What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Everything changes and from what I can see summer vacation is no different. In the old days, we’d use our time off to explore the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and the south central Adirondacks.

water-sports

We’d push our week or ten days of time off as late in the season as possible. That time right after Labor Day is possibly the best time of the year in the mountains, outside of ski season.

Now we take it when we can get it. When our daughter entered kindergarten, like many families, we moved our vacation into late August, after camp and before school. Sometimes, our schedule of activities shortens that long week in the mountains into a long weekend.

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Gertrude’s Nose Hike: A Gunks Classic

As I discovered on a recent weekend while trying to park at Lake Minnewaska, it’s hard to call the Gunks hiking scene “overlooked.”

Gertrudes Nose hike

Granted it may seem that way to obsessed rock climbers and skiers who drive by searching for taller mountains. Still, after being pleasantly surprised by the in-lot snack shack, it was nice to see how empty the trails were once you got past the Minne swimming area.

I was on my way to rediscover a seminal Gunks hike, venturing out for a loop from the lake to Gertrude’s Nose, and then up to Millbrook Mountain.

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Hiking Wawayanda State Park

John Muir wrote elegantly about the power of nature to heal, but nothing helps more than good advice from a friend. I had just been advised to “put some dirt under my feet.”

Hiking Wawayanda State Park

Rough patches come and go, that’s life. More importantly, my friend Jules had yet to be out on a hike since giving birth, and the new mom was dying to take advantage of offers to watch her child and get out outside.

Picking a destination wasn’t easy because I’ve managed to check off many of the good spots near the city already. One clear void in my day-hiking resume has been this blurry mass south of Rockland County near Wawayanda State Park. Looking at the map, I saw the opportunity for a nice lollipop; 5-7 miles of lakes and a fire-tower.

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