Luna the Dolphin Hikes Shawangunk

Today, Luna the dolphin went hiking in the Shawangunk, section 13 of the Long Path. In upstate New York, you never know what kind of weather you will get when you go hiking. While it might be spring and most people are seeing flowers starting to bloom, we get snow. Yesterday we had beautiful weather and sunshine, and today we got snow. Yes, snow!

Do dolphins like snow and cold weather? I don’t think so but there have been sightings in New Jersey during winter. Most dolphins don’t survive cold weather and prefer their water between 50-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Since Luna isn’t a real dolphin, I don’t think she minded the snow. She took a short stroll through the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, better known as the SRT. She first helped me clean around the Fire Tower by picking up the trash. Then we went on our way on the trail. The further we went the more it seemed to snow. After a while we turned around and went back to the Fire Tower.

Luna climbed the watch tower but did not get to see any views this time. With the falling snow, visibility was very low and everything around was just a white cloud. After jumping from the tower she was ready to go home. We took our goody bag of trash we picked up and walked to the parking area.

The Shawangunk Ridge trail is a beautiful 71 mile trail that takes you from New Jersey to Mohonk Preserve. You can hike the trail in section or do it thru-hiking. We have a few more miles to do in order to complete the full trail. When we decide to finish it we will take Luna with us. I’m sure she will love and appreciate the views, climbs and downhills.