4/12/9 Hudson Palisades South (Fort Lee) with Shelly Janes, Kyle Zalinsky, Amanda Rosanblatt, Joe Tag, Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Eric Pace, and "DJ Ray" Cordts.
This next one would be the first to take us on the Hudson Palisades, continuing the NJ Perimeter with the Shore Path, and to start officially the series with the Long Path at it's (then) southern terminus.
The original journal entry for this one was also lost with many of the others so I have to do my best to remember it without it.
I don't remember exactly where we parked, but I think it was on street or something in Fort Lee. I don't think we could park in the historic park for this one because it closes after dark. We must have been really close by.
Because the hike was Easter Sunday, I decided we would make this one a formal affair and I posted the hike for everyone to show up in their Sunday best. I had a blazer for Kyle to borrow, and Joe showed up in a polka dot bow tie that he tied himself. Mr. Buckett had a plaid jacket and a hat and briefcase! This was going to be a great time!
We headed along the route of the Long Path from the walkway over the George Washington Bridge, on a foot bridge. Up steps on the other side, there was a side trail to the right we followed, which had an outstanding view of the GW Bridge from about as close as one can get.
The side trail led right back to the Long Path northbound.
Soon, there was an excellent view up the Hudson toward Ross Dock area. The igneous extrusive basalt rock formations are unlike anything else, and really define the area.
We continued north along Allison Park, and then along a railing along the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace nursing school area.
We passed over the Englewood Cliffs and there was an outlook that had some sort of a stone ruin along it, which was where we got our group photo. We then continued across Henry Hudson Drive at the Englewood Entrance. We had passed the Carpenter's Trail earlier that goes steeply 350 feet down the cliffs, and at Englewood the Dyckman Hill Trail also heads down the hill.
We continued along the cliffs, did a side trip down to an odd rock outcrop, and enjoyed the view from High Tom's. There were spring flowers in bloom along the top as well as forsythia.
We took a nice break at Rockefeller Lookout where there was a great view to Manhattan and the Henry Hudson Bridge over the Spuyten Duyville Creek.
Other overlooks were ahead to the right including Clinton Point. We then made our way parallel with the members only Greenbrook Sanctuary, and then reached the entrance road to it.
When we reached the access road to the Greenbrook Sanctuary, we took a side trip to the left out to the Tenafly Nature Center and Lost Brook Preserve. For that, we had to cross Rt 9W.
From the entrance trail, we turned left immediately on the red blazed Little Chism Trail. This weaved around through nice woods, and eventually went by the ruins of an old stone dam that held back what was called Iodine Lake.
There were some nice puncheons over wet areas, we crossed brooks, and turned to the Haring Trail with orange blazes. We headed west then north, and then a large boulder known as Haring Rock was on the way.
We followed the Haring Trail north to the intersection with the yellow Allison Trail and then left on the purple trail. This took us over to the Tenafly Nature Center where the trails were marked with shaped markers and we reached Pfister's Pond or something.
I think we walked up along the puncheons on the east side of the pond to Bischoff Trail, then crossed Hudson Avenue to continue back on more of Little Chism Trail back to where we got into the park.
We crossed over Rt 9W again, and then headed into the woods on the Long Path north.
Shelly was stopped by a guy that was in a car pulling out and asked if he just saw a guy walking into the woods wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. Shelly confirmed what he had seen to which he responded "I love that!".
We headed just a little ways past the Greenbrook Sanctuary's fenced lands on the right, and then left the Long Path to make our way down the Palisades formation on the Huyler's Landing Trail.
This trail was believed to have been the route used by General Cornwallis and the British army when they were heading west to intercept Washington and the Continental Army. The error of not capturing New Bridge Landing to the west is thought to possibly have saved the nation.
Huyler's Landing Trail brought us to the white blazed Shore Path, which is an excellent trail following the Hudson all the way from Fort Lee to beyond the NY state line.
We crossed Henry Hudson Drive on the way down, and turned right to follow the Shore Path below.
The path is very rustic and secluded feeling much of the way.
The next point of interest was the beautiful Greenbrook Falls, which had the bridge for Henry Hudson Drive right over it.
Giant stones took us across Green Brook, and there were lots of rocks that made up portions of the trail, delineated portions of the trail, or old dock bits were used as walkway, with old anchor ropes laying along the edge. There were near constant outstanding views out across the Hudson River along the way.
When we reached Undercliff Dock area, there were old stone ruins of a picnic facility or something which I believe date back to the CCC.
There were beautiful flower beds and such at the area of Englewood Boat Basin, and a pretty section of cascades and a bridge heading down the cliffs.
When we got to the Ross Dock area, the trail followed the road along the bottom for a bit, then cut away again as we approached the George Washington Bridge.
It was amazing to see the bridge down at the bottom there. The trail headed uphill when we got near the end of the park property, and reached Henry Hudson Drive.
We turned right at the top, at the intersection with Hudson Terrace, and followed the parallel path to the right, and then headed into Fort Lee Historic Park. I wanted to get to the triple blaze at the south end of the Long Path at the time, and so we did just that with barely any daylight left to finish the hike.
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