My local hike and all my extra calories.

My local hike: Lucky, lucky me - I live in this town, with this awesome hiking/rock climbing trail only 10 min away, which - 20 yrs ago - no one but us locals frequented.  Now, the NY Times and Newsweek have let the cat out of the bag, and we're swamped with city dwellers on day trips, sometimes BUS LOADS OF THEM!  ACK!,  clogging up the trails.  Blah.  Today, however - a Thursday morning - my friend and I had the mountain to ourselves!  How wonderful!!

It's nearly vertical right from the start.  Around the 1st peak, you get your 2nd wind in time to tackle the 2nd peak, and the climbs to the 2nd and 3rd peaks are the most scenic and most thrilling/potentially dangerous.  Then it levels out a little to the 4th and final peak - some hills, some descents, a little bit of climbing (hands needed) here and there.  It all coincides so perfectly with what your muscles want and need.  It's push push push, breath, breath, breath for the 1st 45 min, slightly eases up for the next 15-20 min, and then you start just hiking...some dips/hills, but nothing that strenuous.  The descent is steep in parts and you have to lean way back while you step forward, and it works your quads so well!  By the end, it's just a slight decline and easy walking, as you cool off and realize how totally freakin' amazing you feel, with your exhausted muscles and sweaty clothes and hair!  I feel so much sexier then than I do when I'm all dressed up and standing around some social event, trying to look pretty.

I haven't hiked this trail since Autumn, so I was PSYCHED to bring my HRM and figure out the calorie burn.  However, I forgot one crucial piece of it at home, and so I'll have to wait til next time.  MyFitPal estimates 2 hrs of hiking w/ hills and carrying <10 lb weight to be 949 cals.  I burned more than that w/ tennis last weekend, same amount of time.  I'm certain my heart worked harder on this hike.  I'm going to safely estimate 1100, though I believe it's more.

It's not the majestic mountain trails Maren gets to hike, but it's my own local natural wonder.  Used to be that you could see the Twin Towers on the horizon from the top.  (60 miles away.)  And granite blasted from the side of this mtn was used to build the Brooklyn Bridge.   I get a kick out of these reminders about how close to the city we are, yet how it feels such a world away.

Photos taken from a blogger called HarrimanHiker.  (No relation, though we do share the same blogging last name.)

photo: Alan Petrulis
The Hudson River, the train tracks to Manhattan, and the street we drove here on.

Photo: Robert Rodriguez, Jr.

And a post workout motivation pic:

I have sooooo many calories added into my daily budget now.  I keep finding myself thinking of decadent ways of enjoying them.  Silly, silly thoughts....Must squash them.  Gonna go make a salad.