More – Popolopen Torne hike earlier this month

Next hike of the month is this Wednesday – a relatively easy one, on the Teatown-Kitchawan Trail.

Here are more pictures from our May 3rd pretty amazing hike on the Popolopen Torne loop and to the Torne summit. Great walk, and the summit with it’s memorial cairn is amazing and inspirational. At some point I’m going to go back up and then do a whole posting on the summit and the cairn. And try to further get the word about it out on all the social media.

Here are the three amigos, Brigid, Judy, and hiking buddy Jeanne Marie.

Much of the walk on the way up was quite pastoral – Brigid took this – you can spot my big rear.

After about three hours – the last part of the summit had a rope – assist already in place.

And the annoyingly very fit Jeanne Marie was the first person to the top!

And close behind –

The cairn is a memorial to troops who have been lost mainly in Afghanistan and I believe also in Iraq. I do want to come back and take some extensive pictures – only going to post a few of the ones that I took this time of the cairn.

Unobstructed views, in all directions.

And looking southwest –

There are two granite benches at the summit, each inscribed with the name of a West Point man – must have been a bitch very difficult to get them to the summit. They were carried, not helicoptered in …

MAJ Thomas “TK” Kennedy, killed by a suicide bomb attack: Obituary, Military Times tribute

1LT Daren M. Hidalgo, killed by an IED. He had been injured two weeks earlier by an IED, but refused medical tratment – wanted to stay with his men: News story, Military Times tribute

Sobering. There are many other inscribed rocks, signs, and insignias in the cairn.

Now, getting down the other side of the summit. The hike was a loop – no retracing.

A little hairy. Some sliding on bottoms for the first part. And then it got easier.

Detect a pattern? Jeanne Marie always at the front… You go girl!

The bridge is a prefab one, brought in when the prior bridge was washed away in the 2012 hurricane.

Looking back at the summit – through a fairly long zoom lens.

The bridge had taken us over the Popolopen creek, which we then followed.

And then back to civilization as we head north on 9W, over the Popolopen creek bridge (which has construction going on) to the parking area a few hundred yards north of the Fort Montgomery Historic site.