The day had just settled into the depths of the night. Dark shadows crept through the windows leaving everyone sound asleep peacefully in their warm and cozy beds. However, my friends Jake, James and I had a different fate. February 22, 2017 marked the day we were going to take on Watkins Glen State Park.
Running on a 2-hour nap, we all were up and ready to begin our 5-hour road trip at 2 a.m. Exhausted is an understatement but, our excitement pushed through allowing us to take on this journey. Our first stop was to a local deli where we got the essentials: Bacon Egg and Cheeses, Coffee and Lotto Tickets. Unfortunately, no one won any big bucks but it didn’t stop us! We hopped back in the car and arrived at the village of Watkins Glen around 8 A.M.
While trying to find the park, we stumbled across a huge waterfall along the side of the road called Montour Falls and had to pull over to get a closer look. I took the safe route by admiring the waterfall from ground level while James and Jake took the riskier route. They chose to climb the steep land to the left and right of the falls which was really just a race of who could fall or get stuck the fastest. Jake made it pretty far but it wasn’t too long before he skidded down and ended up with a muddy sweatshirt (don’t worry the camera was safe!). James made it almost to the top but then realizing how far he went he took his time coming down letting the force of gravity push him down- he was safe this time but he had his fair share of falling later. By now our “breakfast” sandwiches had worn off and it was time to fill up on a second breakfast so we headed over to Blue Ribbon Diner.
While driving we passed a small, local diner that Google gave 4 stars so, we decided to give it a try. Once we walked in, the atmosphere was very welcoming, we could tell this was a place the locals went. We had a seat at a booth in the corner and were shocked to discover the prices of all the meals on the menu, three pancakes were only four dollars! Can someone say bargain!? Once we got our food, our conversations turned from talking to non- stop laughing because of how overtired we were which was a sight to see! Our food made us just as happy as the bill did which marked a good beginning of our day. So, we paid the bill, took some complementary lollypops and headed over to Watkins Glenn State Park.
Lesson #1 of the day: don’t give James the GPS to navigate- you will end up going in a circle four times. Which is exactly what happened but, eventually we found where we were suppose to park and got prepared to head off on the Gorge Trail at about 9 am. The trail led us through the woods and our hiker’s instinct came into action when we listened for flowing water and moved towards the sound. We ended up at a bridge that went over the gorge and before continuing our journey we stopped to take our pictures and to take in the tall trees accompanied by the long streams of flowing water beneath us.
When continuing our hike we were sad to find that majority of the trails were closed off, due to the icy conditions, which even the riskiest of us didn’t feel safe enough to attempt. However, along the Indian Trail was a gated off trail which stepped down to the Gorge Trail which was covered in sheets of ice. Not to my surprise, Jake and James hopped right over and slid their way to the bottom while I stayed up at the top trying to overcome the inner conflict in my mind- should I follow them down or should I wait for them at the top? After 3 long, lonely minutes of being strong and not giving in, I ended up slowly but surely making my way to the spot Jake and James were at. The ground became nature’s very own ice-skating rink and was surrounded by sky scraping rocks which were paired with slim, green trees and razor-sharp icicles.
"It was like a winter wonderland with a slight touch of danger."
We stayed down there for a good hour which led to gorge jumping, stair tumbles featuring James and photoshoots. After we were done we continued our hike along the Indian Trail.
A couple minutes in to our walk we found an overlook which gave way to a thin waterfall that looked like it could perfectly fit inside of a Poland Spring water bottle. Further along on the right of the trail we saw a black fence high above us and were curious why it was there. We did some investigating and stumbled upon a cemetery. The sky was still slightly overcast at this time and filled with black crows soaring high above. Mixed with the medieval fencing and aged gravestones, the mood was something out of a Halloween Town movie. Being in the cemetery was like a time hop into the past. It leaves you thinking about the various people resting here and what their lives were like.
We jumped back into reality and continued on the trail and by now the clock showed us that it was about 12 o’clock. The sun was peeking out of the clouds, the air got a little warmer and the trails got busier with more hikers. We made it all the way to the end where we found an old railroad. Again, I stayed at the beginning of the railroad while James and Jake walked along the planks. They were in awe with the view the railroad allowed so I was tempted to follow behind them, I was not a let down though. Once I got to where they were I went right to the edge of the railroad and sat down with my feet dangling down below me. The trees lined the gorge a little over a thousand feet below and opened to the rolling hills in the distance. It was truly such an amazing site and made the fear of being on a railroad so high up not so scary anymore. Nature always seems to have that impact on me. From this moment on I was nicknamed “Jenny the Ledge Sitter”- needless to say, my mom isn’t too thrilled about that one (sorry mom!).
"No matter how frantic thoughts could be moving around in my head or how scary the heights I am climbing are, the pure stillness and peacefulness of nature never fails to calm me down and make me feel fearless."
After we were done at the top of the railroad we made our way back to the car and got back on the road. We stopped at the local town and looked at the charming stores and cafes- which were screaming my name! Everyone was so friendly with each other and seemed to be having the nicest day which made me happy to see. We agreed on going back to the Blue-Ribbon Diner for some lunch because the food and prices were just too good to pass up again! We could tell it was time to go to sleep when Jake poured sugar on his fries thinking it was salt but it’s okay… he got the best of both worlds- sweet and salty!
Our road trip ended in some naps and jamming out to Queen while passing through the city and we arrived back home around 8 o’clock pm. It was a long day filled with some good memories and new friendships that won’t be forgotten. We were all still a little disappointed that we couldn’t go on all of the trails and see the main attractions of the park but this just means there will be a Watkins Glenn round 2 in the near future so, stay tuned!
Sincerely,
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