The weather was getting cold with strong wind of 18 miles per hour, it made us all alert of the coldness of staying outside except Anthony and Karen. Anthony prepared only a pair of gloves without fingers and Karen didn’t bring a jacket warm enough. Luckily, they could borrow extra stuff from Harry and Chung Kwong respectively. Other hikers included BaoGong, Dawn, Kok Chew, Chew Bian, Rose, Esther, Mary, Robert, Cheong Fook and Philip. We arrived at the parking lot at 9:15 am and started our trip at 9:45 am. I announced we would hike the similar route of last week but in the direction of anti-clockwise. As the plan was only 6 miles which might be too simple by seeing the snow free trail, I suggested we should upgrade it to 8 miles. Most hikers seemed refusing the bonus and claimed they wanted only go for 6 miles.

We started along White Bar and switched to White Nurian Trail in quarter mile. After climbed up the steep slope and the bare rock, we reached the summit of Black Rock Mountain. The sky was sunny with grand views. The wind wasn’t too strong at this moment so we could take a long break. If we stuck with the 6 miles plan, the Shelter would be the perfect place for lunch. I stayed behind to wait for the others and took pictures. I told Anthony, Philip and Harry to lead and waited for me at Bald Rocks Shelter. When I arrived at the Shelter, I first found only a group of Korean hikers who preparing fire. I felt surprised to see Anthony, Harry and Philip were taking lunch at a corner because it was just about 11 am. Since they had spread out their food, I couldn’t stop them. A Korean hiker interested on Kok Chew’s homemade all-metal hiking poles and asked for the details. Kok Chew told me these poles would be his walking sticks later and also be the family treasure for next few generations. After taking a group picture at the Shelter, I asked if any of hikers preferred to go for the 8 miles route and took lunch at Times Square. The team could be divided and those 6 miles hikers could enjoy their long lunch break at the Shelter. Due to the invisible pressure from the peers, all hikers agreed to extend their level of exercising. Harry said he could only intake half of his lunch which was a good way to force him to eat less.

I led the team switched to Yellow Trail from R-D Red Trail. The trail was covered by a piece of ice so we had to cross it carefully. Rose fearlessly stepped on the ice in order to take pictures. We found another large piece of pretty ice formations on the trail later. Anthony joked we should destroy all the ice formations on the trail so the photographers would have nothing to shoot and hiked faster. The Yellow Trail was basically flat so we reached the A-SB Red Trail with only 1 break. After half mile on the Red Trail, we arrived our lunch point at Times Square. Chung Kwong was busy removing stones inside his hiking boots so his lunch time was shorter than others. It turned out he had no time to enjoy the hot drink even he had carried the hot water bottle because it was really cold to take lunch at a place without shelter. Rose was nice to share her milk tea to me. While I was eating my bread, she gave me a small flipped cup of milk tea. Unfortunately, 1 layer of the cup broke and the milk tea stayed on both the cup and the bottom sauce. If I drank the top portion, the bottom one would be poured on my chin; if I drank the bottom first, the top one would be spilled out on my nose. As there was no straw I could find in the mountain, I tried to get my cup from my water bottle. It turned out I saved about 1 mouth of milk tea but I had dropped the bread from my hand. I called this a lost lost situation that happened at Times Square.

Harry was confused about the direction of turn into Long Path. I led everyone to continue our trip after lunch. We passed a frozen pond and BaoGong said the ice was strong. Esther believed him and tested the ice. Her right shoe was wet when the thin ice broke. If I didn’t catch her back before she lost her balance, we would name this little pond Esther’s Feet. We saw a pretty ice formation at a stream. Dawn followed BaoGong’s route to go closer and fell on a slippery spot. I joked it was all BaoGong’s faults that set up the wrong examples for other hikers. Harry, Anthony and Philip had to come back from Lemon Squeezer because they had missed the trailhead of White Bar. It was just the right time that all hikers arrived at that spot. I set all hikers free from now because White Bar could bring us back to the cars within 2.5 miles. The HAP team disappeared in 5 minutes. Chew Bian led the middle team but missed the trail mark a few times. Kok Chew was nice to control remotely from the back. Rose claimed she could tell all the routes at this area because she remembered she had hiked here for so many times. We went all the way on this 2.5 miles route without taking any break. We could complete 8 miles at 2:30 pm.

As the winter wasn’t as cold as usual in January of 2012, I knew it should be practicable to carry out the 9 miles plan of today. I had only 2 drivers signed up so we had only 10 hikers in this first trip of 2012. They were BaoGong, Jennifer, Carrie, Dawn, Chung Kwong, Rose, Esther, Qing and Chi. Qing felt my car was full of high voltage of power because she was co-incidentally riding with top 4 Nature You hikers of last year. We arrived at the parking lot at 9:15 am and started the long trip around 9:45 am. I decided to finish the route with clockwise direction because I estimated this level of difficulty would be suitable for the composition of this group. I guessed all of us could finish 9 miles but the speed wouldn’t be fast enough to add more bonus mile.

We started along White Bar by crossing Route 106. There was a wall of ice formation near the stream so Dawn was interested to go closer to take pictures. Esther decided to put away her camera because she would like to focus on hiking today. The front team stopped at an intersection of 2 white trail marks and debating which route to go. As I had distributed the map of hiking route, I stood there and kept silence to test their skills of map reading. Jennifer who was standing in front of me suggested getting the verdict until I arrived. I looked at her eyes with curiosity. Jennifer said she didn’t recognize me because I had worn a black jacket which was different from my normally red one. I joked she probably had deleted me from her eyes or memory but kept only the image of my red jacket. I first make sure the navigators knew our location before we continued on White Bar till the trail end. After a short break for snacks at the intersection, we switched to Long Path. Qing was confused about the special trail mark of Long Path on the map until I pointed to her a sample on the tree. We reached a huge directional pole at the junction of Long Path and AT. Instead of taking the 1mile route to Times Square, I brought everyone into the 3 miles route of AT. There were more up and down slopes to make the trip more challenging. And the most important reason was we had to re-visit a Nature You historical point in Harriman Park because it was its anniversary date.

