Feb
02

Mother climbing with toddler in a backpack sparks controversy

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February 2, 2012

Climbing Mom, Menna Pritchard, Climbs With Toddler On Her Back – Big News?

This story is all over the news, apparently starting in the UK, now in the US and worldwide.  A British climbing mom, Menna Pritchard, posted a picture in her blog of her climbing with her 2 year old toddler in a baby carrier on her back. How this picture made it from her blog to international news outlets and why it’s so popular is a mystery to me. It certainly is something worthy of commentary in the climbing community especially those of us who go climbing with kids, but I guess it’s provoking outrage in the general population.  Here are some of the news articles if you weren’t aware of the story:

ABC News: Rick-Loving Mom Straps On Toddler for Cliff Climb

MSNBC Today: Crib notes: Mom goes rock-climbing while carrying toddler — confident or careless?

The West Australian: Mum defends rock climbing toddler

The SUN: Is she off her rocker? Anger at mum rock-climbing with toddler strapped to her back

CBS 5 AZ: Mom defends decision to take 2-year-old rock climbing

BBC News: Rock climbing with baby on board for Menna Pritchard and Ffion, two

Is Rock Climbing With a Baby in a Backpack a Good Idea?

I would think that most rock climbers see nothing wrong with taking your children climbing, experiencing the outdoors, sharing your passion for climbing, etc… but should we be outraged at the idea of wearing your baby on a climb?  Here’s my take on this issue:

Helmets – For Rock Climbers and Their Babies

The most obvious safety issue is that the child has no helmet. Both adults in the picture are wearing helmets, but nothing to protect the baby. If the adults think it’s important enough to wear a helmet, wouldn’t you think the same would apply to your precious child? One article says about Menna: “She also said that a helmet was not needed on the route and she wore hers only “out of habit,” a decision she now “regretted” because of how it looks.”  I’m not sure if that quote means that she doesn’t want to wear a helmet because she doesn’t like the way it looks, or because in this particular photo, the contrast of her wearing a helmet and the baby not having a helmet looked bad.  But either way, we don’t wear helmets because we’re concerned about how it looks, we wear them to protect our heads! Yeah, it’s a top roped climb, she’s not likely to fall far, and if there aren’t climbers above them, it’s unlikely they’ll experience rock fall – but why take  chance? (Update: and someone in the comments noted that someone was above them to take the picture and could easily drop gear or dislodge rocks). Other climbers interviewed said there is frequent rock fall at this particular cliff.  But a higher risk than rock fall is if the mother swings when she falls…

Taking a Swing on a Fall

So let’s say rock fall isn’t a risk in this scenario. Then why does the baby need a helmet? Well, what if the mother slips? Depending on the angle of the rock and how the anchor is positioned, there is a chance that she could swing if she falls. The rope could make her spin around, and her side or back could hit the rock. While a fall such as this on a low-angle straight route is not likely to have enough force to strike a blow to the child, note that the baby is NOT wearing a helmet. So even a casual spin that slams mom sideways into the rock could allow the child’s head to hit the rock. This is the main reason why I really want to see a helmet on that child. Even on an easy climb, there is still a risk of the mother slipping and falling, especially with a baby as big as 2 years old whose weight could shift your balance.

Are Baby Carriers Meant for Rock Climbing?

Menna Pritchard’s blog says her favorite baby carrier, which she uses when she takes her child up climbs with her is the ErgoBaby Carrier. While this looks like a nice quality made carrier, it’s not clear how secure the baby is when worn on the back. It looks like she has a lot of wiggle room in the climbing photo. Toddlers are famous for squirming. I remember carrying my baby on hikes and she would love to lean out sideways in the backpack. It doesn’t appear that the baby is wearing a climbing harness or has any way to be secured to the backpack, the mother, or the rope.  Baby carriers aren’t manufactured and tested as safety equipment for rock climbing. If a strap or buckle malfunctions, a child could fall to the ground, which is bad but probably not fatal if you’re walking on the ground. However, 40 feet up a climb, a fall would be fatal. It’s unlikely, but anyone who owns an old backpack can attest that buckles occasionally fail. I just don’t think this carrier is something I would have enough confidence in to take my child up a climb.

Cliffmama helping her kid climbing at the Gunks in 2001.

Helping my 4 year old try climbing at the Gunks

What’s the Point? Do You Need to Rock Climb With Your Toddler in a Backpack?

A child can experience the outdoors and the rock climbing scene without being put at higher risk. I’m all for bringing kids to the crag. Make sure the approach and base of the cliff is safe for a small child, make sure they wear a helmet in case of falling rock, always have an adult around who isn’t climbing or belaying to keep an eye on them, and teach them about climbing safety at an early age. I always said to my girls that they had to listen carefully to the safety rules. I would repeat them every time we went climbing when they were little, and told them if they can’t follow the safety rules, they can’t come climbing with me. When I tell them to do something because of safety, there is no argument.  As soon as my daughters could fit in a child’s body harness, I let them try to climb, even if it was just a few feet up or to dangle and swing around near the base. But they were wearing helmets and harnesses with plenty of adult supervision.

I feel it’s really not necessary to carry a 2 year old up a cliff to expose them to the experience. They won’t remember it at that age anyway! The baby can watch the climbing, can touch the rock and scramble on it with parents spotting, and even dangle on a rope if they have a harness and helmet. But really, what’s the point of carrying the baby up the climb with you? It’s just introducing more risk than necessary!

Should She Be Punished for Climbing With A Baby?

Despite Menna Pritchard’s claims of being very safety conscious, studying a degree in outdoor education, or how many years of climbing experience she has (just over a year), she still has a lot to learn. Despite my 30 years of climbing, I am always learning new things, and I’m open to hear opinions on the safest methods and equipment to enjoy our sport. I believe she really thinks what she’s doing is fine and safe enough. But when it’s the safety of your own child at stake, wouldn’t you think that a mother would want to be as safe as possible? We take risks with ourselves, but is it fair to take risks with your child? A 2 year old cannot express fear, cannot understand danger, and depends on us adults to do what’s in their best interests.

But I can’t help but feel sorry for Menna. She’s getting so much negative publicity from this one photo, and I’m sure she’s not a terrible mother, or a terrible climber. I noticed her blog has taken down the ability to comment. She must be getting a lifetime’s worth of hate mail over this. I don’t agree with some commentators who think she should have her child taken away from her or other radical measures. She’s a climber who had a baby. She wants to climb and share the experience with her child. I felt the same way – geez my blog is dedicated to the idea of climbing with kids. But I was far more cautious about it. I hope this experience will be a learning experience for her. There are many risks involved in rock climbing with a toddler on her back, and there are many ways to include your child in the experience without actually taking them up the climb with you, especially when the circumstances aren’t as safe as they could be. As with any potentially dangerous sport, we need to take the time to think about everything we do, especially when we include our children, considering every risk and hazard, and doing all we can to back things up and make them redundant and minimizing the potential for disaster.  Menna is quoted as saying “I knew 100% it was safe”. An over confident climber who has convinced themselves that climbing is perfectly safe is asking for trouble.

