I have to admit, I wasn’t “into” the hike this week. I felt challenged by committing so much time away from home and work to hike for 9 hours and travel for 5. I was caught up in the little things of life (which I often think are way too important) and lost track of the big picture. I truly think if Carra and I hadn’t stayed over in NY on Friday night, we would have bailed out of the hike on Saturday morning. The weather was not working in our favor – it was cold, foggy and rainy, Carra was still dealing with her broken foot, and really, both of us were feeding one another bad energy.
Attending the hike was the best medicine for all of us. It was a full day, nearly 9 hours of hiking 26,000 steps, (10 miles) and burning 2,900 calories with a cumulative elevation of 6,000 feet. It had been quite some time since we hiked with our team and it was great to catch up on our personal and work lives. We spent quite some time talking about our upcoming event in the Canyon (only about 6 weeks from now)!
This hike was along Minnewaska and Mohonk Trails to a place called Gertrude’s Nose. Some of the surprises along the way were the flowering wild blueberry bushes, the view of the top of a bird as it soared at an elevation just below where we were, and the fact that the fog lifted and opened up some sun-filled trails for us!
This hike included views of a beautiful cave (you would need ropes, at the very least to explore down there!) and crevasses that would challenge anyone who was fearful of heights. There were areas of steep inclines on flat slat-like rocks, and areas of steep inclines on ridged, narrow boulders. There wasn’t any time to cloud your mind with the things that don’t matter during this day… it was way more fun focusing on accomplishing the challenge of not falling!
I did wipe out on this hike, (only once) but I am not really sure how it happened. We were going downhill and the rocks were flat (thank goodness) and covered with some pine needles.
The pine needles were pillow-soft beneath our feet, but they were super slippery too. Like I said, I am not sure what I actually did, but I landed on my rear end with my shoulders braced between two rocks. It took me a minute to check if everything was still functioning, before hopping back up and regaining my spot in line among my hiking buddies.
The views from the top of Gertrude’s Nose were just breath taking. It was so quiet (we only saw 2 other hikers the whole day), almost demanding that we silently appreciate the beauty of the views.
We were ready to relax at The Gilded Otter after the hike. We were all wind blown and our cheeks were pinched-pink. We used this dinner break as a chance to discuss our next hike (NJ and PA side of the Water Gap). Carra and I liked the area so much we decided to stop for a visit at the Minnewaska Lodge where we collected pamphlets on nearby spas (of course), and things to do in the New Paltz area because we are DEFINITELY going back to visit!
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