Overlook and Echo Lake (The Yoga Version)

The Ashokan under a high noon sun

Today I met up with Caroline who wanted to go for a hike in the mountains.  I told her we would go to my favorite mountain, Overlook.  There are many reasons why Overlook should not be one of my favorites: a maintenance road for a trail, a radio tower and a popular spot.  But there are so many reasons it's my favorite: arguably the best views in the Catskills, old hotel ruins, my first Catskill summit, easy accessibility (trailhead rests just above Woodstock) and sometimes a lot of people is a good thing.

The weather was magnificent.  The temperature was a bit cold, in the upper teens to low 20s.  My toes at times got a bit cold.  Caroline with her new winter boots would stay warm the entire time.  We wore microspikes from the start.  The trail was quite icy just past the trailhead.  This eventually became a hard packed snow, which doesn't technically require a traction device, but they were welcome on my feet.

We eventually made it to the summit.  A bit of haze prevented the views to spread out to the Taconics or the great city of Albany.  I pointed out the views out to the Hudson River and the Ashokan Resevoir.  I recently purchased a book about the building of the Ashokan.  It has yet to reach me, but I look forward to reading more of the history behind it.  It accounts for 40 or 60% of NYC's water supply.  It's also one of the cleanest.  I always got a good laugh at students at SUNY New Paltz drinking bottled water, when the tap water (which came from the Ashokan) is far superior.

The walk down to Echo Lake became a bit more icy, especially once near the lake.  We took advantage of these spots and slid down.  Once at the lake, we walked out, rolled out the Yoga mat and did some Yoga.  She took it easy on me, but it still was a tough workout.  All of it felt great and it appears it will help my deteriorating back.  Hopefully, there will be many more Yoga hikes in my future.

Caroline on Echo Lake

On the way back, I introduced Caroline to the sport of Sledocross.  This would be a very miniature version of what it normally will be.  The sport is essentially a combo of Cyclocross and Sledding.  In other words, Cyclocross with a sled.  In this version we sled down one of the short sheats of ice and climbed over or under some trees in the woods.  Caroline won round one, but she needs to be brushed up on some of the rules.  Overlook was the site of the first Sledocross race, another reason it's my favorite mountain.