hiking in the hudson valley

a few weekends ago I went for a day hike with one of my good friends in new york. a few of us took the morning train up the hudson valley to a town called Cold Spring and hiked all day over the mountains.  some parts were really tricky where you head to crawl on your hands and knees over the rocks, but honestly these were my favorite parts.  it was called a "rock scramble" which is basically as close as you get to rock climbing without using a harness.

i didn't realize how much i missed trees and nature until we were out in the middle of it.  there is something so restorative about hearing only the sound of the breeze and birds chirping, and watching the light dance in between the green leaves of the trees.  manhattan tends to drive people to keep wanting more and pushing harder - being in nature was a nice reminder that first you have to accept your place in things and yourself.  then second, you set goals and achievements that you value.  too often though, i forget that first and foremost comes self acceptance, and second comes working towards my goals and values.  because without myself, there would be no way to achieve.