Second time going to The Gunks - Help me plan a few trip details please

Oh, and thanks for the suggestions of checking out the Dacks and North Conway. I have the guidebooks for both areas (I kinda collect rock climbing guidebooks....)

The different rock in the Dacks sounds intriguing...

BUT

Even if the 3.5 and 6 hours drives didn't turn me off enough (nothing against long drives - I *LOVE* the drive from Vancouver to Smith Rock!!!) the black fly situation is the deal breaker. Especially for a bug attractant extraordinaire like myself!

Those places will have to wait for some other time.

Do not take the advice of those preaching gloom and doom concerning Black Flies as absolute. Every year is different. In 2015 Black Flies were not a factor in the North Conway area. Other years it has been brutal. Keep an open mind and watch the forums for updates on this. NEClimbs puts out a weekly update on the Black Fly or bugs in general. If you can wait on making a decision until after you arrive at The Gunks you will be better informed on where to go or not go. Cheers and have a great trip!

Do not take the advice of those preaching gloom and doom concerning Black Flies as absolute. Every year is different. In 2015 Black Flies were not a factor in the North Conway area. Other years it has been brutal. Keep an open mind and watch the forums for updates on this. NEClimbs puts out a weekly update on the Black Fly or bugs in general. If you can wait on making a decision until after you arrive at The Gunks you will be better informed on where to go or not go. Cheers and have a great trip!

Hey Khoi - what is the price of taking a taxi to the bus station and a bus out of the city to rent a car? Maybe I'm missing something? The AirTrain plus subway plus Metro-North Rail to Beacon is about $32. If you rent in Beacon the toll across the Hudson is $1.50. IF you take the turnpike to NP its another $3 in tolls to NP. Of course, one can verify all these things online.

Also, Kerhonkson is on the backside of the Gunks ridge. If you ride a bike it will be a bit more riding and more sustained hills for longer lengths than staying in NP.

Also, with gas AND tolls the round trip to JFK is like $95. But for those who say $18 in tolls I'd love to know how to do that. Do tell!

While black flies ARE a real problem in the ADKs, they rarely bother me in the Gunks. But that's not to say that bugs here in the summer aren't a problem - they are. The real bastards are the chiggers. Invisibly small little devils that bite you anyplace it's warm: under the harness, in your crotch or armpit. And the itch is fierce for 3 days (though I hear some people don't itch; it's an allergic response type thing). Thankfully, a spray over the clothing with even low concentration (like 7%) DEET will keep them at bay.

And to echo what Jesse said, the climber house in Kerhonkson is at the bottom of a 3 mile uphill climb. With luck there will be other climbers there who can give you a ride to the cliff.

Just to further muddy the waters transport-wise, you can take the Metro-North train to Poughkeepsie (much larger town than either Beacon or New Paltz) where there are several car rental options, or catch the cheap shuttle from the Poughkeepaie train station over to New Paltz.

If you rent a bike (probably in New Paltz), are you carrying all your gear by bike to the communal place in Kerhonkson? Or take a taxi or hitch and rent in Kerhonkson?

I'm a road biker and love those particular roads. But 299 out of town toward the Brauhaus (and ultimately to Mohonk / Minnewaska) is the most heavily traveled of that set of roads, and sometimes the drivers are a bit hurried.

More importantly, you need to ride up to the ridge and back down the ridge to get to Kerhonkson. That's not a small hill, but it is a great workout.

And then, every day, you will need to ride back up the hill to wherever you're climbing.

Your choice.

Frankly, Gunks Jesse's suggestion of eating in Grand Central and taking the train to Beacon and renting a car there sounds like a nice way of doing it all.

Another good reason: a few good restaurants in Beacon. Rent and get a picnic meal to take with you to New Paltz.

I would never recommend that someone rent and drive in NYC, unless they already love driving in places like Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or other major cities.

If you want something different for a day Consider Raggged in central Connecticut. (On MP Connecticut / central valley) It is couple hours from the gunks and completely different rock, old school, short but demanding,and it has a bit of history.

Ragged is a cool little crag with some interesting highly sandbagged climbs. This is typical for a small venue where the routes can be practiced on a top rope, so if you are going to be leading onsight, you might want to add a grade to the claimed ratings. The cliff faces West, but in June it will be in the sun all day from 9 AM on or so. Parking can be an issue; one way is to walk in from the Timberlin Golf course. Its going to be over 2 hours to Ragged from Kerhonkson.

As far as public transit to New Paltz, why not take the Metro North all the way to Poughkeepsie and then the Poughkeepsie-New Paltz bus? It doesn't run that often, but it's $1.75, and much less of a hassle than hopscotching around between ferries and multiple buses.

