Wine on Anthony's Nose

Anthony's Nose and Bear Mt Bridge

Looking towards Iona Island

It's going to be a great year for blueberries

The views south of the Hudson River.

A nice bottle is perfect with a sunset and great people

Bear Mountain Bridge


A nice little scramble up Anthony's Nose with the Hudson Valley Hikers sounded like a great idea. It being a wine hike sounded even better.

There is an unofficial trail up Anthony's Nose where the Bear Mountain Bridge meets Route 9D. It made for a good scramble. Lots of spots where the use of hands were needed. There were also plenty of views along the way. Along the way up, I stopped to pick some blueberries. They were delicious.

Once at the top, there were views of the Hudson River both north and south. The views south you could make out the many bends in the river. It also gets very wide just south of here. Indian Point is also in view. That made for a brief topic of discussion. One of the hikers thinks it will get closed soon. I laughed. He said the governor has a lot of power. I thought the plant itself has far greater power. It provides power to millions. And in NY you don't just build a power plant in the snap of your fingers. We shall see.

I shared my less than ten dollars wine with some of the others. They seemed to really enjoy it. One guy took a picture of it. It's always great to share something you enjoy with others who also have a real appreciation for that something (in this case, the wine). The sun set just north of Bear Mountain. It then cooled off rather nicely. Yes, another memorable sunset.

Gertrude's Nose

Wonderful trail that was softened with pine needles and flower pedals.

Flowers were in bloom, something I miss when I take summers off from hiking.

The cliffs leading to Gertrude's Nose.

Yes, it's a loooong way down!

Johnny Rocket

A crevasse to the right

These crevasses were all over the place

Falcon in flight

Falcons chilling until we scared them off.

Falcons

Johnny Rocket contemplating what a great summer it will be!

From Gertrude's Nose, check out the little tree growing from the rock!

What kind of falcon is it? A Peregrine?

Mohonk to the right.

The Rocket is a machine!


In my quest to get to know the Gunks, the legendary Johnny Rocket and I set off to hike to Gertrude's Nose. The Rocket had been dreaming of this hike for a while and I thought it had a cool name, so today would be perfect.

We started out from Lake Minnewaska around noon. It was already hot, but the trail was well shaded. It didn't take long to make our way around the lake. Before long we were descending down to the cliffs leading to Gertrude's Nose. The views from here were great. There was a gorge down below and views looking out into the Wallkill Valley and its surrounding farmland.

We then came upon an open area with large boulders. Here there were a group of Peregrine Falcons. At least that's what I believe them to be. It was pretty cool watching them take off and come back to the rocks. The Rocket and I watched them in amazement for quite a while. Eventually, we continued on and scared them away.

Gertrude's Nose was pretty obvious. It was where we saw people for the first time since we left the Lake. This is also a point where the Shawangunk Ridge starts heading in more northerly direction. From here there are exceptional views of the surrounding farmland. The Hudson River Highlands can also be made out in the distance.

We then started working our way back along the Millbrook Mountain Trail. It was a good thing we weren't here earlier in the week, otherwiae we'd have been swimming. This was a great trail. Another reminder that it's not so bad to be out in the summer. There was green all around. The moss seemed to be glowing green. There was plenty of water flowing, a waterfall tucked away in the green forest. Different from the rocky ledges we had been traveling along for much of the day. We then headed out for some burgers and cold beer at Bacchus.

Adirondack Fire Towers

Azure Mt Fire Tower

Looking into Canada from Azure

Abandoned Fire Tower on Mt. St. Regis

Looking south towards the Sewards

Whiteface from Mt. St. Regis

The Great Range in the distance

The views from Cathedral Rock

Roots growing over the rocks

An Adirondack marsh

Tupper Lake from Mt. Arab


Peakbagging is probably one of the silliest hobbies around. And attempting to do the fire towers of the Adirondacks and the Catskills is perhaps one of the silliest. I say this, because there is a lot of driving involved. On this day, 600 miles were added to my vehicle in obtaining four more peaks to my checklist. Now at 19, there are now only 9 more left to go.

On the plus side, the pursuit of these mountains takes me to corners I normally would never go. Today, I had views into Canada and what I believed to be the St. Lawrence River. From the summit of Mt. St. Regis, unique views of Whiteface and the other High Peaks were to be found. Cathedral Rock brought me to the SUNY Ranger school (probably something I should have done years ago) and a flurry of mosquitos, reminding me of what an idiot I am (typically I never use repellent or sunscreen). Mt Arab had some great views of Tupper Lake and views of the high peaks from the east. A lot of driving for one day, but still worth it. Next time, though, a full weekend and camping will be a much better idea.

Overlook Sunset/Moonrise

Almost sunset

Tri Peaks and Kaaterskill High Peak

Sunset over Hunter and the Catskills

Ashokan Resevoir

Sunset

Moon over Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge

Twilight


A great weather day just in time for a Full Moon. Walked up to the tower with plenty of time to watch the sun set. It was quite cool up there considering it's mid June. The sun set off some nice colors.

I then waited for the moon to rise. It took a bit since there was quite a bit of humidity. But, then I saw some bright orange making its way through the clouds above the horizon. The moon became visible about 15 minutes after it rose.

Having enough of the wind on the tower, I headed over to the cliffs and just chilled out taking in the views. The moon rose right above the bridge. All the lights in Kingston were visible. There was a nice breeze and it was just the right temperature. Content, I sat for about an hour. So good to be alive.

Morton Memorial Hike Lake Awosting Loop

The views looking south from the ledges

A goose while the fog rolls in

The lovely carriage trails

The views north

The views south


It was 5 years ago today that my cat Morton got hit by a car. So each year in his memory I go for a hike. This year I plan to get to know the Gunks a lot better as I have not hiked all that much there despite the close proximity. So, this would make a nice place to hike in Morton's memory.

Starting from Jenny Lane, I walked on the Long Path for a couple miles until I hit the carriage trails. I eventually met up with the trails that circled Lake Awosting. It's a pretty long lake, definitely over a mile. The trails had nice views the whole way along with pretty white flowers in full bloom.