A walk over the Hudson
After 30 years of marriage its hit me that I need to keep my wife busy or she will find work for me. Yes, it took 30 years for me to get it. Perhaps I’m a slow learner. So, what activity do I plan? What floats one person’s boat might sink another’s. Although I like boats, its altitude that really gets my adrenaline pumping. Keg has had an interest in the pedestrian bridge in Poughkeepsie, NY. So the Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park fills a lot of requirements. It has some altitude, fantastic views up and down the Hudson River, and we get to move. After some research I targeted this hike for the Columbus Holiday.
I consider myself a living experiment having eliminated a few illnesses through food (I was going to say something more clinical, but it was just food). I hike, walk, or jog with a Polar watch, chest strap, and iPOD. I know the impact hills, heat, and cold has on heart rate. I know that you can calculate your target heart rate by taking 220 minus your age times the percentage of your maximum heart rate. I also know that there is a new study by researchers at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago that have come up with a more appropriate formula for women of 206 minus 88 percent of your age times the targeted heart rate. But do I bring this up during our walk over the Hudson? My decision was to forget about the new heart rate for women and all of the wiring. I didn’t want to spoil the mood for our adventure. I was also concerned about attracting stray lighting with all of the wiring I would have to wear.
Keg always has some trepidation about my adventures. But she has been a good sport as I have led her tearfully up frozen mountains in Glacier National Park and shared a meadow with 2 grizzly bears. However, this walk should be a snap. The walkway itself is only 1.28 miles. By the way, this new designation for the Poughkeepsie Highland Railroad Bridge makes it the longest elevated pedestrian park in the world. Who thinks of these things? As we approached the bridge there was a large area map that the organizers of the walkway created that expands the 1.28 mile walk to 3.6. The expanded walk will have us return across the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
A walk across a bridge with a companion that is afraid of heights makes things interesting. I wonder if her increased heart rate is as effective as a good jog? Well as we approach the bridge we find that our adventure will be shared by a large number of holiday visitors. “Build it and they will come.” The walkway surface is new and smooth with only a very slight pitch. There are signs posted along the railing detailing the bridge’s history, the local geography, and two and four legged inhabitants of the area. The view is spectacular as we reach the center bridge. If you are planning to take this walk, now is a perfect time as the fall foliage is at its peak along the palisades. And you can’t beat the fee. Its free.
As we leave the bridge we follow the 3.6 trail following signs that guide us through the streets of Poughkeepsie and onto the Mid-Hudson Bridge. For someone who enjoys nature and altitude the walk through the streets provided incentive to pick up the pace. And we did just that. As we walked onto our next bridge fear began to grip Keg. Trucks and cars rumbled by and the walkway had small openings through which the river could be viewed. Keg tensed up as we were about to step onto the next bridge. Nevertheless she pressed on and unlike Glacier she didn’t bury her head into my back. The walk over the Mid-Hudson Bridge made me wish we were still on the Walk over the Hudson Bridge. But there was a surprise in store for us. Installed near the west end of the bridge are audio speakers mounted at a Listening Station that play Joseph Bertolozzi’s original bridge music on-demand by use of touch buttons (the music can also be heard on an FM stereo transmission 24 hours a day on 87.9FM within the parks surrounding the bridge). Bertolozzi completed Bridge Music, a project which allows listeners to hear the Mid-Hudson Bridge played like a musical instrument. He created an unbelievable score. The work was created for New York’s 400th anniversary observance of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson. I explored the original sound of Bertolozzi but soon realized that we needed to get off the bridge. Keg needed terra firma.
The 3.6 mile loop was completed without heart rate monitors, and iPODs. Instead we walked, talked, and laughed our way for almost 4 miles. I’m sure we didn’t get our heart rate elevated (that might not be an accurate statement for both us), but we did get up and out, and enjoy the new people-friendly park. We moved the way our bodies are meant to and saw the Hudson from a new perspective.
Go and share a wonderful day over the Hudson. Your heart will thank you.
