Aug 19 2012 Hiking at Mohonk

It's almost the end of summer and Will and I are trying our best to catch the tail of summer :) Today, we went hiking in Mohonk~This place is recommended by one of Will's family friend who is an outdoor lover. It turns out we had a great hike there.

We left stony brook at 7:30 AM~I waked up earlier on the weekend than weekdays :( It took about 2 hrs to drive there since the traffic is good on the way.
The beginning of our hike didn't turn so well. We park in the parking lot in the northern section of Mohonk preserve park. we began our hike at the Table Rocks Trail(blue) ,then connect to the cedar trail (red) and to the Bonticou ascent path(yellow). The last one is a mistake. Instead of scramble up, we found we were on the top of Bonticou crag. Since descent from there looks scary, we decided to take the same trail back, take the blue one( Northeast Trail)  and ascent again on the other side. However, if someone just want to enjoy the spectacular view on the top but doesn't want to scramble up. It's a good way to go.  When we are in the intersection of yellow and blue trials, we mistakenly took a right turn instead of left~We found it out after we were on the wrong way for a while T___T. The rock scramble is enjoyable~It's briefer than Breakneck ridge. We finished our lunch on the top with the great view of valley.

The view from the top of Bonticou crag

black vulture 

Then we headed to the mountain house by the carriage way. After taking a break at mohonk mountain house, and enjoying the view of the lake and garden, we started climbing on the red trail (The labyrinth trial). There is a warning at the trial head which is the most serious one I've ever seen. It said the challenges you'll encounter on the trail include headache rock, fat man misery, lemon squeeze~All the names sound scary.

The warning at the trial head of labyrinth

The beginning part of the trails is fun. I hoped between stones, climbed the ladder and squeezed through the crevices. I really enjoyed the beautiful Shawangunk Ridge view on the trial. We left the trial and went up to see the tower. The tower just like the crown of Mountain Mohonk. Following winding up stair, the view on the top is far and beyond. You can see the terrane miles away.

After enjoying the view on the top of the tower, we went back to the red trial and we turned left to The Crevice.  It's most exciting part of the hike today. The crevice become narrower from the bottom to the top. The opening at the top is less than 2 feet which i can barely go through with my backpack on. The three sections of ladder make the whole climbing much easier. After enjoying the view at top~we took the carriageway back to the parking lot. There is a lilly pond on the way back and it's very pretty and remind me Monet's garden~

ladder up to the crevice

Lemon squeeze in Mohonk 

Chill at the top of the crevice

On the way home, Will asked me why I enjoy hiking. There are tones of reasons~I like the view like the feeling of challenge my limit, and like changing the environment and away from work.... Can't wait to have another hiking adventure with you, Will <3
Hiking route today