Please comment – I would love to hear your opinions on whether or not you would condone this scenario.

UPDATE: Read Menna Pritchard’s blog to see her response to all this press about the photo of her and her toddler climbing.

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Jan
30

Finding Beauty With Our Children – What Else Are We Missing?

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January 30, 2012

News: Joshua Bell Plays Violin and No One Notices

There was an article being shared around Facebook that really caught my attention. It came from an article in the Washington Post called Pearls Before Breakfast. What was posted on Facebook was actually just a summary of the main points which was posted on Jeff Bridges’ website. Take the time to read the original article, or if you’re in a hurry, get the summary from Jeff Bridges. Basically this ordinary looking guy plays classical music on a violin in a Washington DC subway station for 45 minutes. Just about everyone passes by, only a handful of people stopped to listen, and a few tossed money in his violin case and didn’t even stick around to listen. He made $32. The fascinating part is that the violinist was no other than Joshua Bell, one of the greatest living musicians playing on a violin worth over 3.5 million dollars and it was shortly after a performance where seats went for about $100 each. If the commuters bothered to stop and listen, perhaps they would have realized that they were listening to something special. Perhaps if they had known they were listening to a master and someone famous, they would have considered it of higher value.

Beauty Ignored – What Else Are We Missing?

There are a couple of lessons to learn here. One is about social value – how people put a higher value on things that are labeled as high value, and without that label, they don’t appreciate what is being offered. The other lesson is one that I feel ties into what we can do for our children. The article says,

If we can’t take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that — then what else are we missing?.

Wow. Think about that. “What else are we missing?“.

Beauty Discovered (and Rediscovered) – Our Children Outdoors

My children standing at the end of a series of stacked up picnic tables in a park off-season.

Finding artistry in evenly stacked picnic tables at a local park in the off-season

One of the delightful things about being around kids outdoors is that so many things in this world are still new to them. That sense of wonder is intact, they are not jaded by social labels of what is of high value and what is not. Perhaps we can learn something from our children, as well as teach something to them. Appreciate the little things that they find amazing and wondrous. That rock they want to carry around with them? Take a good look at it. Perhaps it’s got some cool colors or crystals, or has a wonderful smooth feel to it. Maybe there’s something beautifully symmetrical about the pine cone they picked up, or there is a soothing palette of colors in the autumn leaf they like. Take the time to appreciate the things of beauty that your children value in the great outdoors. Then we need to take the time to notice all the beautiful things that we value in nature when we take our children out into the great outdoors and share those things with them. “Look at how beautiful those branches are against the blue sky!” “I can’t believe there’s a flower still blooming so close to wintertime!” “I like the way you can see the trail go up and down like a ribbon over the hills.” “Wow, those stacked up picnic tables make cool patterns!” “Listen to that beautiful sounding bird song”.

Show them the beauty all around us, point out all the beauty we can discover if we take the time to observe, and they will grow up appreciating all the beauty around them – whether it be the color of the sunset, or the sound of a lone musician making beautiful music in a train station during rush hour.

Many stacked picnic tables creating fascinating geometric patterns.

Beauty found in stacked picnic tables.

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Restaurants in New Paltz

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Main Street, downtown New Paltz. Photo by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Daniel_Case

Downtown New Paltz, NY

Restaurants in New Paltz

There are lots and lots of restaurants in New Paltz, catering to just about everyone’s taste. I’ve divided them up by type of food, and provided maps to show which are in which areas of New Paltz. There are many more restaurants than I’ve listed, but I only felt I should review those I’ve been to at least twice.  Summary of my thoughts? Variety of beer and billards? Go to Bacchus. Microbrews and outside seating? Gilded Otter. Big TVs and sports watching? McGillicuddy’s. Asian food? Gomen Kudasai Japanese or Lemongrass Thai. Breakfast? Main Street Bistro or The Bakery. Best pizza? Rocco’s by the Stop’n'Shop. Romantic dinner out? A Tavola next to Rock and Snow.

Quick Links:

Restaurants to Drink Beer At

Bacchus Restaurant

4 S. Chestnut St, New Paltz, NY – (845)255-8636
When I started climbing at the Gunks in the 1980s, this was where we always went after climbing. Since then the food and service has gone downhill. I still occasionally get a tasty meal there, but it seems a bit overpriced for the quality. My current favorite is the Pork Tenderloin (bacon wrapped medallions served wth a horse radish-apple cream sauce, garlic mashed potatoes & veggies).  Looking for an obscure favorite beer? Try Bacchus. They have a ridiculous collection of beer here, the beer menu is just about as big as the food menu. They also have a billards hall connected to the restaurant if that’s your thing. There is a different menu for the downstairs bar from the upstairs dining room, but you can order mix it up a bit if you ask.  They serve brunch, lunch and dinner and have a kid’s menu. They’re located a couple of stores down Rt. 208 South, right off of the main intersection in “downtown” New Paltz.

The Gilded Otter Brewing Company

3 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 256-1700
Very popular restaurant and bar, beautiful building, but definitely lacking in sound proofing. Go on a nice day and sit outside where it’s quieter and you have a nice view of Skytop. They have a nice selection of beer – a few standards and then a couple of others that change during the seasons, personally they are not my favorite, but my friends seem to like their selections. My favorite is the Dusseldorf Altbier or the Ottertoberfest when in season. A number of my friends like the Three Pines India Pale Ale, named after a popular beginner’s climb at the Gunks. You can ask for samples of their beer before you decide. Food is OK, I’m not crazy about their menu but my friends seem to like it. My favorites are the Goat Cheese Salad and Fettucine Bolognese. They have a kid’s menu that was perfect for my kids when they were little because it had their favorites: buttered noodles and broccoli.

McGillicuddy’s Restaurant

84 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 256-9289
Nothing special. Standard decent American bar food, attentive service. Sports on the TV. They have event nights, such as live DJ, poker, trivia.

P & G’s Restaurant

91 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-6161
Bar, decent bar-style food like burgers and sandwiches, good selection of beer on tap. Popular with bikers as well as college students. Landmark corner building over 100 years old.

General/American Restaurants

Barnaby’s Steakhouse

16 N Chestnut St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-2433
Been here twice. Both times… eh.

Mohonk Mountain House

1000 Mountain Rest Rd, New Paltz, NY – (845) 256-2056
While the address is in New Paltz, this spectacular resort hotel is quite a ways out of town. If you have lots of money and have nicer clothes than what you climbed in, it’s worth a trip to see this beautiful place. Note that I said lots of money, this is not a casual affair. You will need to make reservations so that you’re on the list at the entrance gate and can drive up to the hotel and park. You’re expected to dress neatly and for dinner, it is required that men wear jackets. Their Sunday brunch buffets are enormous and will run you about $55 for an adult. They often have separate buffet tables for children’s tastes. The cost for overnight guests includes all the meals, and at least when I was there a few years ago, they often seat people together with others at tables to encourage socializing. I recall that the food was quite good, plentiful and the selection varied. It might be something worth doing if you have a special occasion to celebrate while you’re visiting the Gunks.

