House Rules for the Hiker n0obs (beginner hikers):
1) Hunting season is from October 1 - December 19, 2017. Please wear orange or bright colors to signify that you are not a piece of flesh to be slaughtered senselessly. :)
2) Wear hiker appropriate clothing. Hills aren’t steep but they can be on an incline and you always want to choose sneakers/boots with good ankle support when on an incline for an extended period of time.
3) Pets are not allowed - we did see a dog and its owner but I think since it the history of the reserve is to grow and preserve different types of fauna, any secretions from pets or animals would be damaging and no one is monitoring to make sure that is clean hence the rule.
4) Sign in/sign out properly and don’t be like me and forget to log our sign-out time! I hope no one is ever curious and if you go after reading this blog, please sign me out! We were there until 5:00 PM on 10/07. You would be the best!!
5) Watch your step, wear bug spray (I have matching mosquito bites on each forearm in the same place) and enjoy the best season of the year!!
After reading Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods,” journaling his endeavor on the Appalachian Trail, as a city person who prefers her Keds to trail boots any day, I knew I wanted no part of any of it.
Yet I find myself very drawn to going to a beginner hiking trail near NYC during the fall - because nothing beats a New York autumn (except maybe a more Northeastern autumn...like Boston or Vermont or Connecticut but THAT IS IT).
So on Saturday morning I strong-armed a good friend of mine to get up and drive us to somewhere called the Pawling Nature Reserve. I Googled “upstate NY hikes” for 5 minutes before settling on it, I had my friend who had a car and I was going to experience New York in the fall. There was something called a Pawling Appalachian Trail but that one seemed to be a further drive and the nature reserve I picked had enough trails and I didn’t want anything to do with the Appalachian Trail anyway because befriending a bear was not on my list.
So off we went to the Pawling Nature Reserve. It is one the easiest hiking trails near NYC in terms of convenience because getting there by train is a cinch. You can hike straight from the train station to the trail - the trail is accessible via the Metro-North from Grand Central Station in Midtown to Pawling station.
As we drove, we had our thoughts about trying to go anywhere new, especially as POC (people of color). There are tips about passing along “trail magic”, aka nuts, seeds and trail mix when meeting new hikers on the paths. And it’s not like my friend and I were aggressive people at all but I’ve been snubbed before in so-called “friendly white spaces” so that was something we decided to take a risk on. I dutifully brought along two trail magic bags filled with almonds and we navigated our way out past the city and up to where the foliage really began, onto route 22 in search of a much quieter state of mind than that one from the Empire State concrete jungle we are all familiar with.
Following directions towards the Nature Reserve meant we passed by two swatches of “Private Property, No Trespassing sign” that lined both sides of the road for us as we drove up North Quaker Hill, where Google Maps was leading us. It definitely felt like gun country, which in light of the Las Vegas Stephen Paddock incident, was enough to make us nervous - but the signs were on trees on either sides of us, not in front of us ---- so we took it to mean that the path we were on was correct, but we were not to veer off the path in any way shape or form. Nor did we.
We slowly cruised along until we happened upon a small 5-car parking lot and finally figured out that we arrived! We New Yorkers were thoroughly confused by the “no lines, no fees” situation that is the Pawling Nature Reserve. Just “take a map, pick a trail” and be on your merry way. Well if more day trails near NYC end up like the Pawling adventure, I just may end up on the Appalachian Trail more often because lo and behold - the Pawling Nature Reserve was actually THE part of the Appalachian Trail near NYC that I was so dedicated on avoiding!! [I told you - I really only did 5 minutes of Googling]
We walked until we found the guide set up by The Nature Conservancy
Of course we registered and took out a map as well to guide us through the 4-5 paths in the reserve. We took the smallest path as we both had to get back home to Queens and admittedly started pretty late in the day and knew the park was closing at dusk - though dusk really meant “dark” in that part, I believe.
From the Pawling Nature Reserve parking lot, we turned left onto the Red trail, then WALKED ALONG THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL (wasn’t on my bucket list before but I guess it’s checked off now!) and then onto the Green trail back to the parking lot. Overall it’s not really a steep hill at all and it was great fun being around the crunchy leaves and honestly - was dead empty. All of my friends go to the same 7 places around NYC - Bear Mountain loop, Sam’s Point, Breakneck Ridge, Storm King. It was nice to go somewhere I’d never heard of - and still be on the famous Appalachian trail that has triumphed many a hiker. Maybe I’ll do a series of Appalachian trails. Never all at once and never the whole thing (sorry Georgia state) but getting out of my comfort zone was definitely a great feeling. If you have other instances where you are able to go outside of your comfort zone this week, I’d love to hear about it! Take care. <3
