Date: 2015-06-11
From: Arden Valley Road (Tiorati Circle)

To: Bear Mountain Bridge (Hudson R.)
Miles today: 14.4

We enjoyed our last night in Greenwood Lakes at Murphy's Tavern. I broke out of my shepherds pie rut and landed penne pasta a la vodka. Another good choice. Our shuttle driver, Matt got up a bit earlier this AM and delivered us to the Arden Valley trailhead by 7. Then he drove on to Ft. Montgomery to take our backpacks to our next layover so that we could slack-pack. He was really good to us and we enjoyed the stay at Anton's on the Lake. It promised to be a very nice day (although there was a chance of a morning shower). As it turned out, we saw no rain - but it got extremely hot and humid. The first 4 miles or so were pleasant and took us to the William Brien Shelter. This shelter is built of stone with an unusual design, and it nestles at the base of a steep rock climb. The flip-flop group we met at Anton's stayed here last night, but had already left before we reached the shelter. Several miles further on we reached the top of Black Mountain. The AT Guide suggested that we might be able to see the NYC skyline from the summit. But the humidity in the air obscured the long-range view. There was a long descent from Black during which we crossed the Palisades Parkway. It's a 4-lane divided highway and wasn't easy to cross. After some additional descent, we started up West Mountain. The ascent up West was long and steep, or at least it seemed that way to me. We had more good view points as we swung around the mountain, eventually facing Bear Mountain. Along the way we caught up with the flip-flop group taking a break. Also along the way, Princess saw another snake, a rattlesnake. This was a young snake, perhaps 2 to 2 1/2 feet long. This time we both took pics - from a distance. After descending from West, our next target was Bear Mountain. This mountain is unique because much of the ascent and descent trails are over stone steps. The steps are amazing and must have taken years to construct. There is no surface masonry visible, so the rocks are carefully fitted in place. Nonetheless, even with steps, the ascent had me sweating and totally wore me out. Both of us noted that the grounds around the observation tower are not as neatly kept as last year. It was overgrown with grass and weeds. The concession stand is closed for renovation - with no apparent work underway. So we settled for drinks from the vending machines. As we were resting with our cold drinks, I overheard a nearby hiker say that he had found a poncho several weeks ago. I asked him about it and it turned out that it was the poncho that Princess lost. His name was Disciple and he said he carried it through 2 states hoping to find the owner. The bad news was that he finally gave up the day before and donated it to a hiker box at the last hostel. Princess already has a replacement, so she wouldn't need it anyway. The trail down from Bear Mountain also had stone steps and eventually led to the Bear Mountain Inn and then on to the Trailside Museum. We called from the end of the bridge over the Hudson River and got a shuttle to our lodging for tonight, the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel. So now we're settled in, digesting a good BBQ dinner and getting ready for a very long hike tomorrow. It's 9:00 - hiker midnight.