Driving in the dark of an early October morning from our home in York, Maine, Hannah and I arrive at Bear Mountain State Park, New York four hours later, eager to add a new state to our list of states where we’ve hiked the AT. After parking at the Perkins Tower, the birthplace of the Appalachian Trail, we quickly descend over stone steps built into the side of the mountain in the 1930s wearing long sleeve tee shirts, sweat shirts, and pants. Spotting a thru-hiker, we learn he’s a flip flopper. He completed the northern New England part of the AT earlier in the year to beat the bad weather that comes to NH, VT, and ME in the fall, then he doubles back to complete parts of the AT in NJ, NY, and CT when the weather will be better. Asking about what he did during the heavy rain two nights before, we learn he spent the night in motel in Tuxedo, NY. My kind of hiker. Please, there’s no reason to get soaked.
Soon we hit a decaying paved sidewalk halfway hiking down the mountain, but our trail is clearly marked with white blazes (2”x6” white marks on trees or rocks), which we see ever 40-50 feet. A double white blaze means the trail turns. A blue blaze means there is a side trail. We climb down and cross Seven Lakes Drive and soon are hiking straight up West Mountain. It’s a serious climb with rocks and roots afoot. Huffing, puffing, and barely talking, we meet two guys at the top who tell us that it’s less than a mile to the West Mountain shelter. Hot damn. In all our hiking of the AT, we have not seen a shelter or a lean-to where thru hikers spend nights on their way to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. As we ridge hike, we have level terrain and magnificent views.
Soon we see the sign that has us follow the blue blazes for six-tenths miles to the shelter. Hannah wonders why would they build the shelter more than a half mile off the main trail. Immediately we see why as the opening of this three-sided stone shelter dramatically faces the wide part of the Hudson River with a canopy of trees below, with yellow and orange among the mostly green forest. In the distance we see the skyline of New York City. The platform of the three-sided shelter is wood planks, maybe eight feet wide and twenty feet long. Stone fireplaces are set in either side of the structure, with each having a metal grate for cooking meals. All of this built on a base of granite. It’s impressive, but not for Danny. Sleeping on these boards with fifteen other snoring folks is not my idea of good time.
Heading down the mountain, we need our trekking sticks as the fall’s acorns make for a slippery descent. With many people on the trail, there is a festive atmosphere as we offer to take pictures of other couples and use that time to break for conversation.
Nearly four hours later we summit at Perkins Tower to a parking lot buzzing with weekenders and nary a space to park. This is no surprise being this close to New York City and within 50 miles of at least a billion people. It’s a fabulous hike, but go early. One week later, our son Will, daughter Molly, and her finance Tip arrived in the early afternoon at the drive up to the Perkins Tower only to see the road closed to any further cars since the parking area was full.
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