Storm King

And now, a break from the western/flashback part of our story...

We climbed Storm King last Monday! No, not the one out west, the one in NY, overlooking the Hudson River. It was 90 degrees F. here just above sea level, but it was cool and breezy on Storm King's lofty summit. Following the directions in Best Hikes With Children in the Catskills and Hudson River Valley, we climbed one of the most famous mountains in the region. It was a tough climb for me, since I have not climbed recently, and for the young ones, though they managed very well despite the hardship. L, who spends her summers in the Rockies, thought it was a bit of a hill. You won't see her in any photos because she was the photographer. My camera was in good and nimble hands.

The ascent was quite steep in places, but those with low centers of gravity climbed like kids. Those is us with higher centers, older knees, and more caution took a bit longer in the

climb. Everyone helped the younger kids when they needed it, but they were often so far ahead that we had to rush and catch up.

Storm King boasts a few "caves" made by falling rocks. Some you can climb right through. Several man-made columns were a mystery.

About halfway to the summit, a small cairn awaited the addition of a few more rocks.

If we had spent more time, we could have made it into a respectable cairn.




This grasshopper was near the summit, where we had a lovely picnic. Nice camouflage, eh?



The climb down was a bit trying. Our party was separated into three, with L, T and our young friend reaching the bottom first...








Here they are, just resting on the way!