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| We're told there was ice a week ago when they were here; winter is slowly saying its goodbye for now. |
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| A section of the Hudson River in Cold Spring; Beacon (the next town) is toward the right side of the picture |
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| one of the many ponds we saw along the trail |
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| West Point is where that island-like land formation shown in this picture |
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| Jeff E & myself; Jeff's the one who shared the pictures here from his phonecamera |
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| sleepy, tired me! |
I finally
made it with other members of Sundance Outdoor Adventure Society again one weekend and this time it's at Mt Taurus in Cold Spring. With 8 others in that trip, I felt safe and
confident that I would complete the day hike even if I barely slept the night
before because I had to be in a farewell party at a friend's house in Queens. I
managed to wake up early enough and was soon waiting for my friend Jeff E (who shared all the pictures I've in this blog posting) whose reminder text to me the
night before I only got to read at the Grand Central Terminal. I was soon
chatting earnestly with another Sundance member, Robert (who I learned later, had
been to the Philippines) as we waited for other members to arrive.
Thankfully, the
hike was uneventful in the sense that nothing untoward happened. My state of
mind during the hike was sluggish (it must be the red wine, the good food, the
ecstatic singing, the company I had the pleasure of sharing the previous night).
I was even telling Jeff E that I felt like I was attracting some bad elements
that I feared would in turn hurt me--I felt no confidence in crossing one of
the streams we faced along the trail and had my left shoe getting wet. I then
proceeded to say my usual personal invocations to myself, and thankfully
nothing as or more worst came about.
We were soon
at the spot close to the peak before noon where we gathered and had lunch
together. I delighted at the exchange and the chance to listen to mini-stories
from others who joined the hike as we rested, and took time to
enjoy the marvelous 360-degree view before us. I heard from someone that the island-like
land formation along the Hudson River belongs to the famous West Point Military
Academy site. I also took notice of a number of other hikers, some of whom had
their huge dogs joining and playing with them.
We were also
figuring out the outlines of NYC's familiar skyline of tall structures--I do hope then
that we were correct with what our eyes could figure out. A powerful pair of
binoculars would have easily confirmed this. The rest of the trail leading to
the descent after lunch time could be considered easy, relatively. This can be particularly true
if one's used to hiking on many occasions before (which I did myself when I was
younger) and still relatively fit and healthy. I also recall having a kinda
lengthy chat with Ron, who's a theater teacher, while the group's pursuing the trail, which gave me the
opportunity to practice ideas that have been churning in my mind lately about
my other works.
Most of us
joined an early dinner at the Depot, which I understand used to be the train
station in Cold Spring. The conversation flowed in wonderfully amidst the
rolling of huge trains every now and then at least 8 feet away from the table
where our group was gathered. The temperature was soon dropping and I felt
chilly. As we walked back to the train station, I promised myself I'll join
another trip with these enthusiastic fellows as soon as my schedule will allow
it.
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