Hunter College Geography Club

BREAKNECK RIDGE HIKE September 20th, 2008

2008-09-05T17:28:00.011-04:00

Important Information about the Breakneck Ridge Hike scheduled for Saturday, September 20th:

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A very informative PDF details the below information plus additional information about the hike itself and the town of Cold Spring. Please contact the Geo Club officers directly to be sent a copy of this PDF. The PDF also includes a trail guide.
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Saturday, September 20th 8:00 am:
Drivers & car passengers leave from front of Hunter College North/69th Ave entrance.

Please arrive 15 minutes before we leave

8:50 am: Train for Breakneck Ridge Departs Grand Central Terminal

10:06 am: Train arrives at Breakneck Ridge Station

10:30 am: Everyone meets at the Breakneck Ridge Trail trailhead

10:45 am: Begin hiking the Breakneck Ridge Trail

12-12:30 pm: Stop for Lunch at Vista located just above junction of Breakneck Ridge Trail & Breakneck Bypass Trail

2:30 - 3 pm: Finish 4 mile loop - Breakneck Ridge Trail

Continue 2 mile walk/hike to the town of Cold Spring ~ Eat Dinner in Cold Spring?

4:58 pm:* 1st Train leaves Breakneck Ridge for Grand Central Terminal (see train schedule page for information on trains leaving Cold Spring)

6:20 am: 1st Train arrives back at Grand Central Terminal

*The trail takes from 3 to 4 hours to hike, depending on hiking speed. Perhaps if we arrive back to the trailhead too early, we can continue our hike to the town of Cold Spring. Those taking the train will have the option to take the train from Cold Spring back to Grand Central. Consider this possibility when purchasing your train tickets. You may want to purchase a one way to Breakneck and wait to purchase your return trip either on the train back or at the Cold Spring station, if you end up taking the train home from Cold Spring. We might be able to squeeze everyone in cars into town. *The hike from the trailhead to Cold Spring is 2 miles or about a 30 - 40 minute walk. The Metro-North Station is right in town, and train times are listed on a separate page.
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GETTING THERE BY CAR

Travel Distance & Time: 57.3 miles or about 1 hour & 20 minutes with no traffic.
Directions to Cold Spring, NY from Hunter:
1. Take E 69th St toward Park Ave
2. Turn LEFT at Park Ave
3. Turn RIGHT at E 66th St
4. Continue on 65th St
5. Turn RIGHT at Central Park West
6. Turn LEFT at W 72nd St
7. Take the RAMP onto Henry Hudson Pkwy/Rt 9A North
8. Take EXIT 14 for 1-95 toward GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE
9. Keep LEFT. Follow signs for NEW JERSEY/G W B/I-95 S/UPPER LEVEL and merge onto I-95 South
10. Take EXIT 74 for Palisades Parkway
11. Merge onto Palisades Pkwy North
36.8 miles on Pkwy
12. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd EXIT onto US 202 N/US 6 E heading toward PEEKSKILL
13. Turn LEFT at Rt 9D
8.5 miles on 9D to Cold Spring… then please follow below to trailhead

Finding the Trailhead:

From the New York 301-New York 9D Junction in Cold Spring (8.5 miles North of Bear Mt. Bridge), go NORTH on NY 9D for 2 miles to find the trailhead and parking for two vehicles just north of the tunnel on the west side of the highway. Find additional parking 0.1 mile north on the left and the Breakneck Bypass trailhead 0.2 mile north on the right. Because this state park corridor is minimally marked, be alert for paint blazes signaling that the trail starts.