Here's the schedule:
http://ulstercountyny.gov/sites/default/files/Ulster-Poughkeepsie%20LINK%20-%20May%2012%20Schedule%20Change%20FINAL.pdf

Or, since I live in Poughkeepsie, you could make an arrangement with me (schedule permitting) to pick you up at the train station and drive you to New Paltz (or Kerhonkson). Or take you to a car rental place in Poughkeepsie, which probably makes more sense then renting further south.

Gunks Jesse wrote:Also, with gas AND tolls the round trip to JFK is like $95. But for those who say $18 in tolls I'd love to know how to do that. Do tell!

From JFK>This is the easy route and paying cash rates:
Van Wyck Expressway to Whitestone Bridge ($8)>Hutchinson River Parkway>Cross County Parkway>Sprainbrook Parkway>Taconic Parkway>55>Mid-Hudson Bridge>then either through NP or Through Gardiner.
The return has an additional toll of the Mid-Hudson Bridge of $1.50 and the Whitestone again for $8.
So I am sorry I was wrong the tolls are $17.50. And according to Google Maps the round trip is 218 miles, so at 21.8 mpg (easy rounding, but with an econo rental will be much better) you will use 10 gallons of gas at say $3.00 a gallon, driving from the airport would be $47. Not sure of the Metro-North rate but driving is likely cheaper.

BTW most of the time I go to 84 and up the thruway so it costs me an additional $1.50 a round trip.

As for Gunks knowledge and routes, info etc., I bow to you, but as far as NYC>>Gunks transportation I do it most weekends, and I have that down pat.

Using the same gas numbers for comparison, the JFK-GC-Poughkeepsie via Metro North-New Paltz round trip is going to run from $54 to $67, depending on whether you ride Metro North on-peak or off-peak. (But note: gas prices at present are under $2.40.)

rgold wrote:Or, since I live in Poughkeepsie, you could make an arrangement with me (schedule permitting) to pick you up at the train station and drive you to New Paltz (or Kerhonkson). Or take you to a car rental place in Poughkeepsie, which probably makes more sense then renting further south.

That is a really nice offer.

Does Uber cover the New Paltz-Poughkeepsie area?

Hey Rich - yeah I learned a new route from your descriptions. Definitely a different one than I've taken.

And Khoi - the chance to climb with an older statesman of a major climbing area doesn't happen everyday for a guy on a weeklong visit. I'd take rgold up on that offer big time!!! Shoot, rgold - can you pick me up and take me climbing?

OK, scratch the renting a bike idea! Especially now that I got a climbing buddy going with me, we can split the cost of the car rental. I'm guessing we'll be renting a car in Poughkeepsie, or where ever nearby is the cheapest.

Gunks Jesse wrote:Hey Khoi - what is the price of taking a taxi to the bus station and a bus out of the city to rent a car? Maybe I'm missing something? The AirTrain plus subway plus Metro-North Rail to Beacon is about $32. If you rent in Beacon the toll across the Hudson is $1.50. IF you take the turnpike to NP its another $3 in tolls to NP. Of course, one can verify all these things online. Also, Kerhonkson is on the backside of the Gunks ridge. If you ride a bike it will be a bit more riding and more sustained hills for longer lengths than staying in NP. Also, with gas AND tolls the round trip to JFK is like $95. But for those who say $18 in tolls I'd love to know how to do that. Do tell!

In 2011 the bus ride from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to New Paltz was 20 something bucks - I don't remember if that price was round trip or one-way. I guess one can find out by going to the Adirondack Trailways website.

I don't remember wheat the cab fare came to. Price-wise, taking the cab to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and La Guardia wasn't ideal, but I had no choice due to the very limited amount of time I had to get to the Hostel before they shut down for the night, and to catch my flight back home.

rgold wrote:Or, since I live in Poughkeepsie, you could make an arrangement with me (schedule permitting) to pick you up at the train station and drive you to New Paltz (or Kerhonkson). Or take you to a car rental place in Poughkeepsie, which probably makes more sense then renting further south.

OMG!!!


rgold, the generous offers you have extended me are AMAZING! I will most definitely be taking you up on your offers!!!

I'll send you a PM once I get home - which might not be until tomorrow night.

Gunks Jesse wrote:And Khoi - the chance to climb with an older statesman of a major climbing area doesn't happen everyday for a guy on a weeklong visit. I'd take rgold up on that offer big time!!! Shoot, rgold - can you pick me up and take me climbing?

HELL YEAH!

I'd be an idiot to pass up a chance to climb with rgold!