All those witness hikers included Rose, Chung Kwong, Dawn and Esther shouted out when they arrived at a triangular pond at AT. Rose worked as a narrator to tell the new hikers about the history of this spot. This was an abandoned mine site. The pond looked liked icy on January 1 of 2011. Anthony stepped on and fell into cold water when the ice broke. This pond was then named Anthony’s Points because he had this unplanned winter swim and had to take off his wet clothing. There was no ice at all this year. I joked we had to relay the tradition to have our annual winter swim at this site. Since we had Anthony on the first year, we should have BaoGong today and then followed by Chung Kwong, Dawn, Esther, Feibun, George, Harry and more. BaoGong rejected the invitation by asking if any witness on site could replay the case.

We climbed up 2 steep slopes and met R-D Red Trail. Since it was really windy at the summit, I let Carrie led Jennifer, Qing and Chi to go Times Square while I stayed to wait for the others. BaoGong’s interruption pulled back the front team so I came up to lead everyone approaching Times Square. Chung Kwong was puzzled about why the front team came back from the opposite direction. It was because R-D connected to AT in a deep V shape. Even it was rather late for lunch, Carrie insisted we should hike more before lunch so we rushed to Times Square. The front team arrived at Times Square at 1 pm. Rose came afterwards and claimed she was powerless because of late lunch. Qing knew now we weren’t hiking in Times Square of Manhattan. We took a group picture in front of the Times Square with a Happy New Year hat in the middle. Carrie was eager to hike more so asked if I could give out bonus. I told her to recruit 1 more qualified fast hiker to form a team. Since I didn’t want all others waiting for both drivers, I didn’t accept Chi to be the third person. I decided whole team stuck with the original 9 miles plan.

We continued on Long Path and switched to Yellow Trail. Dawn had slightly feeling of cramp because she hadn’t hiked such a long mileage for a while. BaoGong and Chung Kwong immediately brought out their secret salty food to Dawn. The summit scenery of Bowling Rocks was pretty. We then had 1 mile of summit view on R-D. The sky turned gray and it was so windy that no one could stay long. The front team waited for everyone at the turn of White Trail even they were sure about the direction. We descended from Black Rock to have the final mile on 2 different White Trails. We finished 9 miles at 3:45 pm. Almost all hikers claimed this 9 miles route was just perfect for them because they were tired but not exhausted.

It was the last trip on last day of 2011. We were happy to have Anthony joined because everyone remembered he had a bad beginning on the first trip of the first day of this year. I hoped he would be safe in this trip. Xiao Hung joined her first trip on the last day. Kelly brought Lily, Jessica and Lala. We had also Jennifer, Sophia, Chung Kwong, Ling Yen, Susie, Josephine, Roe, Esther, Mary, Robert, Qing, Janet and Clara. Each of us received the lucky money gift from Anthony when we reached parking lot. We had a simple award presentation party outside Visitors Center. I gave gifts to the top three stamp collectors of 2011. Rose and Esther collected 41 stamps and Chung Kwong received 35 stamps out of 48 trips that I had organized. Rose got 2 items of her favorite color, Esther got gifts to protect her hands and feet and Chung Kwong got a gift to please his ears.

I told everyone the game plan was 7 hills but we had an option of only 4 hills if someone felt too exhausted. I could see hopes spread out from most of their eyes. I led everyone started from Red Trail at 9:45 am. I stopped at the trailhead of Blue Seven Hills Trail and told everyone all they had to do is to remember firmly about the color and shape of this sign. We intended to hike through this trail from this end to the other end. The beginning of Blue Trail was only slightly up and down. The trail was quite muddy and Lala’s shoes were dirtied. Lala felt disgusting so she would like to wash away the ugly stuff at the stream. I told her be careful because never got the feet wet during hiking. The Blue Trail brought us to an elbow turn where we started climbing the first hill. Lily claimed she seldom sweated and eventually she got it. Jessica and Lala had to take off their jackets to cool off their overheated engines. As I prepared we would take the shortcut at Red Trail, I announced we would add half mile to go back and forth to Ramapo Torne. Anthony was so smart to put his backpack on the trail since he knew we would come back along the same trail. We switched to Orange Trail and reached the terrific viewpoint of Ramapo Torne. The special feature of grassland underneath attracted our attentions. We took a group picture in front of the cliff but with cheerful Lady Lala on the top of the cliff.

Anthony led the group back and continued on Blue Trail. I was at the back to assist Clara, Mary and Robert. We climbed down and up to the summit of second hill after the big challenge of rock climbing up a wall-liked cliff. It was time to have the lunch break. We had a time of sharing again. Mary and Robert carried grape juice, fried rice and cherries to share because they had to compensate for what they had forgotten last week. Sophia brought spicy peanuts, Qing brought organic cookies, Anthony brought golden chocolate bars, Janet brought super sized dry dates and Rose brought us a box of 36 miniature wine chocolates. Jennifer said I could only drink 1 bottle of wine chocolate because I had to maintain my alertness to bring them back to the parking lot. Mary provided us cups and we cheered her grape juice in the mountain for the coming of New Year in a few hours.

A few drops of drizzles had scared Josephine to put on a raincoat for her backpack. We continued on Blue Trail on the third and fourth hills. Anthony, Susie, Jennifer and Janet led the team and waited for us at the junction of Red Trail. Rose, Qing, Xiao Hung, Chung Kwong, Sophia, Mary and Robert were at the back. I hiked in the middle with Yin’s family, Clara, Esther, Josephine and Ling. I asked hikers of front team if anyone wanted to add a mile to climb the fifth hill. Since Jennifer was the only follower, I decided to cancel this option. Ling and Josephine preferred the easier version of 7 miles with 4 hills which was good enough to make them tired but not exhausted. I waited for the back team at the junction while Anthony led the others started their homebound 1.5 miles on Red Trail. The back team reached me in another 20 minutes. I led the rest teammates also into Red Trail because most of them felt exercising enough. They wanted to go home earlier to celebrate their year end parties. The strong running water on Stony Brook attracted Qing because it was the lively music from nature. She brought Xiao Hung went closer to take picture with the musicians. We finished 7 miles at 3 pm.