Rock da Pasta

62 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-1144 – closed Wednesdays
Rock da Pasta is in the main drag of “downtown” New Paltz. It’s worth stopping by just to read the menu and see the creative names they give their dishes, such as Nirvana Lasagna, or Pesto Palooza, with James Brownie for dessert. Unfortunately the one time I did eat there was disappointing despite the fun entree names. The service was really slow and the food was just OK. Will have to give them another try someday, mainly because I really love the creativity and sense of humor in their menu.

The Village Tea Room Restaurant and Bake Shop

10 Plattekill Ave, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-3434 – closed Mondays
The Village Tea Room is in an old house on a side road, just past the Chase Bank. First thing you see when you walk in is the dessert case. You may never get any farther than this. Fantastic creations that look absolutely irresistable, especially the beehive cake with little chocolate bees all over it. But you’re probably here for breakfast, lunch or dinner, not just dessert, right? Get seated in any number of creaky small rooms of the house and enjoy their interesting menu. Food here is quite good, some dishes more than others, I love the wild mushroom bread pudding side dish. There’s beer, wine and of course, they have a huge selection of teas. Worth a visit.

 

Breakfast/Bakery

The Bakery

13 N Front St, New Paltz, NY (845) 255-8840
Down a side street from where P&G’s Restaurant is you’ll find The Bakery. Tasty pastries,egg dishes, bagels and coffee, good sandwiches, soups and salads for lunch. Seating upstairs or outside. Very popular.

Main Street Bistro

59 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-7766 – all week breakfast & lunch; dinner only Fri & Sat nights
Seems like this place always has a line out the door, especially on weekend mornings. Excellent breakfast selection, creative choices, quiche, sandwiches, soups, along with bagels and muffins to go.  For lunch and dinner, it’s eclectic American food and vegetarian entrees. It’s a good choice for breakfast if the line isn’t too long.

 

Diners

College Diner

500 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-5040
This is the diner which is to the east of the Thruway exit. Nothing to write home about, it’s a diner. Food is good enough, but I’d say out of the three diners in New Paltz, this is the least favorite.

Genesis Restaurant Diner

401 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-5075
This is the newest diner in New Paltz, in front of the 87 Motel next to the Thruway exit. Only been here twice, and if I recall, food was decent and service was decent too. It’s a decent diner, need to eat here more to form any opinion.

New Paltz Plaza Diner

27 New Paltz Plz, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-1030
This diner is in the large Stop and Shop plaza, not far from the Thruway exit. It’s decent. I go here for a fast hot breakfast, and their belgian waffles are usually pretty good. Service is usually fast, food is… well, diner food.

 

Pizza and Italian Restaurants

A Tavola

46 Main Street, New Paltz, NY - (845)-255-1426
I’ve only eaten at A Tavola once just recently, but I was very impressed. It’s next to Rock and Snow, up a few steps.  I read a really good review of a Tavola in the Hudson Valley magazine and had to try it. It’s a two story restaurant, so if you get a seat upstairs, you get a nice view of New Paltz through a wall of windows, as well as a view straight down to the 1st floor of the restaurant if you’re seated along the railing. It’s a cozy atmosphere. Nice and classy, but a little rustic. Even a little romantic. The menu isn’t very big, but the selection is creative and unusual. I had a very rich appetizer of Funghi E Uovo (egg and wild mushrooms with creamy polenta & tomato sauce) and it was tasty and very rich, with plenty of delicious mushrooms. Rich enough to make me worry if I had room for dinner. Dinner was a parsnip ravioli which was a combination of interesting flavors and quite delicious. My husband loved the Lamb and roasted beet salad. It’s pricey, but at least you’re getting delicious quality food for the money. I’m sure we’ll be back to eat there again.

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

119 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-3800
Grimaldi’s pizza is a small chain that is based in Brooklyn, NY. It’s fairly new in New Paltz, and I’ve only been there once, to host dinner for my daughter’s birthday gathering. The restaurant was nice and the pizza was good, but expensive.

La Bella Pizza & Bistro

194 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-2633
Been here a couple of times. Once was while my daughter attended a birthday party dinner here, and everyone seemed happy with how it went. Came back a month or two later with just the kids and the service was atrocious. They forgot my daughter’s dinner, despite me mentioning it to the waitress a couple of times and eventually having to go up to the counter and complaining. By the time they admitted they screwed up, the rest of us had almost finished eating and she was so hungry she was ready to cry (we shared the rest of our food with her when it was apparent her food wasn’t showing up soon). They weren’t too apologetic either. So I doubt we’ll go back there, even though I think the food was decent.

La Stazione

5 Main St, New Paltz, NY 12561 – (845) 256-9447
La Stazione is a casual but slightly upscale italian restaurant in the historic old New Paltz train station building, next door to the Gilded Otter Brewing Company. Been there a couple of times. I would say the food was OK and a bit on the expensive side, and wasn’t outstanding enough for us to go back.

Rocco’s Pizza

4 New Paltz Plz, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-7161
This is my favorite of the New Paltz pizzerias. It’s in the Stop’n'Shop Plaza, near the movie theater. Because of the theater, it can get very crowded, as it’s a small place. While they have entrees as well, I go there for the pizza. Nice selection of pizzas, especially the square ones with the sliced mozzarella, tomato, basil on it (I believe it’s the caprese one). The garlic knots are my kids’ favorite – buttery greasy and garlicky.

 

Asian Restaurants

By the way, I have yet to find any edible Chinese food in the New Paltz area.

Gomen Kudasai Japanese Noodle Restaurant

215 Main Street, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-8811
Gomen Kudasi is my family’s favorite Japanese restaurant. They recently closed and reopened in a new location in the Rite Aid Plaza, in the same shopping center as the Inner Wall Climbing Gym. They don’t have an updated presence on the web, but the certainly have a presence in the community. They host many community cultural events such as the Bon-Ordori Music & Dance Festival, classes on activities such as Japanese flower arranging or Japanese cooking, and prominently display works by local artists on their walls. According to my daughter, who has been to Japan, this restaurant is authentic. Their food is prepared like the food she ate in Japan, which differed from the usual Japanese-American restaurants. They don’t yet have a sushi bar set up, but that’s fine with me, I don’t eat sushi. :-) It’s primarily a noodle shop with excellent noodle soups. The owner, Youko, is a wonderful warm and friendly person and will make sure you are happy with your meal there. The service hasn’t always been the best (who ever heard of waiting for them to cook rice at a Japanese restaurant because they ran out?) but every time we had a problem, Youko more than made up for it. Prices aren’t cheap either. But we love to support local business who are authentic, honest and support the community and the food is delicious as well.

Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant

18 Church St, New Paltz, NY – (845)256-0621
Located off a side street from the main section of New Paltz is a little corner Japanese restaurant. Food here is good, my family rates it the #2 Japanese restaurant. My husband likes their sushi.

