cape fly away loop

Sunday, March 20 was the perfect day for a hike at Palisades Interstate Park in NJ.  It was a brisk 50 degree day, there was not a cloud in the sky.  I chose the 'Cape Fly Away Loop', which starts at the Alpine Boat Basin, because of the interesting history, waterfalls (I saw 3!) and easy+ rating.  When I get a new toy I can't wait to to use it, so I was really excited to get test out the MotionX GPS app (iPhone4) for the first time.  It was an outrageous $0.99! ;)  Seriously, I don't know why they don't charge more.  I thought it was a great app and would've paid more.  Definitely a quality app.



This is a screenshot of my hike.  Yellow dots are pictures that I took with my iPhone along the way which have been geotagged.

 


GoogleEarth screenshot of my hike.  Check out the detailed info! click to enlarge.

  
And you can upload your hike (track) to GoogleEarth and also share with friends via email, Facebook and Twitter!  I totally recommend this app to anyone who wants to track their run/walk/hike, and some even use it to track their sailboating adventures.  Going to work on learning to use and appreciate all the cool features of this app.  


More pics:
 

Beautiful clear, blue sky

  

Trail head marker.

 

  

Bunker once used to store dynamite.

    

Enjoying the view.

 

Shore Trail runs right along the shore of the Hudson River.

 

 

Mmm.. PB&J sammie for lunch

  

Changed into my VFF Sprints 3/4 into the hike.  It was my first hike in these.  More on this next time.

 As you can see, technically still winter, the trail is barren.  I learned that in the Spring/Summer/Fall the vegetation and foliage is so dense that you can hardly see the river from the Upper Trail portion of the hike.  Must return to experience the full length of the Shore Trail when the park is in bloom and to also visit the Kearney House which is only open to visitors from May to October.  Palisades Interstate Park is a mere 20 minutes from Manhattan and has 30 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy to challeging.  Well worth a visit!