Looking back, it was all clear vistas,tranquil stops at Hudson heights
and beaches, a visit to an old cemetery,
and a walk throughNyack with its victorian houses and many shops
and a cafe offering a nonfat yogurt treat...
... but the bus broke down,
and we arrived in Upper Nyack
to find the hikers and leaders long gonefrom the meeting place...
One of the eight of us stranded at the bus stop
had hiked this trail before and offered to lead.
After agreeing to stick to AMC rulesby not leaving the trail for any reason without notifying the leader,
we headed north on 9W, and then over the rail onto the aqua trail.
(dum, duh-dumm dumm...)
The beginner tramp - up for an easy pace -
struggled on the rocks as the ad hoc group bushwacked
-- and suffered a hornet's sting in the belly - owwww!!
Did you know that you must scrape the stinger out with a finger nail or credit card?
The expert tramp was alternately sweep and liason between group and breathless straggler, the gap between the two ever widening as the graceless, sweating one insisted on stopping twice to drink.
Unfortunately, the lead person fell. Fortunately, she was uninjured,
and the pace became less frenetic.
An hour out, as all hope was lost, voices to the right prompted us to shout out the leader's name, and, yes... he answered. We joined the greater group and continued comfortably with our official guide.
Courage to hit the trails next week?
