New Paltz Over Easy
- By Fredrick
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So last Thursday my friend Eli, my girlfriend Miranda, and I snuck into the Mohonk Mountain House. It's a giant snobby Victorian castle turned resort for the mega-rich at the top of the hill outside of New Paltz. By telling the folks at the entrance that you need to speak with the front desk about lodging, they, in turn, give you a 1 hour parking pass. This gets you in without paying the $18 charge. While the grounds are certainly worth the $18, nature should always be free.
When we went up there, I thought we'd probably just jump in the lake, which is notoriously warm, and maybe just get belittled by the guests at the castle. When we got to the shore of the lake, however, none of us were compelled to get in. Looming always in the distance was the Skytop Tower, a sort of symbol for New Paltz. The Mountain House is the only place you can access it from. It was then decided we would climb it.
At the foot of the mountain you have two choices, the skytop path which is a wide paved path directly to the tower, or the labyrinth which is a difficult rock scramble. Compelled by both the name and the term 'rock scramble' we opted for The Labyrinth. Within a few moments we felt safe we made the right choice. Scrambling has you using your hands equally as much as your feet, and though they have occasional guide arrows, the path is all up to you. Those dangerous cliffs and shaky boulders are no longer fenced off; they are the way.
Though we were ill prepared, Eli in his loafers, Mira going barefoot a ways because her sandles were more of a burden than a help, and my shoes which have worn so thin on the bottom you can see my footprint, we had an incredible time. The views were surreal, and climbing through narrow gaps and miniature caves was thrilling. By the time we got to the top, the tower didn't matter anymore, that trip was the focal point.
Music by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
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