It was Christmas time and time for celebration. I suggested every participant bringing some food to share at lunch time. I had BaoGong brought his friend Jin Qiao and Hong Quen but he forgot to tell them to bring gloves and food for us. Robert also forgot to tell Mary to prepare it. Kok Chew brought his wife Chew Bian and daughter Eunice. Others were Simon, Masa, Tony and Moon. Mary was nice to lend out her two extra pairs of gloves and said it was her treat to the group. I said then we should wear them for a few minutes instead of only Jin Qiao and Hong Quen. I announced we would take the easy route today in order to view the winter scenery of Minnewaska. We might increase the difficulty by hiking back along the Blueberry Run trail to skip the carriageway. The trip was started at 10 am.

We first took some photos at the beach. I led the group hiked on the Red Trail until we reached the Yellow Trail. I mentioned we would go Hamilton Point and took lunch at Castle Point. There was a sign on the Yellow Trail to prohibit horse riding and biking. We found out later it was because the trail wasn’t maintained well which was really dangerous for horsepersons and bikers. We found ice remains hanging on the cliff, in the soil and on the trail. Chew Bian broke whatever ice puddle she could step on. We stayed at Echo Rock to see the grand view of the canyon and tested the echo effect of the cliff. Mary dared not to go too closed to the edge of the cliff. We kept on walking and found more open spots to see the canyon. Kok Chew said it would be great if there were trails to bring us down the canyon and climbed up to the other side of the cliff. Mary felt amazing to see the chain of rock on the opposite cliff that was liked a dragon.

We stopped long again at the Hamilton Point because of the huge blocks of cliffs and grand view over the area. Tony posed himself liked the status of Jesus Christ at Rio. The wind wasn’t too strong so we could survive. We saw some small stone sculptures lined up at the side of trail. We could recognize a parrot, Eiffel Tower and aircraft carrier. The front group had already settled down at a viewpoint before Castle Point for lunch. We borrowed the table cloth from Masa to spread out the international cuisine. We had Malaysian spicy crispy fish from Kok Chew, homemade Chinese fried fish from Jin Qiao, American muffins from Moon, Florida apples from Tony, traditional Chinese dessert from Simon, Chinese biscuits from Masa, Chinese spicy fish pads from BaoGong and Macau sesame peanut candies from me. Christmas celebrations arrived at Minnewaska. Moon pulled out a red white hat to make herself liked Santa Clause. Santa Clause was coming to Minnewaska.

When we were taking group picture at the lunch spot, Moon needed someone helped to put the white ball of her Christmas hat in a better pose. It was freezing windy at this lunch point especially our hands were numb. I gave out 2 warm pads and Hong Quen was so thankful because they helped. We wrapped up and I led them to the trailhead of Blueberry Run trail. We all agreed to have more excitement in the mountain by going back along up and down trail. The trail was basically clear of snow except some ice was formed from water puddle. I kept reminding people went to the side and be careful with the shinny flat surfaces. Robert fell 2 times and still joked he had to find out if it was really so slippery. BaoGong also fell either because he was wearing sunglasses or he was too sleepy.

After going through the pine tree garden, we finished 1.5 miles on the Blue Trail. Mary said she felt we had long marched for more than 100,000 miles. We hit the Green carriageway in an hour. We turned right along the carriageway and reached back the Red carriageway at the beach. Mary and Robert had to rush for party at their daughter’s home and BaoGong’s group would like to go shopping at Woodbury. I led the rest to go to the other side of the Lake to have another angle of the Lake. We walked along the Red Trail and reached a picnic area with huge lawn and terrific view. We shared and finished the food before heading back to the cars. We completed 9 miles at 4:15 pm.

It was my second visit to Rockefeller State Park but actually it was Mary and Robert’s backyard because their family came here to jog very often. They brought also their big pet today. I scheduled this trip in winter because I supposed we should have few inches of snow on the mountain so it would be safer to hike in flat terrain. It turned out the snow came late but cold air arrived on time. The temperature today was as freezing low as 30 degree. It was Raymond and Hui’s first and last return trip of this year. Others included BaoGong, Simon, Harry, Jennifer, Dawn, Sophia, Joe, Kok Chew, Eunice, Chung Kwong, XiaoZhong, Kaichiao, Susie, Rose, Helen, Esther, Karen, Masa, Yvonne, Cheong Fook, Janet, Clara, William, and XueFeng. All 29 people gathered inside the small art gallery which was so warm that someone joked let’s stay inside for the whole day. I got the trail information from the ranger that 13 Bridges Trail was pretty. I announced we would first target to that 3 miles trail and covered the other area on the way back.

I led the group started along the carriageway of Old Sleepy Hallow Trail. The only way to survive outdoors under such cold weather was kept on moving. We switched to River Pocantico Trail which was along River Pocantico. We saw a fleet of ducklings swimming in the river. I had a chance to talk to Hui. He still remembered I had carried 2 watermelons in my backpack to serve the huge group in his last trip which was few years ago. After the last person’s arrival at the junction of 13 Bridges Trail, I led the group turned right in order to walk through all 13 bridges. I expected we would see those historical bridges and spent time on photo taking. 2 horse ladies on 2 horses came from our back had stirred up our emotion. When we came across the first small metal bridge, I thought it wasn’t counted. When I crossed over the third and fourth of the same kind, I woke up from the dream of my beautiful misunderstanding. I concluded this wasn’t the region of those famous bridges. BaoGong said these bridges wouldn’t be older than him. I consulted Robert and Mary about where were those historical bridges. They didn’t have a concrete answer so I decided to draw a route on my map to cover as much area as I could. Yvonne helped to add a small portion to cover the bridge over the highway.

