NIGHT SWIMMING

Leaving Manhattan around 7:30pm, Cara and I caught a ride up to Bear Mountain for a night hike with a group from Outdoor Bound I’d heard about through Event Me, a networking resource that hooks people up for regional activities. Our destination was about an hour away, and there were 18 of us total, basically singles and some couples, a mixed, pleasant crowd of people, which slowly warmed up to one another as we made our way on a six mile hike to a lakeside destination. The full moon had passed, but what remained was almost, but not quite bright enough as the majority of the headlamp-wearing procession that made its way eerily through the woods, as if we were some kind of secret Pagan ritual.

Not much wildlife to be seen, as the group was at first loud enough to scare off almost everything around, though we did spot a small snake about the size of a night crawler that quickly slithered away. The terrain was a bit technical, lots of rocks to navigate and it was slow going at first, and I’ve never hiked in a group this large before, so there were some who were obviously unprepared for the amount of exertion that lay ahead and quite a bit of waiting for catch ups.

We reached the lake in about an hour and a half, beautifully illuminated by what I found out later to be New York City. Out guides (there were three) built a fire and we warmed ourselves up a bit, roasting marshmallows, making Smores and small talk. Cara, myself, a fellow named Lee and one of the guides went for a swim, the water warm, still and incredibly dark, and we gazed at the moon from our unique vantage, most of the others not even realizing we were actually in the water. Back at the fire there was some ghost stories, clumsy jokes and a riddle or two to keep the conversation going, one couple opting out entirely, spending most of their time on a hillside drinking and most likely getting stoned.

We left over an hour later and headed back, the fastest of us so far ahead we lost twelve of the others. We could see their lights in the forest and had planned to play a prank on them, but realized they had become separated and lost on another trail. As we went back towards them, we heard movement in the forest, as something else was with us as well, though we never saw what it was. We finally regrouped and headed back, the group growing more tired and quiet, as this part of the hike was primarily climbing over stacks of boulders and rock, once or twice taking a wrong turn while trying to find the sporadic blazes that marked the path. We summited two or three times, with more sterling views, taking a few breaks while the wind picked up and things became noticeably chilly. making it back to the cars at a around 2am. We ended up catching a ride with the guide and his girlfriend who drove us there on the way in, kindly dropping us off back in our neighborhood around three in the morning.

ROCHER-DE-NAYE

Feeling a bit under the weather (a lot actually) from last night’s over exposure at Paleo, I still wasn’t about to pass on the opportunity to hike in the Alps, or the pre-Alps as Maria called them. Trapped in the city I never get in terrain like this, and if I were in Seattle I’d be in the mountains as much as possible this time of year. Maria suggested Rochers-de-Naye, as the closest place, so she took the day off work and we traveled up to Montreux again where we caught another train leading above the town.

From our station stop, the train headed up to the summit and we began our hike, walking through neighborhoods above Montreux filled with those ridiculously quintessential Swiss chalets just about everywhere. With incredible, unavoidable views, Maria claimed homes here weren’t that expensive. At the end of the road was the trailhead, and from here we made our way through lush forests wondering to ourselves about an abandoned rail line that seemed to head into the forest and straight up the mountain. We’d hoped the storm from the night before would have blown out, but as we climbed higher cloud cover obscured the peak above, and eventually we were into the mist ourselves. Feeling feverish earlier, the cool air revived me and up we went through a rather perilous scree-covered chute, hearing an eerie cow bell tinkling in the mist. We eventually reached a notch, and found ourselves at a stone cottage in the middle of nowhere we thought was abandoned until we noticed an old man emerge to cut wood as we ate our lunch nearby.

From there it was a short jaunt to the top, where we followed a spur trail to an amazing terraced alpine garden, where Maria looked for the elusive edelweiss flower. Our train had arrived while we weren’t looking and we ran to the station at the top of the peak just in time, riding down the mountain with even more spectacular scenery with the clouds burning off just as we departed. Remarkable.