Documents my mini adventures through the woods and hills of the Catskill Mountains and beyond.
Spring
"Awake, thou wintry earth. Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth your ancient gladness!" ~ Thomas Blackburn
Featured Post
The Plattekill (No Trespassing Edition)
The summer has been quite hot and ripe for a nice swim at one of the Hudson Valley's great swimming holes. The Plattekill doesn'...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tivoli Bays in Winter
I maybe the typical local, unfamiliar with the local hot spots. The Beekman Arms, the oldest Inn in America, I have been inside exactly once. The Rhinebeck Aerodrome, which attracts people from all over, I've sadly never experienced. But, this past week, despite all the hiking I've done over the years, I took a stroll in the Tivoli Bays for the first time.
This unique area is the largest of the Wetlands that make up part of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. There are three access points, from the north on Kidd Lane in Tivoli, from the east on Route 9G (just north of Bard College) and from the south on Cruger Island Rd on Bard College's Campus.
The walk from Kidd Lane uses a dirt road used for boat launches. Once at the boat launch, the walk is along the marshes with outstanding views of the bay and the Catskills on the other side of the river.
Today I parked at the Cruger Island parking lot. There were reminders of the rape that took place here in 1997. There were signs posted with the description of the rapist.
The walk down produced another unwelcome sight. The trail out to Cruger Island is closed from January to September. Since I could hardly afford a run in with the law, I had forgo the walk to Cruger. One of the myths about Cruger Island is that Henry Hudson stopped there to trade with local Indians.
Walking to the Cruger Island boat launch (it's not on Cruger) I decided to walk out onto the bay. Well, this would prove to be a stupid idea (although it started as a wonderful idea) as while on one of the marsh Islands I started to sink in, soaking my feet. This was enough for me to turn around. The weather has been just warm enough, plus I would tend to think the 4-6 feet tides must have an impact on the solidity of the ice. I'll have to save the bay for the spring and in a kayak.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Ferncliff Forest and Around
While heading to work, I am frequently blessed with some of the most stunning sunrises I have seen. Always, I forget my camera, but this is also partially to their not being great locations to photograph. This morning I decided to get up early and head up to Ferncliff Forest. This was also one of the few times this week that I got a glimpse of the almost full moon (Full Moon was Wednesday, and much of the week it's been cloudy or snowing).
Sunday, January 16, 2011
I'll Never Tire Of Sunsets
Snow, Wind, The Moon and Overlook
This would be my first hike since hurting my back. Recovery is finally moving along. A beautifully hard packed walk up. Stabilicers were all I needed. It would have been nice to have had skis for the descent, but that will wait for next year. I was just so happy to finally be out and enjoy the snow.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Snow in Rhinebeck
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)