Introduction

HIKING TIPS Stretching HIKING ETIQUETTE Bushwhacking ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

HEALTH FOR HIKERS SAFETY Getting Lost Fire Towers Hypothermia Weather Wildlife

 

You swear you have visited a video arcade for the last time, watched your last Ninja Turtles movie, taken your final ride on a loop-the-loop roller coaster. Meanwhile, the kids are boycotting art museums, flea markets, and anything that takes place on a stage and requires them to wear a necktie and/or dress shoes.

Is this the end of family togetherness?

No. It's time to take up hiking! Did you know that there are more than 800 miles of hiking trails within a one-and-a-half-hour drive of New York City? Healthier than cable TV and cheaper than downhill skiing, hiking is within everyone's capabilities and appeals to toddlers and teenagers, preschoolers and parents. We all love the outdoors, and hiking adds an element of adventure. What will we find around the next bend? A cave; a camping shelter; a waterfall, maybe?

Even though hiking with children requires a good deal more effort than hiking without children, it's worth the extra hassle. Kids notice clouds shaped like hippos and trees that look like witches; they delight in anthills and spider webs. Your daughter will point out everything in the forest that is her favorite color. (She'll also point out everything in the forest that is your favorite color, her cousin's favorite color, and her best friend Rachel's favorite color.) Your son won't remark or observe—he'll squeal, he'll shout, he'll exclaim! Kids react to these adventures the way we'd all like to, if only we didn't feel obligated to act so darned grown up. By taking little folks along, we're able to experience nature with renewed enthusiasm.

 

 

Hiking Tips

Keep in mind the one basic rule for family hiking: it's got to be fun. Gear the trip toward your children's interests, needs, and capabilities. Try to envision the experience through their eyes, and plan accordingly. If the first few trips are memorable, they'll be eager to embark on more family adventures.

Here are a few pointers for hiking with young children.

• Bring a little buddy. A friend is a distraction from that blister and a deterrent to whining: nobody wants to look wimpy in front of a school chum.
• Set a realistic pace. A child's pace varies tremendously within the course of a walk—from ambling along, examining every stone, leaf, and blade of grass, to racing ahead like the lead runner in the New York City Marathon. By letting the child set the pace (within reason), you convey the message that a hike's success is not measured in terms of miles covered but rather in the pleasure taken in each step.
• Choose an appropriate hike. When in doubt, easier is better than harder, but an athletic twelve-year-old will be bored with a mile-long amble through the woods that is better suited for a preschooler. Our difficulty ratings, described in the "Key to Symbols" section preceding the first hike, along with the time, distance, and elevation gain information, will help you decide what your kids can handle. See also "How to Use This CD."
• Give compliments. Nothing means more to children than their father or mother patting them on the back and telling them they are the best climbers around. Such praise makes sore feet suddenly feel a whole lot better.
• Make frequent stops. A trailside boulder, a fallen tree, a breezy peninsula. . . . Children need more frequent rests than adults, but they tend to recover more quickly. Teach them to pace themselves; remind them as they dash out of the car that it will be a long climb to the summit.
• Offer snacks. Granola bars; bananas; cheese cubes; a mixture of nuts, chocolate chips, and dried fruits; boxes of raisins—bring along any favorite that will boost energy. Bring plenty of water, too.
• Play games on the trail. Suggest things for children to listen and look for: croaking frogs, deer tracks, acorns, birds flying south for the winter. Don't worry about making proper identifications; if you see something interesting, just say "Look!" Offer incentives and distractions—"We're halfway there," "The waterfall is just over the hill"—and talk about the day's goals. Have fun—laughter lightens the load.
• Encourage responsibility. Children, like the rest of us, tend to meet the level of expectation. An older child given the responsibility of following the hike on the map, keeping an eye out for a loon through the binoculars, or charting directions with the compass will proudly fulfill his or her duties and be less likely to engage in horseplay.
• Maintain a good attitude. Misery is contagious, so even if you are anxious because you think it might rain or your pack has somehow doubled its weight in the last half mile, don't complain in front of your kids. A bad attitude will kill a good time much faster than a pair of soggy sneakers.

