We figured the trails would be really easy to navigate. Hmm...not so much. A lovely woman named Linda explained the entire park to us. She showed us a map, highlighted the trails and explained everything. She was so friendly! It was such a welcome surprise to meet genuinely nice people. After practically becoming Mohonk cartographers, we set off on our hike. The first part was the toughest. It was a very steep, rocky climb just to get up the connector trail. Once we got up, it was smooth sailing. The views were amazing!
About two hours into our hike we stumbled upon the most beautiful hotel we've ever seen - The Mohonk Mountain House. At first, it seemed like a mirage. It reminded me of the castle in Beauty and the Beast - just stunning. From that point, we had another 30 minutes until we finally reached the Skytop Tower, the top of the mountain. The walk to the top was tough, but so worth it. We sat down on a bench right on the edge of the mountain and ate lunch. The view was indescribable! Looking out and seeing for miles was so calming and peaceful. Since I l live in a city that is constantly on the go, it was nice to just sit and be still, to listen to the wind, and take a chance to breath.
Then we realized that we had to walk 2 1/2 hours back to the car. We stopped at the gardens of the Mohonk Mountain House and enjoyed (stole?) some lemonade left from a wedding earlier in the day. We took a longer trail back so we could have a different view, but it was hard to see the mountains through all the tress. We joked that they should cut down some of the trees so we could see the forest in the distance. There were a few moments when we were out of the sun and close to the rocks that the temperature instantly dropped at least 10 degrees. I loved it! There was such a calming presence to just stand on the trail in silence. We'd listen to birds, breeze in the trees, and water from the stream. It was inspiring. At one point, we heard a rustling just off the trail. I took a few steps back and there was a deer laying down just off the trail. She looked at me and I looked at her. It was very raw. It was two living creatures observing each other. It's weird but I felt like we were equals in that moment. I didn't want anything from her and she didn't want anything from me. But we were somewhat over it once we hit the long, straight stretch of trail. Our feet were starting to hurt, but we were like steam engines - once we started, we couldn't stop. We just pushed through it. We made it back to the visitor center right before they closed.
Now that I'm back in my apartment in the East 70s, I can sit down and reflect. We had to drive through the town of New Paltz, New York to get to the preserve. I loved it! It reminded me a lot of Radford - it was small-town, quaint and relaxing. I began to imagine packing up a U-Haul and moving there. It's an unrealistic thought because my life and career are all in the city. But sometimes I wish I had a simpler life. Sometimes I get tired of cramming onto the 6 train in the morning, having a tough exterior and always being in a rush (even when I've got all the time in the world). I think it's funny how many so people come to New York for vacation and so many New Yorkers escape to the Hamptons or country homes every weekend during the summer.
It was funny that I wanted a workout and Antonio wanted to commune with nature. I felt like there were times he he was sprinting up the mountain and I was trying to keep. He wanted to get back to nature but it was me who wanted to see the animals and tried to make a connection to the forest. We're planning on going hiking again once the leaves start to change colors in the fall. I really hope that escaping to Mohonk is something that we can do more often. I could really use a frequent escape to the country.
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