Snake Hill, New Windsor, NY

So I grew up on a little dead-end road at the foot of Snake Hill in New Windsor New York. One Sunday when I was 12 or 13 after Sunday school when I still had my Sunday shoes on I went out to play and the Fitzgerald boys who were considerably older than me, asked me if I wanted to go with them and climb Snake Hill. How could I say no? I always wanted to hang with these guys because, well, I was a dork and they were cool! So we climbed the hill - straight up - none of this switchback stuff, just straight up! I remember the feeling of accomplishment that day and I’ve been “going up” ever since. When we got back, I got hell from my parents because my shoes were all scuffed and I had torn a hole in my shirt - I think I was grounded for like a month after that! So that was back in the 1970s and I haven’t been up Snake Hill since.

2 1/2 days of this past Memorial Day weekend was monumentally shitty. I think I drained 8 inches of rain out of my pool over that time. Finally, on Memorial Day itself, although we’re supposed to get some more rain, it looked like there was a window to get out and do a quick hike before it started raining again. So I decided to do a quick hike up Snake Hill and I remembered a path from Crystal Lake where I parked that afternoon and endeavored up the hill. All in, I think it was about 3 miles but sincerely uphill. I noticed that the property is now conserved by Scenic Hudson and the trail is very well marked and maintained. Halfway up the red Trail there’s an old Jewish cemetery a from the 1800s that I never noticed before.

So when I got to the top of Snake Hill I noticed that scenic Hudson had installed two benches at the Overlook which by the way were pretty sturdy and very much appreciated. I also met a woman from the UK there who said she regularly does this hike. I didn’t catch her name but she was very nice. I enjoyed this hike in particular because it reminds me of the lyrics from one of my songs on my second CD that says “I Climbed to the highest point in this sleepy bedroom town, clawed my way to the top, and I gazed all around, and the sun shone differently, from that point of view, and showed me the direction that I must choose…Awaken, oh weary being, see though you are blind, behold the labors of the Dawn, be exhausted by the efforts, of a Power sublime… Thank you for reading this and l hope you like the photo - hope to see you out there on the trail!