What better way to welcome in June than to dust off the boots and
head up north to the Appalachian Trail? Tara and I hit the trail to get
in my first Northeastern hike.
The AT runs from Maine down to Georgia. The closest it comes to New York City is through the Pawling Nature Reserve. Even though it was a muggy day, the skies stayed clear enough for us to put down 10 miles.
Getting there was surprisingly easy. The MTA (Metro Transit Authority) has an AT stop on its Harlem-North line, which only operates on weekends and holidays. Little more than a wooden bench, nonetheless it dropped us off right at the trailhead.
I was surprised then that only 5 other people got off the train with us. In the next five hours, we would only see about 4 other hikers - a complete surprise for me with such a famous trail being so close and accessible to the city. Granted, there isn't much to this trail, but try finding a flat 10 mile hike within 2 hours of Seattle on a weekend and see only 5 people!
Though the southern trailhead is located directly across the tracts,
we hoofed it across Hwy 22 and entered the Pawling Nature Reserve. The
nature reserve runs you through a bit of everything - prarie, woods,
farmland, and small creek formations. 10 miles into the hike you hit
your first AT shelter, but having to be mindful of the last returning
train of the day, we turned around at the five mile point; tired, muggy, and grateful for the opportunity to escape the city for a day.
Photos
These pictures are very cool. It's surprising to me how much New York nature looks like Ohio nature. I guess nature is nature. But the trainstop was particularly awesome. What a good way to spend a day. Hike on.
Posted by: Katie | June 05, 2007 at 01:00 PM
Cool pictures Jacob. I heard the crime rate is pretty high along certain points of the AT trail since it is so easily accessible. I've heard doing the whole training is an amazing experience. Maybe something for the future?
Posted by: Jayson McIvor | June 05, 2007 at 11:08 AM
I've read that its the only train stop along the AT. I can't imagine a thru hiker spending 1.5 hours on a train (we smelled bad and that was after only 1 day) to get to NY, but its a nice option if you become starved for civilization.
The NY-NJ Trail Conservatory left fliers at the train stop for hikes w/in 50 miles of the city that you can use mass transit to get to, so I'm looking forward to getting a few more in!
Posted by: jacob rhoades | June 05, 2007 at 09:21 AM
Cool! That photo of the train stop next to the trail is pretty crazy. Not sure you can take public transit to any trails around here.
Those are some very nice photos too! I especially like the wide format prairie shot and the irises. The candid shots are nice too.
Keep on hiking! I'm curious to see what else if out there.
John
Posted by: John | June 04, 2007 at 11:31 PM
such a great day... my legs and toosh are KILLING me today however.
Posted by: Tara | June 04, 2007 at 08:56 PM