|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
Posted 04.14.04 Hot Foot it to the Hudson Valley A Getaway in the Gunks By Heather Marie Graham As we pulled into New Patlz on a sunny Saturday afternoon, our mission had already been laid out and accepted: forget the City and the stresses awaiting us there; relax and have fun. After a fun night out on the town (which is really one street lined with bars), we woke up Sunday morning with a hankering for some hiking. My girlfriends and I sat down for a Main Street Bistro breakfast (two eggs, potatoes and toast for $1.95) and some strong brewed coffee before heading into the Gunks. The sun was shining in a nearly cloudless sky as our car wound up Route 44/55 into the Shawangunk Mountains. Every few hundred yards small lots are carved out to park your vehicle and take out your bike, climbing gear or hiking boots and get down to the business of hanging out in nature. While we discussed whether or not to go to Split Rock (maybe too crowded?) or Low Falls (though too cold to swim) we pretended to yell out the windows to rock climbers suspended on those not-so-reassuring ropes of theirs. "Hey, whatcha doing up there?" we yelled through closed windows. "Do you have a minute to talk?" Internationally known as the rock-climbing capital of the eastern United States, the Gunks draw people from all over the world. Of course, not everyone travels to New Paltz to hang from ropes and take on the really rocky terrain of the Gunks. The only rope I've ever been involved with in those mountains had to do with a tire swing. I first fell in love with the Gunks in 1995 on a weekend trip to New Paltz. My first day in town, I hiked one of thousands of trails and went skinny dipping in a swimming hole fed by a rocky waterfall. By the end of the weekend, I had made up my mind to move from New York City to the serenity of the Hudson Valley to finish my Bachelor's degree. Now that I live back in the City, I still can't get the Gunks off my mind. Whenever things get a little too hectic or claustrophobic, I grab a toothbrush and some hiking boots and head up I-87 to Exit 18. After a recent low patch in the City, I packed the car with an overnight bag and two friends, and drove toward some free therapy. We passed the Peter's Kill Entrance to the Lower Peter's Kill Escarpment (that's for the rock climbing set). We drove pass two motorcycles parked near a guardrail overlooking a cliff. No, we decided, being dangerously close to an overhang didn't seem like fun. Finally, we ended up in a place we used to end up a lot -- a Minnewaska parking lot opening up to a denseness of trails and trees. Walking down a gravel path for a while, I looked for the tree stump that is a natural maker to a trail I love to hike. Breaking left down a slight incline, we walked down a sodden path for a while until we could hear water running below us. "This is it," I announced, "the G-spot." Tree roots and mud can make it a little sticky going down those few hundred feet from trail to stream, but it's not too much of an athletic feat. The G-spot is beautiful -- on the right a narrow stream flows over rocks into an almost circular, rock encase tub of five-to-six feet water before narrowing again through the trees on the left. Huge rocks dot the clandestine paradise like natural lawn chairs. The sun shines through the opening in the treetops until late in the afternoon when it moves off to the west for the night. On a hot summer day after my college graduation, some friends and I were caught skinny dipping in this same spot and had to do some quick talking to avoid a ticket. I can still remember scrambling to pull on a t-shirt when a very serious ranger, with a seriously large hat, emerged form the woods surrounding our favorite swimming spot to announce, "nakedness and nudity are prohibited in state parks." Trying not to look at six naked scofflaws -- all professing ignorance to the rule -- he decided to let us off on a warning.We laughed while complaining about the ranger run-in; but then again, we had to admit, we were in a state park. Much of the sprawling Shawangunk Mountains are protected by New York State and the The Mohonk Preserve. The Preserve protects 6,500 acres of the tree-packed, rocky terrain, including the Shawangunk Ridge, which is part of the Appalachians and a designated "National Landmark Landscape." Folks can climb, hike, bike, walk or swim in Lakes Minnewaska and Awosting at Minnewaska State Park (no tickets here, swimming is allowed in the lake) 365 days per year. Though in the winter the swimming thing isn't advisable. After hiking to another favorite spot and reminiscing about the old days, it became time to think about the future. We had a dinner date at a friend's parents' house and we needed to start heading back down the mountain. After a hot shower, and a fantastic meal, we put away the hiking boots and packed up the car -- already planning our next New Paltz trip. |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
