Yesterday, at the begrudging of Ola, we went hiking some new trails at Minnewaska State Park. It was a dreary day that consisted of a few showers but mostly just a constant and continuous mist.
We started our adventure on the trail at Lake Minnewaska from the upper parking lot with as many cars there as fingers on one hand. We have never seen it like this, though this is also the first time we went off season and after some snow while being misted on continuously. The ground was soggy from the second we left the parking lot and where it was not soggy was snow and ice.
The park was quiet and peaceful. We were the only ones there. We couldn’t hear or see another person. We were ecstatic.
We followed the Lake Minnewaska trail around the lake, passed the private house overlooking the lake, to the Millbrook mountain carriage road. The lake was so calm and densely cloaked in fog.
Moving onward, from here we took the Hamilton Point carriage road through the pine trees and along some amazing cliff overlooks.
On this day, most of the outlooks were shrouded in dense fog, but nevertheless the rock formations and history of cleaving were awe inspiring.
Now, leading to these outcrops were other exciting sights from moss and lichens to the rain water dripping from the rocky mountainside, sometimes from a few remaining icicles that hadn’t melted from the previous snowstorm.
Our next stop continuing on from Hamilton Point, we opted to take a brief look at Lake Awosting. It was mostly covered in ice, but even more fascinating was that where it drains into the surrounding area, there were fresh signs of beaver right next to the road. It was just amazing to see how they chewed into the trees and fell them. We took a few minutes, and while standing there, heard what sounded like a smack. We just looked at each other. As far as we’re concerned it was a beaver smacking its tail so we decided to leave the area for them to continue building their den.
Next, we were briefly hiking on the Upper Awosting carriage road until we took the Blueberry Run hiking trail down an embankment and across a bridge made from a carved tree and branches. It was great to see the craftsmanship of the bridge rather than the usual 2×6 or similar from which most others are constructed. Standing there we were able to enjoy the water rushing and swirling under our feet. As we left the river, the trail led us up some rocky mountainside and then a narrow trail full of roots, loose rocks, and with water flowing down it due to the rain. It took us what felt like forever to go maybe a few hundred feet, our shoes sinking in wherever we couldn’t find a small rock to step on firm “ish” ground.
Blueberry Run was a nice change from the carriage roads, but was short lived and then we were back on the Upper Awosting carriage road back towards the parking lot. Of course, a very short way from the parking lot we said let’s just take another trail before leaving. What a mistake! These trails were up hill in deep grass and completely water logged. We were careful, but one false step and water is in the shoe and socks drenched.
That was our cue and we immediately made our way back to the closest path back to the carriage road and to the car.
A bonus was that in the approximately four hours of walking, we only saw one person right before the Blueberry Run trail. It was exceptional to feel we had the entire park to ourselves. We highly recommend any trail in this park as all the trails are well marked and the carriage roads each have maps to look over.
-Chris & Ola