Breakneck Ridge - Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve
Cold Spring, NY
October 14th, 2019
TRIP STATS
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Total Mileage: 4.1mi (3.7 trail miles + the road walk)
Total Elevation Gain: Approximately 1,500'
Total Time: 4hr 21m
For my 25th summit of Breakneck Ridge I figured it was a good time to shoot the video again with the new cameras I've been using over the past 3 years. It's amazing to think I haven't been here to climb the ridge since 2016 and the last video I shot was in 2015 (when I was still using my Hero3).
I started out at 05:40 on Columbus Day to only one other car parked on the road so my plan of beating everyone to a prime parking spot worked great. This trailhead can get extremely busy on the weekends and the holidays so when you start is the deciding factor on what type of experience you will have while climbing the ridge. Metro-North also runs 12 trains on the weekends and holidays from Grand Central Station to the stop just up the road from the trailhead.
Taking the WHITE-blazed Breakneck Ridge trail you'll quickly start gaining elevation as the trail passes over the tunnel that Route 9D runs through. From here you will gain 530' of elevation in about 0.4 miles, arriving at the flag pole lookout with a fantastic view of the river and Storm King Mountain directly across from you.
The trail continues climbing from here, passing over 3 more distinct "humps", each with its own level of difficulty in ascending them. As you approach the last one, you will meet up with the RED-blazed Breakneck Ridge Bypass trail. Taking a left here will start you on the path back towards Route 9D. For this hike I chose to document only the basic loop hike so I went left.
After turning left you will quickly approach the high point of the hike at 1,240'. This also marks the final hump you have to go over so it is all downhill from here. Follow the RED blazes until you reach the junction with the YELLOW-blazed Wilkinson Memorial Trail. Going left brings you back to Route 9D.
Follow the YELLOW blazes until you eventually end up back on Route 9D. The train station is directly across the road from you when you exit the trail so if you came via train you are done. If you drove then note this is a different trailhead from where you started so go left and follow the road back up to where you parked. It is around 0.4 miles back to where you started.
While just about anyone can climb the route there are definitely sections where people afraid of heights will have some issues. As an additional note, climbing the route is not recommended to do at night. I've been hiking here for years and there are still times I find myself asking why I'm climbing in the dark. Good shoes are a must and bring plenty of water. Less conditioned hikers can easily go through 2 liters of water on this hike.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to be 100% certain of every hand and foot hold you make while enjoying this challenging trail. Numerous people have been injured attempting it and a few have paid with their lives.
Safe travels my friends, thanks for watching!
-Caps (Joe)
Equipment
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Backpack: Kelty Redwing 32
Black Diamond Spot Headlamp
Shoes: Vasque Grand Traverse Hiking Shoes / Darn Tough socks
Pants: Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible
Shirts: Mountain Hardwear T-shirt / Merino Wool long-sleeved shirt
Jacket: REI Synthetic 35°
My famous green cap: SB Outdoors Trek2 Wool Cap (custom, can't buy them)
Main camera: CANON EOS Rebel SL2 200D / 18-55mm
Hiking camera: SONY HDR AS-300 w/AKA-MCP1 Lens Protector
Vanguard Tripod with a Pergear TH3 Fluid Head
Enough batteries to make Elon Musk jealous!
Small army of memory cards
Music Credits
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Ohayo by Smith The Mister smiththemister...
Smith The Mister / @smiththemister
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_ohayo
Music promoted by Audio Library • Ohayo - Smith The Mist...
Second Nature by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/
Music promoted by Audio Library • Second Nature - Audion...
Title: Pressure by Riot
Genre and Mood: Country & Folk + Inspirational
License: You're free to use this song and monetize your videos.
ambient by strange day / strange-day
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0
creativecommons....
Music found on Music for Creators • ambient - strange
Music provided by Strange Day (song purchased)
Support the artist: strange-day.bandcamp.com/releases