Lemongrass Thai Restaurant

125 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 256-0161
Nice but casual restaurant with good service and very tasty food. My kids are addicted to their vegetable fried rice. I recommend it!

Neko Sushi

49 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-0162
Neko Sushi Japanese Restaurant is right in the main intersection of town. It’s nice inside, food is good, but my family rates it the #3 restaurant. My daughter speaks a little Japanese, and found she couldn’t practice here because they’re Korean. Oh well.

Suruchi – A Fine Taste of India

5 Church St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-2772 – closed Mon & Tues
Suruchi is on a side street down from Main Street where the Bistro is. It’s a nicely done small restaurant with some Indian style cushioned platform booths and lots of vegetarian options from their menu. I’ve been here twice and thought the food was delicious, but not cheap.

 

Mexican Style Restaurants

Not much in New Paltz for sit-down Mexican dinners except a couple of really good and simple burrito places. If you really need Mexican food, drive up to the  Gypsy Wolf Cantina in Woodstock.

Mexicali Blues

87 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-5551
In the heart of Main Street is a tiny restaurant serving up fresh Mexican food. And I mean tiny. It’s basically a kitchen and a counter, not much room here to eat. But the food is good. And according to Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef, they have “The best tacos on the East Coast!”.

Taco Shack

255 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-2366
The Taco Shack is a small little place attached to the beer store. Doesn’t look like much, but eat here and you’ll get more than you bargained for. It’s a good value. The burritos are tasty and enormous, on the verge of intimidating. There are tables inside the simple interior, or get take out and gnaw at your giant taco elsewhere.

 

Middle Eastern Food

Anatolia Turkish Restaurant

76 Main St, New Paltz, NY 12561- (845)255-1424
This restaurant was in New Paltz in the past and reopened in 2011 (I think). I don’t remember it, but my friends were very excited that they had returned. Everyone raved that the red lentil soup was to die for. To be honest with you, I’ve only eaten there once. I walked in there and 4 tables had local climbers that I know sitting at them. The menu had fascinating choices – I chose a vegetarian dish, my husband got meat. I enjoyed my meal, but my husband didn’t. So before I pass any judgment, I’ll have to try eating there again.

Moonlight Cafe

53 Main St., New Paltz, NY 12561 – (845) 255-4813
It’s OK middle eastern food, the dinner buffet (Thurs and Fridays) is a really good value.

Yanni Restaurant & Cafe

51 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 256-0988
Simple restaurant, typical middle-eastern menu, OK food.

 

Fast But Healthy Deli/Takeout

Karma Road Organic Cafe

11 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-1099
Karma road is a funky little cafe next to the bike store, downhill towards the bridge. If you like smoothies and shakes, this is the place to go. They have organic local vegetarian food in the form of soup, salads, and an enticing variety of hot and cold foods in their deli case. Last time I was there, I had a sample of 3 items for lunch which blew me away. Delicious!

Main Course Catering and Restaurant

175 Main St, New Paltz, NY – (845) 255-2650
Main Course is mostly known for their catering, but they do have a shop in town with some tables to eat at or take out. The food is absolutely fantastic and made from fresh local ingredients. You get what you pay for, it’s not cheap, but worth it.

 

Fast Food Chains

Burger King – 238 Main Street, New Paltz (845)255-3071

Dunkin’ Donuts – 250 Main Street, New Paltz (845) 255-7685

McDonalds – 261 Main Street, New Paltz (845) 255-8141

Starbucks – 1 Plattekill Avenue, New Paltz (845) 256-9815

Stewart’s – 98 North Chestnut ST, New Paltz (845) 255-4382

Subway – 234 Main St # 4, New Paltz (845) 256-6425

 

Maps

Wide view of New Paltz showing eateries east of the main intersection all the way to the Thruway (click to see full size):

Map of Restaurants - New Paltz, Wide View

Map of Restaurants in New Paltz, NY

 

Map of Restaurants in New Paltz on the West end near the Wallkill Bridge 

West end of New Paltz near the Wallkill Bridge

Map of Restaurants in the Downtown Intersection of New Paltz

Restaurants in the downtown main intersection of New Paltz

Map of Restaurants in the Center of New Paltz, showing side streets

Restaurants on the side streets of downtown New Paltz

 

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Jan
19

Ice Climbing Articles – Bogus Information

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January 19, 2012

Climbing Ice and Bogus Climbing Articles

Ice Climbing Suggestions in Places Where Climbing Ice is Prohibited

Screenshot of Yahoo! Sports web page with bogus ice climbing article displayed.I was browsing around for interesting climbing articles on the internet, and came across this ice climbing article: Where to Go Ice Climbing and Winter Hiking in the Gunks of New York.  Sounds interesting, especially since I never hear about any ice climbing in the Gunks, so let’s see what the author suggests. I start to read it…. WTF???   Her first suggestion on where to climb ice is Minnewaska State Park Preserve.  Well, I know for a fact that ice climbing is not permitted in Minnewaska. As a board member of the Gunks Climbers’ Coalition, we have been trying to get it permitted, but it’s currently prohibited.  Oh, and it gets even funnier.  She writes, “Minnewaska State Park is located in Kerhonkson and offers some of the best ice climbing in the region. Once inside the park you’ll want to head to the Peterskill Climbing Area.” Well, Peterskill is spelled “Peter’s Kill”, and people often spell it incorrectly, so I’ll give her a break on that error. But Peter’s Kill is for rock climbing only, there’s no ice climbing there, and even if there was any ice worth climbing, it’s prohibited. Plus the Peter’s Kill area is closed to climbing during in the winter (effective January 12, 2012) according to the Minnewaska web site.  Then she suggests the Mohonk Preserve. Nope, no ice climbing there either.  Then she moves right along to Sam’s Point Preserve.  They don’t officially allow ice climbing or rock climbing for that matter. Every place she suggests in the article prohibits ice climbing.  Oh, and the photo in the article is not an ice climbing image, but a photo of rock climbing at Skytop cliff, owned by the Mohonk Mountain House – a cliff not mentioned in her article and where there is no ice climbing and rock climbing is only for guided guests.

Ice Climbing Expert or Author Spewing PR Crap?

So this women’s entire ice climbing article is bogus. If she doesn’t know anything about ice climbing or where it’s permitted, she should have just written an article about winter hiking, and not mentioned anything about going to Peter’s Kill to climb. If she wants to publish things as an authority on a well known site such as Yahoo, she should check her facts. I took a look at her author profile.  She has many years of experience doing PR, but I suspect no ice climbing experience. Take a look at the huge collection of articles she’s written. Could she really be an expert in all those various subjects? Or is she finding stuff online or in books and magazines and regurgitating it in her own words? What is the objective of churning out article after article of stuff that’s potentially crap? I figured it out. She’s signed up in the Yahoo Contributor program. They look for user contributed content. If you write about the topics they need content on, or if you get lots of hits on content you’ve written, you get paid. So she probably looks to see what content Yahoo needs, does some minimal research, and writes good enough crap to get some money from Yahoo. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if she did her research and wrote quality articles, but clearly she doesn’t have a clue about climbing and yet she’s publishing articles about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if many other articles she’s written are full of incorrect information.

