Today we scouted out the Breakneck Point Trail Marathon and 25k course in the Hudson Highlands State Park, NY.  Julian and I wanted to see if it would be feasible for the MPF RNR Trail Team to do the marathon course this weekend but we knew that the conditions were going to be tough and slow going.

As we embarked on our 4th annual winter adventure in the Catskills of New York, the trail conditions were relatively unknown. Each year the Slide Mountain Wilderness area has offered us something different, some years the trails have been covered in thick sheets of ice, other years snow but never deep enough to warrant snowshoes 100% of the time. This year was a whole different story…. 

We finally made our way back to Schunemunk Mountain State Park in New York! This is a very visible mountain from around the region. Its summit reaches close to 1,700 feet above sea level.  For roughly three miles of the 25+ miles of trails in the park, there are two ridges running parallel to each other, separated by the valley of Baby Brook. It's a great training ground to work on your climbing and technical running.

We had a great hike in Harriman State Park (NY-NJ Trail Map 118) after a little more snow fall hit our area! We covered about 9 miles and broke trail for about 8 of those. Couldn't have asked for better working conditions!  We finished the hike with a little water crossing over Stony Brook where the bridge is out (orange to white trail). 

We covered just over 8 miles of trails in Sterling Forest, most of it was covered in ice. The rocks and trees were even wrapped with a thick layer of ice. With the weather we had today, it is especially important to be prepared and carry some emergency gear.

Thank you to MPF Athlete Julian Vicente for leading today's hike in Norvin Green State Forest! It was great to spend some trail time with a couple of new faces. We started 8am sharp and covered about 11 miles of fun, rocky trail with a lots of up and down. 

Temps started out at about 40º and rose steadily through the morning. Trails were slushy, some had ice and a little snow cover, others were wet but traction was surprisingly fine at times. Looks like some cold weather is in the forecast and more rain on the way tonight, microspikes may be in order. Lets hope for some snow this coming Tuesday!

The team headed out with some friends this past Sunday. We hiked the fun Seven Hills Trail in Southern Harriman State Park. The trail is about 6.5 miles point to point, and has roughly 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

This past weekend we held our 2nd annual training camp for the MPF Campmor Trail Running Team and based it around the 2013 Manitou's Revenge 54 Mile Ultramarathon course in the Northeastern Catskills (Trail map 141). The Manitou’s Revenge Ultramarathon takes place June 22nd and spawned into life as an extension of the legendary Escarpment Trail Run.