Hike #602; Old Croton Aqueduct NYC

 Hike #602; Old Croton Aqueduct Vicinity, NYC

Group shot on Old Croton Aqueduct, Van Cortland Park

12/18/11 Old Croton Aqueduct in New York City and Vicinity with Jason Kumpas, Amanda Murphy, Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Eric Pace, Chris Herbig, "DJ Ray" Cordts, Amanda Povinelli, Jack Lowry, Susan Duncan, Craig Nunn, Simon Schwartz, Hadas Yatom-Schwartz, Bill ?, Kristen ?, Caleb ?, Irina Kulikovskaya, Cory Salveson, John Pershouse, Al MacLennan, Jason Itell, Megan ?, Jaque Melo, ?, Tony Bertuch, Marissa Rosen, Chris "Cupcake" Kroschinski, Karole Fristenksky, Rob Creamer, Carol Creamer, Jimmy Graham, Haobo Lai, Bobbi Landrock, Lee ?, Corrin Dylnicki, and Iannis Garafalo.

My next hike would yet again be another holiday New York City trip, but this year would be a bit more focused than some of the randomness of the previous years. This year I aimed to complete the section of the Old Croton Aqueduct from Van Cortland Park south to it's former terminus at 42nd Street and Bryant Park.

Hanging around the station in Secaucus NJ

The plan was, as in previous years, to meet at the giant Christmas Tree in New York Penn Station. I hitched a ride in with Eric Pace and Mr. Buckett. We parked at the Secaucus station, which was supposed to be seven dollars but we payed twenty because a stupid football game was going on I think. We walked from the parking lot on up into the rather new looking station where we had some views of New York City, including the Empire State Building.

View of the Empire State Building from Secaucus Station

At the station, we met up with DJ Ray and Amanda, and Herbig. We all boarded the train together and got into the city rather quickly. Once there, we also got to the big tree pretty quickly. I had already heard from Carol and Rob, and when we arrived there a few others were waiting around. Actually, Susie met us on the platform since she rode in on the same train. I think we met up with Craig down there as well.

Group shot in New York Penn Station

Group shot in New York Penn Station

Walking through the holiday decorated New York Penn Station

Taking the subway, uptown Manhattan

The group on the subway, Manhattan

As we waited, the group continued to grow. Soon, there was a huge crowd of people congregated around the tree! We had to wait a bit for people running to use the restrooms and such, but it worked out because people were running behind.

By the time everyone had arrived here, we had at least 32 of us. Craig and Al went on ahead to catch an earlier train to the Bronx and meet up with some of the people joining us up there. I waited around for a bit more, and then we headed on down to the platform for the subway. We didn't have to wait long to baord the #3 train up town. The #1 train was more direct, but 2 and 3 were express, and a few people recommended we take those and switch at 96th street, so that's what we did. We amazingly all piled onto the first train without any mishaps.

It was amazing that we were able to exit this train and get onto another without having any further problems as well. We got off on the platform at 96th, and had an easy transition over to the #1 train when it arrived. There were a lot of people on it, but the numbers dwindled as we continued north.

The group on the subway heading north

I had a tennis ball with me that I'd found on a previous hike, and started obnoxiously playing catch with members of the group while we rode the train, much to the discontentment of other riders.

Before exiting the train, Jack and I began singing a few songs; he of course had his awesome carbon fiber guitar with him for added merriment. We tried to think of train songs, and so he started playing a blues number, and then we sang "One After 909", and then "Spin Me Round". I couldn't quite hit the high notes, but we had fun.

Leaving the train station in Van Cortland Park, Bronx NY

Van Cortland Park Station, Bronx

The train saw the light of day briefly once, and I took a phone call from Kristen, a newcomer from the Bronx who planned to join, but then I lost it as we went back underground. Eventually, the train emerged from underground permanently before crossing the Harlem River, or rather the waterway that diverted the Harlem River. I pointed out to everyone how the Army Corps of Engineers had moved the Harlem River from it's original location, and that's why Marble Hill was considered part of Manhattan rather than the Bronx or anywhere else, even though it's not attached to the island (but used to be). I pointed out the cliffs where once could trace where the waterway once was.

The group in Van Cortland Park

We pulled into our last station, Van Cortland Park where we would start walking. We exited the train to the left and then were able to move on through a corridor and across a bridge over Broadway. There we met back up with Al and Craig, as well as newcomer Kristen and her son, Caleb, and Craig's friend (Bill was it?).