Author Authority – Who Can You Trust?

Do you believe everything you read on the internet? I should hope not. But when it comes to climbing, where issues of access and safety are nothing to BS about, you need to be careful. Some clueless ice climber could plan a weekend up here and find themselves without any ice to climb, or get fined for attempting to climb ice that’s off limits. Or they could be taking their ice tools to scrape up a rock face that’s not meant for dry tooling (this was an issue a number of years ago when people were seen dry tooling at the Trapps in the Mohonk Preserve).  How about directions to a crag or trail descriptions that get you lost? Or instructions on how to use a piece of technical climbing gear that are incorrect? It’s not a bad idea to check the source of the article and where it’s being published. Although Yahoo is a heavy hitter, it’s not known for climbing content. Established magazines such as Climbing or Rock and Ice are probably trustworthy. If you’re reading someone’s blog, take a look at their About page, and other articles they’ve written to get an idea of how much experience they have and other hints at their level of authority. If the subject matter’s accuracy is very important, then it’s worth double checking with another source just to be sure.

Meanwhile, I hope the author reads the comments on her article and considers removing this article from the internet or at a minimum, make it a winter hiking article and remove any mention of climbing in it.

 

 

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Jan
08

Meltdown on the Mountain – Hiking with Kids Doesn’t Have to Be Painful!

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January 8, 2012

My big kids trying to stop our friend's 4 year old tired kid from melting down while hiking.

My big kids trying to stop our friend's tired 4 year old from melting down.

Meltdown on the Mountain

Hiking with Kids Doesn’t Have to Be Painful!

I hate that awful feeling when you’re in the middle of a hike with your young children, you still have a mile or more to hike back to the car or to your camping destination, and they decide to either flop over, melt-down, or they declare they’re too tired to go on. Whining commences, you begin to lose your patience, and come close to forgetting that this hike is supposed to be a fun and happy family experience. When my children were young, I found a few methods of bribing the little ones to keep going and helping them forget that they’re tired or bored. I’d love to read your comments on if any of my methods worked for you or what methods you use.

Food Bribery

The most basic method of prodding the little ones along was bribery. Bring some snacks that they love and don’t get that often. I’ve used jelly beans, reeses pieces, etc…  Set some easily achievable goals for them. “When you make it to that next turn in the trail, you’ll get another jelly bean reward!”.  Make them far enough so you don’t make your kid sick from too many snacks, but make them close enough that your tired kid can see the goal and not get too discouraged. And don’t start or let them know about the treats you brought until you really have to use them. Once they know you have the treats, the begging and whining will start, and on a long walk, you don’t want that to have to start prematurely!

Scavenger Hunting & Geocaching

Here’s a great way to break the boredom, but teach your children at the same time. On our hikes, we choose something we want to look for along the hike. Something common enough that we’ll eventually find, but sparse enough so it will feel like a big achievement to find them. It may be mushrooms, poison ivy, squirrels, hollow trees, or whatever seems appropriate to the environment you’re hiking through. Teach them what poison ivy looks like and let them find anything with 3 leaves and let them try to identify it. Teach them the different kinds of trees, and let them identify them along the way. Or make them the “line leader” and have them look for trail blazes. If they start getting bored, think of something else to look for. If they’re old enough to read, bring along a list of things to look for with check boxes next to each item. Let them wear a pen on a string necklace, and let them check off the things they’ve found along the way. Of if they can’t read, use pictures in your checklist. When the kids were closer to 10 years old, we took a walk with a naturalist who identified edible and medicinal plants. We enjoyed looking for them on subsequent hikes, especially jewel weed, which they enthusiastically squeezed the juice from to put on their itchy mosquito bites. A fun treasure hunting activity while hiking with kids is to go geocaching. Register on http://geocaching.com, read all about how it works, then load the coordinates of caches to find on a handheld GPS device (or your smart phone if it has a GPS and geocaching apps), bring some trinkets to use for trading, and find pre-placed containers hidden just about everywhere filled with treasures to trade.

My kids hiking with Daddy while wearing adult ranger-type hats.

Jasmine's the line leader!

I Wanna be the Line Leader!

My daughters are only 2.5 years apart in age, and the most aggravating part of having more than one kid was the constant fighting between them. We often played line-leader when hiking with the kids. The line-leader got to go first and look for trail blazes. They would constantly fight over who got to be line leader. On one hike, exasperated from the constant bickering, we invented a new game. It was sort of a “changing of the guard” ceremony. When switching roles as the line leader, the girls would need to face each other, hold hands, and say some ridiculous ceremonial mumble-jumble, put their hands over their heads, turn around 3 times, stomp their feet…etc., I can’t remember the details, but we made up something quite fun and silly. They got such a kick out of the ceremony that they happily took turns being line leader just to experience the silly ceremony over and over again. We had to try to convince them to wait longer to take turns because we weren’t getting anywhere fast enough!

Role Playing

One thing my girls liked to play was house. They would always want to be “the Mommy”. Once my little one was totally melting down on the trail, she was too tired to hike, she couldn’t go anymore. I switched into toddler mode. My voice changed to that of a little girl. I called her Mommy. I asked for her help because I was so little I wasn’t sure I could hike on the rough trail. She took my hand, put on her mommy voice, and guided me along the trail, pointing out where the trail markers were, helping me to avoid puddles and step along rocks, and trying to convince me that even though I was tired, I could make it back to the car OK. This game worked like magic! Suddenly she would have energy and forget she was tired. Often we played role reversal all the way back to the car. Think of roles that will enchant your children. Perhaps a general, or a native guide or superhero helping an injured visitor out of the forest, a scoutmaster, or the daddy. They will get so involved with their new responsibility and role that they will forget they’re tired.

Gadgets

Hiking with kids shouldn’t be anti-social. We never let our children bring gadgets such as iPods or Gameboys on hikes. However a couple of gadgets can keep them engaged and participating. An old digital camera is a fun way for them to capture images of what they want, and they can look forward to going home and looking at the images on the computer. If you geocache with the children, you can set a waypoint and they can monitor the compass on the GPS unit to see which direction to go in and how far the target is. Walkie talkies are always fun. If you enjoy birdwatching or if there is interesting far off scenery to view, bring binoculars. Try not to offer them until the children are bored or they will only focus on the gadgets.

Ranger leading a line of children into a crevice between the rocks in Yosemite.

Turn hiking with children into a game, find unusual places to explore.