GETTING THERE BY TRAIN
For Train Travelers:
Meet at the Breakneck Ridge Trailhead after departing train by 10:15-10:30 am.
The small Breakneck Ridge Metro-North Railroad station serves hikers and campers traveling to and from Breakneck Ridge, near Beacon, New York, via the Hudson Line. Trains stop there on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only. It is only served by two trains (as of the April 2, 2006 schedule) each way; two to Breakneck Ridge in the morning, and two to Grand Central Terminal in the evening, and only then as a flag stop. It is 55 miles (89 km) from Grand Central Terminal and travel time to Grand Central is approximately one hour, 29 minutes.
It is discreetly located off NY 9D, with no sign, merely a small path leading to the overpass and then down to the tracks about a half-mile (1 km) north of the main parking area for the Breakneck Ridge hiking trail. There is only a very small wooden platform to provide access to the trains. Due to the intimacy it offers with the tracks and the passing Amtrak and Metro-North trains, as well as the striking scenery, it is a popular place for railfans to practice their hobby.
Fare Information:
ON BOARD STATION* WEBTICKET
One-Way $15.00 $10.25* $9.74
Round Trip N/A $20.50 $19.48
* Tickets are not available for purchase from the Breakneck Ridge Station. You need to buy them on board, online or at Grand Central Station.
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Metro-North Train Schedules:
Arriving at Breakneck Ridge Station from Grand Central Terminal:
DEPARTING ARRIVING TOTAL TIME
Train #1 7:50am 9:06am 76 minutes (no transfer)
Train #2 8:50am 10:06am 76 minutes (no transfer)
** TRAIN #2 Departing at 8:50am from Grand Central is the train we are aiming for it arrives at 10:06 and if you miss this one there are no other trains arriving at Breakneck Ridge***
Leaving from Breakneck Ridge arriving at Grand Central Terminal:
DEPARTING ARRIVING TOTAL TIME
Train #1 4:53pm 6:20pm 87 minutes (no transfer)
Train #2 6:53pm 8:17pm 74 minutes (no transfer)
** only 2 trains leave from this station. Below is the train schedule
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Leaving from Cold Spring arriving at Grand Central Terminal*:
DEPARTING ARRIVING TOTAL TIME
Train #1 4:58pm 6:20pm 82 minutes (no transfer)
Train #2 5:58pm 7:14pm 76 minutes (no transfer)
Train #3 6:58pm 8:17pm 79 minutes (no transfer)
Train #4 7:58pm 9:21pm 83 minutes (no transfer)
Train #5 8:58pm 10:21pm 83 minutes (no transfer)
Train #6 9:58pm 11:21pm 83 minutes (no transfer)
** This stop is about 2 miles from the Breakneck Ridge trailhead and right in the town of Cold Spring. If you are interested in dining in Cold Spring after the hike, it is recommended that you take the train back to NYC from this station.

Fall 08/Spring 09 Calendar of Events

2008-08-27T12:17:00.008-04:00

Fall 2008 Semester

9/3/08 (We) - 1:30PM First Day GeoClub Meeting – Room 1021 North

9/3/08 (We) - 5:30PM First Evening GeoClub Meeting – Room 1022 North

9/20/08 (Sa) Breakneck Ridge Hike. Coldspring, NY

10/12/08 (Su) LI Orienteering Club Meet – Muttontown Preserve

10/15/08 (We) - 1:30PM GeoClub Meeting (undergrad majors)

10/18-10/19 (Sa/Su) Black Rock Forest Consortium Environmental Education, Cornwall, NY

11/5/08 (We) - 1:30PM GeoClub Meeting (grad schools)

11/08/08 (Su) LI Orienteering Club Meet – Sunken Meadow

11/21/08 (Fr) GeoAwareness Dinner

12/xx/08 End of Semester Party

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Spring 2009 Semester
02/04/09 (We) – 1:30PM GeoClub Meeting

03/22-27/08 AAG Annual Meeting/Conference – Las Vegas

04/18/08 (Sa) White Water Rafting

05/xx/08 End of Semester Party

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PDF regarding Spring Hike Sat April 5, 2008

2008-03-26T15:40:00.003-04:00

I've created a very detailed PDF regarding the Breakneck Ridge Hike (see previous posts). Everything you need to know is contained in this document, however, I have no idea how to post a PDF to blogger. If you are interested in the hike details, please email me at kgrady57@yahoo.com or click on the link on the right to email Kristen & Ana, and we will email you the PDF asap.

-Kristen

March 18: Breakneck Ridge Spring Hike Information Sessions

2008-03-17T19:37:00.004-04:00

GeoClub will be holding two information sessions on Tuesday, March 18 for full details about our Spring Hike to Breakneck Ridge, Cold Spring, NY.

Session 1: 12- 2pm Conference Room 1004 HN
Session 2: 5:15 - 6pm, Conference Room 1004 HN

Please see previous post for general data about the hike, and after our meeting tomorrow, check back here for full details.

We hope to see you there!

(If you are planning to drive to the hike or if you are interested in being a passenger, it's especially important for you to attend one of these sessions.)

GeoClub Spring Day Hike Saturday April 5th: Breakneck Ridge

2008-03-04T19:29:00.035-05:00

The Geo Club is excited to announce that we will be hiking Breakneck Ridge in the Hudson Highlands near the town of Cold Spring, New York on Saturday April 5th.

