Today I visited a section of Central Park known as the Ravine. I was alerted to its existence a few days ago looking for things to do during my time off from work. Man-made waterfalls in Central Park. How could I not visit. The Park’s website explains:

Visitors will feel they have been transported to the Adirondacks. Under the forest canopy of the Ravine, the City’s skyline is nowhere to be seen and the continual din of traffic recedes against the rushing sound of a hidden waterfall and the chatter of birds.

The Ravine, the only stream valley in the Park, is part of the 90-acre woodland in the Upper Park called the North Woods. It is bounded to the north and south by two rustic arches — Huddlestone and Glen Span.

I anticipated it being colder than it actually was. I got all packed up and ready to go.

Noteable Gear

• Bean Boots
• Barbour Border Jacket
• Lumix DMC-FX30 (sans an extra battery)
• Breitling Colt Ocean Watch
  
• Wool Socks
  
• Moleskin Notebook
• iPhone
  

Today was the right day for this short trip. While it wasn’t warm out, it wasn’t the slightest bit cold. I probably didn’t need the wool socks and boots.

There was a slight wind, making conditions quite comfortable for exploration. I took the 6 train up to 96th and walked on over to the Park. When I entered Central Park I saw a Labrador Puppy Oreo, which is to say two black lab puppies flanking a golden lab puppy. His fur was almost white. Puppy Oreo.

I pulled out my camera to take a picture and… FUCK. The battery died before the I could even snap one. Breaking what I’d imagine is an important rule of photography logistics, I neglected to bring my backup battery. This was very annoying. How would I take pictures of the Ravine and its waterfalls? I had my iPhone, which would have to do. So I soldiered on.

I walked up through the North Meadow until I reached the North Woods. It was at this point I realized that, as far as i could recall, this was the first time I’d ever visited the park with an eco-natural loving intentions (i.e. not going to lay out in the sun on a summer weekend). This was a good feeling.

I came across a ‘waterfall’ that seemed to be runoff from a storm drain. I hope this wasn’t what I had been search for. I continued on.

Finally, I found the first waterfall. Awesome. It was small and not necessarily a marvel of the natural world, but to know that this existed here, in New York City, was a comforting feeling. Here is a  picture. The quality is mediocre at best due to the combination of my limited photographic abilities and having to use an iPhone.

From there I followed the stream to another waterfall, right past a small wooden bridge. Both were small, I enjoyed them. I continued to follow the stream to another overpass. Coming through the other side I was greeted by another falls. More (poor) pictures can be found below.

There were periods of time where I was all by myself. I would see no one else down in the Ravine area for five (5) minutes or more. You start to forget that you’re in a big city of millions of people, cars and skyscrapers. For a brief moment, you’re just alone in nature.

I’m aware of how cliche that sounds, but maybe that’s the point. For an area to exist to intensely different from the surrounding environment that it creates a universal experience of forgetting where you are. An experienced so shared that it becomes cliche. Either way, it was a nice feeling.

I ended up walking a solid distance today. I crossed the width of the park multiple times and ventured from 96th St. to as high as 106th and back again. Not exactly fighting for survival on the Rocky Mountains, but a nice urban hike nonetheless. I deem this first day a success and will keep you updated on my progress.

See this original post for an explanation of why I’m going on these daily adventures.

Can you even call it a bridge?

If you’ve made it this far, I’ll leave you with an interesting observation. For ever one (1) dog owner walking their dog I saw today, there were at least (2) dog walkers walking other people’s dogs. For ever one (1) parent pushing their child in a stroller I saw today, there were at least (2) nanny’s pushing other people’s children.

Are dogs and children so alike that we feel we can outsource care for each?