[at-l] Trip Report Part 3 (final): New York City's 5 Borough HighPoints, Staten Island

[papabear.nyc at verizon.net (Papa Bear)]

New York City 5 Borough Mass Transit High Point Challenge 

(Continued from previous note) 


Staten Island
Todt Hill - 410+'

We got to the Whitehall Street station in lower Manhattan at about 1:10 PM, about a 15 minute ride from Brooklyn.  It was a short walk to the Staten Island Ferry terminal.  The next boat was scheduled for 1:30 PM so we had some time to kill.  We took some pictures of lower Manhattan and the East River bridges since the terminal offers unique views of these sights.  we also check out maps of our proposed route in Staten Island and we picked up a new Staten Island bus map which shows all the bus routes and all the streets.  We were planning on taking the S74 bus from the Ferry terminal at St. George and  getting off at Doctor's Hospital, a point about a mile west of Todt Hill.  After carefully checking this new map we had an "Oops" moment.  The streets that we planned to walk to get to Todt Hill shown on my old map were not there!  I guess the map maker had consulted the city plans for these streets but they had never been built.  There seemed to be a void right across where we planned to walk. (The same is true on old maps showing 250th Street crossing the top of Fieldston Hill in The Bronx.  It just doesn't go there!).  We had no aspirations of bushwhacking through who-knows-what in the middle of Staten Island.  The streets might be there or they might not.  There might be a park or a swamp or a sewage treatment plant or a military base.

So we carefully consulted the bus map to look for alternative routes.  We had the whole 25 minute Ferry ride to puzzle out a solution.  Fred came up with the idea of taking the S54 over the hill about 1 half mile east of the peak.  I had originally rejected that idea since the S54 didn't go to the Ferry.  But we found another bus route along Victory Boulevard where the S61, S62 and S66 all originated at the Ferry, went along Victory Blvd and crossed the route of the S54 before going their own separate ways.  Looked like a plan was falling into place!  This route, involving a transfer, was actually better than the original.  If the time it took to wait for the second bus on Victory Boulevard was not excessive, we would do just fine.

So we enjoyed the rest of the ferry ride and took some pictures of the Statue of Liberty from close range.  The ferry is free and gives the best views of the harbor.  In fact the best views we had during all this day of high pointing was from the ferry, at elevation 0'.  The City has a number of ferries, some build in the 1960s.  Of all the transport we had taken all day (except for the elevator at 190th Street), these were the most venerable.  But they were in good shape and were well taken care of by the crew.  We were on board the Samuel I Newhouse, built in 1982 and able to transport 6,000 passengers.  I would estimate there were perhaps 4 to 5 hundred on board at this off-hour time.

After a leisurely 25 minutes,we docked at the Saint George ferry terminal and made our way to the busses.  About 20 different bus lines originate at the ferry terminal and the fan out all over the island.  We found to our great relief that the S1, S672 and S66 all picked up at the same gate, so we went up and waited.  Our strategy was to take whichever bus showed up first, since they all went along the same route.  About 2:00 PM, the S66 bus showed up, and 10 or 12 people lined up to board.  We got on and asked the driver about connecting to the S54.  he said to get off at Manor Road, which would be in about 20 minutes.  So we sat back and enjoyed the ride through this, the least populated of New York's 5 borough.  Until the 19602 when the Verrazano Bridge was built, Staten Island was almost rural in character.  My wife's family lived there and she remembered exploring through wooded areas in her neighborhood, now long gone, and horse back riding through Clove lakes Park.  The stables disappeared nearly 30 years ago to be replaced by high rises.  The borough was more connected to New Jersey than to New York in those days.  With the coming of the bridge that all changed.  The old timers still complain about "those new folks that moved here from Brooklyn".  Today the borough is more like everywhere else. A typical suburb to a large city.

We asked the driver how long it was to get to Manor Road and he said "A few more stops".  I think everyone on the bus knew where we were headed since two different women volunteered to make sure we got off at Manor Road.  We got there about 2:25 and only had to wait about 3 minutes for the S54.  Once again our schedule was working like clockwork.  This route was straight up the side of Todt Hill and we got off about 5 minutes later at ocean terrace, across from the Citgo station.  

Now we were on the last lap.  Just a half mile to the summit and our goal would be met!.  We walked up the gently sloping ocean Terrace and eventually the side walk disappeared. A sign of increasing wilderness?  A tall communications tower was visible at the top of the hill and we knew that was near the actual high point.  Very near the top the area became heavily wooded and we saw a sign for the "Greenbelt Blue Trail" and we turned right off the road and into the woods.  But the trail shortly turned to the right down the hill and we figured this was the wrong direction to be going, so we retraced our steps back to Ocean Terrace and proceeded a short distance further to the intersection with Todt Hill Road, and turned right.  We were basically circling the peak and were now just to the east of the high point.

