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Product Description Hiking around New York City is more than just treks between high rises. In Moon Take a Hike New York City, award-winning writer Skip Card shows you the best hikes in and around The Big Appleall within two hours of the city. Card offers details on public transportation options and clear directions on how to reach trailheads, as well as lists of his favorite hikes, such as: Best Hikes for High Peaks Best Hikes for Kids Best Hikes for Bird-Watching Best Paths to the Past Best Hikes for Interesting Geology Best Hikes for Escaping the Crowds Let Card show you all the worthwhile hikes, from short, flat routes suitable for families to day-long, steep treks for more advanced hikers. Each hike profile contains practical information, including point-by-point trail navigation, contact information, facilities, fees, parking instructions, and an easy-to-use map for each trail. From Long Island up to the Shawangunks, from the Appalachian Trail down to New Jersey, your trip begins with Moon Take a Hike New York City. About the Author Skip Card grew up in Washington state, where at a young age he began eagerly exploring the Pacific Northwest’s beaches, forests, and foothills. His love of hiking and nature eventually evolved into an interest in mountaineering: he has climbed most of the Northwest’s highest peaks, including 14,410-foot Mount Rainier. A newspaperman since 1986, Skip worked for many years as the outdoors reporter for The News Tribune in his hometown of Tacoma, where his work earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He often shot the photographs that accompanied his outdoors stories, particularly when his research took him to remote places. He was a copy editor and headline writer at the New York Post from 2005 until 2010, and his freelance work has appeared in magazines ranging from Outside to New York Family. He is the coauthor of the hiking guide Best Rain Shadow Hikes: Western Washington, and contributed to the second edition of Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide. Today, he is a frequent contributor to the website InsideSchools.org, where he reviews New York City public schools and writes the Elementary Dad” column. During a visit to New York in 2002, Skip met the woman who would later lure him permanently to the city. Married in 2004, Skip and Jean Margaret Card now live with their daughter on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. They are regular weekend visitors to Woodstock, NY. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Exploring NYC Area Hiking Trails with Skip Card 1. Many people don’t associate New York City with the outdoorsare there really places to hike close by? New York is such an interesting city that many residents rarely leave. So most New Yorkers don’t know about the many preserves and state parks that exist not far beyond the city limits. Preservation efforts began many years ago, as people saw the area’s population booming and undeveloped land becoming scarce. Today, thousands of acres of scenic or historic land are within easy reach of New York City, and virtually all have well-maintained foot trails just waiting to be explored. 2. What should beginners be wary of before a hiking trip? On most trails, you’ll have to take precautions against poison ivy, which sometimes grows on the edges of the paths. To protect their skin, many experienced hikers wear long pants, and often a long-sleeve shirt. Mosquitoes and ticks are also founds in the woods. I always carry bug spray, and I give myself a tick check” before I shower to make sure a tick hasn’t latched onto my body. I’ve had to use tweezers to pull off ticks, I’ve gotten rashes from poison ivy, and I’ve had many mosquito bites. But these are minor and avoidable nuisances, and they don’t keep me from hiking. 3. How can you reach good hiking trails without owning a car? Some of the most avid hikers I know don’t own a car. Instead