We kept walking on the carriageway and finally reached a huge old bridge. Other park users said it was the biggest bridge of the Park. Photographers and models could have the target of taking more pictures. Since the angle of sunshine wasn’t appropriate, we gave up the thought of taking group picture over there. My target was still on walking more to see more bridges. Mary suggested we could take lunch at the big lawn which wasn’t far ahead. When we were wandering in the Park, we heard other park users said we were the biggest hiking group they had ever seen. After I sent Susie to investigate the lawn on the right side, I spot a white wall on the lawn of left side. The wall was built by three layers of white cubes with their shapes very similar to marshmallows. Mary said it was the highly compressed hay that wrapped by white plastic bags. As it would be too cold to have sat down lunch along the trail, I suggested we should take lunch at that wall which might be a shelter against strong wind. The fast team found there was no place to sit so we moved back downhill to take lunch at a bridge. Karen felt very cold because she had underestimated the freezing cold weather of the mountain. Her dressing code was only good for a walk in Central Park. Dawn opened her umbrella to fight against the wind. Jennifer sat down and hunched in front of a tree. Even the sunshine was rich, we would still feel cold when wind blew. Kok Chew served me his homemade wheat bread sandwiches which was really delicious and healthy.

I asked Rose if we should take a group picture at the bridge. Rose said according to her professional photographer’s point of view, she suggested taking the group picture at the “marshmallow” wall. I pushed everyone to climb up the slope and came closed to the marshmallows. When I had a closer look to the marshmallows, I realized there were wrinkles on the skin layers. The huge marshmallows were turned into big onions. I first climbed up the wall and other hikers followed. Rose, BaoGong, Chung Kwong, Yvonne, Janet and Sophia took more pictures at the top after the others descended back to the trail. Dawn and Esther preferred to take more full scenes of the entire wall. This special manmade whitish artwork was the greatest surprise of today.

I let the front team led and continued on the carriageway even I didn’t know where we were going. I needed to position ourselves until we hit a trail intersection. The sceneries of farm and grassland weren’t bad. Finally, I stopped someone and asked for the direction of Swan Lake. I brought everyone underpass a tunnel and turned back along Farm Meadow Trail. We reached the Swan Lake in 30 minutes. The water at Swan Lake was pretty. We didn’t see swan but wild ducks. The last mile along the Lake had given us more chance of taking pictures because of the light reflection from the water. The shadow lines of the stones along the lake were also good elements of photo taking. We reached the art gallery and finished 7 miles at 2:15 pm.

Our scheduled destination was Lake Skenonnto which I supposed we could see snow scenery in that area in December. I felt disappointed of seeing only very little snow remains on certain faces of slope. In order to make it different with other previous trips, I realized we could reach Lake Skenonnto by taking the Yellow Triangle Trail full course. Without their permissions, I announced we would increase the trip into 7 miles and raised half grade on the difficulty. I also gave them option for further extended into 9 miles after taking lunch together at the Lake. I had brand new hiker, David and returned hiker, Jacky in this trip. Others included BaoGong, Harry, Dawn, Sophia, Joe, Kok Chew, Chew Bian, Chung Kwong, Susie, Rose, Esther, Masa, Qing, Cheong Fook, Janet, Karen, Ary and Clara.

Joe’s car reached the parking lot at Tuxedo Train Station 3 minutes later than us even his car was stuck in traffic in Brooklyn for 30 minutes. We got ready very quick because it was quite cold under such windy condition. We had to first walk along the road for 10 minutes. BaoGong was afraid that we would walk on hard surface road for the entire trip. I brought the team climbed up along R-D and switched to the trailhead of Yellow Triangle. After knowing the Yellow Trail would bring us to the lunch point at Lake Skenonnto, Masa, David, Esther, Harry, Susie, Ary and Joe turned on their turbo. I doubted what Esther had taken in her breakfast because it was a miracle that she was in front of me. The valley was flooded so we had to jump to the side trails. I stayed at a rough stream to help the slow team which included BaoGong, Rose, Dawn, Janet, Clara, Sophia, Chung Kwong and Karen. There were moderate up and down slopes in this section so BaoGong had to refill his energy every hour. Chung Kwong had to run back to find the hiking pole that he forgot at a small stream. I stopped at the intersection of White Bar to test their senses of navigation. Someone failed and gave up the wish of being a leader said never followed her again. BaoGong and I treated others some snacks during this break time. Rose complained Chung Kwong hiking too fast so requested him to hike next to her. Chung Kwong exclaimed that how could he stay both at the front and at the back of her at the same time.

We continued on Yellow Trail and caught up Kok Chew, Chew Bian, Jacky, Joe, Ary, Harry, Qing and Cheong Fook at a viewpoint. I was just on time to show them the trail mark on the rock that they all missed. We descended from the summit and passed a very flooded area. An electricity cable dropped down almost touching the trail because the pole was broken. We reached Lake Skenonnto and had a joined lunch party with 2-3 more other hiking teams. I knew David’s backpack and hiking poles were brand new that he just bought 2 days ago because of this first hiking trip. I reminded him a pair of waterproofed hiking boots would be the next item on his shopping list. As no one would like the challenge of bonus miles, the whole group would hike together after taking the group picture at the Lake.

The photographers wore back their hats after lunch. Esther, Dawn, Rose, Chung Kwong, Karen and Janet stuck at a splendid view over the Lake. I waited for them to ensure no one went into the unmarked trail. Sophia and Clara waited for me at the front because they said they would rather wait than hike by themselves. I led the slow moving team reached the trail end and finished entire 5 miles of Yellow Triangle Trail. As we hiked the entire trail in 1 trip, it was liked we had captured this trail. I brought the whole team continued on White Bar and climbed up to see the Dutch Doctor Shelter. Qing felt amazing that there was an open house in the mountain and free to stay overnight. We didn’t stay long because we still had 3 more miles to go. We turned into T-MI Red Trail facing Claudia Smith Den. The uphill slope was tough. Most hikers sweated a lot except Esther. She said she didn’t sweat at all even she hiked in quick pace this morning. We spent only little time at the cliff top because it was really windy cold. When we looked up the cliff while we were waiting at the Claudia Smith Den, Kok Chew said we should bring the ropes for rock climbing next time. BaoGong shouted out loud again because he was hungry again. He shouted out a lot during the trip such as, “I am tired, I am hungry, I am full and I am hiking forward.”

