. While hikes in the Adirondacks easily top 10-15 miles, the first quarter to third of that is often on a wide flat path to get to the actual mountain’s trailhead. I’d like to blame the fire in my calves on this new crampon experience, but no, I’m pretty sure they were just enraged with my attempt to climb after months of flat land. In less than a mile, we were high above the parking lot staring down at the frozen Hudson and waiving to Storm King Mountain across the river.
When we turned inland, I was a bit surprised. I studied the map before, but in my head, I thought Bull Hill was another mountain towering over the east side of the Hudson, like Breakneck Ridge. We opted for the long loop because, why stop now? We steeply continued to climb up the well packed trail, with a few icy rock scrambles.
Hiking on snow is fascinating to me. On trail, it felt similar to a well packed dirt and felt like it was only an inch or two between us and the bare trail. But step outside the well traveled track and I sunk almost knee deep. One of my favorite contrasts is the selfie of Sean and I at Nye’s summit in the Adirondacks during the fall, our heads clearly below the trail sign. Then there’s the one of my Instagram friend @koh_outside and his buddy hugging the nameplate the previous March, standing on at least 5 feet of packed Adirondack snow. So yeah, it can be deceiving.
Fall 2019 
Winter 2019 | @koh_outside
The final push to Bull Hill offered spectacular views over Breakneck Brook and the mountains beyond. We only saw about 10 people the whole hike – some in spikes, some in bare boots, one snowshoer – and were lucky to have the summit entirely to ourselves. I’m not sure what’s more beautiful – fall mountains painted with fire colors of red, orange and yellow or winter mountains dotted with snow, like a fine dusting of powdered sugar. I guess the only solution is to hike trails in all seasons.
The descent was beautiful. We traveled down the shoulder of Bull Hill to a vast untouched forrest, minus the perfectly packed down trail. It always astonishes me how wild a place can be so close to civilization. With about a mile left, we hit the Cornish Trail with vast ruins of the old Stern-Cornish Estate. We looked on from afar, but in the summer, without snow, we’ve explored the ruins more closely including the main house, pool and greenhouse. Just a bit further, there’s a large cylindrical basin that is at least 10-15 feet deep. This time of year, it was more than half filled with snow. A couple years back when we visited in late summer, we found it FILLED with bull frogs, their croaks head from some distance away.
So what did I learn climbing Bull Hill? I need to up my strength training and actively build muscle. Last July 4th weekend we planned to tackle the Adirondack Lower Great Range – 15+ miles, 5,000+ feet of elevation gain. Covid obviously changed those plans, so it was pushed out to this July 4th. Even after getting locked down in March, I still probably could have managed. I did still tackle 3 high peaks last August with 3500+ feet gain and minimum tears. But after the winter lull? I’m not feeling incredibly confident. Hudson Valley hikes are great (and beautiful!) but there’s only so much to climb. Hoping we’ll get some spring time in the Catskills to amp up the elevation.
Fifty-Two Hikes 