We soon came to a gated gravel road heading in towards the radio tower and the high point.  Like the gate in the Bronx it had funny signs about keeping something out but we figured it didn't really pertain to us.  We soon came to the tower which was surrounded by a chain link fence but the actual high point was clearly around to the south, so we circled the tower and headed into the woods.  These woods had the same character as the ones we had traversed in the Bronx some 8 hours earlier: thick second growth with bramble underneath.  So we were bushwhacking again!

In about 10 or 20 yards we found what looked like the highest point and we took a few pictures.  Fred then investigated another spot 20 or so yards further south and went over to it.  To me he looked lower, but to him, I looked lower, so I followed him to the other spot to bag that as well.  The topo map actually shows two closely located spots both rising above the 410' contour so we had evidently found them both.  I crossed an overgrown grassy road (which I later read is a gas pipeline right-of-way) and realized that this would have been a better route to take getting here than the gravel road that led to the tower.  There was the customary abandoned car (just like in The Bronx) and in about 10 more yards I had joined Fred at the "South Peak" of Todt Hill.  Look at the pictures.  It's really very, shall we say,"inauspicious".  And the symmetry between the summit in The Bronx, our first of the day, and this one, our last was striking.  It was 2:56 PM and we had now bagged all the 5 borough high points!  Triumph!  Euphoria!  (But to tell the truth I was a bit tired.  Walking on paved roads is much tougher on your legs than on soft ground).

We made our way out along the grassy road towards the west and soon came out at the end of Foster Ave which led in a few short blocks along Bogert Ave to Ocean Terrace. For anyone who cares to try this route, I suggest taking a right on Bogert just before the top of the hill (and just before the wooded area starts) and then a left on Foster to enter the woods, rather than going over the top and entering from the other side as we did. 

Well we couldn't stop now, even though we were done,  We had to get home, so it was down Ocean terrace to Manor Road and wait for the next S54. The schedule showed the next bus was scheduled for 3:15 PM, about 7 or 8 minutes to wait.  To the very end our schedule was playing out perfectly.  Then I remembered I had in my pack a cold beer that I had carried all day to surprise Fred, but had forgotten to unveil it on the last peak.  So, what the hell, I opened it now, and in the only "screw-up" of the entire trip, I managed to cut myself on the glass of the bottle.  Well, whatever.  We each had a part of a Sam Adams Boston Ale and the symbolism was there if not the full satisfaction.

Soon the S54 came and took us to Victory Boulevard, and then after perhaps 10 or 12 minutes and S62 arrived to take us back to the Ferry.  We easily made the 3:00 PM boat and took lots of pictures of the harbor, including a view of Todt Hill in Brooklyn, the Statue of Liberty, Lower Manhattan, The East River Bridges, everything!  We were very tourists!

But all good things must come to and end, and Fred an I said goodbye as I got in to the Lexington Avenue subway at Bowling Green.  He was off to find Faunces' Tavern. Now what would he be doing in a tavern?  For myself, it was another half hour or so on the subway and then a short walk home.  Jus before I got home I spied a Dunkin Donuts, and I figured "What the Hell, might as well complete the symmetry", so I bought a chocolate glazed donut, consumed it with great pleasure and soon thereafter arrived home.  It had been one great day!

Staten Island stats:
Total trip time 3:25
Walking distance: 1.2 miles
Transit distance: 19.8 miles (Staten island ferry, S66, S54 and S62 bus)
High Point elevation (2 nearby peaks): 410+'
Elevation gain (on foot): 120' 
Rating: Tied with The Bronx:  natural but no views, plenty of briars


Summary

Fred mentioned a few times "I guess now we're county high pointers" and I said "Not me, I don't do counties".  "But you did them today."  "No these were boroughs, not counties."  Actually New York's boroughs are contiguous with the 5 New York City counties but the names (for 3 of the 5) are different.  I won't tell you the county names, you can look them up.  I would guess most New Yorkers don't even know the county names anyway.  For me it was about New York City, which I love, and the adventure and pleasure of doing something kooky.  I have done similar adventures in the past, among them running the entire length of the west side of Manhattan and hiking the 30 or so miles of the Old Croton Aqueduct, (built in 1848 to supply the city with water). A future project is to walk the complete shore line of Manhattan. Care to join me?

But I traveled over 100 miles today, including 9.3 miles on foot, and was justly proud. We had even bagged the alternate high point "candidates" in Manhattan and Staten Island and we saw lots of interesting places above and below the streets of the city.

The transit was excellent and our planning, either through luck or expertise, was right on target.  We never got lost (well, almost never) and like the saying goes "There were no surprises".

Overall stats:
Total trip time 11:26
Total walking distance: 9.3 miles
Total transit distance: 93.2 miles 
Total distance: 102.5 miles 
Total Elevation gain (on foot): 750'


Pictures: http://gallery.backcountry.net/papabear_NYC_highpoints


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