Since our son is leaving in nine days to attend a school in Scarsdale NY, we went yesterday on our annual September ride in the gorgeous Shawangunks 65 miles north of us. My Minnewaska reports are all pretty similar, for example this classic from 17 years ago. It's like listening to a greatest-hits album that still doesn't bore you decades later.
This time we took a counter-clockwise route on two lesser-ridden trails.
It's been very dry this summer; however, I haven't heard about any fires.
All of the bushes you see along the trails are wild blueberries. If there was a blueberry version of a cotton gin, they could create an entire industry here. They're everywhere/smaller but tastier than cultivated blueberries.
A couple hundred feet above Lake Awosting.
Going down to lake level:
Now that we're in September, they're carrying out a lot of trail repair work.
This closure was unfortunate as I'd brought my bathing suit for a dip on the other side of the isthmus in the background:
We're on the lower Hamilton carriage road, which doesn't provide a view of the lake but is still scenic:
Claude and I with the rock formation Gertrude's Nose in the distance:
A closer look at Gertrude's with the outline of the Berkshires 30 miles away:
Arriving at Lake Minnewaska:
Finishing up at the far end of the lake:
So they don't disappear into the ether, I'll add some pix of my brother from Denver in August 2023 on his first visit to Minnewaska. Here's a nice stretch of the white quartz conglomerate that you find throughout the park, aka Shawangunk Slickrock:
Overhang:
Overhang reverse shot:
Me swimming in Lake Awosting. Not sure how the helmet ended up in the water:
In front of Gertrude's Nose:
A shockingly dry Awosting Falls:
This is how it normally looks. It was fun to swim underneath until they banned going in the water there in the late 2010s.
This time we took a counter-clockwise route on two lesser-ridden trails.
It's been very dry this summer; however, I haven't heard about any fires.
All of the bushes you see along the trails are wild blueberries. If there was a blueberry version of a cotton gin, they could create an entire industry here. They're everywhere/smaller but tastier than cultivated blueberries.
A couple hundred feet above Lake Awosting.
Going down to lake level:
Now that we're in September, they're carrying out a lot of trail repair work.
This closure was unfortunate as I'd brought my bathing suit for a dip on the other side of the isthmus in the background:
We're on the lower Hamilton carriage road, which doesn't provide a view of the lake but is still scenic:
Claude and I with the rock formation Gertrude's Nose in the distance:
A closer look at Gertrude's with the outline of the Berkshires 30 miles away:
Arriving at Lake Minnewaska:
Finishing up at the far end of the lake:
So they don't disappear into the ether, I'll add some pix of my brother from Denver in August 2023 on his first visit to Minnewaska. Here's a nice stretch of the white quartz conglomerate that you find throughout the park, aka Shawangunk Slickrock:
Overhang:
Overhang reverse shot:
Me swimming in Lake Awosting. Not sure how the helmet ended up in the water:
In front of Gertrude's Nose:
A shockingly dry Awosting Falls:
This is how it normally looks. It was fun to swim underneath until they banned going in the water there in the late 2010s.
