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Welcome My name is Tess. I'm a 9-5 New Yorker and traveler. My hobbies include destroying suitcases, photo-bombing tourists in Times Square, and taking long romantic ADHD walks around the globe. Welcome!

Apr 8, 2013

Hiking, Snake Charming and Vodka Shots - Spring Has Sprung


Conquering Cold springs - Mt Taurus trail

We ain't `fraid of no mountains!

Don't you just hate those people!? 

You know, the kind that own backpacks and hiking gear, puffy vests and bikes n whatnot? The folks that get a crew of people together and as soon as the weather breaks, they wanna climb mountains and shyte! Puhleeease! You know what I'm talkin about?!

Walking through the quaint village of Cold Springs on out way to the trail head

Well count me as one of THOSE people! Because the onset of warm weather gets into my bones and sets off the Daniel Boone spirit in meh!  So we gathered our crew, some of the finest outdoors men and women of New York city and shot up north to Cold Springs NY to scale the face of Mt. Taurus and Bull Hill.

That there, on four legs is Smity, our resident pitbull watching as we scale the dilapidated stone structures on the trail

I know what some of you  highfalutin folk are thinking "Sounds like a horror movie waiting to happen?!  and "Hell Nah! I don't do woods" and of course "Why that hell would i wanna walk for 4 hours?" Well then, I can truly say that, it sucks to be you! Because you have no idea how much a spring hike with 15  amazing people and one extremely lovable pit bull can be ! 


The mountain is full of copper head snakes but I have no idea which kind this is 

We saw wildlife that came to greet us along the trail. And while many of the ladies took off at speed that Usain Bolt would be envious of,  yours truly picked it up with a branch and then one of my peeps picked it up by the tail. (I'll admit sniffing fresh air for too long can make you do some crazy shyte) 

Shawny leaves the Hudson behind her

We encountered a pond of hundreds of the horniest frogs doing the nasty  - it was a froggy-orgy and they could be heard across the mountian. Somebody commented  that if  you ain't you making noise then you ain't doing it right!  That would make these frogs pros!

It's a froggy affair

The Facts: Mount Taurus is part of the Hudson Highlands State Parks  department.  It's a scenic six mile hike classified as moderate with regards to the difficulty level. The best part? Well not only is Mt Taurus an hour's drive outside the city, but you can also get there on the Metro-North @ Grand central Station, for about $26 round trip.  And Hiking is $free.99! which is always in my budget. That's right folks everything costs less outside of New York City.

I mean you haven't really lived until you've gone hiking for no gotdamn reason!




For those of you who secretly harbor the desire to run about buck wild in the woods or for visitors looking for a little slice of New York's other beautiful parks this is a great day trip.  You can be there by 10:am and back in the city by 6pm.

Follow the link below to get more info as well as a short video of Mt Taurus trail so that you have an idea of what to expect.  http://hikingcampingtrails.com/mt-taurus-and-breakneck-ridge-day-hike/ 
  
No sweat!

Mt Taurus has an incline of approximately 1400 hundred feet. And the weather was perfect at a balmy 54 degrees. For some of us, it turned into a strip hike as people shaved off layers the further along we got.

We started off  loading up on Gatorade and fruit, trail mix and power bars; a set of walkie-talkies, and a "No- Man-Left-Behind-Attitude.

At the summit of Bull Hill


Once we reached the summit, we ate our lunches, drank coffee and did a few celebratory shots of vodka and rum! All while taking in the amazing view. We headed back down following the trail markers and throwing snowballs, swinging on tree vines and climbing massive trees.   

We spent about one half hour here jumping from structure to structure!


Some of the guys got a little adventurous and the girls eventually followed behind. Less I reminded everyone that I only had three band aids and one alcohol swab.


It was definitely the best Spring hike yet


What about you! Do you have any adventures planned for spring?