Wait for it…

All of these methods worked for us, but one important point needs to be made. Save these methods for when you REALLY need them. At first, let the kids enjoy hiking and nature for what it is, plain and simple, without gadgets and distractions. Only take out your arsenal of distractions when they start to lose energy or interest. If hikes become all about the bribes and distractions, they will never learn what is so special about hiking and nature to begin with. Talk to them throughout the hike. Point out things of interest, things of beauty, how nature works, how animals survive. Also point out things that don’t belong in nature – scold the hiker who left the garbage or graffiti, teach them leave-no-trace ethics and let them feel some stewardship towards the natural landscape. And most of all, don’t forget to have fun! Yelling at your tired child for not keeping up or for whining isn’t going to leave a positive impression on them the next time you want to take them hiking. Remember to accentuate all that hiking and nature has to offer and show by your example how much fun it can be.

Tired kid lying down on a bench to take a rest during a hike.

Taking a rest

 

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Dec
27

Half Dome with Sie – video from a climbing dad

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December 27, 2011

Found this video by a climbing dad on SuperTopo who goes by the nickname of “micronut”.  The video is a trip report of when he took his teenage daughter hiking to the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.  I thought it was very sweet and nicely done.  The teen reminds me a lot of my own daughter, skinny, dark hair in a ponytail, confident, and a little impatient with mommy’s silliness, yet a fun companion just the same. I also like the dad’s camera-on-a-stick technique of filming. Interesting perspective, I’ll have to try that sometime.

Here’s the video on vimeo: Half Dome with Sie

Here’s the trip report by micronut on SuperTopo, if you’d like some more background information about his video.

 

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Dec
27

Half a Half Dome

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December 27, 2011

Here’s a fun trip report by a Jim Herson, a climbing dad and his spunky 12 year old daughter on Half Dome in wintery conditions. Don’t miss the last paragraph!

Half a Half Dome, 11/26/11

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Dec
20

The cliff is not your driveway

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December 20, 2011

The cliff is not your driveway.

I was walking down the carriage road at the Gunks recently and came across some chalk graffiti on the cliff at the base of some popular climbs. It covered perhaps a 10 foot wide swath of rock. There were flowers, stick figures, and “I was here” type scribble – clearly drawn by children. My immediate gut reaction was dismay. What kind of parents would let their kids draw all over the cliffs in a nature preserve with sidewalk chalk? I love the natural beauty of the Gunks and believe we should leave no trace. And here was a blatant example of climbing-parent sanctioned graffiti. I would never let my children do such a thing and I felt this was the wrong way to keep your children occupied while you climb. When I talked to some friends about it, the reaction was split between “that is just WRONG” to “why worry, it will wash off”.  Well if the drawings are under an overhang they will not wash off.  This is not like a smooth blacktop driveway, totally exposed to the elements where chalk will wash off or wear off easily.  But some of the responses brought up an ethical dilemma. Almost all climbers use gymnastics chalk to improve their grip. Sweaty hands or not, it is a psychological crutch for most of us. Chalked hands leave marks all over the cliff, and in most cases it doesn’t get to wash off because of overhangs, or being embedded in various nooks and crannies of the rock. Is it wrong for children to leave sidewalk chalk marks on the cliff but OK for adults to leave climbing chalk all over the holds?

There are a couple of arguments here. One is the difference in intent. Chalked holds are a side effect of climbing. In most cases we aren’t doing it intentionally, it is just a by-product of climbing. Whereas blatant encouragement of chalk graffiti is marking up the cliff on purpose. Kids are not learning any lessons to leave no trace or even that it is not acceptable to draw all over property which is not theirs – whether it’s someone else’s driveway or a nature preserve’s cliff – OR perhaps sidewalk chalk is the gateway medium to more permanent forms of graffiti. When those kids are teenagers, will they have the land stewardship ethics to resist writing stuff like “Joe & Sue 4Ever” in marker on the rock?  The harder argument is whether climbers should be leaving chalk all over holds in the first place. If we are truly to follow leave no trace ethics, then we shouldn’t be using chalk at all, or for that matter, nests of slings for anchors. As for me, I admit I use chalk, but I try to minimize it by using a chalk ball and only when conditions warrant it. I try to set an example for my children to avoid using chalk as much as possible and definitely don’t write on the cliffs! Even when they made pretend walls of rock or other imaginary structures or collections while playing outside, I would warn them that they will have to take it apart when they’re done so it leaves no trace. We aren’t always perfect examples for leave no trace ethics, but we should try to be a good influence on our children and make them aware of minimizing the marks they leave behind.

sidewalk chalk on the cliff

A week later, some chalk still remains, despite rain since then.

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About the Gunks

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What are the Gunks?

Geography

The Gunks are located west of the Hudson River in New York State. The official name of the ridge is the Shawangunk Mountains. This ridge runs north-south from vicinity of Rosendale in the north, and Ellenville in the south.  Most of the permitted rock climbing is in the Mohonk Preserve, which is west of the town of New Paltz.

Autumn view of the Trapps Cliff, the main cliff band at the Gunks, part of the Mohonk Preserve

Trapps Cliff - Gunks

There are multiple entities which own the ridge, as well as numerous private landowners. There are 4 major entities that own much of the ridge. All of them require an entry fee to use the land.

  • From the south, Sam’s Point Preserve is owned by the Open Space Institute and managed by the Nature Conservancy. It is a beautiful place to hike, known for its once-commercial Ice Caves, dwarf pitch pine forest and Lake Maratanza.  Alas, no climbing is permitted there.
  • Beautiful Lake Minnewaska, ringed by cliffs.

    Lake Minnewaska

    Minnewaska Lake State Park Preserve is a state-owned park with more than 21,000 acres of park. It has two major lakes, Lake Minnewaska, and Lake Awosting. This park is very popular with hikers, mountain bicyclers and cross-country skiiers. Although there are miles of climbable rock here, only one small section is open to rock climbing, Peter’s Kill. Access to the top of Millbrook cliff is from Minnewaska Lake State Park Preserve.

  • The Mohonk Preserve owns most of the cliffs people think of as “The Gunks” because they allow climbing. The Near Trapps and the Trapps are the most popular cliffs for climbing, hosting hundreds of routes. Route 44/55 runs between these two cliffs. Two cliffs which are not documented in any guidebook, Lost City and Bonticou, are also popular for rock climbing and are less crowded. The Preserve has over 7,000 acres and is very popular with hikers, mountain bicyclers and cross-country skiiers.

    View of the beautiful Mohonk Mountain House Resort on Lake Mohonk.

    Mohonk Mountain House Resort

  • The Mohonk Mountain House is a private commercial resort hotel, founded in 1869, and one of the last surviving great Catskill resorts. It is a sight to behold. The iconic Skytop cliff, with its stone tower on top, is a landmark of New Paltz and the Shawangunk Ridge. Climbing is restricted to guests who use their approved guide service. You must climb with their guides to use the cliff. As you can expect with a resort of this stature, it is very expensive. Day guests pay significant day pass fees and cannot park near the hotel, although shuttle buses are offered. Guests of the nearby Mohonk Preserve can hike/bike/ski into the Mohonk Mountain House grounds from the Mohonk Preserve using their Mohonk Preserve day pass, but cannot park near the hotel, enter the hotel or climb.

