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| The Welcome Sign |
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| Kiryas Joel from Schunemunk |
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| Schunemunk |
It's truly amazing that a place such as Kiryas Joel exists in the U.S. When I think of Hasidic Jewish communities, I always think Monsey. But Kiryas Joel is a 20,000 plus population of Hasidic Jews. They speak Yiddish and write and read using the Hebrew Alphabet. Yiddish is more commonly spoken here than English. If one wants to learn Yiddish, New York is the place to be. Half of its speakers reside here!!! I have lived my entire life here, but I had little idea. It also happens to be the poorest (on paper) place in the U.S.
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| I believe this is their Synagogue |
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| Signs are in Hebrew here |
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| I guess this is their hospital |
Kiryas Joel was once part of Monroe, NY. It's located just northeast of the village and Schunemunk rises to the north. It's population is highly concentrated as Kiryas Joel is little more than a square mile. It has the feeling of a small city. Taxis and buses are constantly running by. It also happens to be growing at breakneck speeds and has the country's youngest population.
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| Much of Kiryas Joel is set on a hill |
On a recent trip to Monroe, I decided to check out both Kiryas Joel and hike up Schunemunk from the south. I rode my bicycle into Kiryas Joel. As a white man, in China, one receives quite a few looks. It's not uncommon for the Chinese to ask for your photo. I encountered more looks here than I ever did in China. But they did not ask for my photo. Besides a handful of Hispanics, as far as I could tell, we were the only non-Hasidic Jews. There really are no points of interest for one outside the community. Although the next time I visit I will check out their supermarket and bakery.
From Kiryas Joel I headed up to the trailhead for Schunemunk. The previous two times I hiked on this mountain I started from the north and east. There are numerous trails on Schunemunk, but I found this approach and the one from the east to be the best.
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| Changing colors |
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| The Long Path and Highlands Trail |
The trail starts at what is listed on the map as a Jesuit camp. It appears today to be a small recreational park. Though I cannot be sure since I stayed close to the road. Almost all the 500 feet elevation gained is within the first half mile. I have to say this is what I love most about hiking in the Lower Hudson Valley: the 1,500 foot climbs in the Catskills and the 2,500 foot climbs of the Adirondacks are only 500 to 1,000 feet in the Lower Hudson Valley.
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| I love Autumn |
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| Does any color represent Autumn more than orange? |
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| Some tough parts of the trail |
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| I may have interrupted because I did not see this on the way back |
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| A tower near the summit |
Once up onto the ridge, there are plenty of view points to be found. On this day the views were not all that great. Still, Kiryas Joel and Monroe could be seen to the south, Washingtonville to the northwest and Highland Mills to the east. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the ridge in the wind and rain. It's been quite awhile that I've walked in such a strong wind. On this day, there were quite a few areas hit with power outages.
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| A great ridge walk despite the rain |
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| Mushrooms are still out |
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| Lots of mist |
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| Some more fall colors |
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| A wonderful woods walk |
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| A pretty maple leaf |
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| No better way to finish off a hike than by drinking an Eastern Standard at Peekskill Brewery |
Great pictures. I never made it to K.J. town. Seems like such a insular community. Did you at all feel uncomfortable there, like an outsider? Nice to see the different leaves. Looking at the photos, I found myself instantly trying to name all the tree species. The one compound leaf has me unsure. It looks like a hickory leaf. Maybe it's from a shagbark hickory. Sassafras is always nice to see and to say.
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