First off, I’m so relieved that Irma finally decided to GTFO of Florida without catastrophic damage.
Yes, the damage was bad in some areas, yes many people are still without power, but it was nothing like it could have been. They were calling for a lot of the state to receive as much as 15 feet of storm surge, which would have put thousands of homes underwater.
So far, most of my friends and family have received some flooding, a little bit of damage and the inconvenience of no electricity (which, I can tell you, sucks very much in September in Florida), but for the most part they survived with their homes intact.
I’m so grateful. Watching that all unfold from a thousand miles away was torture.
Anyway. To get our minds off everything Irma for a few hours this weekend, John and I decided to go for a hike. Early Saturday morning we jumped on a northbound train and headed out of the city up to Breakneck Ridge.
Breakneck Ridge is part of Hudson Highlands State Park, a mountainous area bordering the Hudson River about 50 miles north of Manhattan. There are endless hiking trails throughout the park’s 6,000 acres, but Breakneck Ridge is one of the most popular among city folk (ew, I said city folk). It has its own train stop, which makes getting there from the city super easy.
To get there, take the Metro North Hudson line–the green line on the map below–bound for Poughkeepsie. On weekends, trains depart every hour from Grand Central Station and Harlem at E 125th Street. From there, you’ll stay on the train about an hour and 15 minutes until you get to the Breakneck Ridge stop.
It’s important to note that the Breakneck Ridge stop isn’t an actual station. The train basically stops and lets hikers off on the side of the tracks near the trailhead. The train only makes a stop here on weekends and holidays. All other times you’ll need to take the Cold Spring stop and walk about 1.5 miles to the trailhead.
Aside from the name itself, I was nervous about Breakneck Ridge because other people on the train with us were geared up like they were about to take on Everest. They had giant packs and hiking poles and crazy boots laced halfway up their shins. Johnny and I had on tennis shoes and gym clothes, which for me may or may not have been the clothes I slept in the night before #noshame.
One of the guys on the train turned to his buddy and asked, “how hard is it, really?”
With a look on his face that can only be described as douchey, his buddy responded “oh, it’s a 10 out of 10.”
Great.
When we got to the trailhead, a friendly parks employee there eased my worries a bit.
“The first 30 minutes are the hardest part,” he said. “After that it’s easy. You’ll be fine.”
And off we went.
He wasn’t joking—the first half hour or so was challenging. It’s basically straight up a mountain of rocks, with lots of scrambling and hoisting and slipping of feet. The nice thing is that there are little trail markers along the way pointing less ambitious hikers (me) toward an “easier ascent,” which basically means the trail is at slightly less of an incline with fewer dicey rocks to climb on.
At one point I decided I was a professional climber and tried the more difficult route. I spent about ten minutes lying diagonally across a steep, slippery rock surface inching my way up it, slug style. Though my pride took a hit, I eventually made it to the top.
My best advice for the first segment of this hike is just stick it out because it’ll be over quickly. Once the tough climbing is done, you’re immediately rewarded with a gorgeous, sweeping view of the lower Hudson Valley.
Once you’ve taken in the view and snapped all the selfies your little heart desires, you have a few choices. You can take your pick of several different color-coded trails ranging in length from about 1.5 to 4 more miles. Each of the trails take a different loop, but all of them eventually pop you back out on State Route 9D near one of the train stops.
Since we were on a schedule (we left Bo back in the city), we decided to take the shortest of the trails. If you’re looking at the map below, we took white –> yellow –> red –> blue, which took about two hours round trip.
The blue trail (yes, I’m aware there’s probably a name for it other than ‘blue trail’) eventually leads you directly to the village of Cold Spring, which is a great spot to stop for lunch and a beer.
To get back to the city, you can either make your way back to the Breakneck Ridge train stop or get on directly at the Cold Spring Station.
While this trail allows dogs, I would not recommend bringing your pooch on Breakneck Ridge. Even a hiking-experienced dog will have trouble keeping his footing on the first part of the trail, and there are lots of opportunities for accidents. If you want to bring your pup, try the Cornish Estate trail loop, which eliminates the scrambling part of the climb.
This hike was the perfect distraction from the storm and a great day trip to get out of the city. If you’re thinking of doing it, don’t let douches on the train intimidate you. It was challenging, but I definitely wouldn’t call it a 10/10. Just take your time, let the would-be Everest climbers pass you, and enjoy the view from the top.