Geology of the Shawangunk Ridge

The Shawangunk Conglomerate extends from High Point, New Jersey and across the Deleware Water Gap into Pennsylvania (called the Kittatinnny range), as well as south to West Virginia (North Fork Mountain and Seneca Rocks) to Alabama. Only near New Paltz and Seneca Rocks are the rocks durable enough for a major rock climbing area.

The Shawangunk Mountain’s bedrock consists of two formations: the Shawangunk Conglomerate, which makes up the cliffs so popular with rock climbers, and the Martinsburg Formation, which is mostly shale that you may see below the conglomerate. The shale was formed when layers of clay and silt accumulated at the bottom of a sea about 465 million years ago. These sediments hardened into shale. The sea water disappeared when the region was uplifted.

About 420 million years ago, a shallow sea spread across a level landscape of eroded shale. Rivers carried pebbles and quartz sand grains which were laid down as gravel layers. As this gravel was buried under piles of younger accumlations of sediment, the weight of the overlying sediments transformed the gravel layer into Shawangunk Conglomerate. This conglomerate has a natural “cement” of quartz which holds the quartz particles together, to form one of the hardest and most durable of rocks. The Shawangunk Conglomerate is very hard and resistant to weathering; whereas the underlying shale erodes relatively easily. A good place to see the dark crumbly shale formation is on Route 44/55 across the street from the scenic overlook.

A close up view of the Shawangunk Conglomerate rock that makes up the Gunks

Shawangunk Conglomerate of the Gunks, close-up

About 350 million years ago, a collision between the African and North American tectonic plates of the earth’s crust created an uplift that deformed and raised the Shawangunk Mountains, causing extensive folding and faulting.

Millions of years of erosion have worn down the upper layers of limestones and shales which dissolved and crumbled more easily than the quartz conglomerate, leaving the Shawangunk Conglomerate exposed as the top layer. When the glaciers came through during the ice ages, the ice ground across the ridge, removing the ancient soils, exposing the bedrock surfaces, carving grooves and striations on the bedrock by pebbles and boulders imbedded in the overriding ice, and leaving occasional erratics – boulders left as the ice melted away. Once the rocks age and become hard and brittle, crustal movements can cause them to break along cracks or joints. Water freezing within these joints over time creates a wedging action that creates blocks that move apart and sometimes fall off the cliff. These cracks enable the plethora of excellent climbing routes on the cliff face.

Drawing of the cross section of the Gunks cliff, showing the geology.

Cross section of the Trapps Ridge, Gunks

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Getting to the Gunks

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Getting to the Gunks – Travel Information

Packing the car with too much stuff for a climbing trip to the New River Gorge

Too much stuff!

A Word About Communications

Before you plan your trip, if you have to meet up with people or call a cab, note that the cell phone service is spotty and unreliable once you get behind the cliffs. That includes the West Trapps parking lot, Minnewaska State Park Preserve, and Peter’s Kill climbing area. Your mileage may vary based on your phone and carrier. Many establishments in downtown New Paltz have wi-fi available, including CafeTeria (a chill hangout spot with coffee, couches) and Starbucks. Last time I checked, I also got wi-fi at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center and Joanie’s Bistro Mountain Store (“the Deli”) at the intersection of Rt. 299 and Rt. 44-55.

Where to Get Good Beta

If you want beta on climbing at the Gunks, your best bet is to visit Rock and Snow, the local climbing ship in downtown New Paltz (44 Main Street). They are staffed with climbers who really know the area and really know the Gunks. Also check out their events. During the climbing season, they often have excellent free slideshows and presentations by well-known and respected climbers. While you’re there, buy something. These guys contribute gear and money to just about every fundraising event in the area. They really support the climbing community. They have truly earned our business.

On your way to the Gunks, at the main intersection of Rt. 299 where it ends at Rt. 44/55, you’ll see a deli across the street called the Bistro Mountain Store (3124 Route 44/55, Gardiner, NY 845-255-2999). This is THE pre-climbing hangout spot for climbers. Sit at the picnic tables, eat from their selection of yummy breakfast wraps, buy your lunch, have a hot cup of coffee. There’s a small EMS store next to the deli as well. Need a partner? Need information? Most of the friendly folk hanging out on the deli’s deck are probably climbers and can help you out.

By Air

The closest airport to the Gunks is Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY (SWF). Only problem is that not a lot of airlines fly there. Somewhat equidistant would be either Albany, NY (ALB) to the north, or Newark, NJ (EWR) to the south – both of them about a 1 1/2 hour drive to the Gunks. Newark gets a lot of air traffic and probably would get you lower airfares since it’s a hub. The other New York City airports, John F. Kennedy in Brooklyn (JFK) or LaGuardia in Queens (LGA) aren’t much further than Newark but Newark airport allows you to avoid New York City (and its traffic) altogether when you drive from there to the Gunks.

By CarMy kids in the truck of the car, smiling and having fun.

The Gunks are relatively easy to get to.  Take the New York State Thruway to exit 18, New Paltz. After paying toll, make a left onto Rt. 299 west. You will drive through the town of New Paltz, cross over a bridge over the Wallkill River, and drive past farmlands and apple orchards. When Rt. 299 ends at a “T”, make a right onto Rt. 44/55 West (that’s two different highways that run together for a while).  It’s about 30 minutes drive from the Thruway exit to the Gunks. Below are the major places of entry you may be interested in if you are climbing here.

First, a Word about the Parking Situation

The Gunks are a very popular destination for all sorts of recreation, and it’s only 1.5 hours from a major metropolitan area. In other words, it gets a lot of visitors. On nice weather weekends, especially in the fall, the parking lots fill up FAST. How fast? Most decent weekends probably by 9:30am. On nice fall weekends, by 8:15am! So a few words of advice. First of all, get here early if you want a parking spot. If you are meeting friends, why not bring less cars to the parking lot so there is room for more? If you know it’s a busy weekend, park extra cars in the empty lot diagonally across the street from the Mountain Bistro Store (“the deli”) at the corner of Rt. 299 and Rt. 44/55. Just bring one car to the parking lot. When you get to the parking lot, park close to the next car so you don’t waste space.

Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center

The Mohonk Preserve visitor’s center is 1/2 mile on the right. Here you can get day passes, trail maps, as well as take advantage of their nice bathrooms and informational displays. Occasionally they hosts events in their beautiful building, and there is a large diorama of the Mohonk Preserve and its cliffs in the middle of the room. They have a large parking lot that can actually fill up on busy fall weekend days. It’s a pretty long walk to the crag from here and is a “last hope” if you want to get a spot within walking distance to the crag.

Warwarsing “Stairmaster” Parking Lot

After the Visitor’s Center on your right is the Warwarsing Parking lot, also known as the “Stairmaster” lot for the steep trail steps leading up from the parking lot to the main carriage road under the Trapps cliff. Turn left into the lot for the closest spots to the trailhead. On busy days, the Warwarsing lot fills up in the lot to the right and in subsequent lots below that.  This lot is appropriate if you want to climb on the Trapps Cliff of the Mohonk Preserve from the climb “Shockley’s Ceiling” and beyond to the north. It is an example of some impressive trail building and consists of many large stone steps that wind their way up to the carriage road known as Undercliff Road. On most busy days, a ranger may be in the lot at the start of the trail to collect day fees. This lot is the second to fill up on busy weekend days.

