Amazing Ashokan

The morning today was just about as close to perfect of a hike as you can get. You know, right, that if there are 10 things that make a perfect hike and you get all 10 of them, it's a dream. Wake up. Nine would be amazing, probably 6 is about normal for a good hike. This was close to a 9. I guess you could wish for blue water instead of ice (but then we would have missed one of the most interesting things). You might have wanted natural surface and that we would have actually seen the eagle. But this was seriously wonderful.

The weather was great. Mid fifties, warming a bit more before we finished. We had gorgeous views. We got to watch something really interesting. I managed to ID some of the surrounding mountains. We met an interesting couple and had a surprising interaction with another man.

Marie took me out to the Ashokan Reservoir where we hiked once seven years ago (link at end). The reservoir was built in the early 1900s to provide water to New York City. This trail used to be a road, but was closed and turned into a trail when a new road farther from the water was built. This is the view east, and I think the jagged peaks are Snake Rocks.

But not so fast. First we tried to do another piece of the Ashokan Rail Trail. I had not been on that before. However, the piece that has views of the reservoir was totally ice covered, and we opted not to do that. We walked a bit the other direction. This is one of the old mile markers indicating 16 miles to Kingston.

But we wanted to see the water, so we turned around and went to a different trailhead. You can see what a beautiful day it was!

The whole edge of the reservoir is lined with native rock. It makes dizzying patterns.

Our first interesting people encounter was with a man to whom we said, "Good morning." He countered with, "Why is it a good morning?" I don't think anyone has ever asked me that before at least after the casual greeting! I quickly said, "Because I am hiking with my best friend and it's a beautiful here."

This is South Mountain (which is west of the reservoir) on the right, and the larger one is Ashokan High Point which is the tallest peak surrounding the reservoir on the left. Ashokan is 3,081 feet tall.

This is perhaps my favorite view from the Reservoir. The little nipple to the right of center is, I'm pretty sure, Slide Mountain which is the high point in the Catskills at 4180 feet. The eastern terminus of the Finger Lakes Trail has been extended to there, but I've not yet done that new piece. It will be an all-day hilly hike to get from the last parking area to the new terminus. At least 8 miles total. In front of that is Cornell Mountain with, I think, Samuels Peak in the front left.

This is the roadway that crosses near the middle, and I'm pretty sure the peak in the background (these are all part of the Catskill Mountains) is Ticetonyk (TICE-tun-ike) which is from the name Mattias TenEyk who owned it.

We walked all of the roadway today. This was where we watched the most interesing thing. The ice is breaking up, and there is one of the arches of that bridge where water is flowing from one side of the reservoir to the other. There were slabs of ice being swirled around in a huge circle on the downstream side. You can see a few in the picture above. It was like watching plate tectonics speeded up. We watched the slabs (plates) hitting each other. Sometimes one would go beneath the other (subduction). Sometimes the lower one would be tilted upright and some even flipped completely over. It was fascinating. I began to realize how big slabs of rock could get tilted and even flipped.

We even saw some mergansers.

Walking back to the car we met a couple who were training to walk the Camino de Santiago (in Spain) in the fall. (They were wearing backpacks and I asked if they were getting ready for a hike). The man has walked all of the Appalachian Trail, and they plan to walk the Superior Hiking Trail next year. They also have some other trails in Europe in mind because their son lives in Zurich. We traded stories and names.

We saw an eagle nest, but not the birds. The ice patterns were artistic. We saw an air boat that almost certainly belongs to New York City Department of Environmental Protection (which operates the reservoir) going over the ice to reach a buoy of some kind (water sampling?).

What a wonderful day! It rained in the afternoon, but that's OK. We played our game, fixed dinner, read a little in the book we are currently sharing, and then I had a Zoom meeting.

Miles walked in 2026: 87.8

New York, Ashokan Reservoir Rail Trail 1.2 miles, and Ashokan Promenade 4.2 miles. Total 5.4 miles.

See Ashokan Reservoir Hike

National Hug Day

  Last night Lizzie was telling us that a few years ago she had made up a holiday called National Hug Day, and it was August 1. Then we realized that today is August first!

One (or maybe more) round of hugs was had before we had to say goodbye. Ellery, Erin, me, Lizzie, Susanne. I'll be back. They aren't that much farther east than I come most years.

Other than that, it was a hot road day. I did manage to find a route I've never taken before, so that helped. I cut across the Catskills. Always hard to safely snap pix while driving, so this will have to do. Unknowingly caught a pedestrian sign, so that's cool.

There will be a mini advanture tomorrow morning to break up the driving a bit, but I'm definitely on my way home.

See Generations

Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge

  We did something so interesting today that I have to blog about it instead of the Flower Show. Even though there was a really stiff wind, we walked across the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. A pedestrian lane has recently been added. You were never allowed to walk or even bicycle across it before. It's now part of the Empire State Trail, which I was on briefly last May. See Back to Canals.

The traffic was loud, but the ped lane is separated with a concrete barrier, so you feel safe enough.

This is a bridge across the Hudson River. The new thing I learned today is all wrapped up with what I thought I learned yesterday. The mountains that I said were the Shawangunks are not. The ridge you can see along the right side (west) of the river in this picture are the Gunks.

Amtrak runs down the east side of the Hudson.

On the return walk, well, WOW! There were the mountains I showed you yesterday, way too far north for the Shawangunks. These are part of the Catskills. I believe it is Overlook and Plattekill Mountains (3136 feet and 3500 feet), but after yesterday's epic failure at identification, maybe you shouldn't trust me. I'm pretty sure this time, though. That dark blue ridge you can just see above the guardrail is Blue Mountain.

Anyway, we walked almost 3 miles. The real challenge was that the wind made it difficult to even stand up on the return walk.