The trail head is about 1 1/2 hour car ride from New York City, and just a 1 hour and 23 minute ride on Metro North to the Breakneck Ridge Station*. (*Tickets are about $20 RT and must be purchased at Grand Central, since there are no ticket machines at the station. But of course, you can buy your ticket on board for more $$). The Breakneck Ridge Station is located at the trail head.

Details of the Hike:

GeoClub Meetings Before Hike to Discuss Details:
1) Tuesday, March 18, 12 - 2, Room TBA
2) Tuesday, March 18, 5 - 6, Room TBA
* We will be talking about carpooling options and early dinner options in the nearby town of Cold Spring. If you have a car and are able to bring other hikers, please email me (link on right) and/or please attend one of the GeoClub meetings on March 18.

For Drivers/Passengers: We will be leaving Hunter College at 8am the morning of the hike, for those of us traveling in cars. Please arrive 15 minutes early so we can leave on time. We will decide on an official "pick up point" at our March 18 meeting. (Before we leave, we will have already determined who is a passenger in who's car at our March 18th meeting. If you are not assigned a car by then, please, please email me before showing up so we can make arrangements).

For Train Riders: There are two Metro North trains that arrive at the Breakneck Ridge Station that morning from Grand Central Station: 7:51am - 9:14am and 8:51am - 10:14 am. We hope to be on the trail by 10:45, so the 8:51 train, arriving at 10:14am might be your best bet. We will discuss an official meeting spot at the trail head at our March 18 meeting.

About the Hike: Breakneck Ridge is one of the Appalachian Mountain Club's "8 Great Hikes". Read their review about the hike HERE. Read excellent, detailed reviews about this hike on trails.com HERE.

The trail itself is a 4 mile loop, which takes about 2.5 hours. (There is also a 12 mile loop for more ambitious hikers). The terrain is "moderate to strenuous".

We will discuss propper apparel and gear at our GeoClub meeting on March 18th. In the meantime, I suggest simply layering, wearing appropriate hiking boots/tough sneakers and carrying lots of water.

Also, the very quaint town of Cold Spring offers many dining options for after the hike. We will disucss this at more length at our March 18th GeoClub meeting.

Regarding Travel Reimbursements: The GeoClub has budgeted money for this hike, however our budget is still pending approval. We will know next week if we can reimburse Hunter Students for their gas/metro cards. Our budget is not a lot, and will not be able to cover all of the costs, but we find this to be a relatively inexpensive activity and worth getting out of the city for! We will have definite information about this by our March 18th meeting. While we are allowing you to bring friends & family on the hike (and, in fact, we encourage this), only Hunter students can receive any type of reimbursement for their travel expenses.

GeoClub is very excited to sponsor this hike to Breakneck Ridge! For those students going to Maine in May, this would be a great expereince to get you hyped up for your trip to Acadia National Park.

We hope to see you at our meeting on March 18th! Please email Kristen or Ana for any questions you may still have about the hike (see email link on right).

L.I. Orienteering Schedule Posted

2008-03-04T18:50:00.010-05:00

The Long Island Orienteering Club's Schedule has been posted. While the Geo Club does not currently have any plans to go Orienteering this semester, with enough interest, we may be able to schedule a time to go. Last semester Geo Club went Orienteering and had a blast. It's a lot of fun, and we encourage you to go on your own, if not with Geo Club.

Visit http://liorienteering.org/ for information about Orienteering and to check out the schedule.

Our First Spring 2008 Semester Get-Together

2008-02-06T11:59:00.000-05:00

Our Fall 2007 Hiatus

2008-02-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Life in New York City is unlike anywhere else. More often than not NYC students have full time jobs and go to school in the evening, or attend class during the day and go to work at night. Whatever the combination, it's challenging to coordinate schedules and lives around the demanding requests of our dear College Association. By the time Geo Club had the necessary 4 committed officers and something resembling a satisfactory budget, it was... alas, December.

The Geo Club started strong in October 2007 with a fun Orienteering trip out in Long Island. However, when the powers that be requested offical document after official document, signatures and meetings galore, the Geo Club had to put a stop on its activities until life itself was resolved.

After learning a hard lesson about beaurocracy, the Geo Club is BACK, and we are ready to begin the semester with much enthusiasm. And above all, we do hope you'll join us...