Daily Archives: May 12, 2013

By Vladimir Brezina

Yesterday, we paddled up the Hudson River along the Palisades, all freshly green…

(click on any photo to start slideshow)

It’s a gray day, with showers and thunderstorms forecast: a cold front is coming over

A splash of red: the fireboat John J. Harvey

Pushed by a southerly tailwind and a good flood current, we pass Midtown Manhattan

Vlad, off 79th Street (photo by Johna)

We approach the George Washington Bridge

It’s big! It dwarfs the Little Red Lighthouse at its foot, and an even tinier Johna passing under it…

Across the river, the Palisades begin

The edges of land disappear in the mist

We pass Yonkers (photo by Johna)

Looking back, New York City has vanished in the mist

At Italian (Tonetti) Gardens, our turn-around point, Johna declines to land because the rocks might scratch her shiny new boat

The waterfall at Italian Gardens, one of several along the Palisades, is in full spate…

… fringed by the fresh green of spring

We paddle back, past the large rockfall that last summer blocked the Palisades hiking path

There’s a nice sandy beach at Alpine, so we can land…

… and eat a belated lunch—come to think of it, it’s the first time since last fall that it’s been warm enough for us to get out of our boats for lunch (photo by Johna)

After lunch, we continue down the Hudson, under an ominous sky

An intense thunderstorm begins…

… but after a few minutes of lightning and thunder directly over us, it passes east across the Hudson, leaving us with just heavy rain

We skirt the Palisades on our way south

Overhead, the Palisades are steaming as the rain lets up

Ahead, the George Washington Bridge, and beyond it the city, reappear out of the fog

A waterfall plunges off the Palisades

The sun is struggling to break through the clouds, and now and then succeeds for a spell

We pass under the George Washington Bridge again

The West Side of Manhattan reflects the hazy sunshine

As always, we visit the wreck of the Binghamton ferry, noticeably more decrepit than on our last visit

We paddle back past Midtown

The wind has died, and the river gleams like dull silver

Far ahead, we can see a tiny Verrazano Narrows Brige

As we look back up the Hudson, the sky is eggshell blue and purple with the coming dusk

Last mile

From Pier 40, we look across at the new World Trade Center tower, now almost complete with its spire installed

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Best of all, as the last photo shows, the official kayak-launching dock at Pier 40 has finally been put back into place (mostly), six months after Hurricane Sandy left it in a crumpled mess last October…