LAST TREK EVER - COLD SPRING MT TAURAS

VISITED SEPT 2018


WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH.....FALL DOWN.

or .....THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY?

WEST POINT and the HUDSON from part way up MT TAURUS

Descending one of the steeper, rockier parts of the MT TAURUS trail, my arthritic knees (worn out from too much jogging back in the days with no shoes/bad shoes - not to mention years of mid-life intensive TRIATHLON TRAINING - plus some huge treks in more recent years like the GRAND CANYON EPIC, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK GALLOP, MOUNT WHITNEY JAUNT and several shorter but killer slogs around HAWAII) are killing me. They give up the challenge and down I go into a slide, tumble down the hill. Miraculously the damage is a few grazes.
It was at this point I realise that my trekking days are finished. The ol' knees can no longer support me on those rocky, slippery down-slopes. And I still have several miles back to the railway station - the first half down-hill, which busted knees HATE.

Trek route real simple - up the WASHINGTON TRAIL and down the UNDERCLIFF (yellow arrows). Total length abt 3miles/4.8km.
This area is part of HUDSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK.
Took panoramic shots at viewpoint WHITE X.
Lost trail approx at point WHITE STROKE. 
Took tumble approx where the up ARROW HEAD is positioned.

My trek up the WASHBURN TRAIL started at the far end of this ROUTE 90 parking area at LITTLE STONEY POINT approx a 1 mile/1.6 km walk west of the station. The NATIONAL PARK rangers' hut across the road was shut on an early Fall weekday but a lidded box at the trail-head contained okay maps.

This is not a difficult trek - early on slopes are flat to very gentle, later they steepen but never reach the VERY STEEP category, let alone HEARTBREAKER or DON'T SEND FLOWERS. Width varied - from fairly wide here to narrow; surface largely benign - some smoothish gravel, some broken rocks eg at the section where I had my wipe-out.

Initial sign posting seemed pretty good to me. Above is an indication the trail turns right BEFORE reaching that quarry in background.

Partway up the WASHBURN are short detours to the side where you can view surroundings. That's the lovely village of COLD SPRING below and of course the HUDSON RIVER.

The famous WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY on the opposite bank can also be seen. I cranked in a bit of telephoto to get this shot.

This is just short of the junction of the WASHBURN and the UNDERCLIFF. 

Soon after turning onto the UNDERCLIFF a mark on a rock indicates the short side-trail to the area's premier viewpoint. That's COLD SPRING (yellow) and WEST POINT (white).

Trail markers were real clear - only an idiot could get lost. Which this idiot did. But no worries friends - I have form for this. A previous report on one of the HAWAIIAN treks was titled "WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH....TURN BACK".
So I didn't waste too much time searching for the proper descent trail - I turned back to the way I'd come up, THE WASHBURN, even though research indicated it was a fair bit steeper to descend than the UNDERCLIFF. Bad knees hate steep down-hills..
Particularly rough, slippery steep down-hills. So down I went in a screaming heap.

Needless to say, the rest of the descent was taken REAL SLOW. As usual, my eyes were peeled for wild-life, something which is a necessity in the Aussie bush. Saw fewer birds than normal, no big animals, and TWO of these skinny black shakes. Experience has shown that snakes only attack when feeling threatened, so I left them to do their thing and they left me to do mine.

TREK SUMMARY
DIFFICULT? Not really. I would classify my route as MODERATE. There is an abundance of other trails and circuits in the area, most of which are longer, some of which could be more difficult. But the good thing is there is a host of online stuff which details trails, problems.
You shouldn't shy from my route by the LOST problem I had - none of the online trail descriptions mentioned this. It is simply something I'/m real good at.
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE? Well maybe not real old geezers with shot knees. But experienced trekkers will find this merely a good, short workout with some nice outlooks. Inexperienced fit types will have no problems, the unfit will maybe need a few rest stops but should do this shorter loop okay. 
KIDS?? Their energy will keep them keeping on unless they are total over-sheltered wimps. Of which we have more than a few these days - fortunately less so in the US compared to the ASIAN MIDDLE-CLASS. 
FOOTWEAR - some sections have baseball-sized sharp weathered rocks on steep slippery slopes which require better than flip-flops or lightweight sandals. Joggers would be just OK, hiking shoes better.

Can't beat quality.

