MEDIA

Articles

"A REGION OF NATURAL HIGHS"
The Boston Globe

Author(s): Bonnie Tsui, Globe Correspondent
Date: May 21, 2003
Page: E8
Section: Travel

Weekend Planner

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - Growing up in New York, I was exposed more to concerts at the Philharmonic and rowdy downtown music clubs than to the great outdoors. But after going to college in Cambridge and learning to love easy access to snow and the New England wilderness, I came away with a vital need to get fresh air on a regular basis. One of the best outdoor playgrounds around is New Paltz, less than two hours from Manhattan and only 3 1/2 from Boston, making it perfect for weekend warriors looking for an escape to nature.

A charming college town in the Hudson Valley originally settled by the French Huguenots, it fairly crawls with rock climbers, hikers, and mountain bikers during the spring, summer, and fall. A local trapeze club draws students interested in perfecting the "greatest of ease" part of their flying. And vineyards, independent bookshops, and antique stores provide an element of culture for those less athletically inclined.

On a recent sunny spring Friday, my friend Brynn and I drive into New Paltz's village center, arriving in the morning so as to beat the crowd that will surely be inching its way into town later that day.

Along with the Minnewaska State Park and Mohonk Preserves, the crag-filled Shawangunk (pronounced SHAWN-gum) Ridge is the area's big draw. Stretching up from the New Jersey border to the Catskills, across 50 miles and three counties, the Gunks are a premier climbing destination and designated as a "Last Great Place" by the Nature Conservancy. Quartzite erosion patterns on the ridge have created cliffs uniquely suited to technical climbing, and parking lots at the preserves often fill up well before opening time during rock climbing season.

"From April through mid-November, you'll see hundreds of climbers on the weekends," says Marty Molitoris, the owner and head instructor of Alpine Endeavors, one of four guide services that lead trips in the area. "Every route has a line of people ready to rope up."

I meet Molitoris at Rock & Snow, the outdoor store in town and, it seems, the main base for the climbing community. "We get a mix of people coming in, from locals to climbing legends," says Rich Gottlieb, the shop's owner and resident climbing historian. "The great thing about the climbers here is that you wouldn't know the difference from the way they act. They're all just regular people, and incredibly approachable."

That day, Gottlieb points out Hugh Herr, who first became famous as a young ace climber in the early 1980s; at 17, he lost both legs to frostbite, then went on to become a pioneer in prosthetic technology. He is now a faculty member at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. "He climbs at an even more advanced level now because of the prosthetics he's developed," says Gottlieb, as Herr chats with employees and browses in the store.

My own rock climbing experience has been decidedly less awe-inspiring, but I'm motivated by the fact that I am in good company here in the Gunks. After a brief stop to check in at Minnewaska Lodge - a rustic yet modern 26-room inn located at the foot of the Gunks and abutting the Mohonk Preserve, in excellent proximity to a whole host of routes - Molitoris and I venture out to a popular cliff called the Trapps, while Brynn sets out on a run from the lodge's 17-acre wooded property.

The Trapps has a diverse array of climbing routes ranging from about 5.0 (appropriate for beginners) to an intimidating 5.13 (non-Spider-Men need not apply). Molitoris helps me prepare for Jackie, a moderately challenging 5.5-rated route with a thin crack to inch up and a slight roof, or overhang, at the top. The day has become overcast, with the heavy warm air and slightly darkened clouds of an impending thunderstorm; for the time being, we are alone on the rock with nothing but the occasional buzzing fly to disrupt the serene setting. While I take in the sweeping vista of hundreds of acres of trees hung with mist, Molitoris works quickly and skillfully to set up a top rope for the climb, and pretty soon we're ready to scale the face.

With the panorama of birch, oak, and the town of Gardiner below and pine barrens atop the wide ribbon of rocky ridge before us, it seems that there's no more elemental way to spend an afternoon. Even while wearing a helmet and a harness roped up to the cliff, climbing rocks makes me feel free. There's something rewarding about using your mind and body together to figure out the puzzle of how to get up the face. When I finally haul myself to the top, a woman on a nearby route offers cheery congratulations.

We manage to squeeze in one more climb (Frog's Head, 5.6), and by the time the clouds packing lightning and a torrential downpour finally arrive at the ridge, I'm safely ensconced in an Adirondack chair inside the Minnewaska Lodge.
Along with the more common pursuits of climbing, fishing, and canoeing, New Paltz is also home to the Trapeze Club at Stone Mountain Farm, where an impressive 50-foot outdoor trapeze rig soars above a sprawling meadow. Students here get highs of a different sort: Head instructor David Pakenham and program director Megan Dwyer teach people age 4 and up how to perform basic swings, hang by their knees from the trapeze bar, and, ultimately, complete tricks and catches with a second flier.

Brynn and I spend a gleeful afternoon flinging ourselves into open space while hanging from the trapeze bar; though neither of us are particularly afraid of heights, it's still a thrill to climb 30 feet up in the air to stand on a narrow platform with nothing but a waist harness and net to catch our fall. Pakenham is a patient teacher and makes it easy for even first-time students to feel like accomplished circus performers.

That afternoon, a group of local cyclists pedaling along the Wallkill River - another popular pastime - stop by to check out the rig and become instant converts. They vow to return for a lesson of their own. At the end of the lesson, our instructors can't resist hopping up for a swing before we leave. Like climbing, flying on the trapeze is a joyful movement that taps into your instinctive self.

All this activity surely demands refueling of the food variety, and New Paltz has restaurants, cafes, wineries, and fruit farms in abundance. It's hard to do it all in one weekend, but with such a cornucopia, oenophiles and outdoor enthusiasts alike can at least get a taste.

Bonnie Tsui is a freelance writer who lives in New York City.

New Paltz itinerary

Friday

3 p.m. Check in Minnewaska Lodge
3116 Route 44/55, Gardiner
845-255-1110
www.minnewaskalodge.com
$155-$209 (including breakfast)
If you're climbing, this is the ideal location.

4 p.m. Village people Huguenot Historical Society
18 Broadhead Ave.
845-255-1660
www.hhs-newpaltz.org
$10
Tour the Colonial houses and church on Huguenot Street.

7 p.m. On the patio Harvest Cafe and Restaurant Water Street Antique and Art Village
845-255-4205
About $30 for two Sample seasonally fresh New American food outdoors.

Saturday

11 a.m.
High flying Trapeze Club at Stone Mountain Farm
475 River Road Extension
845-658-8540
www.trapeze-club.org
$35
Be a circus star for a day at this trapeze rig.

Noon
Chow down Toscani & Sons
119 Main St.
845-255-6770
$3.75-$7
Come to this family-owned deli for gourmet Italian dishes.

2 p.m.
Walk in the woods Mohonk Mountain House and Preserve
1000 Mountain Rest Road
845-255-1000
www.mohonk.com
Prices vary Tennis, golf, boating, swimming, fishing, and horseback riding at a historic resort.

6 p.m.
Dress-up dinner Mohonk Mountain House Restaurant
(See above)
845-255-2056
$50 (free for guests)
Save room for the warm apple tart a la mode.

Sunday

8:30 a.m.
Baker's dozen The Bakery
13a North Front St.
845-255-8840
www.ilovethebakery.com
Grab delicious pastries and coffee.

9 a.m.
Cliff-hanging Alpine Endeavors
845-658-3094
www.alpineendeavors.com
$140, including gear (based on two people)
Scale the Shawangunk Ridge's famed crags.

1 p.m. Rest and refuel Main Street Bistro
59 Main St.
845-255-7766
www.mainstreetbistro.com
$5.95-$7.95
Indulge in the huge menu.