Nature
The Antidote That’s Always There
by Roger Dubin
You won’t get coronavirus from contact with plants, dirt,
rocks and animals. What you will get is a break from the stress and risk that
comes from being with other people in confined spaces.
My 27-year-old daughter, Tara, who lives on Maui,
texted me in mid-March: Dad I miss you. How’s it going back on the
continent? Of course this text arrived overnight because of the time
difference.
My text back: What a wonderful way to start the day, with a loving
text from my daughter. I was doing fine till I checked the news reports about
the virus.
Tara: Oh Dad, rookie mistake. You have to stay away from the
news, particularly in these times.
Dad: I get that, but where I am I can’t always close
myself off from what’s going on around me. Sure, for me that’s relatively easy,
I just go out into the woods. But I can’t stay in the woods forever. Sometimes
I have to come back into town.
And then it hit me. While I can’t go into the woods
forever, I can go there whenever I want. So my answer to this pandemic is the
same as my answer to many of life’s trials and tribulations: Get outside in
nature—take a hike.
CDC guidelines speak to the importance of not spreading
the disease. How does the disease spread? When one person who has it comes into
contact with another person who doesn’t.
So we went from not having gatherings of 500 or more, down to 200, then
50, and now, at the time of this writing, 10.
And what should we do when we do have to be with other
people? Practice social distancing.
Social distancing is very easy out in nature. Simply walk
a safe distance from any of the people you happen to be hiking with. Or go it
alone.
Oh, and you won’t get the virus from contact with plants,
dirt, rocks and animals. What you will get is a break from the stress and risk
that comes from being with other people in confined spaces.
Schools are closed. Restaurants and other gathering places
are closed. Even playgrounds are closed. Guess what? The parks and the woods
are open. The walkways along the rivers are open.
Get out there and breathe in the fresh air. Maybe pick up
the pace and break a sweat. Or sit quietly on a nice flat rock (or bench) and
just listen to the birds, feel the wind, smell the flowers, and be free from
worry for a little while.
My antidote to the coronavirus? Take a hike and get out
into nature. Nature is always there, and it always provides. Be safe, and happy
spring.
Roger
Dubin is marketing director for Natural Awakenings, volunteer trail
supervisor for the New York-New Jersey Trail conference (NYNJTC.org) and day
hike leader and naturist for the Nature Place Day Camp (TheNaturePlace.com).
Contact him at MrNaturalNYC@gmail or on Instagram @MrNaturalNYC.
In These Chaotic Times
Harriman State Park consists of a network of trails which
connect with each other and can be accessed from many parking options
throughout the park. This is one of the great features of Harriman
because multiple hikes with different features and levels of difficulty can be
fashioned from the same parking location or trail head. But you must check
before you go because some areas are closed to hiking or may be particularly
crowded, especially on the weekends.
For example, the Anthony Wayne Parking area, which is the
largest in the park with its upper and lower parking lots, is now a NYS
Drive-Through Testing center and is closed to hikers.
So, know before you go plus have back-up destinations in
case parking is unavailable.
Two of my favorite destinations which are options at the
time of this writing are the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center area and the Lake
Skannatati area. Both are located off of Seven Lakes Drive which runs through the
center of the park from Route 17 in the South to Bear Mountain in the North.
Here are two hiking options, but there are many. If you go, be sure to bring a
map or app.
Pine Swamp Loop
Lake Skannatati Parking Lot - This is an easy-to-moderate
hike suitable for those of all ages; it’s three miles with an elevation gain of
330 feet (without the mine excursion) and has beautiful swamp and lake views
with the option for more experienced hikers to explore an abandoned mine.
There’s a kiosk at the northern part of the parking lot
which is the starting point. Take the Arden - Surebridge (A - SB)
Trail (Blazes - Red Triangle on White background) 1.15 miles to the
Dunning Trail (Yellow Blaze). Make a left turn (head south) on Dunning with the
Pine Meadow Swamp to your left and an unmarked trail to the mine (for
experienced hikers) on your right (about a quarter mile south from
intersection). It is 0.7 mile from the A - SB trail to the intersection with
the Aqua Blazed Long Path. Make a left and this is your route back to the
parking lot–1.3 miles with lake views to the right.
Seven Hills Loop Trail
Reeves Meadow Visitor Center Parking Lot - This is a
moderate-to-difficult rated hike. This option (just under four miles with about
900 feet in elevation gain) has some steep climbs, passes multiple vistas and
then ends along the beautiful Stony Brook. There are many ways to do this loop
and many other loops in the area. This one is relatively easy to follow with the
least turns. It is the perfect introduction to this amazing part of the park
for experienced hikers that don’t mind using their hands for help during some
climbs.