POLES? Not necessary but a help on steeper slopes, Mine didn't stop my wipe-out.
CROWDS - I passed only 10 trekkers all day. The car-park had lots of spaces. However this was a (nice) early Fall weekday - I wouldn't be surprised if  high season sees way more people.
EMPATHY - back at my NYC hostel I messaged LADY TEZZA (who refuses to travel more than 4 hours from home - CHEZ TEZZA is 20 hours from NYC) that my trekking days were finished - this 73 yo old geezer was officially LAME. She answered: "THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY??" 


COLD SPRING
WHY COLD SPRING?? - I have read so much about upstate NY towns I was determined to see one. PLUS everyone says you hafta take a trip up the HUDSON. So I went online, searching for a small neat town on the HUDSON not too far from NYC which had okay trekking trails nearby. That WEST POINT, of which I've read s0 much, was in sight was a bonus. 

YELLOW depicts the RAILWAY STATION.  PASTEL PURPLE is the intersection at the top of the MAIN STREET and ROUTE 90. Turn left, go 1100m to the TRAIL HEAD PARKING AREA (BLACK).

My train from NYC departs COLD SPRING station.  

The main street goes uphill to the right from the underpass at the western end of the station.

Seemed to have more than the normal amount of trendy touristy places - I think the town gets plenty of weekend and high season visitors.

A good variety of cafes too. This is the GARDEN CAFE where I ended up post-trek.

I checked the Realter window. I was surprised how reasonable prices for pretty nice joints were in this town - but then at home we have just had a real-estate boom in Oz which has left prices crazily high.

At the top of the main street is a set of lights and the intersection of ROUTE90 - turn left for a pleasant 1100m walk to the trail head. All the houses along here were pretty neat - as a matter of fact I saw no shabby houses in the whole town.

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BACK IN TOWN AFTER THE HIKE
I had quite some time before my return train was due - so I turned down the short distance to the river at the railway station.

This is a nice area with a good waterfront park overlooking the town marina - my research had shown it is possible to rent all sorts of watercraft from an outlet here, something I could have gone for given more time.

WEST POINT can be seen down river - there is a fair amt of telephoto cranked into this shot.
BTW it is possible to do a paid tour of the academy - once again time shortage precluded this.

Nice place to relax.

The near-river area seemed to have a lot of the town's accommodation - I checked prices, hoping to do a few days in the area - sadly out of reach (even in the Fall) for this budget traveller.

I still had time after checking the above area so I decided to wander the several hundred meters back up the MAIN STREET, seeking refreshments.

GARDEN CAFE

Found just the place halfway up the hill at the GARDEN CAFE, which had a whole bunch of yummy eats, a good range of beers and some homemade SANGRIA. I love SANGRIA. 
Another plus was outside pavement tables which allowed me to check the passing scene on this late Fall weekday - surprisingly busy. However all the outside tables were taken, but some locals graciously allowed me to share their spot.

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TRAIN JOURNEY BESIDE THE HUDSON
Travel guides say if you can, do a trip up the HUDSON from NYC. Best for views is one of the river cruises, but there is no boat between NYC and COLD SPRING, besides which cruises cost a bomb which is not ideal for this bottom budget traveller - the rail trip is maybe not as scenic but is pretty good. And inexpensive! 

NYC's GRAND CENTRAL has amazing architecture and is BUSY.

0900 train uncrowded and comfortable. Quiet with big deisel loco way up front. 

It's surprising how quickly the landscape "countryfies" heading out of NYC. Not far up-river, the river and valley narrows with just enough room for the railway track and interstate each side. A pronounced escarpment is on the inland side. Blowed if I can find what that bridge or monument is.

There are several major bridges spanning the HUDSON. This is the new TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE (officially the MARIO M CUOMO BRIDGE) nearing completion. It carries the NY THRUWAY (1-87, 1-287) across river.

Further north is the BEAR MOUNTAIN BRIDGE TAKING US202 across.

Only a few km short of COLD SPRING , the famous military academy of WEST POINT can be seen across river. There is a dedicated station opposite (GARRISON).

Finally after 90 odd mins (44mi/73km) - COLD SPRING

UPDATE NOV 2021

The good news - I have 2 new knees, so maybe my heading for this page = "LAST TREK EVER" is bullshit.

We will see.

UPDATE OCT 2022

Indeed, I have just finished 2 trips - to CAIRNS/FITZROY ISL/ELLIS BCH + ULURU, KATA TJUTA/KINGS CANYON - where I did  a lot of trekking. Knees went real well endurance-wise but a mess up with post-hospital rehab meds has resulted in stiffness and loss of flexibility which have affected my balance, resulting in a slower pace than back in the day.

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