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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, October 22, 2011

Mighty Storm King

North up the Hudson from the summit

Bannerman's Island and Breakneck

Cornwall. Another contender for best Hudson River town

Cold Spring and Constitution Marsh

From here on out the VPo Man and the MC will be known as the Mushroom Cult!

9W meandering through the mountain

Black Rock Forest and Schunemunk

Some ruins along the way

Taurus and some nice fall colors

This is silly. When I saw this I figured it had to do with the Revolutionary War. Reagan must have had this put here.

Howell Trail

Taurus from North Point

Storm King and Breakneck


Storm King is one of the quintessential Hudson Valley hikes. It rises from the Hudson River like a fortress. With its close proximity to West Point, its an easy description. It was in this area that revolutionary forces stretched chains across the river to prevent the British from proceeding north.

The walk lived up to expectations despite it being far cloudier than expected. There are tons of trails on the mountain. This made for a few mishaps. I started from a parking lot about a half mile north on Route 9W of the main lot. I would follow multiple different colored trails for much of the day. When hiking Storm King, its essential to be alert to the trail markers. With the leaves on the ground and much blowdown from Hurricane Irene, walking today felt at times like a bushwack.

Once near the summit, beautiful views of the Hudson River and surrounding areas opened up. It was great to look at Breakneck from a different perspective. Looking west toward Black Rock Forest and Schunemunk made it feel I were far from civilization. But with quite a few people out and the traffic that could be heard from 9W, reminded me civilization was not far. Considering the proximity of Storm King to New York City, its a treasure to be able get away, if ever so briefly. How many mega cities have such gems so close?

1 comment:

  1. Perhaps shameful to admit, I don't think I've ever been up Storm King.

    At best, I would only be an administrative assistant in the Mushroom Cult. The MC would be the president and master of ceremonies.

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