Come visit New York City, one of the biggest and busiest metropolitan areas in the world. Now hop in a taxi and ask the driver to take you to the George Washington Bridge, which stretches across the Hudson River, and which by the way is the busiest vehicular bridge in the world. Stroll across the span into New Jersey and on the far side, in the Fort Lee Historic Park, you'll find a tree with three aqua blazes. As improbable as it might sound, this is the southern terminus of a rugged hiking trail, which, if you follow the blazes, will take you through some of the most beautiful parks and preserves in the Hudson Valley, and 350 miles later, deposit you on the outskirts of Albany, capital of the state.
The Long Path is a close cousin of the Appalachian Trail, but the Long Path is virtually unknown. It might as well be a secret, like the blank spot in the middle of a map of unchartered wilderness. When I set out to thru-run it in August 2013, only 120 people had completed the entire trail, according to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, a not-for-profit organization whose volunteers maintain 2,000 miles of trails in New York and New Jersey. This compares to some 14,000 documented completions of the Appalachian Trail, according to the Appalachian Mountain Conservancy.
For a harried city-dweller like myself, there's something alluring and mysterious about a trail that starts virtually in my back yard and heads north into the unknown. I had first discovered the Long Path accidentally, while running on the carriage trails of Minnewaska State Park, about ninety miles north of the city. Over the years, as I heard more about this enigmatic path, my curiosity grew. The Trail Conference maintains an excellent website, with detailed notes on each section of the Long Path, photographs, mileage tables, an interactive map, and comments on the history. Perusing this site, I learned that the name was inspired by the first stanza of Walt Whitman's Song of the Open Road:
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose
Whitman may not have been a dedicated hiker (and he certainly wasn't a trail runner). Nor was he a naturalist like John Muir or John Burroughs. Nonetheless, this image of the open road has inspired New Yorkers and many other Americans to hit the trails and experience that sense of freedom that comes from escaping the crush of modern city life.
Inspired by Whitman's verse, I set out to thru-run the Long Path on August 25, 2013, with a goal of not only completing the entire distance, but also beating the fastest known time of twelve days. To do so, I aimed to travel light, relying on cached food, sleeping in lean-tos, and running as much as I could.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- The Hudson Palisades
- Harriman State Park
- Wallkill Valley
- The Shawangunks
- The Catskills
- Schoharie Valley and Capital District
- Some Comments on Logistics
- Hydration
- Sleeping
- Light
- Nutrition
- Footgear and feet
# WORDS: 3800
# PHOTOS: 16
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Thru Running New Yorkâs Long Path
I have been backpacking (much slower) the Long Path over the last few years in sections. Usually weekends with some multi-day hikes.
I have completed from NYC to the Northern end of the Catskills and plan to finish in August or September.
One great advantage of this trail is that there are many points along the way that can be accessed by public transportation. You might have to walk a couple extra miles, but it's worth it not having to worry about dealing with a car.
There are many sections that pass through or near suburbs that allow for easy resupply and restaurants as well.
Resupply points get further and further apart as you move North and some hitchhiking may be required to resupply at times.
Like the AT, the terrain is varied and there are a lot of PUDs that can be frustrating, but you really do get to hike some fantastic locations.
Congratulations, whilst working in NYC I spent many weekends wandering along the Long Path, I always dreamt of finishing it but alas it was not to be. I am impressed with your accomplishment and your planning in completing the path in such a short time. What other long trails have you run?
nm
Very nice, Kenneth. And congratulations on your record finish, getting through the difficulties.
I love a good trip report.
From article, "There’s plenty of water along the Long Path, but as with almost anywhere, you’ve got to assume it is contaminated. To filter water, I carried a Sawyer Products squeeze filter, which consists of a 32 oz bag you fill in a stream, and then a filter with nozzle which you screw onto the bag and through which you squeeze out the water. I found the bag was easier to fill in a briskly running stream, but otherwise this filter worked well for me, and it weighs only a few ounces."
Doing the above when near major cities is not advisable to say the least. Yeah, you may filter out pathogenic micro organisms, but what about all the chemical and heavy metal pollution..
A carbon filter, or something else besides sawyer squeeze, is necessary for that.
Re: "doing the above when near major cities is not advisable to say the least."
This is an issue with a lot of trails, but not so much with the Long Path.
The Long Path runs mostly in rugged mountainous terrain at elevations well above industry and agriculture. The water sources are either on gaps or sides of mountains with no residential or commercial runoff.
When you are at lower elevations the water will come from community water sources, so no need to collect water from low elevation runoff.
The community water in the area comes from aquifers in the nearby mountains.
The Long Path was the first long trail I've run. There's another trail in the Hudson Valley called the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, which runs from High Point State Park in New Jersey about 70 miles to Rosendale NYC. It's about 50% the same as the Long Path. It's a great shorter option.
Some day I'd like to take a shot at the John Muir Trail.
Hi Ken
Now that I'm logged in, glad to answer any questions.
Ken
I agree with Steven. The Long Path leaves the city behind pretty quickly and you're soon in complete wilderness. By the way, water from the Catskills flows through aqueducts into NYC's reservoirs and becomes our drinking water.
Maybe I'm just a little dense, but are there basically two southern terminuses of the trail, the GWB and the shawagunk ridge trail?
I grew up in the Catskills and my first long hike was a 70 mile section of the lp. I always thought it would be cool to finish up rest of the Catskills.
As far as I know there was always only one southern terminus and that was at the GWB.
Many sections have changed over the years and there are often alternate routes while private property and other issues get resolved.
I know I did one very long road walk that has since been rerouted over trails and old carriage roads.
I will probably go back and do that section.
The plan was always to some day reach the top of NY State through the Adirondacks and it looks like they may be almost at that point.
that's my old stomping grounds, I grew up in Mahwah NJ.
Lots of iron in the rock near Torne Mountain, great trees and lakes everywhere.
Why do you think it would be a good idea to take/wear "taller hiking socks?"
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