Lost In Manhattan

I got lost in Manhattan today...really!

I went back to upper Manhattan with my bike and checked out all the Northern Parks, then I got lost.

• Nicholas Park- This is a long sliver of a park on a giant hillside in Harlem (127th-141st). On Saint Nicholas ave. it typifies the parks north of Central Park...much less developed planning, obviously built on the last remaining piece of land left in the area, random vegetation, old trees, crumbling walkways, a few great community areas and thus, makes for a much more intimate and interesting park that a lot of the ones in "Manhattan Proper". Nicholas is traced by a lot of up-and-downs and giant staircases that lead up to City College on top of the Hill. I did not get lost here.

• Jackie Robinson Park- Slightly smaller and almost identical to Nicholas a few blocks south. It too is built on the Hillside of the great Manhattan ridge. It has a pool, some basketball courts and a very iconic band shell (pictured above) with a Jackie Robinson mural painted inside. Again, i did not get lost here.

• Dykman Park- On the northwest end of the island off of Dykman st. is Dykman Park. Mostly made up of ballfields, Dykman is on the waterfront and offers great sunset views over the GW bridge and the beautiful cliffs in Pallisades.

• Now comes Inwood Hill Park- This is as far as I have seen, the most open and untouched park anywhere in NY. It has essentially stayed untouched, meaning no new development, in over 100 years. From the park you can see the Highway Bridge from the Bronx and the cliffs with Columbia's giant "C" painted on the side. This may become my 2nd favorite park, only to Central.

Now here is where I got lost. The best feature of Inwood Hill park is...well, Inwood hill itself. It is the biggest hill in Manhattan, covered completely by trees and forest trailways. After a full day of biking through upper Manhattan from my neighborhood in Brooklyn, i was exhausted and in no physical shape to fully enjoy all the climbing in the woods. But I tried. I got fully immersed on the trails, i realized that i had no idea how to get out. I tried for the next 15 minutes to get out but all the trails are like mazes. I WAS LOST!

So then I tried to think my way out. The tree cover was way too thick to see the way out, but it was obvious which direction was west, by the sun and sound of cars on the highway. Since I was on top of a hill, i figured that if i just went "down", i would get to where i wanted to go. But every time i followed a trail down, i found myself in a col and was forced to go back up another hill.

It would have all been amusing, but I was really tired and wanted to beat the sunset so I could take some pictures. All in all I spent an hour on the forest hill. I did eventually get down and I feel very foolish...but also very impressed with the park. I never thought I would find such a cool hiking trail in Manhattan.

So i made my way down to the river at the same entrance as Dykman Park and found a fenced entrance to a dirt trail between the Hudson river and the train tracks. It goes on for a few miles and goes past a lot of fishing spots, a canoe port and a few rusty fence opening to get up to the tracks. It was a perfect spot for and just in time for the sunset.