Historic Van Cortland House, Bronx NY

In front of the Van Cortland House, Bronx NY

View of the bridge on Old Putnam Trail, Van Cortland Park

I couldn't really put people in a circle to talk to them, so Kristen moved us on into Van Cortland Park to a nice junction of paved paths. I went over the route a bit and did introductions, and then we were on our way along an unpaved path that took us in front of the historic Van Cortland House, one of the oldest homes in New York City.

We continued on the path and crossed over an old road way that appeared to have once gone toward the house, and then headed straight on to the Old Putnam Trail, a rail trail that was once part of the New York Central's Putnam Division Railroad. This was apparently part of the historic line that was begun in 1870 but not completed until 1880 due to financial issues. It's amazing that with a metropolis like New York City, even then, that a line between it and Boston would have been unprofitable. I suppose the history of corruption dates far back.

View along Old Putnam Trail

The rail trail crossed over a bridge visible to our left over part of Van Cortland Lake, but we turned left and followed it to the left of the lake. Along the way we passed some giant stone monuments; Kristen told us they were tests to see which rock was best for construction I believe. The rail bed soon continued across a finger of Van Cortland Lake on a more modern looking walkway bridge.

Old Putnam Trail in the Bronx

Old Putnam Trail in the Bronx

I had walked this section once before with Cupcake and Jaque, and remember that even then I loved how we were in part of New York City, but on a rail trail that was simple black cinder dirt, with a few ties still remaining. I had recently been receiving e mails about efforts to pave the trail through Van Cortland Park, which I think would be a terrible mistake. This was a piece of rather untouched history, and it was great to walk on a soft surface. Paving it would bring an urban feel to the entire area.

Climbing to the Old Croton Aqueduct in Van Cortland Park

We passed beneath the Moshulu Parkway and continued north. There was golf course surrounding us, and when it ended, we turned right on a connector path which led us up hill. There was a Nun walking ahead of us up the trail, which looked interesting. She was wearing colorful clothing, and we said hello. She was very friendly and wondering what we were up to.

The path led us up to Old Croton Aqueduct, where I had picked it up my first time ever hiking it. I had now followed it north from this spot to Sleepy Hollow, and I was about to finish following it to the south.

Old Croton Aqueduct, Van Cortland Park

It was evident that ATVs were using the park rather heavily, which surprised me since we were still in the city. A group of boys came jogging by us in shorts and tee shirts. It was a freezing cold morning, and the high for the day was only 34 degrees. I'd only worn a tee shirt and blazer, so I was pretty cold. I had some Tilt which warmed me up a bit.

There were a few other ATV paths turning away from the Aqueduct route, but we continued straight. The rest of the group had to wait for me the first couple times because they hadn't figured out we were on a level.

A weir on the Old Croton Aqueduct, Van Cortland Park

We soon came to one of the weirs. These large structures were used to cut off flow of water through the aqueduct when repairs needed to be made below their points. I wasn't expecting to see such a nice one in Van Cortland Park. This section was very much like the sections we had seen further to the north. I was surprised not to see any ventilator shafts on this nice section, though.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Van Cortland Park

It's even for me to believe that I'm in new york city. Old Croton Aqueduct

A rest stop out of Van Cortland Park

Along the way, Craig spotted a section where the brick top of the aqueduct was exposed, the only time I had ever actually seen the top of it. We continued on to the south and eventually came to a trail junction. The aqueduct route ahead was overgrown. Another trail turned to the right, but we turned to the left. This was close to or on the New Croton Aqueduct, constructed in 1890 and more or less underground, unlike the Old Croton which was built in 1842 mostly above ground and back filled.

We soon emerged on the Major Deegan Expressway. Caleb ran up front with me a lot of the time. He was a bright kid and very enthusiastic. On Major Deegan, there was a Dunkin Donuts where we made a pit stop. I bought Caleb a donut because he was hungry and his mom had forgotten money.

After our break, we continued back to the path, which led us up onto an exit road overpass of the Major Deegan to Jerome Ave. It was wide with a nice walkway across it. We crossed an on ramp to Major Deegan, and then turned right at the end onto another paved path leading down hill. This section was all blazed orange, with appropriate turn blazes, but they weren't very noticeable. We descended slightly and came to a fork in the paved paths at ball fields, and turned right.

