Beacon

Friday was an early night for me, but I caught a mini Tartan Week concert downtown. I like to think that guy in the background might be one of the Red Hot Chili Pipers, since they were around for the Scotland 10k on 3/30 and were scheduled to play later Friday night, but it's probably some random guy with a guitar.

I have been so tired recently, so Saturday of course turned out to be the day I overslept my alarm by an hour. That meant no time to prepare lunch. Instead, I grabbed my gear and sprinted to the subway.

Ironically, I got to Grand Central and managed to catch an earlier train than I expected (about 9 minutes earlier). It must have been an express train because I somehow arrived in White Plains a full 45 minutes ahead of time. This gave me time to confirm that the hike was still on despite the forecast of rain and to get provisions for a more challenging hike than previously scheduled (apparently all the neophytes bailed out).

We drove up from White Plains to Beacon, and found parking by the strangely marked trailhead (there was a discreet sign showing hikers walking, and a few blazes to get us started, but they were counterbalanced by numerous "No Trespassing" signs). The day started out overcast, so we got gray views of the Hudson:

The sun started to peek through, spotlighting entire neighborhoods on the other side of the river:

Soon, it was sunny skies with just a few clouds casting shadows on the hills near the old Mayan temple, er, I mean the old quarry.


From the higher reaches of the hike, we could see the glimmer of the Hudson in the distance:


Near the end of the trail, a rushing stream:

We lingered awhile in the cafes of the City of Beacon, then said farewell.