[Journal entry for June 20, 2012; Carpenter's Trail - Dykman Hill Trail Loop; Hudson Palisades cliffs] I parked at the Englewood Boat Basin in the late morning of a hot and sunny day, one of the first of the year. It has a picnic area and a wharf, along which numerous biats are docked. A small stream flows in a channel across the lawn. The view of the Hudson Palisades Cliffs is very good. The area can be reached via an access road at Exit 1 of the Palisades Interstate Parkway, which switches down the cliffs. An angler, seeing my camera, took a moment off from fishing in the Hudson River and and told me that a grey falcon had been sighted in the area. I kept my eyes peeled for it, but did not sight it during the course of the day.

I started hiking south along the Shore Trail (blazed in white). As its name imples, it follows a level course along the shore of the Hudson River, a few feet above sea level. The trail mostly runs through wooded terrain, so the cliffs above are seldom visible. The view of the east shore of the Hudson River is very good, and one catches occasional glimpses of the George Washington Bridge and the buildings of Manhattan to the soith. The shore has been highly modified from its natural state, with a rock wall made of large blocks of the local stone extending most of the way. I was surprised to find occasional stairs leding down to small beaches below the wall. These must date from an era when swimming and sunbathing in the park was more common. The trail passed a small flower garden with Hydrangea.

After a mile or so I reached the Ross Dock Picnic Area, on a broad rectangular landfill that extends out into the Hudson River just north of the George Washington. The view of the towering cliffs are particularly good here. The park is planted with numerous ornamental shrubs, including several Hydrangeas, which are in bloom. A few people were fishing, but overall the park was pretty empty. I walked a bit further south, past the ramp of the access road, and connected with the Carpenter's Trail (blazed in blue), which ascends to cliff-top level. The trail has very substantial stonework, dataing I guess from the 1930's: stairs, walls, archways and tunnels. Ferns grow from cracks between the rocks and vines drape over them. A fellow hiker pointed out to me a juvenile Eastern Cottontain rabbit, in the brush by the side of thr trail. The ascent took about ten minutes; at the top I connected with the Long Path (blazed in blue), which parallels the cliff edge, and headed north.

The Long Path has several womderful overlooks, which afford great views of the Hudson River, Manhattan and the George Washington Bridge. It passes throough wild areas that must once have been garderns, for ornamentakl plants such a day lilies, myrtle and ivy are common. The day lilies were in bloom, their bright orange flowers acenting the otherwise green woods. Some of the rock ledges, particularly those near the cliff edge, have particularly well-preserved glacial scratches. Their direction is oblique to the cliff-edge; the ice must have contributed to the steepness of the cliffs by pluching boulders away. I passed through Allison Park, a viewing area with benches that hitherto fore I had not known about. I then passed by St Peter's College, a Jesuit school that is perched on the cliff edge. And I crossed a footbridge over a small stream, the same one that, at its confluence with the Hudson River, flows through the Englewood Boat Basin.

Here I joined the Dykman Hill Trail (blazed in yellow). It interweaves with both the Park access road and the stream, passing under the former and over the latter via a series of stone tunnels and bridges. The view of the stream is very nice. In places it has cascades and small waterfalls. After a few minutes, I reached the end of the trail at the Englewood Boat Basin.

The morning had been sunny and hot. As it was now after noon I decided to have lunch at the refreshment stand in the Picnic Area. I drank rather too many sodas as I waited for my hanburger to be cooked. The anglers were still at it. One caught a small fish as I watched. About two hours.