3.8 miles | 1,014 ft gain | Difficulty: Medium | Rating ★★★★★ "Bring spikes!" they all said. "Lot's of ice!" I trust my hiking community and arrived at the sunny, mostly dry trailhead prepared with our crampons, but couldn't figure out why. We tucked them into our backpack and started up the steep assent to Butter Hill, on our way to the top of Storm King mountain, with stunning view points along the way.
Winter
Hike 8: Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
4.2 miles | 352 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★ The kinda hike. Last week I was super excited to hike Storm King. We arrived around 10am to a mostly empty parking lot. The weather was bright and sunny, with just the right amount of winter nip. As I prepared to put my spikes on, Sean shared the horrifying news - his boots were still in Brooklyn.
Hike 7: Bull Hill
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.
Hike 6: Staten Island Greenbelt
4.2 miles | 295 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ With 1-2 feet of fluffy snow dropped all across the tri-state area, the weather was perfect for snowshoeing. If you owned them, that is. Covid has helped more people than ever discover the great outdoors. During the summer and fall, if we weren't at trail heads at dawn, parking was often impossible. While the winter has lead to a sleepier start, the cold hasn't deterred many people for continuing their outdoor adventuring.
Hike 5: Van Cortlandt Park
4.9 miles | 173.9 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★★ We opted for Van Cortland Park. We had been there a few years ago during the warmer months, to check out the Van Cortlandt House and explore wilderness stretching too and beyond the Sawmill Parkway. This time, our plan was to explore the revamped Old Putnam Rail Trail, part of the newly established Empire State Trail.
Hike 4: Rockefeller State Park Preserve
5 miles | 499 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★ We chose the Raven's Rock via Lucy's Loop and Buttermilk Hill for two reasons: 1 - this was not the weekend to climb a mountain or a hill, or anything that left us high up and exposed and 2 - we wanted distance (7.5 miles) but an easy way to cut it short if we chickened out. Which is exactly what we ended up doing.
Hike 3: Iron Mines + Hogencamp Mountain
6.1 miles | 751 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ It's been some time since I last hiked in Harriman State Park. I mean, yes, the trails we hike starting from the Tuxedo, NY train station are still part of the park, but when I say IN the park, I mean deep in the park, winding down Seven Lakes Drive.
Hike 2: Carris Hill + Wyanokie High Point
7.4 miles | 1,289 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★★ We took the long path. Intentionally? unintentionally? I'm not entirely sure. It's not unusual for our recorded hike to be slightly longer than AllTrails, but a 20%+ difference is a bit much.
Hike 1: Princeton Battlefield State Park
3.0 miles | 79 ft gain | Difficulty: Easy | Rating ★★★ Sometimes a new year means easing back into things. To simplify things, and to be flexible to restrictions Covid may place, I'm defining a 2021 hike as a 3+ mile excursion in the woods. Yes, I am for challenge, but sometimes it's just nice to get outside for a bit.
Fifty-Two Hikes 