West Trapps Parking Lot

Welcome Boulder at top of West Trapps Parking Lot, intersection of Overcliff and Undercliff Roads - Trapps, Gunks

Welcome Boulder, Trapps

The West Trapps lot is probably the largest and most popular parking lot for Gunks climbing and other Mohonk Preserve visitors. There is a ranger booth at the entrance of the lot to collect day fees. There is also a nice bathroom with pit toilets in the lot. On busy weekend days this lot fills up quickly. On a beautiful fall weekend, I’ve seen it completely full by 8:15am. There are a few spots by the entrance marked off by traffic cones. These are reserved for Mohonk Preserve members when the lot is almost full. The trailhead for the climbing is at the far end of the parking lot, off of the small cul de sac. This trail, the West Trapps Connector Trail, takes you back up to the road where there is a steel bridge spanning Route 44/55. There are trash bins and outhouses here as well. If you cross the highway here (be careful!) and walk to the left, you’ll find the trail to the Near Trapps cliff just before the scenic overlook parking lot. However, if you stay on this side of the highway and walk up the stairs to the carriage road, you’ll see the steel bridge on your right, and a large boulder in the trail intersection on your left. This is often referred to as the “Welcome boulder”. Turn left from the stairs, straight past the Welcome boulder and towards the view of the valley onto Undercliff Road to take you to the start of the Trapps cliff.

Note: The parking lot at the scenic overlook is patrolled and you may get ticketed if you are parked there for more than 30 minutes, especially on busy weekends.

Waterfall at the Split Rock Swimming Hole in the Mohonk Preserve.

Split Rock

Coxing Parking Lot (Split Rock)

The Coxing parking lot is a bit far for climbing at the Trapps or Near Trapps, but this is the appropriate parking lot if you are climbing at Lost City. It’s also the same parking lot for the popular Split Rock swimming hole. On nice summer weekend days, this lot easily fills up with people who want to picnic and swim by the falls. On busy fall weekends, it’s a lot of last resort for those willing to hike from there to the Trapps, or to climb at Lost City. There is a red blazed trail from the parking lot called Shongum Path, which will take you to the Connector Trail off of the West Trapps parking lot in around 15-20 minutes.

Peter’s Kill Parking Lot

This lot is only for the Peter’s Kill climbing area and is part of the Minnewaska Lake State Park Preserve. To get there, continue on Rt. 44/55 west past the steel bridge and the West Trapps parking lot, past Clove Road, past Trapps Road, and then look for the Peter’s Kill entrance of Minnewaska on the right. There is a booth at the entrance of the lot to register you to climb there. If it’s your first time there for that year, you’ll need to sign a liability waiver. You’ll pay your entrance fee and put your name on the list of climbers for that day. They limit the number of climbing permits for each day, but I’ve yet to see them totally fill up. On only the most crazy busiest days in the fall do they have the chance to fill up, especially when climbers find all the Mohonk Preserve parking lots full.

Minnewaska State Park Preserve Parking Lot

Shortly past the Peter’s Kill Parking lot on the left side of Rt. 44/55 west is the main entrance to Minnewaska State Park. It is very popular with hikers and bicyclist and not as many climbers. But it is the closest access point to the Millbrook Cliff, the wildest and most remote of the Gunks cliffs accessible for climbing. There are multiple ways to get to Millbrook, which involve a long hike on trails from the Steel bridge of the Mohonk Preserve, or taking a winding carriage road from the main parking lot of Minnewaska State Park, or a trail from the far trip of Lake Minnewaska – all of them requiring from 45 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes approach time. Best to consult the guidebook and a trail map to find the best way for you. Millbrook requires rappelling down from the top and climbing up.

Mohonk Mountain House Parking

If you have arrangements with the Mohonk Mountain House Resort to climb with a guide at Skytop, you will be allowed to park at the hotel instead of the parking lot at the entrance gate. You’ll have to stop at the entry building where they will ask you what you’re there for and direct you accordingly. To get to the Mohonk Mountain House from the town of New Paltz, turn right onto Springtown Road very soon after leaving town on the bridge over the Wallkill River. After driving past a farm field for 1/4 mile, the road will split. Springtown Road goes right, and Mountain Rest Road goes left. Bear left onto Mountain Rest Road and follow it and the Mohonk signs to their Gatehouse building on the left.

By Train

The closest commuter train station to the Gunks is in Poughkeepsie, on the east side of the Hudson River. Metro North (800-638-7646) runs regularly from Grand Central Station, NY to Poughkeepsie and back. Amtrak (800-872-7245) leaves from Penn Station in NYC and also stops in Poughkeepsie on their Ethan Allen Express, Empire Service, Maple Leaf and Adirondack routes. From Poughkeepsie by car, it’s about 20 minutes to New Paltz, or 30 minutes to the Gunks (of course, depends on if you take a bus that has a number of stops in between).  You can grab a taxi cab waiting at the station, or use the UCAT bus service (Ulster County Area Transit ) which links communities in Ulster County to the Poughkeepsie train station. The closest you can get dropped off is in the town of New Paltz, where you’ll need a taxi or hitch a ride to the Gunks.

By Bus

Adirondack Trailways buses (845-255-6520 or 800-858-8555) stop in downtown New Paltz at the corner of Main and Prospect Streets, as well as the park and ride lot near the Thruway exit. It’s a pretty comfy ride from New York City.  Ulster County Area Transit  or UCAT bus service (845-340-3333) also stops in downtown New Paltz from Poughkeepsie and other towns in Ulster County. Buses don’t get any closer to the cliffs than this.  It’s another 15-20 minutes from the bus station in New Paltz to the Mohonk Preserve’s Visitor’s Center. So plan to meet up with friends to give you a ride to the cliffs, get a taxi cab, or hitch a ride. One thing to consider if you take a cab is that cell phone signals are unreliable on the back side of the cliffs, which is where the West Trapps parking lot is. Stay in front of the cliffs for better reception.

Hitchhiking

One alternative to get to the cliffs from downtown New Paltz is hitchhiking. This area is usually safe, but I can’t guarantee anything. If you walk to the outskirts of New Paltz, just over the Wallkill bridge, with your climbing gear showing, you’ll probably have a decent chance of catching a ride with fellow climbers.

Taxicabs

I don’t know these services personally, just saw them listed as taxi services in New Paltz: Glenn Stagecoach Lines: 845-255-1550, and Joey’s Taxi: 845-255-8294

Carpool Searching

If you’re coming up from New York City, I recommend carpooling. Try posting on Gunks.com‘s bulletin boards, or check out some of the area Meetup Groups that are focused on Rock Climbing. I know one of the Meetup groups has an ongoing carpool “trip” every Sunday to the Gunks for whomever wants to carpool together.

 

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