no hikin' is killin' me!

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bruno

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Sep 6, 2003
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Location
prospect hill, somerville, ma
ya'll know what sucks? not hikin'. see, i'm in love with this girl who now goes to columbia law school in new york and i now go down there every weekend whereas we used to go hikin' in the whites every weekend, stay at hiker's paradise, eat at mr pizza (and drink tuckerman's) and monroes and all. and now i'm in nyc every weekend. she's looked into the law school 'alpine club' but it's kinda lame plus nyc is so far from everything good it seems to me. any suggestions? i DO like seein' her (actually i have to see her), but the lack of hikin' is startin' to psychologically affect me! i now see that my whole identity was hikin'! pathetic, but true! help!!

i go for long runs in central park every monday when she's in class to keep sane but it sho' ain't hikin' the whites!

we're plannin' on goin' up hikin' on her thanksgiving break though, but that's a hell of a long way off. maybe i'll call in sick at work soon and sneak up for a day.

thanks for listenin' to me bitch!
 
You can try Harriman State Park which is only about 1/2 hr north of NYC up the Palisades Parkway. Its very wooded (and even remote if your psyched). Plus you can get some pretty nice views.
 
how far are the catskills? is it a reasonable daytrippable area? i loved the book "my side of the mountain" when i was little and always wanted to go there. my girlfriend really has only sundays free so it has to be a daytrip deal. we think nothin' of drivin' from boston to the whites for the day so that kind of distance ain't a problem. any good catskill tips? thanks!
 
Bruno, If you leave early in the morning, you should be at the first possible Catskill trail head in about an hour and 45 minutes. There is also Harriamn, as mentioned, you can grab the shortline bus out of Port Authority which has stops on both sides of the park, which makes it nice for hike throughs. The drive from Midtown to Harriman should be around an hour. Then, in between, you have the 'gunks.
Warren will weigh in here and be able to give you more accurate drive times, but we get a LOT of day tripper folks up here on the weekends.
Make your adjustments and have fun. If she hikes and really likes it, you are a lucky man.
Hike on,
Tom
 
Bruno,here's the plan.
You steer your girlfriend towards environmental law. She graduates and you both move to northern NH. She telecommutes to her job with (insert environmental group here). All your hiking trips become work related,and therefore tax deductible.
You hike happily everafter..
There...that was easy!
 
Cross the GW Bridge into Jersey and head toward Palisades Interstate Park. Several trails follow the Hudson River and up to the cliffs of the Palisades where there are great views. The boulder climbing is very challenging. Maybe you'll be lucky to see the den of foxes close to the river. Visit the website for the NYNJ Trail Conference where you can find the "Hike of the Week" which includes the Palisades, northern NJ, and lower Hudson Valley.
 
The Catskills are a great option. You can be at the trailhead for a number of fantastic hikes in about 2 to 2.5 hours at most. The Catskills don't have the above treeline exposure of the Whites, but offer a wide range of mountain hiking experiences. With the leaves starting to change, we're also getting into one of the most beautiful times to hike in the Catskills.
 
Don't forget the Shawungunks too near New Paltz, a bit closer to the catskills but practically a whole new world. Harriman is nice and for dayhikes, lots of places in the NJ Highlands to wander around in.

Woodland Valley in the catskills would be about 2 hours from NYC once you cross a bridge and get out of NYC proper and if you don't hit like Friday traffic. The Gunks would be about 30-45 minutes closer than the catskills and Harriman is in Orange/Rockland county so that is just outside the city.

To get to NW NJ, Stokes, Wawayanda, my house. :)D) it would be about 40 minutes barring traffic and High Point, NJ would be about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Jay
 
I'll second Breakneck as an ideal out of the city day trip.

Fire Island has camping in it's wilderness area good for a quick overnight (fire islands high point is in this area, I think, if you're into that sort of thing). The Catskills can be done as a day trip but it's a long one (about 3 hours to most trailheads). One night loops however are much less taxing. New Paltz, especially as it gets colder is a good option for day hikes (2 hours). There are many good Catskills trips, pm me if you're looking for recommendations, but for now get the map set and focus on the escarpment trail (it's close to I-87) or the Southern Catskills.

I bike while city bound and for the summers I've just taken up kayaking as something to do in the city.

Check out Fort Tryon and Inwood parks on the northern end of Manhattan for city park walking that's better than Central Park.

If you climb, there's a bouldering permit you can get to boulder at certain rocks in Central park.

Long city walks with bridge crossings are also pretty neat. Walking the Triboro (or 59th) to Astoria for Greek food, the Brooklyn Bridge for sunset are all pretty good walks.
 
breakneck was a killer for me.. 800 feet elevation first 1/2 mile.. you can take a train to that spot in cold spring ny... I'm supposed to do hike over the george washington bridge and hike 10 miles to a scout camp from there another trail somewhere (don't know the name of it)..you can also hike up the empire state building step by step!
 
Follow the Hudson River north to the Bear Mountain bridge, just past Peekskill. The AT crosses there. You can figure out the rest.
 
definitly visit www.nynjtc.com and check it out, all the maps and guide books for most of the mentioned areas are sold here and at all local outdoor stores.

theres also a great book "Wild New York a guide to the wildlife, wild places, and natural phenomena of new york city" by Margaret Mittlebach and Michael Crewdson.
available at most librarys and bookstores in the city, this book has maps, driving and mass transit directions etc, awesome read as well.

peace, charlos





:D
 
I can not beleive you are not hiking. There is so much hiking around you, you wont get bored. You have HarrimanSP, Bear Mt, The pallisades, Ramapo SF, Ringwood SP, Norvin Green SF, Wawayanda SP, Hewitt SF, Farney Highlands, Pequanock Watershed, High Point SP, Stokes SF, Sterling SF Minawaska SP, sams Point, Schunumunk, Storm King, Breakneck, Catskills, Poconos, Worthington SF, Delaware Water Gap NP, Allumuchy SF. I could keep going if you want but You get the picture. All within a days trip. I think you would be very suprised at what These parts have to offer.
 
Don't forget there's another state with SOME hiking in the Northeasternly direction (Connecticut), and one above that with some nice trails as well (Mass). Both are within a two hour drive of the city. The biggest thing you have to remember when you're living in the city is to GET OUT of the city before everyone else tries to get out of the city for the day (whatever day that is). It's the biggest time-saving advice I can offer.
 
hey! thanks for all the suggestions!! i'll definitely do 'em up! it's just that i get all spoiled by the proximity (relatively speakin') of the whites to boston. i'm shallow i know--but i'm an above timberline dude. i like rock and sky.

nyc has its points i guess but unless you don't know any better (ie, never lived anywhere else), seems to me you don't really know how confining it is. central park is nice and all and world-famous, but so many people! contrary to the stereotype though folks are pretty friendly so its got that goin' for it. and cheap japanese food, though i can't give the (so-called) famous pizza any dap. boston pizza is way better, i think!

anyway, i'll definitely get out and away.

GO YANKEES!!!!!! (i'm serious):cool: :D

ps--as always i agree with terry and ospreyboya!!!:)
 
patsys 118th and first ave, not far from columbia.
best pizza around, filmed scenes from the godfather there.

lets go yankees!
lets go yankees!
 
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