As we continued, John P called me up and told me he was still at Dunkin Donuts. I directed him on how to get to us and he was on the move. We continued on the trail until it came to another fork with more ball fields on the left, but where the paved path forked, a third unpaved path made a harder right to the right, and I saw an orange turn blaze to it. I quickly made an arrow out of sticks to direct John there, and we made our way down this trail parallel to the Major Deegan Expressway. The path soon regained the Old Croton Aqueduct route south.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail in southern Van Cortland Park

The route was clear, but it didn't seem so much like a trail as the sections to the north in Westchester County. I was however impressed to see a rather nice foot bridge over a small spring coming across the trail.

We continued on and the trail emerged onto Moshulu Parkway and West Gun Hill Road's intersection, and seemingly ended.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Van Cortland Park's south end

We held back here for just a moment, and John came running down the trail quickly from behind us. It took him barely any time to catch up. That guy seriously has drive and stamina.

Rather than look at my map, I told Kristen where we needed to be, and she led us across the busy intersection. We walked across the center of a little park in a square, which I didn't realize at the time was actually the route of the Aqueduct, and then crossed another street to continue south on Goulden Avenue.

Old Croton Aqueduct site in the Bronx, along Jarome Park Reservoir

Giant Willow at Jarome Park Reservoir

Bronx, NY

The right side of the road was rather cleared on a grassy lawn. This was the route of the aqueduct, which was removed in this area in 1898 and reconstructed in 1906 into the east berm of the Jerome Park Reservoir. This reservoir was built on the site of a once famous race track. It was empty on this visit due to construction. On my previous trip I had walked on the other side of the reservoir.

We continued south along Goulden beyond the Jermome Park Reservoir, and Kristen and Caleb broke away from the group. The rest of us continued on to the south.

Historic Kingsbridge Armory, Bronx; largest armory in the world.

Next, we passed the historic Kingsbridge Armory. Built in 1917, it is the largest armory in the world, stretching at least six stories underground! It's castle like facade made it quite a site to see.

"Kingsbridge" is named for a 1693 bridge that spanned the original route of the Spuyten Duyvil Creek before it was moved and pretty much considered the Harlem River, as mentioned before.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail in the central Bronx

We soon reached Kingsbridge Road. Across from us, there was another swath of parkland, full of trash, that was the next piece of the Old Croton Aqueduct. I had to  use the restroom something terrible, and with no place to pee I took off to the east to a nearby McDonalds. Amanda cut out at this point because she had family obligations later in the day, and she had just returned home from spending the Fall in Italy.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

I returned to the group, and many of them had stopped to get some pizza at a corner parlor. We continued across Kingsbridge onto a sidewalk along Aqueduct Ave West. After 190th street, the Aqueduct resumed as an above ground embankment with a paved trail on top, though not as pretty as shown on the cover of my guide map.

Somewhere in this section Cupcake and  Karole had to cut out as well due to some sort of previous obligation.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

A Red Tailed Hawk in the Bronx

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Old Croton Aqueduct in the Bronx, where it's cut off

Morton Playground on the Old Croton Aqueduct

Historic marker at Morton Playground

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Bronx NY

Washington Bridge, Bronx

View across the Harlem River toward Manhattan

The Old Croton Aqueduct continued as a nice walkway, with sometimes deteriorating fence lines on either side, and a bit of litter. I found a prostitute's business card sitting on the edge of the trail, advertising "Costa Ricans" with bare butts. It was a rough looking neighborhood at times!

Soon, we were joined by our old friend Haobo, who managed to make his way to us. Together, we continued to walk south as the ambiance of the aqueduct route gradually improved, continuing up on the high embankment.

The closer we got to 180th street, the better the guard rails on the sides looked as I recall.

The aqueduct trail continued pleasantly until we came to Burnside Avenue, where there was a missing section. Far back when this was a rural road, the Old Croton Aqueduct had an arched crossing of this road, but later when it was widened, it was changed to an inverted siphon to get the water under the road. This road was named for the civil war General Ambrose Burnside for whom we get the word "sideburns".

We regained the Old Croton Aqueduct at Morton Place, where the Morton Playground was built on top of it. There were historic markers set in the playground that told the history of the aqueduct.

Ahead, we had to cross to the center of University Ave/Martin Luthor King Jr. Blvd at University Malls, as the aqueduct route was the strip of land between the north and southbound road. I recall running into a store somewhere around here for a bag of chips I think, but I can't remember!

The aqueduct path sort of disappeared when we got to the Cross Bronx Expressway. We followed Craig off to the other side, to a nice view of the historic Washington Bridge and vicinity, and then down University Ave on the aqueduct route to the western side of the High Bridge, which carried the Old Croton Aqueduct across the Harlem River on fifteen stone arches.

