North Point and Pitching Point(Storm King State Forest-West Hudson Highlands)

The Hudson Highlands are the spectacular peaks that rise directly above both sides of Hudson River, starting south in Peekskill in Westchester County up through Putnam County and over to Beacon in Dutchess County.  They are, to put it bluntly, breathtaking.  Along with that fame and notoriety, however, comes immense popularity, and finding solitude on any of these peaks is sometimes hard to do.  I set out Monday to hike a lesser used and known spot in the park, North Point, which sits just south of Storm King Mountain.  North Point is really just a north ridge of Crows Nest, the unassuming mountain that sits just south of Storm King. I parked in the unmarked parking area on Route 9W north(just south of the area called The Clove)and was shocked to see no other cars(even on President's Day!).  The Bobcat trail starts just beyond a vacant kiosk at an elevation of 1025 feet.  I set out on the white blazed trail under gorgeous late winter conditions.  This trail is quite rugged and rocky to start, dropping down to a small stream before soon coming to a trail junction at about 1/4 of a mile in.  This hike can be made into a loop, which many folks do clockwise....but with North Point and its open ridge just above me the other way, I impatiently headed counter clockwise following the blue blazes of the Howell Trail, emerging into open low bush fields within moments.

 

Not even five minutes into the hike, and I was enjoying these views of Butter Hill and Route 9W to the north.

 Incredibly, the views only get better!!  Almost immediately I was in awe. 

Passing over the wide open summit bump of North Point.  Views of Breakneck Ridge and Storm King were already teasing me, with the best still to come.

 The trail comes down to a very nice lookout spot, marked with an enormous boulder.  

The views are nothing shy of incredible..with the impressive cut of Route 218 into the side of Storm King Mountain and the rock face of Breakneck Ridge to the east.

After enjoying the awesome views, I continued on the trail, dropping a bit before a slight ascent up through peaceful hardwoods.

Within just a few minutes, the woods began to thin out again, and I hit more open view points.  These may have been even better than the first!!  The Hudson River basin spreads north towards the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, with Storm King and Breakneck Ridge standing guard above. 

I wandered several open view spots, each with slightly different views north.  The small island visible is Pollepel Island, home of abandoned Bannerman's Castle.

From a little lower down on the ridge, from another clearing, I spotted this incredible view of the rock face of Breakneck Ridge.  Just to the north sits the smaller peak of Sugerloaf Mountain.

I found numerous spots with spectacular views and was able to enjoy each and every one of them by myself!  What a treat!

Continuing east, I dropped slightly down the ridge to Pitching Point, another wide open view point.  From here, the view across the river of Bull Hill(Mount Taurus) and its abandoned quarry is second to none.  What an amazing perspective!!

The village of Cold Spring sits at the southern foot of Bull Hill and can be seen sprawling out across the river from here.

 A south view downstream towards Constitution Island on the Hudson from Pitching Point.

As I continued on my way, the trail turns to the north, descending slowly at first..passing by more views and pitch pines.

A unique perspective of Butter Hill and Storm King Mountain, looking quite massive to the north.  There is so much open rock on these peaks!! 

I really thought this shot from just below Pitching Point was nice, because it not only gives a view of Route 9W below Butter Hill, but also the open area on North Point, which I had just been on before.

 

 Even as I dropped the views north were jaw dropping.  Simply stunning!

 More north views!

As I finally began the steep descent off Pitching Point, I hit the mountain's north shadows and also the day's first wintry conditions.  The most sheltered areas, just as this spot just off trail, seemed to hold the most ice.

 A window above the deep abyss that I was about to drop into. 

You could say the east slopes of the peak were steep...as evidenced by Route 218(closed for the winter), seen here, sitting about 500 feet straight down.

The trail utilizes many switchbacks to ease the very steep descent off the mountain down to Route 218.  I had dropped nearly 1000 feet to get this spot.  Storm King's rocky slopes can be seen rising above the road to the north.  From here, the white blazed Stillman Spring Trail heads west.

The ascent west was actually much less steep than I thought it would be.  The trail basically seems to follow old roads as it gradually gains back the elevation lost.  As I neared the the blue blazed Howell Trail again, the trail gets a bit rockier, turning more southerly.  Soon enough I was back on my old tracks, taking the Bobcat Trail back to the car. 

Hiked about 4 miles total with 1400 feet of ascent.  This hike was one of the more spectacular trail hikes that I have probably ever done.  The mileage was pretty short, but the views were outstanding...and one after another.  Simply put...wow!