Following the Hudson Greenway

I have a major hike next weekend, so I wanted to do some elevation today. However, I had a party last night, and even though I didn't overdo it (except in the sense of eating too many cookies), I did need to sleep in. So, rather than taking a bus or train somewhere, I just set out from my house, heading north through Riverside Park.



I decided to take as many opportunities as possible to gain or lose elevation. It wouldn't be Everest no matter what, but there are plenty of stairs and more modest slopes in in Riverside Park. I made it to (and around) Inwood Park at the northern tip of the island, for a total of 12 miles and 1,200 feet of elevation gain. That's pretty decent for Manhattan. (You could certainly do more by, say, running up and down a staircase, but for a coherent and non-repetitive walk, it's good.)



An unexpected benefit was encountering places I hadn't seen in a while, or ever, even though I've been on this general route many times. (See both of the above photos for examples.) Of course I also saw old favorites such as the Little Red Lighthouse, but it's always nice to find new corners of old places.