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Hiking

I went hiking all day yesterday with some friends in a place called Cold Spring, which is about an hour from the city by train. The previous day’s rain left some spectacular waterfalls.

I missed the main group, so I had time to grab some breakfast, read a little bit (just stared reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis in preparation for the movie) and took the train from Grand Central Terminal alone, but I met up with another guy who also missed the first train. We walked along the train track a couple of miles to the hiking trail at Breakneck Point. I scaled several rocky slopes where small rivulets of water cascaded down the sides, making each hand and foothold a treacherous gamble.

We went quickly, hoping to catch up with our friends, who had an hour’s head start. We stayed in the same trail network, but didn’t follow the same path they had. The two of us hiked over the rocky peaks until we met an experienced hiker who, unlike us, was responsible and brought a map. We had been going for about three hours without meeting our friends, and were ready for a rest, so we found the way back to town from him.

We backtracked a little ways until we hit another trail which we followed back down to the highway. The second trail had some incredible sights, including some waterfalls, a rivver, swollen by the rain, and some old mining ruins. Next time I go there, I want to check out more of the mining ruins. I talked to another guy who said there was an old two-story carriage house farther up the trail.

Any way, we went back to town where we met up with the rest of our group, had some chow, and took the train back. It only cost ten bucks to get up there. I’ll have to go again. Last night I slept like a rock.