Hackett Hill Park, Hyde Park, NY

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
12/25/2016	1.7 miles	1 hour 11 minutes		43:07

Map: http://www.hydeparkny.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Hackett-Hill-13
Parking: See map
Directions: We did a mix of trails mostly following the outer loop, trying to get around 1.5 miles in

We couldn't travel this year for Christmas due to Trek's radiation treatments, so we were looking for a place to hike. Hiking is a Christmas tradition for us.

Our blogging friend Daniela recently posted a trip report for Hackett Hill Park in Hyde Park, NY. She mentioned to me that there are a number of short hikes in Hyde Park that would be perfect for Krummholz. Here is her trip report: http://gonehikin.blogspot.com/2018/12/hyde-park-trails-ny-hackett-hill-park.html

We had a huge Indian feast for lunch, and then drove to Hyde Park. Our first choice of hikes was at Val Kill, the Eleanor Roosevelt historic site, which is part of the National Park Service. Unfortunately, the park was gated shut. I checked it later and saw that yes, it was due to the government shutdown. I know some national parks are still open (just no services).

I sort of figured this could happen, so I also brought a map of Hackett Hill Park. This park is also in Hyde Park, but isn't part of the National Park Service. It's a small park, with some views of houses. As Daniela mentioned, its hard to find the trails from the parking lot. There aren't any signs to say how to get to the trails. We followed her instructions and found one. We stopped by Gorilla rock, and tried to take photos. We haven't taught Krummholz a stay yet, so this is challenging, lol. I tried to put a santa hat on him, but it was too huge and kept flopping off. I did do some training there though. We worked on some recalls with just a short leash, and some sits. I had him walk across the small benches they have there. We continued on and walked by a stream. There was a hill next to the stream. The trail was pretty wet there. Krummholz typically avoids walking in water. And when he gets wet, his favorite thing to do is roll on the ground to dry off. We walked along the side of a leaf covered hill. He started rolling down it. When he stopped, he pushed himself off again to roll down some more. And did it again. It reminds me of rolling down hills as a kid. So, so cute.

We stop a lot on our short hikes to give Krummholz time to explore (i.e. put something new in his mouth).

Trying out a large piece of bark. Bark is one his favorites.

Gorilla Rock (looks vaguely like a gorilla head)

 

Trading his Elizabethan Collar for a santa hat. He doesn't look impressed.