The 1848 High Bridge

Gated east entrance to the High Bridge

The bridge was incredible. We had a pretty nice view from it through the trees, and looking at it just made me wish we could cross over it even more.

Constructed in 1848, it is the oldest extant bridge in New York City. It was modeled after the aqueducts of ancient Rome, and certainly carried that look well. We all walked to the gated east end, which was locked and sorrounded by razor wire to keep people off of it.

View across the High Bridge

The bridge was closed many years ago after a kid threw something off the top of it and it landed in a boat passing beneath. It makes me sad to think that to open it up again will mean they will have to add some sort of gates and such to keep people from throwing things off or committing suicide or something.I could see through the gate how the walkway, intended to be a pedestrian promenade. was long neglected with weeds growing through. As of this writing, it is planned to re-open in 2013.

Washington Bridge from the east end of the High Bridge

At least the view up the Harlem River from the site was worth the walk over, because we would have to backtrack in order to resume walking the aqueduct on the other side.

The central section, five arches of the original High Bridge had been removed, and replaced with a steel superstructure in 1928 to allow safe passage of vessels on the Harlem River beneath. Craig explained to us that at the time of it's construction, the Harlem River was just a small body of water, and that it was made larger to accomodate ships by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The High Bridge from the Bronx

Stairway below the High Bridge

Stairway at the High Bridge

Craig led us onward beyond the walkway toward the High Bridge down a series of steps for a bit. The reason for this was to see the best view of the High Bridge. We were able to see the majority of the remaining stone arches and the river very clearly through the trees from his recommended vantage point, and it was well worth the trip down.

The set of steps continued down from where we were standing, but although Craig said it was nice, we both agreed we didn't have the time to continue exploring this way if we were to finish hiking the aqueduct today.

Lounging at the High Bridge

We made our way back up the steps, and then continued on the same path we had followed toward the Washington Bridge. We had a few more good views of the High Bridge and the snaking pattern of highways below us on the way.

View across the High Bridge and to the tower

The near end of the Washington Bridge was very old looking, with cut masonry arches, while the center was made of steel, similar to the High Bridge. I wondered if that bridge had had something done similar, but had nothing saying that the entire thing was anything but original.

Crossing Washington Bridge

View from Washington Bridge

View from Washington Bridge

Across the Washington Bridge, we could see the top of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River towering all the way across Manhattan Island.

The Washington Bridge across Harlem River was built in 1889, the centenary year of George Washington's inauguration. The walkway had nice metal rails along the edges which made me believe that the center section of steel might just be that much older, but not sure.

View from Washington Bridge with High Bridge and Alexander Hamilton Bridge

Culvert near McNally Plaza, Manhattan

The High Bridge

As we walked across, we had some nice views of the High Bridge, as well as the Alexander Hamilton Bridge below us and between us and the High Bridge. We had to use the Washington Bridge because the Alexander Hamilton did not have a pedestrian walkway.

Once on the other side, the pathway led us to an arched area where the path diverged. One path led to the left, but in a short distance it had gates blocking it off reading that it was closed. We continued under the arch and then to the left onto Amsterdam Ave, which was also the route of the New Croton Aqueduct.

View south on the Harlem River from High Bridge Park

We followed the sidewalk along Amsterdam Ave to another path which led off to the left, but was blocked off before we could continue on the path to the lower walkway of the Old Croton Aqueduct.

To the right of us was the High Bridge Tower, which served to help pump water to residents of northern Manhattan. The swimming pool in High Bridge Park was in part the reservoir that once held Croton water for this use.

High Bridge Tower

We made our way back out to Amsterdam Ave and continued walking south. Once on the other side of the Tower and the Pool/reservoir, there was yet another paved pathway which led over closer to the tower from the south. We followed this in and had some fantastic views down the Harlem River.

View down the Harlem River from High Bridge Park, Manhattan

High Bridge Park, Manhattan

Old Croton Aqueduct trail in Manhattan

I was very happy to see from this walkway that we could descend via some steep steps to the Old Croton Aqueduct. To the left of us was the High Bridge Tower, which we could now get much closer to. It was a beautiful sight; 200 foot tall built in 1872.

We descended on the steps to the Old Croton Aqueduct with more fine views down the Harlem River. Once at the bottom, I turned left, to reach the west end of the High Bridge.

The High Bridge, Manhattan side

Steps to the Old Croton Aqueduct

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, Manhattan

The view of the High Bridge was even more incredible from this side. Although slightly obscured by trees, we still had a great view of it's entire length.