See Loving the Mountains

Ashokan Reservoir Hike

 
Today Marie and I had a chance to take an outdoor hike along a section of the Ashokan Reservoir, built in 1913, which is part of the New York City water supply. This is on a closed portion of road, but it makes a nice safe place to take a walk. We did three miles.

This bridge is the one that is open to traffic. The hill in the background is (I think) Ticetonyk Mountain.



These lower hills are looking to the east toward Woodstock and Hurley- just part of the lovely landscape.



This is the view down the closed road which can be walked (across the dam). I believe the jagged peak in the distance is Snake Rocks.



One thing I learned for sure is an additional piece of information about the view I showed you a few days ago. Right near the middle of this picture (zoomed in on Balsam Cap, Friday, and Cornell) there is a little pimple you can see beyond that ridge of foreground peaks. That is Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the Catskills, at 4,180 feet. It's about 5 miles beyond the foreground mountains.



High Point, which I also showed you before is just south of there. Today, the sun was setting over it. It's not a great picture, taken straight into the light, but because of another piece of info I looked up, it seems fitting to share it. Straight west of there, by about 10 miles, is the eastern terminus of the Finger Lakes Trail. Marie and I have hiked to there from the west. See May 26, 2014.



The deer are well aware that no people are allowed in to bother them.





And, just to keep a little magic in this post, we spotted a tiny ice dragon.



Nice hike, but we about froze!

Tomorrow I'll be on the move again. Stay tuned.

	See Loving the Mountains
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orChid, Koi, Catskills

 
Today was another day of non-stop errands and appointments for Marie. Of course I tagged along.

We had ourselves a mini-mini flower show by walking through the garden section of a store we were in. Don't know its name, but I like the random spots on this orchid.



They also had a pond full of Koi in an interesting variety of colors. Look near the middle of the picture and you'll see one with a purple back and orange belly.



Even though there is all kinds of traffic and wires and "stuff" in the foreground, I like this picture because it shows how the Catskill Mountains just loom all around the civilized spaces.



Tomorrow, we have a couple of short errands, but then we hope to just hang out and be together for a while. Whew.

I got my monthly newspaper column written.

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Crazy, All-Over-the-Map

 
Marie and I are back at her house, but she's gone to a meeting. At least I get to wind down a little. This whole escapade began with a medical emergency for Marie's friend, Selma, who is 90 and very independent. However, she has macular degeneration and she developed a bad infection in her good eye. The first consequence was to find a local doctor who would see her immediately. He gave her medications, but she had to go the very next day to her own doctors in New Jersey. So we set off yesterday morning on a trip south.

The doctor's appointment was long. I got to sit and read and stay up to date on the weather, but Marie had to go in and deal with all the medical responsibilities for an older person. By the time they were done, the earlier snow was changing to ice. Selma's daughter lives only about a half hour away, so we bailed out and went there. We didn't have overnight stuff with us, but we are campers. We know how to make do!

The ice did develop as we sure could see this morning.



It was beautiful, but the temperatures were rising, and by the time Marie and I left the roads were wet but clear.



One of the perks of staying at Ann's house was to play with four dachshunds. I only got picture of two of them. This is Hamilton (back) and Oliver the puppy.



Selma stayed there, because the doctor wants to see her every day. This is really pretty serious. If they can't get it cleared up she's going to lose the little sight she has left. Ann will take over for now.

So Marie and I drove back to NY through the lovely mountains.



Then we had to go to Selma's house anyway to get her regular medicines and overnight them down to Ann. Selma lives near the Ashokan Reservoir, surrounded by the mountains I showed you two days ago.



Then we ate, did shopping, and came home. Marie had a meeting and I did laundry. Crazy.

I'm hoping Selma will be well before we leave so I can take her picture with us. Right now, with a red, swollen eye, I know she wouldn't want me to share.

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Loving the Mountains (and the Moon)

 
Marie lives practically at the base of the Catskill Mountains. These surround the Ashokan Reservoir. I may have a chance to get more pictures tomorrow.

This is High Point Mountain, at just over 3000 feet.



Just to its north is a series of peaks, left to right: Hanover, Balsam Cap, Friday, Cornell, and Wittenberg Mountains. The highest is Cornell Mountain at 3800 feet. I know lovers of the west look on these peaks with disdain, but I love them.



On an even smaller scale, the rocks by the grocery store parking lot are lovely covered in snow yesterday.



Today I was able to get a long shot to show how that tilted bed of stone lies right beside the road. More on how I reached this vantage point in a minute.



We ended the day with the just-past-full Super Snow Moon. Really bright. It's supposed to be the brightest full moon of 2019 because the moon is the closest to the Earth.



Most of the day was spent with another friend, Selma. We were planning to celebrate her 90th birthday with a lunch. Well, we did that, but we also took her to the eye doctor as she was having a fairly serious emergency. The office was on the 3rd floor, so there were some great views of the same peaks that can be seen from the Reservoir. Tomorrow, we are taking her to her regular specialist in New Jersey, because her eye needs immediate attention.

I was able to do some writing, and am REALLY close to finishing Chapter 12, "The Adventures of Alice in Central New York." I'm going to try to get that done before I fall asleep. See you tomorrow, probably with adventures from a New Jersey jaunt, but mostly seen from a car.

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Into the Catskills

 
I've moved again, this time to Marie's house where I will be for the rest of my time here.

This meant a drive south through the Catskill Mountains. Pictures taken from the car, on the fly. Not the best quality, but you can get the idea.



I love the way the big houses are shoehorned into the hills. Look ahead of the car.



The Delaware River was parallel to us for most of the driving route.



Hoping to get back on some sort of modified schedule tomorrow. We'll see.

	See Sunset in the Catskills
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