The Jewish Outdoors Club

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” (Vivian Greene)

Congratulations to all the hydrophilic hikers who completed JOC’s second annual Start of Summer Hike to Bull Hill this past Sunday. We are sorry the hydrophobic hikers chose not to join us. Here’s a recap of our dry adventure.

Stats

For those of you keeping score at home: twelve adventurous Jews, six hours, not one but two summits, six viewpoints, approximately 1800-1900 feet of elevation gain, one forgotten and then retrieved camera, zero injuries, and zero shoe fatalities.

Trail Route

We started on the Washburn Trail (white) which took us up 1300-1400feet, all the way to the top of Bull Hill (a.k.a. Mount Taurus). Along the way we were treated with one view to the southeast (Nelsonville, Cold Spring, and on into Westchester county) and several views to the northwest (Hudson River and beyond). We had lunch on the summit of Bull Hill at a nice viewpoint facing northwest, which included the Hudson, Breakneck Ridge, Fishkill Ridge, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.

After lunch, we continued for a bit on white and then picked up the Notch Trail (blue), which we followed through s peaceful, forested area along the mostly imaginary stream. We turned left for a short stretch on the Brook Trail (red), which followed a real, rushing brook called Breakneck Brook. Upon reaching a bridge, instead of crossing it or continuing passed it, Nachi revealed his secret plan to again ascend 500 feet, via the Undercliff Trail (yellow) to an unnamed overlook of the Hudson and points north. This was arguably our best viewpoint of the day, especially since the weather had cleared considerably and we all stopped to enjoy the breeze and the scene. The group then proceeded along yellow until the intersection with white, turned right onto white and descended 1000 feet the same way we came up completing the lollipop route, which was approximately six miles (with a margin of error of up to two miles).

Post-Hike Hike

After the hike, five of the group remained to spend some time exploring the local area and socializing. Yair, who was the inspiration for our post-hike explorations, led the group on a “hike” to Little Stony Point, a picturesque spot on the shore of the Hudson River facing Storm King Mountain. When we saw stormy clouds approaching and the Mexicans retreating we took our cue and ducked back into our cars just in time to avoid being drenched by a powerful, but brief, downpour.

We then drove about five minutes into the town of Cold Spring. We disembarked, still dry, and proceeded to “hike” up and down Main Street in search of a store still open at 5 pm. At last, we settled on a breakfast shop (empty, yet somehow still open) and ordered (non-alcoholic) drinks to avoid dehydration. We settled around a table on the porch outside the store to hear Yair and Reuvain compare tales of their, recent and not-so-recent respectively, youthful escapades throughout the rural and urban landscapes of Israel and Jennifer chipped in with tidbits about growing up in the Midwest. Between sips we were graced with glorious late afternoon sunshine, passing runs by the town’s (only) police car and fire jeep, and the nostalgic trolley (“Oh no Prince Tuesday I think there’s trouble in the castle, we must run and warn Lady Elaine!”). Reluctantly, we “hiked” back to our cars, on the way discovering the quote this recap opened with posted in one of the (closed, of course) storefronts, which we promptly adopted as the theme of our day.

Weather Report

6:26 am: Cell phone rings 20 minutes before my alarm clock. (Anonymous hiker): “Nachi, is the hike still on?” “Yes, yes unless you actually see it raining its still on.”

And so went the morning with callers afraid of getting struck by lightning calling one by one to drop out. Scared off by reports of thunder showers by every site from AccuWeather, weather.com, the US Army Engineer Corps, and ModernProphets.org, our ranks dropped by almost half.

Nevertheless, the few, the brave, the proud, and the optimistic, or foolhardy depending on how you view it, carried on as if all was peaceful in the kingdom. In the end, the only real rain showers occurred while I was driving to the hike and almost immediately after I pulled out of the parking area upon leaving the hike. Except for some drizzles, that I accused Shaily of imagining, there was no precipitation, thunder, or lightning during the hike proper. Yay!

Health Report

12 in and 12 out, 100% survival rate, & thank G-d the first aid kit was never even unzipped. Reuvain claims to have been stung by a bee but it was after the hike was officially over so it doesn’t count.

If you haven’t already, inspect yourself for ticks. A red ring or pinkish circle with a black dot in the center resembling a bulls’ eye should be shown to a medical profession. Type in ‘deer tick’ in a Google image search to see what they look like.

Thank You Section

Thank you to:

- Shaily Tabak, my loyal co-leader, who single-handedly coordinated registration and ride share information with a smile on her face throughout (I think). This hike would not have even gotten off the ground if she did not accept this challenge so graciously; another job well done.

- All the generous drivers, most of us could not have gotten there without you, literally.

- Metro-North for delivering Maya, and even Yair, to Cold Spring in a timely fashion.

- Our orienteering staff, Yair L., who faithfully followed the trail markers wherever they went, even when that meant ascending again.

- Our sweep staff, Rachel W. and Shaily T., for making sure nobody was left behind to be eaten by the bears.

- Jennifer S., our resident nurse, for volunteering to bring and carry first aid supplies and to G-d for not giving us reason to use it.

Thank you all for joining me on another exciting adventure. I hope to see you again soon at other JOC events. Check the website for upcoming trips and have a great summer.

See you on the trails!

Nachi & Shaily