Cheesecote Mountain, Pomona, NY

Yesterday was the day after Thanksgiving. Silent Cougar and I decided to fill in a gap on our Long Path project. Cheesecote Mountain was the last local section of Long Path for us to explore. We had already hiked the entire length of the Palisades Ridge, from the George Washington Bridge to the Palisades Parkway in Mt. Ivy. The next chunk after Cheesecote will be the ancient metamorphic highlands of Harriman Park. Yesterday's section was a bridge between two worlds.
-Major Tom

Cheesecote turned out to be a very spooky and mysterious place. On the way up, we saw a big flock of starlings. They were zooming in formation, foreshadowing a special hike. It was a cloudy and cold day. On our way in, there were many scary omens like a dead deer and creaky trees. We heard the wind use three different voices, as if spirits were talking to each other. The whole thing was like a waking dream or like being in a horror novel. It felt like a vision. The whole hike kept the creepy vibe, and it was one of my top three of all time. Another spooky omen was a strange animal noise that we could not identify. We saw "Live 4 the moment" painted upside-down on a boulder. A flock of wild turkeys flapped up a formation that we called Catamount Cliff. There was a cool cemetery with a large plaque that read "Those who are not to be forgotten," and another: "Souls no longer forgotten." There was a beautiful pond on top of the mountain. The water was grayish-green in the fading light. Gusts of wind sent strange ripples racing across the surface. It was the kind of place where anything could happen. Ancient spirits must live there. Chunks of slag seemed to lead us on our way out, and a herd of deer crossed our path again and again. It was dark as we left the woods, ending a spooky and powerful experience. We won't forget the beauty and loneliness of the place. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
-Silent Cougar