 

Stretching

The colder the weather, the more your muscles need stretching before the hike. Kids don't need to warm up as much as their parents do, but it won't hurt them. Stretch your calf muscles and hamstrings by leaning forward against the car or a tree and slowly lowering your heels until they touch the ground. Hold, rest, and repeat. For your quadriceps (front of the thigh), support yourself with one hand while you grab an ankle behind you with the other and pull it toward your buttocks. Hold the position, then repeat on the other side. Repeat these exercises after your hike as well to prevent cramping.

 

Hiking Etiquette

Sometimes the very qualities that make children so much fun to have along on a hike can present the most problems. Adults recognize that what our ancestors referred to as "dismal wilderness" is our most valuable and threatened resource, but to children the outdoors is a vast playground. While the seven-year-old is gleefully stripping a boulder of its moss blanket in search of worms and beetles, his younger sister is stomping among the wildflowers reciting a spontaneous ode to posies. But by springing to the defense of each cluster of ferns, parents may be concerned that they will turn what should be a relaxed family outing into a running battle. How can parents creatively direct their children's enthusiasm toward nature-friendly pursuits?

Older children can anticipate the consequences of their own actions upon the environment. They will learn respect for the wilderness and its inhabitants from their parents' examples. By recycling, buying biodegradable products, and supporting environmental concerns, parents integrate a conservation ethic into the family's
daily life so that "clean hiking" and "clean camping" come naturally to their children. Youngsters so raised understand that as hikers and campers they are becoming, for a time, part of the wilderness; they are not seeking to dominate or ruin it. Willingly, they'll "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, and kill nothing but time." Children old enough to distinguish "safe" from potentially harmful trash can be encouraged to pick up the litter of previous hikers as well.

 

Younger children are more likely than older ones to act recklessly and without concern for the environment and its inhabitants. Offering desirable options rather than simply forbidding certain behavior works best with most children. Instead of picking a wildflower, your daughter can smell it, examine the petals under a magnifying glass, or take a photograph. Binoculars focus attention on soaring birds or far horizons. Such equipment retains its appeal when it is reserved just for special outings. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is to instill in them a respect for the other living things that share our planet and an understanding of their own importance in determining the future of our natural environment.

Here are some specific ways that hikers can leave the forest without a trace.

• Prepare to take trash out with you by bringing along appropriate bags or containers. Educate your kids: a plastic container takes up to eighty years to decompose, a plastic bag up to twenty years, and a milk carton, five years.
• Stick to the trails. When presented with the choice of stepping on delicate vegetation or rocks, pick the rocks.
• Trails are most vulnerable during "mud season" in March and April; be especially careful then.
• Don't wash in streams or lakes.
• If restroom facilities are not provided, dig a small hole for human waste at least 200 feet from any water source and cover it with soil afterward.
• Conform to the specific regulations of the state park, wildlife refuge, or other recreation area you are visiting.
• Consider joining the hundreds of members of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference who help pick up trash along the trails on Litter Day, an annual event.

Bushwhacking

To veteran hikers, even wilderness trails can begin to feel civilized. Often, these adventurous souls take to bushwhacking, using topographical maps to locate trailless peaks or leaving a blazed trail to make their own way through the forest. Despite the thrill of going where no one has seemingly gone before, we don't recommend bushwhacking for families. It's easy to get disoriented and tough to keep everyone together. Crashing through the underbrush is likely to scare off any animals or birds in the area; you'll probably see more wildlife if you stay on the trails since many animals follow the trails themselves. You may also inadvertently trample delicate vegetation, cause erosion, or disturb a nesting site if you leave the path.