The sun was starting to go down, but we still had enough light to see it well. The former aqueduct was paved as a recreational trail from the High Bridge on to the south. The west side was blocked by the same door and razor wire as the east side.

View from Old Croton Aqueduct, Manhattan

I had to herd everyone down the steps to get to this site, because they probably thought this would be yet another out and back deal like what we'd been doing.

We continued along the trail, which was finely cut through some rock outcroppings with more fine views of the Harlem River.

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, High Bridge Park, Manhattan

We continued walking, and the trail split off in two directions. I was further back taking pictures and lost some of the others going ahead. We should have gone to the left on a dirt trail, but many of the others continued up hill on a paved path which came out on a parkland adjacent to Edgecombe Ave. I reluctantly took the higher path to find them, but was too late to get them to backtrack.

Along the Old Croton Aqueduct in Manhattan

We continued along the top of a grassy hill parallel with Edgecombe Ave, and I could see the dirt path just below us at a steep cliff. Eventually, the trails came back together and we were simply on sidewalk along Edgecombe Ave.

By this point, DJ Ray and Amanda, Herbig, Cory, and John all cut out from the hike. Somewhere, Irina and Tony opted to go ahead. Jimmy also cut out nearer to the High Bridge. Carol and Rob just mysteriously disappeared. Haubo cut out a bit earlier than that, Jaque, Hadas, and Simon also all left by this point. Eric wanted to get a bite to eat in Little Italy, so Mr. Buckett accompanied him and they were off as well.

Despite the fact that so many were dropping out, we were soon joined by Bobbi Landrock, mother of our great friend Christina who tragically passed away the previous Spring, along with one of her friends.

Ironically, they joined while Jack and I were walking down the street singing John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)", and Bobbi announced when she arrived that in the taxi, President Obama announced an end to conflict in Iraq, and that all troops were coming home. I will always be able to remember where I was when the end of the war was announced: singing "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" with Jack and friends in uptown Manhattan.

 

The Old Croton Aqueduct crossed some sort of park near St. Nicholas Ave, but I didn't see where to go until 153rd Street. A lot of the group had again gone ahead, and somehow we got them to rejoin us ahead.

I noticed the corner of a building on 153rd was cut at an angle, and beyond there was a large space between buildings. I read later on my map that this was an area of "aqueduct clues". We turned onto 153rd, then made a left onto Amsterdam Ave. I could see the aqueduct site behind us, where it would have made it's way from between buildings to along Amsterdam Ave.

I don't remember where exactly it was, but we ducked into a McDonalds for a break. The entire place was run by a latin crew, and so when they saw Jack holding his guitar, they shouted "PLAY US A SONG!", at which point we broke into singing Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad". Happy voices were shouting from the back happily. The workers in the place loved it, although some of the patrons looked less than enthused.

Tracing the route of Old Croton Aqueduct in northern Manhattan

We soon reached a huge dip in the grade of Amsterdam Ave. This was once known as the Manhattan Valley. Craig pointed out how significant it was, but how the city masks these sorts of things. He was right; the grade was substantial, but because of the pavement and buildings it did not seem like so much. I tried to picture if as if it were lush and green with vegetation, and then was able to see how big a deal it was.

Craig asked me if I knew how the Old Croton Aqueduct overcame such a huge grade. I had already read all about this, and was able to answer with certainty that it was through inverted siphons.

A Gatehouse on Old Croton Aqueduct near Manhattan Valley

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

On the other side of the Manhattan Valley, we passed an old stone structure. We assumed this must have something to do with the Old Croton Aqueduct, and we were right. This was the 119th Street Gate House built in 1894, a replacement for the original earlier structure nearby. It was fenced in but looked to be in rather good shape. It was part of the function for the inverted siphons of Manhattan Valley. We passed another similar one on the other side of the valley earlier.

Another interesting thing we came upon along the way was the Cathedral of Saint John the Devine on Amsterdam Ave. This church claims to be the largest cathedral and Anglican church and fourth largest Christian church in the world, but it is apparently under dispute with another one somewhere. Designed in 1888 and constructed starting in 1892, it remains unfinished. Architectural changes due to the two World Wars and other things, as well as changes in plans for architecture have kept it from ever being completed.

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

We went inside, and there was organ music echoing through the huge 121,000 square foot, over 70 meter high chapel. The place was immense, and quite incredible. This was just another of those amazing little stops along the way that make the hikes incredible.