Jacky, Masa and Qing disappeared once we started descended from Claudia Smith Den. I couldn’t see them even when I was back at the parking lot. The back team actually stayed and took photos only once at a spot with a grand open view. We connected to R-D after completed T-MI. We finished 7 miles at 3:30 pm.

What was the maximum number of people that could fit into 2 sedans and 1 minivan? We never had the carpool so tight as today because all seats were taken. We had 17 people in this tough level C or level D trip. They were BaoGong, Simon, Max, Dawn, Sophia, Anthony, Leon, Magdalene, Chung Kwong, Lina, Vivian, Rose, Esther, Yvonne, Qing and Chi. We were delayed by a traffic police at Cold Spring so we couldn’t start until 10 am. My plan was to hike at least 8 miles but had the option of extending it into 10 miles. I told them the choice could be made after climbing up the Red Casino Trail. We climbed up 152 steps metal stairs and started the first mile on tough uphill trail. Magdalene worried about the trail was too closed to the radiation from the signal towers. Most people had to take more than 1 break before reaching the abandoned engine room and seeing remains of the cable system. The viewpoint over Beacon Town was terrific. Someone brought out 2 huge dogs that Qing was so exciting and asked for taking a picture with one. Simon talked to someone sitting there whose outfit was very similar to him. Qing took a picture from behind and brought up a game of finding who Simon was.

It was quite windy so we couldn’t stay too long. I led them back to the Red Trail and targeted the fire tower in a mile. This was the only flat trail of today. When the front team stopped at the trail end of Red Trail, Esther and Dawn had the chance to catch up. We switched to White Trail to climb up a hill and found the fire tower standing at the summit. Leon was the first one climbed up the tower and said the view was great but too windy cold up there. Anthony felt either he was dizzy or the tower was shaking after first 20 steps so retreated back to the bottom. Few more new hikers went up to have a clear view of the area. BaoGong sat on a tortoise liked stone and imagined that it was a white horse. Qing never hiked in winter so she found now the winter scenery of bare trees in the forest actually wasn’t too bad. After taking a group picture in front of the tower, I led the group to descend from the hill. The trail was so rocky that we couldn’t move fast. Someone said this route was so difficult and I said the route of life was much more difficult than this hiking route. Rose heard and denied at once said her life was actually very smooth. She was a lucky one.

When I saw Anthony at the junction of White Trail and Yellow Trail, he was acting liked a traffic control officer. He waved his arms to show us corrected directions for either 7 miles or 10 miles on Yellow Trail. I suggested all hikers took lunch at this spot and we could decide our future during lunch break. Magdalene set up the lunch table at an uphill spot so Anthony joked he had to hike extra mile to get his food. Max took out something from his backpack and went towards Rose. It was a tiny little small birthday cake that he made and brought up for Rose. We sang happy birthday song and only a few people could taste a spoonful of that precious gift. When I asked for anyone wanted to hike more, only Qing and Chi took the challenge.

I handover a big team to Chung Kwong and Anthony and ran down along Yellow Trail with Qing and Chi. I knew the trail was tough and we needed to be hurry to ensure we would be back before dusk. We crossed the stream and then followed Blue Trail and White Trail to reach Sunset Point. This section was tough because we had to go with quick pace. When we went back to the lunch point around 2 pm, we were now 45 minutes away from the front team. We were still 5 miles away from the parking lot. Our pace wasn’t as fast as I expected because Qing and Chi were exhausted by the uphill slope. In order to be back to the parking lot before sunset, I paid no mercy but pushed them to hike without break. I stopped at the Red Trail after 0.5 mile to ask if they wanted to take the short cut along Red Trail. They hesitated but I saw fire in the reflections of their eyes. Therefore, I gave them a chance to take the challenge. We continued on Yellow Trail with only 2 short breaks at the viewpoints. Qing told me she had a hiking pole in her backpack so I suggested her to use it to ensure the safety. She just replied sure but later. The uphill slope seemed endless and they couldn’t hike fast. I studied the map and they both agreed that I could cut short 0.5 mile if I could locate the unmarked trail around the Blue Trail. I found an unmarked trail but it wasn’t so clear, Chi hesitated to take the chance. I told them we had no choice now but continued with our 10 miles plan. I brought them connected to White Trail after the Blue Trail. There were viewpoints on White Trail but no one had time to enjoy them. I took a few photos of the pine tree at that spot. I knew Chi was tired and Qing had to slow down her pace. Chi seemed felt wrong to join the 10 miles group because he had no exit except kept on hiking with his tired legs. I asked one more time that Qing should use her hidden hiking pole but she kept saying later. Even I doubted she had the weapon in her backpack, I didn’t confront her but just prayed she wouldn’t get hurt in the mountain.

We passed a waterfall, crossed the stream and followed the White Trail going downstream. When we reached the junction of Yellow Trail, I knew we were safe because we could make it before dusk. I heard Chi was cramp on his legs and really short of energy bar. We climbed back along Yellow Trail and then hit the Red Trail at the last quarter mile. The front team had been waiting at the parking lot for about 30 minutes. We finished 10 miles by 4:30 pm.

It was a scheduled trip of 8 miles but 22 out of 25 people preferred only 6 miles. The 6 miles trip wasn’t too easy because of the steep uphill and slippery downhill trail condition. It turned out Kaichiao fell on a downhill slope and Chung Kwong could practice his first aid technique. Others were BaoGong, Ken, Jennifer, Harry Dawn, Anthony, Leon, Ray Ray, Magdalene, Kok Chew, Chew Bian, Eunice, Emily, Susie, Tommy, Rose, Esther, Yvonne, Philip, Chen, Clara and Ary. We arrived at the huge parking lot of Anthony Wayne Recreational Area at 8:45 am. All hikers were puzzling about why the parking lot was so big.

