Blue Mountain Reservation

 

From the summit of Blue Mt

A walk through a lovely hardwood forest

Looking south from Spitzenberg

Nature reclaiming

Unnamed Pond.  Still frozen after this week's thaw

In high school I can recall remembering Blue Mountain being a site for cross country meets for some of the local schools.  I never ran there.  I recently came across this in a book and thought I should check this place out.  Despite hearing shots fired from a nearby firing range, the park did not disappoint.

Armed with a book and no maps, I did have some difficulty finding my way.  Not a very large park, it did have quite few trails.  It had a blue trail that turned mysteriously white.  It had an orange/yellow trail and a green/yellow trail.  There was red and purple.  There was red, then purple.

Still very enjoyable.  The walk was through a hardwood forest with some nice marshes mixed in.  One of the trails followed a boggy brook.  Come spring, I'm certain this place is hopping.  Since I was heading for the high point of the park, I instinctively took the trail that was going up.  Eventually I figured out where I was on the low grade map in my book.  The views from Blue Mountain and Spitzenberg Mountain were a little obstructed but outstanding.  Dunderberg and Bear Mountain rose up from the Hudson to the west.  The reactors of Indian Point were also in view.


On the way out, I met a group of hikers.  One of them said, "Can you help me? Do you know where we are?  I'm disoriented."  I knew exactly how he felt.  I didn't know exactly where I was at the time.  But I at least could point them in the right direction.  Hopefully, they are still not walking around in circles up there.