Cheesecote Mountain Park

Yesterday I hiked up to Cheesecote Mountain Park. I’m pretty sure this is the first time going to Cheesecote because I don’t recall my dad taking me to this park. There was a time after a Little League game that I was suppose to meet my siblings and nephews there but I couldn’t remember the name of it and my mom couldn’t figure it out either. I was told that there was a swimming hole that we could use. As I learned from last week’s hike I shouldn’t push myself too hard yet and since I needed to hike back home as well I elected to stay on the paved pathway.

Now I didn’t get to explore all that Cheesecote has to offer but I do plan on going back in the future. The parks proximity to the Palisades Parkway makes it ideal for use in the Bedlam series. I was glad to see the large pond there. I was wondering if this is the spot my brother was talking about. Now I love swimming in freshwater but I don’t know how suitable the pond is for swimming. The town that runs the park prohibits swimming and many other things too but they neglected to mention gambling on the signs for this park so the Cheescote Blackjack Tournament still might be on.

As I started my hike that day I was brainstorming on how I could start turning what I do into a YouTube series. Since I’m chronicling my hikes on Steemit, a companion video posted could generate more traffic. The other thing I wanted to include is a beer review after the hike. Last week as I hobbled home on legs of jelly I kept thinking “Man, I need a beer!” I then started to visualize a perfect pint of Guinness in front of me and taking that first sip. I really should end every hike that way but try to pair the beer or other alcohol with the hike. I was going to call the show “Backpacking & Beer in the Burbs” since I’ve always got my little backpack with me but technically backpacking involves multiple days and I’m only doing day hikes. So it’ll be “Trails & Ales”

Now this wouldn’t be my first attempt at doing videos on YouTube. Back in 2008, I think, I tried to do a libertarian type video where I was talked about recent raids on marijuana grow ops in the Hudson Valley. I wasn’t pleased with the video and I looked like one of those War Boys from Fury Road. I was pretty pale with dark eyes and kinda gaunt. I’ve been on the radio and have done some acting and figured this will be a breeze. I was wrong. I’m going to do my best to be prepared this time. I’m going to keep things simple, hit the bullet points, smile, and I’ll do my research on the trails and the beer. I’m looking into actually how to review beer. Will “Trails & Ales” take off? Probably not but this is something that I can have fun with.