No matter 6 miles or 8 miles option, I planned to have lunch together at the Shelter of West Mountain at noon. In order to catch up the time to complete those extra 2 tough miles, the 8 miles team would have to try speed hiking in the morning. Since Philip had to take care of his son, he unusually gave up the chance of hiking 2 bonus miles. I was surprised to know only Jennifer and Yvonne would go with me. We started at 9:15 am by the led of Leon and Ray Ray. We climbed up West Mountain along Red Trail and then Blue Trail. The trail was steep so the team was segmented. BaoGong and Harry could last for a while but then slowed down. I told Ray Ray and Leon waited for the group as I had to bring Jennifer and Yvonne to switch to AT. AT trail brought us down a few hundred feet to the valley. We met a broken bridge which might be damaged by the previous hurricane. We ascended the hill along R-D to the viewpoint called Cats Elbow and switched to Yellow Trail. Since I expected the other teammates should have reached the Shelter, we continued immediately after taking a few pictures. Jennifer almost took the wrong direction on Yellow Trail.

There were still ups and downs on Yellow Trail before we reached back to Blue Trail. We reached the Shelter at 11:45 am which was in fact very on time. But, we could only have only 15 minutes lunch time because 19 friends had already been waiting for 45 minutes. There were only 19 instead of 22 because Ken, Emily and Ary had missed the turn towards the Shelter. They kept walking along Yellow Trail and were descending from West Mountain. Luckily, we had taken the group picture in the parking lot before we started the hike. I took the chance to treat them snacks so I could enjoy my homemade sandwiches. Leon, Ray Ray and Chen were playing happily under the shades of the Shelter. We still had 3.5 more miles even most of them were downhill and I expected it would be very slippery due to the fallen leaves. I heard Ray Ray fell and had got hurt in the morning after I left them.
We walked back to Yellow Trail from the Shelter and descended from West Mountain. Philip, BaoGong, Jennifer, Harry and Chen were at the front. Since I had distributed the map, most of them should know the route. I found Ray Ray had no hiking pole so I gave him mine. Ary called to seek help because they hadn’t reached the 1777 Trail. In order to understand their location, I let almost everyone passed me. I hiked with only Clara, Rose, Kaichiao, Chung Kwong, Esther, Dawn and BaoGong at the back. Ary let me know later they had hiked in the unmarked trail and now safely on Fawn Trail. When I didn’t need to worry about them, but then Kaichiao shouted behind me. She kicked a branch in front of her and fell forward.

Chung Kwong had first aid training and full set of first aid kit in his backpack. Immediately, he comforted the wounded person and took necessary treatments on the wounds. Kaichiao had impact on her nose so her nose swallowed and few minor cuts below her nose. There were also 2 bumps on her forehead and her glasses were damaged. Luckily, she was conscious and still could move her legs even they hurt. After she got enough rest, Chung Kwong helped by carrying her backpack. I tried to call the front team for backup because the rescue car could get her at Seven Lakes Drive which was 1.5 miles away. Only Magdalene’s phone worked well so Anthony was informed to pick up the injury. Clara called she had reached 1777 Trail but saw no one waiting there. I told her to stay as I would chase up to find those people in between us. I commanded Rose to wait at a turning point for the slow team to ensure they wouldn’t step into the unmarked trail liked the 3 people team. I found Clara at 1777 Trail. She said she felt really scary to hike by herself even she had a copy of the map. We gave a copy of the map to another hiker who had definitely no idea of the trails in this area.

I let Rose and Jennifer to lead others kept hiking on AT and reminded them to look for Fawn Trail on the right side. I accompanied Kaichiao to reach Seven Lakes Drive. Esther and Dawn volunteered to stay with Kaichiao for the rescue car because there were enough spaces in the vehicle. When I ran back to the AT and found no hikers on the Fawn Trail, I knew probably the team was still hiking on AT. I called Chung Kwong to catch them back. Rose explained since Jennifer and she had to find the best way to cross over the flooded trail, they missed the trailhead of Red Fawn Trail. From now on, no one dared to hike in front of me. We reached the parking lot at 3:45 pm and finished 8 miles. All other hikers were there. To my surprised, the rescue car brought back the teammates in another 2 minutes after our arrival.

Chung Kwong sent me a link of Staten Island Greenbelt in May and asked if we could go there. I studied the information and decided to schedule it in winter. He was the catalyst of how this first city hike happened. It might be the attraction of a nearby park within the city, I had a record high 39 people in 11 cars. It was a homecoming trip for Jeannie and Chau Shing. Their last trip with Nature You was the 100th trip in 2009 when they gave me 100 pieces of gum and 100 coins. I returned them today’s trip because I scheduled an event liked in their backyard. Kok Chew brought his family Chew Lim and Eunice. William brought his family Helen and David. Feng brought his family Denise, Irena and Sabrina. David brought his daughter Christine. Anthony brought his son Leon. It was the first trip of Karen Lu and Grace. Others were BaoGong, Max, Harry, Dawn, Sophia, Joe, Cora, Magdalene, Chung Kwong, Kaichiao, Susie, Tommy, Rose, Esther, Mary, Robert, Cheong Fook, Janet, Karen Wong and Clara.

The traffic was better than expected that most of us arrived at the parking lot before 8:45am. The park ranger was so nice to open earlier to serve us the restrooms and information desk. I took her recommendation and decided to cover mainly the northeastern part of the Greenbelt. We started at 9:15 am along Blue Trail. The team stretched very long so I had to wait frequently to make sure no one was missing. We switched into White Trail after Blue Trail. The trail was flat but still very nature. Chung Kwong commended it was surprised to have a big rural area to hike within the city area. After crossing a few flooded areas, the trail brought us back to civilization. We found very reddish vegetation at the front yard of a residential house. I missed the Yellow trail mark so the whole team was in front of a rehabilitation center. We went back and found the Yellow Trail to Moses’ Mountain. The Mountain was said as the best viewpoint over the entire area. We reached the summit only after climbing 50 feet and which was so small that could hardly fit all 39 of us. I brought the group continued on Yellow Trail and reached a parking lot of High Rock Park entrance. After a short break to locate the trail mark, we started our long march to Todt Hill along Yellow Trail. There were a lot of side trails on the way. We were segmented because photographers stayed a while to take photos at a small pond. More than 30 of us was led into a wrong trail and reached the picnic tables of the Boy Scout campground. I ran back to locate the trail mark and later reunion with Rose, Esther, Dawn, Chung Kwong and Karen Wong. After passing a golf course on our right side, we hit the main road. The trail mark was again unclear so Anthony had to bring out his weapon GPS to locate the direction. The route brought us into a high class residential area. Those weren’t houses but mansions of huge lots. I told Joe he could be a millionaire if he could have his real estate business in this area. I joked if all 39 people of us chipped in our money in the pocket, we might be able to rent 1 night to live into one of these luxury mansions. Rose was warned by a tenant of taking too many pictures of his premise. I waited for Feng’s family at a sharp turn while Anthony had decided to take lunch at the Yellow Trail at the front. We had no way to reach a better spot because it was around 12:30 pm.

