Governors Island

Laura and the Freedon Tower

Jersey City

Nice spot to listen to the waves crashing

Downtown and the fort on Governors Island

A nice little walk

Buildings to be removed

Ellis Island

Ms. Liberty

Storm King Art

Lighthouse on southern end

Verrazano Bridge

Bayonne Bridge

Laura & The Statue of Liberty

An Old Pizza restaurant

Great place to go for run or bike if you're a city dweller

Brooklyn

Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges

More Brooklyn

I had heard of Governor's Island in the past, but never thought much of it.  An old Coast Guard base used to be situated here and buildings soon to be torn down cover much of the island.  I recently read of a 10K race they would have on the island.  I took a pass on that, but decided it'd be a great place to picnic.  A nice cool breeze and views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, it most certainly did!

Balsam Lake & Graham

Balsam Lake Fire Tower

It's hard to believe, but this trail was barely negotiable the last  time I was on it.

Graham and Doubletop

Balsam and Eagle.  Look at those clouds!

Alder Lake

No signs of civilization!

Lush with colors

Balsam Lake Mt from Graham

Old radio building on summit of Graham

Me.  Monkeying around.

Dry Brook valley

Slide, with Wittenburg and Cornell to its left

Panther

Looking into the old structure

Balsam and Eagle

Doubletop

Flowers.  I'm not sure what.

The trail to the right leads to Graham

I woke up to one of the most fabulous breezes I have felt in a long while.  After all the nasty, sticky and hot humidity, this morning was a pleasant surprise.  What a shame it would be to waste such a day!

The Catskill 3500 foot peaks were really my first stomping grounds when it comes to hiking.  Hudson Valley Hiking has mostly neglected these wonderful spots.  I've been concentrating on areas that I rarely explored, but mostly because I've been to so many of the 3500 club peaks numerous times.  Balsam Lake and Graham were no exceptions.  Although I know I'd been to each 3 times, I had to think hard of when the last time I hiked any of these.  I figure it to be Graham on my birthday in 2004.  It also was the last time I hiked with Miss Margaret.  Oh, how I miss those 3500 club days!


While out walking I also realized this was the first time I've seen the ground on my way to these peaks.  All the other times there was snow on the ground.  In fact the one time I was here leading a club hike, the very wide trail to Balsam Lake (it'd be good for 4 wheeling) was barely negotiable as the trees were so far slouched over from an ice storm.  The last time I hiked with Miss Margaret we bushwacked from Doubletop in 3 to 4 feet of snow and I spotted a snowshoe hare on the summit of Graham.


Today would be much different.  Although I'm not a fan of summer hiking, the lack of humidity with a nice breeze made this a great choice.  The forest seemed so alive.  And without mosquitoes!  There were plenty of flowers blooming all along the trail.  Numerous butterflies also made there way to the summit of Balsam Lake.  From here, there were few signs of civilization.  Then again it is fairly remote.  The views east provided up close shots of 3500 peaks Balsam, Eagle, Graham and Doubletop.  Slide and Table could also be made out.  To the west Millbrook Ridge and Alder Lake were in view.  To the south there were hills upon hills looking into Sullivan county.  And north Hunter and the Devil's Path peaks lay in the distance.  


After chatting with John from Long Island, I headed down in hopes of finding the trail to Graham.  Graham is one of those peaks considered "trailless".  It's not.  An unmaintained trail leads to its summit.  The trail is mostly an old logging road.  Surprisingly, it was not completely overgrown and I spotted it quite easily.  Despite all the lush vegetation, the trail was easy to follow the entire way.  I should have pulled out my camera and recorded some video just for the sounds.  Tons of birds chirping along with many different critters moving about.  It may actually be a harsh life, but I'd like to be a bird.  


A good, tough climb eventually led to Graham's summit.  An old building that housed a radio station greets the tired and weary hiker.  Not sure how long ago the abandoned building operated.  Today I took advantage of the weather and lack of snow and climbed about the structure.  This made up for the lack of views.  From this vantage point you get some of the best Catskill views.  Barely any signs of civilization, you also get great views of Wittenburg, Cornell and Slide.  One of the best views of Slide that I've seen.  In the distance, the distinct peaks of the Devil's Path rise up.  I could also make out the tri-peaks of the Blackhead range.  To the west, the pretty farmland of the Dry Brook valley provides nice scenery.  


When all was said and done, I traveled at least 9 miles.  I consider this my first real hike in the Hudson Valley of the year.  It felt great to be out and it was totally unplanned.   


Here's some video.       

Burger Hill

Damn, I am out of shape on my bicycle.  Pat asked me if I'd like to meet him at Burger Hill for sunset.  So I decided to bike there.  The hills killed me.

This would be quickly forgotten while walking up Burger and catching glimpses of the magically red-colored sun.

Kaaterskill Falls Morton Memorial Hike

Great place to be on a rainy day

Parts of the trail have been washed out

The lower falls

The upper falls and the precariously located tree to the left

Check out that wind!

The Hudson Valley is blessed with some truly great waterfalls.  It's so difficult to choose which one is my favorite.  I often think it's a toss up between Awosting and Stony Clove in the Gunks.

Today though, Kaaterskill Falls made its case.  Maybe it was my recent trip to the desert, but the area around Kaaterskill Falls seemed so lush with vegetation, it could have been located in Hawaii and I would not have noticed the difference.  It's no wonder these Falls attracted so many artists back in the day.

It's been six years now that my cat Morton passed away.  It's hard to believe.  I can still picture him greeting me when I arrived home from work.  RIP.

For some video, click here.

High Rock Run up to Indian Chair

The trail goes one way: UP

Kaaterskill High Peak

Looking down into Palenville

A rugged trail up

The view into the Hudson Valley

It conveniently continued to rain here during the start of the race, despite the rain stopping most everywhere else.  This is a nice 1,000 foot climb to a great view point overlooking Kaaterskill Clove.  The trail on the way up was slippery and quite muddy in spots, leaving myself thinking at times that I was running Mudders and Grunters.