Urban Hiking with Gabriel

On Monday, Gabriel and I set off on a long awaited adventure(This was originally supposed to be a Father's Day hike, but on that day, my 3 year old was acting like, well, a 3 year old, so we postponed the trip).  Little known to most people, as soon as you leave Manhattan over the George Washington Bridge, you can get on The Long Path, a hiking trail that connects Manhattan to Albany, spanning over 300 miles. Gabriel and I had quite a plan: subway to 175th street, get out with our scooters and scooter all the way over the GW bridge, get on the Long path and hike about 1 mile to the cliffs for a spectacular view of Manhattan, have lunch there, then hike back to the bridge, scooter back across, and ride the subway home.  An ambitious plan, but a fun way to do a hiking trip without hardly leaving the city.  Plus, one of Gabriel's favorite books is "The Little Red lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge" which tells the story of the construction of the GW and the little red lighthouse that they built it over.  Getting to ride over it on a scooter will simply be mind blowing for him. Time to take off!!

We hopped on the uptown C-train about 7:30, and nice enough it was empty, most people are heading downtown to work.

 Only a few short minutes after leaving the subway station at 175th street, we were making our way across the GW!  Can you feel the excitement?

 Amazing!

  So, we stopped at the first main support and were enjoying the view when I pointed out a point of interest directly below us: The little red lighthouse!

After spotting the lighthouse, Gabriel immediately wanted to go see it.  The problem with this is its at least a mile and half from where we were and we would not have enough time for the hike if we did that.  Seeing how excited Gabriel was to see it in real life from above, I couldn't imagine what he would think if he were in front of it.  So, change of plans, we ditched the rest of he hike as planned, turned around, and headed for the lighthouse.  Funny thing about this area, if you are not familiar with the area, you will NEVER find your way onto the bridge or down below the bridge.  The pathways are hidden and out the way and sometimes do not make sense where they go.  The reason:  the GW is the most traveled bridge in the world, 107 million cars a year, and it has a mess of on and off ramps and access roads.  So, its  a giant knot of roads that is hard to get around.  Fortunatley, i run so much in this area, i am well versed in how to get around (after getting lost many times myself in past years)

 We did a U-turn, left the bridge, and wound through the surface streets to fins access to underneath the bridge.  We actually went north for about 5 blocks then made our way down to the water.  Then, after a mile or so through the woods, over bridges and under tunnels..........The Little Red Lighthouse!

 Gabriel was thrilled and could not believe what he was seeing. We ran around the grounds, played on the gates, threw rocks, and finally sat down long enough to eat lunch.  Then quickly up for more playing.

 Next, we discovered large boulders near the lighthouse, so of course it was time to play on those!

 and pretend we were sleeping!

The lighthouse is how big?

Then, we spent almost an hour throwing sticks and rocks in the water and climbing over sharp jagged rocks.....

So, as the day wore on, we needed to start making our way home, but how?  Going back the way we came would be going uphill steep for miles, and the other direction we would have to go down to 155th street to get the pedestrian bridge, or at least that's what Gmaps will tell you.  There is another way, and I would call this the Modern Ruins, a maze of forgotten pathways and tunnels that twist and turn through the mess of the off ramps and the West side highway.  I run through here, and I NEVER see a soul.  And for good reason: there is only 1 good route through it, its over grown and secluded and would be scary to a tourist, the roar of all the highway can be deafening, and there isn't much to really see.  Google will definitely not route you this way! But, there is something so mysterious and magical about seeing an area that once was thriving and to imagine what it used to be like.  This is one of my little favorite New York secrets.  In a city of 9 million, a place you can go where people will not bother you

 Gabriel had a blast running up and down the stairs, as has been a favorite of his since he could walk!

 Cheese!

Taking a break

Bravely standing next to the Westside Highway

Emerging from the tangle of paths

Gorgeous, right? I know it seems on odd place to want to hike in and take time to see, and I'm sure I could not convince anyone to actually do it. I'm sure the Romans and the Greeks thought that their broken statues and toppled temples and pillars looked horrible and disgusting and a total disgrace, but now we marvel at them and are amazed at what once was.  I think about it that way, and funny enough, in the distant future, people will be giving tours of the "Ruins of NYC" and about how great this society once was and marveling at all the things that are broken and in bad repair.  Gabriel and I are just getting the tour now while its free!!

Our last stop, we're by the hospital on Riverside drive, Gabriel needs a break and snack, and I actually carry him the rest of the way.  We had covered over 3 miles on scooter and by foot, and he was exhausted!  Together, we had a great morning, and so happy to redeem the Father's Day Hiking trip, which is a special tradition for me every year!  I was so over joyed to see Gabriel be able to step into one of his books, and be able to explore and play outside in nature, in a place where you would not expect to be.  Thanks for a great Day Gabriel, and I am so excited to think that next year, Judah will get to join us!  I love you big boy, and so glad you enjoyed the trip!