 

 

Environmental Education

Today many natural areas not only preserve the beauty of their environment, they educate visitors about it. Many of the sites in this CD have active nature centers that run a variety of interesting educational programs, ranging from group hikes for families to week-long summer nature camps for kids. The programs are generally free or very inexpensive. To learn what's happening at a site you plan to visit, call ahead. In addition to your hike, you and your kids might be able to participate in a fun learning experience.

 

 

Health for Hikers

In recent years, Lyme disease, a bacterial illness carried by ticks, has become a serious problem for hikers in the Hudson Valley and Catskills. Lyme disease is carried only by the tiny deer tick (not by the larger and more common wood tick). The illness causes flu-like symptoms, including high fever, joint pain, headaches, and fatigue; often, though not always, a red bull's-eye-shaped rash appears around the tick bite. If treated immediately with antibiotics, Lyme disease is almost always completely and quickly cured. If left untreated, however, it can cause long-term health problems, including arthritis and nerve damage. Because the symptoms of Lyme disease can take up to two weeks to develop, you may not at first associate a later mild illness with an earlier tick bite.

Prevention is the best approach to Lyme disease. To avoid tick bites, dress properly for the trail. Wear a hat, long trousers, socks, and closed shoes while hiking. If possible, wear light-colored clothing so that ticks will be easily visible. Before starting your hike, apply an insect repellent containing DEET, paying particular attention to the ankles and the back of the neck. After your hike, check yourself and your kids carefully for ticks, especially around the hairline, armpits, and other hairy areas.

To remove an attached tick, use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull steadily outward. Clean the area with a topical antiseptic. Deer ticks need to remain embedded in the skin for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease. Ticks that are crawling, not attached, can't transmit Lyme disease. If you do find an embedded tick, make a note of the date and keep an eye on the area. If even mild symptoms of Lyme develop within the next month, see your doctor at once.

Most importantly, avoid the areas deer ticks like best: brushy or grassy areas and woodland edges. Stay on the trails and don't bushwhack. Deer ticks are active as long as the temperature is above freezing, so it's possible to get Lyme disease even after a winter hike.

 

 

Safety

While you cannot altogether eliminate the risks inherent in hiking, you can minimize them by taking proper precautions and by educating yourself and your children. You should carry the supplies necessary (see the "Ten Essentials", under "Equipment") to combat the most frequently encountered problems. Recognize your own limitations and those of your children. Don't attempt to climb Indian Head Mountain (Hike 31) on your first family outing. If you're hiking with very young children, you will probably wind up carrying them, or at least their packs, for some of the way, so choose a hike that is well within your own capabilities.

Getting Lost

Although we have described as accurately as possible the trail conditions and routes, they may be different when you embark on a given hike. Blazes may be painted over, seasonal changes such as erosion or fallen trees might cause a trail to be rerouted, bridges and boardwalks could have collapsed. Change your plans if the trail seems too poorly marked to follow or if the condition of the trail is dangerous.

Prepare for the possibility of getting lost. Leave your itinerary with a friend or relative (or at the very least, leave a visible note on the dashboard of the car) and be sure to sign and date the trail register. Carry enough extra food and clothing so that if an overnight is necessary, you are prepared.

Teach your kids to read maps and to pay close attention to trail markers and landmarks. On most marked trails, they should be able to see two blazes (one ahead of them and one behind them) at all times. Most trails are marked with paint blazes on trees or rocks. Cairns—small rock piles—indicate the route above tree line. Double blazes indicate a significant change of direction, and triple blazes usually signal the end of the trail. Instruct children to look back frequently to see what the route will look like on the hike out.

You may want to insist on the buddy system or equip everyone with a whistle and establish a whistle code. The standard signal for help is three whistle blasts (or three puffs of smoke, three shots, and so forth). Encourage little children to stay put as soon as they realize they are lost. Older children might be able to follow a river downstream or retrace their steps looking for particular landmarks. Above all, emphasize alertness and remaining calm. If you are unable to
attempt a return to your car because you are lost or injured or both, make a signal fire using greens that will smoke and draw the attention of anyone looking. (Use extra caution in dry conditions.)

