But lets get back to the start. Today was a PERFECT day for a hike. The temps were in the 50s, no wind, very clear day, and it was just GREAT to be outside. Bear Mountain was as imposing as ever, but I was eager to get to the top of the bad boy. I strapped my Camelbak on and walked over to the Major Welch Trail to start the climb.
There are two ways to the top of Bear Mountain. One was the Appalachian Trail, a roundabout and less steep way up, and the other was the Major Welch Trail, which is a hard, direct slog up the north face of the mountain. Here is the map of the route:
If you are fit enough to make it up the rough, steep rock face of the Major Welch Trail, the scenery of the Hudson River is well worth it. Absolutely beautiful! I'll post the photos here soon once I get the time to download them from my camera.
The fall foliage just adds to the beauty of this park. Getting to the top of the mountain is strenuous activity, but it took me about 50 minutes to get to Perkins Tower at the top of the mountain.
After snapping some pics it was time to come down via the Appalachian Trail. Although there are some tricky sections down this part of the Appalacian Trail, it was such a pleasant trip down I could've run most of it (boy I was tempted, but I stood patient so that I can soak in the scenery as I went). It took me about 1.5 hours to get back down to the parking lot.
Getting close to the bottom however I started to hear some music across the lake coming from the Bear Mountain Motel. And wouldn'cha know it! It was Oktoberfest!
The stein of beer just hit the spot, especially after a nice hard hike.
Overall, the end of a pretty good week. One more week to go in this "getting back to training" 4 week mesocycle. So far so good.
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