Lemon Squeezer x2 (Sort Of)

I know in my heart of hearts that I am happiest when I get a chance to get outside. These days it seems more and more difficult to make the effort, regardless of the fact that I know I'll enjoy it. This year, however, I've made a commitment to two longer hikes on the AT. The first one will be a 3 day hike in Maine. The second will be a 5 day hike from PA to NJ in August. So it's time for me to get my butt back in gear. My most recent hike was one I had done before, which happened to be my longest hike to date. That time I hiked from Elk Pen through Lemon Squeezer, past the Boston Mine, and then promptly proceeded to get lost. I was basically trying to follow this hike. By mile 9ish or so, Tyger was finally exhausted and I had to carry him for a bit. Compound this with the fact that it was August and the heat was not helping. Plus there were little gnats all in my eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. As miserable as it got, I was still proud of it. 

It was too bad that the only pictures I have from the first hike are low-quality ones from my last phone.

Mountainview Nature Park

This is a throwback to when we actually were experiencing winter earlier this year in February...not that I want to rush things (even if our weather has been lagging behind.)  On that particular day I had taken Sadie and Tyger out for a stroll through the woods in a place not too far from where I grew up. Mountainview Nature Park contains 83 acres of woods, acquired by Rockland County in 1979. Descriptions I read of the park promised a mildly interesting 2.5 mile hike along various trails, including "the Goat Trail," known it's narrow, rocky path. As a fan of goats and of short hikes when there is snow on the ground, I was sold.

Entance

Carson City & Indian Village: Abandoned Theme Park

A couple of weekends ago, I drove up to the Catskill, NY with my sister and her boyfriend to explore an abandoned zoo (Catskill Game Farm) and a separate, unrelated theme park, Carson City and Indian Village. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the previous post, exploring the Catskill Game Farm didn't work out as planned, which was a real bummer to me. I had seen some pretty sweet pics of the interior and was really excited to check it out. Carson City, to be honest, was kind of an afterthought. And yet it turned out to be pretty worth it. Funny how life and circumstance works out that way sometimes.

Credit: http://photos.aroundcarson.com/details/1436

Catskill Game Farm

Not much to say about this one. It once was zoo that charmed children and adults alike, but it shut down in 2006. It is now privately owned and the owners are trying to get it back up and running. I spoke to one of them (super friendly dude with a super cute dog) and intend on getting a tour through the abandoned zoo sometime this spring, so you'll have to wait for that. In the mean time, here are two pictures of the entrance.

Two Years and Halsey Pond

I'm proud to say that this little blog has made two years old. There has been a bit of a lull in activity, but lately inspiration has struck. I found myself on two adventures very recently. This first one is my brief stroll around Halsey Pond. The second was a two-part adventure up to the Catskills. More on that one to follow. Unfortunately, I didn't have my real camera on me for this first adventure, just my phone.

Watkins Glen

I wanted to say that this post is a milestone as far as previous entries go. I wanted to say that this was the farthest destination I've documented. But if I claimed that, I'd be lying. After all, I did briefly post some photos of New Orleans, which is significantly farther from me than Watkins Glen. (That post was rather lack-luster I will admit.)

What I can say though, is that this park was truly a destination. It was profound. I had never experienced a landscape like that before and I was totally blown away. First off, I don't doubt that walking through the trail astounds everyone, but I had the pleasure of taking the long way which made all the difference.

Split Rock Reservoir

If you happen to visit this place, just a warning -- the gravel road that leads to the parking area that I happened to park in is a bit treacherous. And the trails don't seem to be maintained at all. And the GPS coordinates from the NY-NJ TC website don't actually lead you to the parking lot. But the reservoir was pretty and so was the fall foliage.