 

Fire Towers

The fire towers noted are in good repair, but you should inspect each one you intend to climb. Many fall quickly into a state of disrepair, some have been sold to private owners, others are in the process of being torn down. No matter what its condition, never use a fire tower for overnight camping.

Hypothermia

If children are particularly engrossed in what they are doing, they may ignore discomfort or an injury. Watch for signs of fatigue, then encourage a rest and food stop. Certain conditions, such as hypothermia, will affect a child sooner than they will an adult exposed to the same climate. Most cases of hypothermia occur in relatively mild temperatures of between 30 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, often in windy or wet conditions. If a child seems listless and cranky (early signs of hypothermia), begins stumbling, and certainly once he or she complains of being cold, begins uncontrollable shivering, or exhibits impaired speech, add another layer of warm clothes or change the child into dry clothes (see "Clothing"), wrap the child in a sleeping bag, and offer a warm drink or soup.

 

Weather

Be conscious of weather conditions and do not hesitate to rechart your course because of a potential storm. Even the least challenging trail can pose a hazard in foul weather. And some of the toughest routes are nearly impossible to navigate in a blizzard or severe thunderstorm. The only thing worse than getting caught in bad weather while hiking is getting caught in bad weather while hiking with your children.

Remember: the higher the elevation, the colder, windier, and wetter it is likely to be. The tallest peaks in the Catskills region receive about 35 percent more precipitation than the Hudson River Valley. And the weather in New York City is no indication of the conditions in the mountains. The system that drops light rain in Manhattan may let loose a blizzard on top of Hunter Mountain.

 

Wildlife

The areas covered by this guide are known for their abundance of wildlife. We saw deer on nearly every hike, and smaller creatures such as porcupines, chipmunks, and rabbits frequently. Most encounters with wildlife are delightful surprises. When a hiking family meets a bear for the first time, however, it can be frightening. Between 800 and 900 black bears live in the Catskills region, so if you camp and hike for an extended period, it's likely that you'll meet up with one. (We came upon five in a two-week period.)

There is actually little cause for worry. Unless you are situated between a mother bear and her cubs, any bears you encounter will likely lumber away as soon as they smell, see, or hear you. (Our five bears ran away from us much faster than we ran away from them.) Only when a bear refuses to flee after you've yelled or blown a whistle should you assume that it may be dangerous. In this case, back away slowly.

Campers can make bear encounters less likely by keeping food out of the animal's reach. String a rope at least 10 feet off the ground between two trees and hang bagged food from the rope, 4 feet away from tree trunks. Never leave food in your tent or on the ground nearby.

Snakes are quite common in the region covered by this CD. The only snake that is remotely dangerous is the timber rattlesnake. This heavy-bodied snake can reach lengths of 5 to 6 feet. It's easily recognized by the black chevron-shaped crossbands running down the length of its back and, of course, by the sound the rattle in its tail makes if the snake is about to attack. If you come across one of these reptiles sunning itself on a rocky ledge, don't approach any closer. The snake will probably slither away as soon as it senses you. Be cautious about exploring caves and putting your hands into rock crevices.

Rabies has been found in animals, most typically raccoons, in the Catskills and Hudson Valley. Any animal acting strangely or allowing you to approach closely may be rabid or injured and could be dangerous. Painful as it may be, keep away and let nature take its course. If you suspect the animal was rabid, report it and the approximate location to the site manager.

During a hike, you (or more likely your child) may come across a baby bird or small animal that appears to be abandoned or lost. This is almost certainly not the case; the parent is probably concealed nearby. Do not attempt to "rescue" the animal. Leave the area quietly and quickly so that the parent can return and care for the baby.