I've been back from Spain for about a month now, which is so hard to believe. A lot has happened since I returned - the largest part being that I had to immediately find a new place to live and pack up and move within two weeks. I thankfully managed it, and am completely settled in my new place and finally have some time to filter through and reflect on the past few months. I've begun translating my feelings into words and will be posting my ruminations and #deepthoughts on that experience soon, but in the meantime, I have something else to share! As part of my post-Camino meditative-therapudic needs, I've been day-hiking around NYC, something I've done for quite a while and which I can't believe I haven't written about until now!
There exists just beyond this swampy land of skyscrapers and rainbow-colored oil spills a bona fide bevy of Ferngully-type magical places to go for a walk, hike, run, or rock scramble. So I'm launching a new series of posts dedicated to my outdoorsy pursuits, which from hereafter I shall call TRAMPIN' ALISON. I'll even be rating my hikes with a sophisticated and highly subjective 1-10 scale of "Tramp Stamps."
If you've hiked around the TriState, and probably beyond, you've likely heard of Breakneck Ridge between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York. The name itself is intimidating, and while I've only heard great things about this hike and how popular it is, it's always seemed like too much of a challenge for me, and I've avoided even considering it. But that was before I walked 600 miles across Spain, and my perception of my own abilities shifted. (Honestly, more on that later!) So last Thursday I threw caution to the wind and decided that I would give it a try. And I meant that. I knew if it was too much for me and I couldn't do the hike safely, I could always turn around. With that can-do-but-won't-if-I-can't attitude, I headed off to Cold Spring, New York. Since I've heard how crowded Breakneck can be on the weekends, especially now in July, I decided to take advantage of a Thursday I had lying around.
GETTING THERE
On the weekends, Metro North (Hudson Line) stops at a dedicated Breakneck Ridge station, but on weekdays the closest you can get is Cold Spring Station, a little over 2 miles away from the trailhead along highway 9D. ($28 round trip for one peak and one non-peak ticket). I wouldn't recommend this to the car-less New Yorker, since there is only a small shoulder along the highway, and in several places there is no shoulder at all. You also have to walk through a tunnel with speeding cars which can be scary. Once through the tunnel, the trail head for Breakneck is almost immediately on the left, and you actually end up crawling up and over the tunnel you just walked through!
THE CLAMBERSCRAMBLE
I decided to take the recommended loop, the white-blazed Breakneck Trail up to a left on the Breakneck Bypass red trail and a final descent back down to 9D on the Wilkinson Memorial yellow trail. Once you've passed the stern signs that let you know this is no joke, the trail points precipitously skyward.
Your hands get put into use pretty soon as you scramble up the rocks. It's kind of like climbing up a ladder on all fours. As upward as it was, I found it exceedingly doable and I billy-goated my way up fairly quickly. The foot and handholds best taken are pretty obvious from the smoothed and dirt-less spots from all the hikers come before. And if one way seems too hard (there's a joke in here about a rock and a hard place) or not hard enough, then there's more than one way up a mountain. ;-)
You climb to two main summits, the first at ~740ft and the second and highest point at about 1,250ft, in less than a mile. You're rewarded with pano-worthy views of the Hudson River, and lots of flat areas at the summits to have a rest and take in the scenery in one of the many shaded areas. It's the kind of view that makes me wish I could stick around for sunset, and makes others do yoga poses for their Instagram (jk I also did yoga poses - gotta get that #content). Then the landscape becomes decidedly more woodsy and you begin the longer and much less steep descent off the western side of the mountain.
SAFTEY FIRST
It is not recommended to hike Breakneck Ridge alone (it's never really a great idea to do any hike alone), but sometimes you can't wait around for your friend's ankle to heal. Anytime I hike alone I ask my best friend to be my "safety person," which means you've elected a person who knows you are hiking alone, who has the ability to worry about you if they don't hear from you, and can direct rescue efforts to the best approximation of where they can find you just before you have to make some serious decisions about how much you'll need your arm. I always email a trail map and a route plan, along with train schedules I plan on taking. I check in once an hour and if something changes I make sure to let her know.
Be sure to bring plenty of water (I had 2 liters and would bring 3 in the future), some lunch or snacks, sunscreen and/or a hat and sunglasses. I cracked open my first aid kit for some Compeed, since I got a hot spot on the back of my heel (because while climbing your foot is angled in the shoe and rubs more against the back of the boot than it normally does). I also kinda burned my hands on some rocks that were directly exposed to the sun, but luckily that was only in a few passes when I didn't need to hold on too long. I also brought along a knife with a fire starter, my hiking poles which I used on the way back down, a paper trail map (but I mostly used my AllTrails app), an external battery power pack for my iPhone, and a backpacking poncho. You'll need appropriate hiking footwear, I saw a few people in sneakers and they just don't give enough grip on the rocks.
Posted signs say it will take three hours to complete. It took me four and a half hours at a fairly leisurely pace with a half hour long stop for lunch/nap.
Even though I was there on a Thursday I thought the trail was still pretty crowded. I was passed by or came up behind about 25-30 people, mostly teenagers. They were obviously annoying, haha. I was also disappointed in how much trash I saw and had to pick up, as well as how much terrible graffiti people had sprayed all over the rocks.
I would definitely come back to Breakneck Ridge, particularly because it was so much fun to climb all over rocks. I would especially love to come back to this area and explore the other trails, as there are many. I don't think I'd like to do the walk along Hwy 9D again from Cold Spring station, so would only come back during a weekday if I had a ride. For now, I'll visit again one weekend and see how the crowds are. I enjoyed my time at Breakneck Ridge, and would like to come back eventually. However, the trash, graffiti, and crowds mean I probably won't be in too big of a hurry to return.
I give this hike:
If you do drive or take the train to Cold Spring, be sure to plan some extra time to have a look around the town, or enjoy one of their many activities, like the CS Film Society Summer Film Series! Cold Spring is one of the darling little villages that help make the Hudson River Valley a wonderful weekend getaway destination for city-dwellers.
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