After sucking up the fact that we’re likely not going to be doing any travel out of the state or country this year due to COVID-19, we decided to rent a car today for a day trip to the Hudson River Valley for some hiking, nature, local fruit, and local wineries and distilleries. We started the day with a short hike up Mount Beacon, the highest peak in the Hudson Highlands and the highest point between the Catskills and the Atlantic coast. Although the description said the hike was only 1 mile each way, what it doesn’t tell you is exactly how steep that one mile is and how you better get ready for a truly uphill climb. After only about five minutes climbing up on a very rocky, uneven surface, I could already feel myself huffing and puffing. How much longer to go? Although I’d been doing HIIT workouts that are intensive with cardio as well as plenty of strength training on my mat in my room given COVID-19 no-gym conditions, clearly I was unprepared for this extreme uphill hike, as my breathing kept getting heavier and I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest at any point. Stopping didn’t even help, as it just made me feel like the air was heavier. Why do I feel so out of shape?!

We finally got to the top after what felt like forever, but my Garmin said we had hiked up only about 5,000 steps (could have fooled me). The view was worth the hike, though, as well as the odd ruins up top. It also felt so good to breathe in really fresh air amidst all the green and woods. These are the moments that make it worth it to leave the concrete jungle of New York City… but also make me miss traveling further away…. Hopefully, that will happen in a distant future for us.