In order to avoid another confrontation with the residents of the luxury mansions, I announced we would try to locate an unmarked trail to turn back from another route. We climbed up a slope but unfortunately the route was blocked by chains of houses. We had no choice but entered into someone’s backyard. I stood at the front with friendly smile to safeguard all teammates trespassed the private property. We were lucky that the owner was a generous one. We walked about 1 mile along a traffic road and connected back to Blue Trail. The Blue Trail brought us back to High Rock Park after passing the same golf course again. There was a big fallen tree blocking the trail, BaoGong showed his tree climbing technique towards lying down branches. Since the Blue Trail was twisted with Yellow Trail, the front team went into the wrong one. I had to call them back to ensure no one was missing. It was Chew Lim’s first hiking trip and she said the exercise level of doing daily housework was actually quite demanding. I felt surprised that Feng spent private time with Denise at the back and let his 2 daughters hiked on their own. We knew until now it was Denise’s birthday. The 3 celebration events were hiking, restaurant dining and candle blowing at home.

We hiked a short portion on Purple Trail and then Yellow Trail again. The Yellow Trail brought us back to the road outside rehabilitation center. We cut into White Trail then Red Trail. The front team made the wrong turn so I had to call them back again. Someone joked he should totally add 1 more mile on those extra distance he had hiked. The group was waiting for me at the turn of Blue Trail where they were debating which direction should go. I overruled their decision and promised they would see the visitor center in 5 minutes if they trusted me. We finished 8 miles at 3:15 pm. The trail in this city park wasn’t challenging enough for sure when compared with Harriman. I hoped both Karen Lu and Grace wouldn’t be misled that all our hiking events were so easy and simple. This Greenbelt would be a good place to revisit when the trail was full of snow or when driving away from city was hazardous.

今天爬山的目的地是遠近都知名，享譽過百年，以奇岩曲徑、湖畔酒店和醉人秋色獨步爬山和攀岩界的霧麓(Mohonk Preserve)。這是我第三次到此地爬山。第一次糊裏糊塗的跟着領隊走完寬濶山徑，留下最深印象的是古雅酒店和平靜小湖的絕配。第二次是領着一群山友到此探路，但當時是跟着一位有經驗的朋友於此穿越岩洞曲徑，留下最深印象的是Crevice的長木梯和窄洞口。這次算是自我考驗，我只從網絡中找到前人的一份登山日誌作引導，便帶領14位山友走一條我亦從未走過的路綫。究竟路途中有何危險路段和路綫是否仍然暢通，都將是今天大家要親自面對的課題。今天有幸能鍛鍊到膽色和欣賞到美景的山友包括BaoGong, Jennifer, Sophia, Joe, Cora, Chung Kwong, Rose, Esther, Masa, Yvonne, Janet, Philip, Stanley和Cindy。

為着節省每位$12元的昂貴入園費，我們提早集合時間到5時半，希望在職員上班前進入園區。我們早上7時15分就到達停車場，只見Jennifer和BaoGong等人二話不說就闖關入閘，害怕就因遲了幾分鐘而功虧一簣。Joe也怱怱趕上，就連車門也差點忘了上鎖。其他人也被感染而手忙腳亂，我從未見過大家的行動是如此迅速和自律的。我們上了木樓梯，沿石級向上爬了約100呎就到達平坦易走的Undercliff Carriageway。我在那兒才能停住一眾受驚的小鳥，向大家分發和解釋登山路綫圖。我計劃要在午餐前攀爬四個刺激的窄洞曲徑，考驗大家智慧、臂力、腳力和膽色。因為時間尚早，很遺憾未能見到攀岩高手附在左邊的岩壁上的奇景。由於我們彷如偷渡入境，沒有公文圖印，Rose, Cora和連我在內的幾個人整天都在提心吊膽怕被在前面等着或從後追來的職員遞個正着。Cora和Rose每逢聽到後面有腳步聲都不其然腳底加油快快走。

我帶領大家在Laurel Ledge Carriageway走了一陣子後，果然找到Giants Workshop的登山口。我們要從石隙縫中左穿右插，有時被巨石擋着看似前無去路，若非有藍色路標指示，真不知翻過去會是別有洞天。大家先後從一條裂縫中鑽出來到了一處稍稍平坦的巨石上欣賞遠處風景。Stanley不甘寂寞要顯露一下他身體的柔軟性和靈活性，所以鑽進另一個石縫中探險。他爬到另一個高點後大呼過癮，決定下次要把兒子Vincent帶來實行兩父子齊齊挑戰這些岩隙，開發獨薛家擁有的產業和天地。在Janet和Cindy爬出來及充份拍照和Yvonne治理好腳上小傷口之後，我帶領大家轉到紅色路標的山徑上。這部份山徑首先是在懸崖下經過，看到頭頂上凌空的巨石和腳下踏着那從上面斷裂墮下的碎石堆，我只希望這剎那不要有黎克特制三級以上的地震在附近發生，否則山友社將從此在紐約登山歷史上消失。這一段山徑叫人為人身安全而擔憂，是另一類令人憂心忡忡的旅程。BaoGong, Joe和Stanley都在彎樹上大擺姿勢，Cora, Jennifer和Esther都在石縫中留倩影，就連很少拍照的Philip也沒錯過此機會，來一張像阿諾舒華辛力加重臨過去世界似的裂縫中的鐵漢照。其後我們要運用攀石的技巧登上石上，我從下面為上面的山友拍照時，只見一個個頭髗逐個出現，我取笑他們像在生產多胎嬰兒，一個接一個的從媽媽體內鑽出來。我們經過Copes Lookout後接到Humpty Dumpty Carriageway，完成今天的第二道主菜。