When we reached 85th street, we turned left to follow the original Old Croton Aqueduct route. Much of this section was removed and rebuilt starting in 1862. The Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, formerly known as the Croton Reservoir, was constructed in 1862 as a new receiving reservoir and southern terminus of the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890.

We made our way out to Central Park and entered, looking for the Great Lawn, which occupies the former site of the York Hill Reservoir, the original 1842 reservoir that occupied the site. It was dark by this time, so we weren't going to see any of the remaining side walls.

We made our way up the dark paths to Belvidere Castle, which was built to be an overlook of the Croton Reservoir and the York Hill Reservoir. We couldn't see much from up there, but it was still pretty nice.

We made our way down hill and through an arch in one of the park trails to a nice little bridge with city skyscraper lights reflecting on The Lake. I had thought this was Turtle Pond, which occupies the southern end of the former York Hill Reservoir, but it was not. We ended up making a loop somehow and got back to Central Park West.

View over The Lake, Central Park

We had to head back into the park, past Belvidere Castle, and exit onto Fifth Avenue on the other side again. The Old Croton Aqueduct continued from here in pipes to 42nd Street where the Murray Hill Reservoir once stood.

Corrin was calling me, ready to join the hike after spending the semester in Conserve School in Wisconsin, and was on Fifth Avenue. Jason Kumpas and I walked north a block to meet up with her, and then we continued to the south.

Atlas Statue at Rockafeller Center

We continued walking down Fifth Avenue, singing more songs, including an encore of "Feliz Navidad". It worked out that along the way we passed by Rockafeller Center, and were pretty much on time to catch a light show. There was a projection of gears and such onto the building to the east side of Fifth Ave, with a count down clock at seven minutes. We opted to wait it out and see what it was about.

What ensued was a really interesting light show, with projections of windows onto the existing windows that made them appear to open, and have snow inside, etc. I thought it was really pretty cool, especially the beginning of it.

Rockafeller Center tree

Survivors

The group at NY Public Library

We saw the famous big tree of Rockafeller Center, and then continued south along Fifth Avenue. It was in this area we met up with our friend Iannis, who had wanted to join earlier but had bus trouble. It was good to see him again because he was to move back to the Seattle area in March.

It didn't take long before we were to the corner of 42nd Street, which is now occupied by the NY Public Library and Bryant Park. This was the former southern terminus of the Old Croton Aqueduct. On this site, an Egyption style above ground Reservoir called Murray Hill once stood with a walkway around it's exterior for pedestrians. The reservoir was demolished in 1899 to make way for the library.

Surviving group members at 42nd Street, the end of Old Croton Aqueduct

Displays for xmas in NY

Macy's display

From here, it was up to the group where we went. I had acheived my goal of completing the Old Croton Aqueduct into Manhattan. Iannis had the suggestion of going to see the Macy's display, always something interesting, so we followed his lead to the store fronts.

In the past, they had had some really trippy displays. Iannis and I were there one year that they had these strange aliens and such, which just was ridicules. This year they had really creepy marionettes, which wasn't much better! I got a video of Iannis acting like he was drugged out looking at them, as I did years before. This time, the public watching him looked rather worried!

Trippy Macy's display

Irish pub dinner in NY

Irish pub dinner in NY

Irish pub dinner in NY

Irish pub dinner in NY

Irish pub dinner in NY

We walked around the outside of the Macy's, and then wandered around toward Penn Station. We discussed getting some food, and so Iannis had an idea of where there would be some good restaurants, so again we followed him.

More of the group seemed to disappear again at this point, and only a few of us made it to the Irish pub we finally decided to eat at.

While we were there, we were rejoined by Herbig, Eric, and Mr. Buckett, which was nice. We had a good time here for a while, and some tasty soup (which seemed to be the all around popular meal).

Before everyone else left, I knew I really needed to get going, because if I didn't catch the train by 10:30 pm, I would have to wait nearly another hour. It was going to be a long night anyway, and I had to get up for work just after 5 am the next morning, so we took off.

We headed along the streets to Penn Station. It was freezing cold out by this time. I had been using an extra tee shirt I had in my pack, but that wasn't going to help much. It was a relief to get into the heated Penn Station.

We managed to make the train back to Secaucus just barely, after having mishaps with the ticket machine. We then had a very cold walk back from the station to Mr. Buckett's car. I was practically asleep the entire way back.This hike certainly lived up to the great high energy that was to be expected of the Holiday NY hike, and all of the hikes. We'd quenched the thirst for experience and made the absolute best we could of another day spent entirely walking.