這段Humpty Dumpty Carriageway上有不少小木亭，吸引了攝影師不少的目光。我們隨後很快就在Short Woodland Drive上找到第三個攀爬地點。雖然進口處有鐵牌註明山徑已關，但我看這段路徑不長所以不理告示而決定快闖。我們早上因無職員辦公的緣故不付費進園尚可說不知者不罪，但現在卻是明知山徑已關而故意犯規進入。如果被人捉到兩罪俱發，很難從輕發落了。我心中犯罪感越來越重，惟有催促山友們速速完成此段，不要作無謂逗留。這段紅色山徑有部份是需要臂力輔助，部份女山友稍感吃力。攀爬過後接回合法的寬濶山徑上，而這Eagle Cliff Carriageway是全天走得最慢的一段。那不是因為山徑陟峭，而是在此終於可以看到湖畔酒店的側景及Skytop Tower的遠景。大家出動所有可以留影的器材向那有百多年歷史但保養得非常漂亮的酒店大肆狂按快門，辛苦了半天，大明星終於出場了。我們走近酒店並再度犯規進入參觀及使用其洗手間，正所謂一件污兩件穢，錯完再錯，可能可以負負得正呢。

經過半小時重整隊伍，我宣佈大家要繼續行程，盡量在Skytop Tower塔下在美景前吃午餐。我帶領大家進入有名的Labyrinth和Crevice地段，這段又是叫人心驚膽跳冷汗直冒的地段。內裏山徑上已經鋪了不少木板以減輕攀上爬下的難度，但其中有一處斜石面太過光滑和沒有扶手位置，我們需要冒着磨破衣褲的風險向下滑行數呎再向上爬。我亦在那兒非常狼狽被Esther取笑並拍照存案了。Rose和Chung Kwong的小腿和膝蓋也是在這段撞在石上受傷的。我們需要在狹窄縫洞中鑽來鑽去，Esther說我們就像一隊的小老鼠在山中流竄。Sophia說經過今天這高驚嚇度和高體能要求的行程後，她再也不會害怕任何8哩以下的登山活動了。Philip, Rose, Masa和Jennifer早已不知所踪，我們順着紅色路標走着，但被崖邊小亭吸引了於是偏離航道，最後其餘11人决定在寬闊山徑邊小亭吃午餐。

我嘴裹吃着麫包但心中滿腹狐疑為何沒有攀爬到Crevice？Crevice的長梯窄洞是令人終生難忘的經歷，不能過門不入！我見Stanley閒着沒事，於是派他返回山徑上尋找Crevice的方向，果然不到兩分鐘就聽到他在山下高聲叫喊：找到了！於是我重新組織敢死隊。Chung Kwong, Yvonne和Stanley連隨和應。Cora說既然出得來行，就預備要還，儘管雙腳已達到半年的運動指標，但美景當前又如何能夠錯過。Esther是在最後一秒才決定跳上這難忘號列車，挑戰Crevice。在攀爬跨跳過一大堆巨石陣時，各人已被風景吸引得不想離開，但時間所限，我們只好怱怱爬上進洞口的長梯。夾縫內有幾道木梯，一道比一道小，表示石縫亦越爬越窄。最要命的是還有一大石壓頂，其中一處進口僅能容下身軀大小通過。我們必須把背包卸下交與旁人，然後幾乎要把臉貼近木梯才能爬過小洞。Esther走在最前，於是負責把大家的背包用單手逐一推到洞外，累得她叫苦連天。我們各人從僅能容下一個身軀的窄縫中跳出來，仿如死裹逃生的情節，這是全天最安全但刺激的部份。

走到寬闊山徑時正巧踫到其他隊友從Skytop Tower走下來，知道時間已不早，我們六人只要求給予15分鐘到塔頂參觀時間。塔頂風大但景色漂亮，亦不枉Cora和我再爬三層樓的樓梯。下山時發覺隊伍已經一分為三：Philip和Masa已在湖邊酒店等候；Janet和Cindy已不知所踪；我則領着其餘10找路下山。Janet終於打電話給我求救，原來她和Cindy根本不知道Mohonk House就是那酒店就盲目前進。我知道這兒遊人眾多而且路程很短，就是走錯了方向很快就可找到正確的目的地，所以我並不擔心，只是Esther就被她們的短暫失聯而嚇驚。果然在15分鐘之後，兩位離群小羊就在另一方位中出現。

Jennifer突然從湖邊跑過來還臉露驚惶之色，她說那黄衣大漢正查問Joe, Masa, BaoGong和Philip有否付錢購入園票，她看見勢頭不對就趕過來叫其他人散了。想不到擔心了一整天的事終於也發生了！本來以如此美景，付錢進園是值得的，但要在捱了不睡眠和拼到最後一小時才付錢的話，總覺心有不甘。於是我帶領大家繞過酒店，避開黄衣大漢駐紥的範圍直奔三哩外的停車場。四位革命先烈後來匯報：原本該職員要求每人補付$25元入園費，但他們以身上加起來就只有$25元為借口，結果就付了$25元了事。原來儘管早點偷渡進了場，在園內活動還是會受到稽查的盤問。與其擔驚受怕一整天，我決定下次必定睡足精神，大搖大擺的付費進園了。在最後一哩行程時，終於看到臨時加演的蜘蛛俠大戰繩索超人，那是很多人在練習攀岩，算是給充滿驚嚇的一天劃上一個切題的句號。我們在4時到達停車場，今天共完成了8哩。