Belmont Lake - Babylon, NY April 19, 2014

Location: Southard's Pond and Belmont Lake
Trailhead: On Park Avenue near the tennis courts
Distance: 6 miles average (can add or subtract more/less)
Difficulty: Easy, flat terrain
Sightings: Pond, Lake, Skunk Cabbage, Fishermen


This is a trail I've done many times as it's the most accessible. There are a few starting points. You can start from Park Avenue in Babylon and walk north to Belmont Lake or start at Belmont Lake State Park and walk south. Note that the state parks have entrance fees so by walking north, you can also save a few bucks, if you don't have the parks pass already. There are also a few side entrances from the neighborhoods that border the trail.

The beginning of the trail by the tennis courts entrance has a sign showing a general map of the trail. The trail is very easy to follow. You won't get lost. But it's nice to note the distance. A while back a Boy Scout troop had put in a mile marker at each half mile which is really nice to have something to track how far you've walked. They did a good job by adding motivational words to the mile marker posts.

So let's begin our walk to Southard's pond!

ACTION

To accomplish anything in life, it most often requires action to begin with. We can sit and daydream. Say "If only this" or "If only that...," but to get anything done or to just give it a try.... if you are going to accomplish that dream you've held in your heart and make it a reality, you are going to have to take that first step. Act.

So here we are a baby step. Mile 1.

Just when reaching Southard's Pond you'll see the 1 mile marker.

TRIUMPH

Where all the fisherman hang out.

When you first reach the lake, you'll turn left and cross the bridge where the trail will make a right. To the left there is another trail if you want to make this a short hike and turn back.

 This is the tunnel to walk under Sunrise hwy. Watch out for horse poop.

For some reason there is no 1.5 mile marker. Hmmm...

 PEACE

 Peace. Peace within one's heart. Within one's family. Within one's community. Within one's country. Within one's world. Or within this moment. Treasure the now.

We are almost to the lake!

WISH IT

Wish upon a shooting star. For all your dreams to come true.
Spend a night laying in an open field and gaze at the stars. Look for that one special star that will make your dream come true. That one that stands out from all the rest. The one that shoots out amongst all the still ones in a crowd, straight into your heart and never leaves your side, planting the pulse of love. Wish for that.

The tunnel under Southern State pkwy just before the lake.

We made it to the Lake.

A small waterfall

This duck was really jonesing for some wonder bread. When I would open my plastic bag of almonds, it would hear the rustle and immediately walk over expecting a handout of bread. I felt a little bad, but I did not have any bread and I believe feeding the ducks has been banned for awhile now. I remember as a kid, my parents would take my brother and I to feed a loaf of bread to the ducks. It was fun, but not healthy for the ducks, which we didn't know back then.

 The park has some lovely paddle boats you can rent during the summer season. They have regular boats in addition to the special swan ones. A swan adds a little extra fun to the ride.

 DREAM IT

We are at the half way mark. Do a happy dance.

 DO IT

Almost everyone is guilty of over thinking things. It can be a dangerous thing to do. Over contemplation. Sometimes it's better to just DO IT. Don't look back after it's done.

The park has a few exercise stations around the perimeter of the lake that can be fun to do if you have some extra energy to expend.

 These cannons are fun to play on as a little kid. I've never paid attention to the sign before, but was interesting to learn the history behind the cannons.

 EXCEL

 Excel. Whatever you decide to do today, decide to excel at it. "Do your best and forget the rest," as Tony Horton would say.

 IMAGINE

This post has a 70's John Lennon feel to it. Don't you think?

Much of the trail has these large bright green leaves lining along the swampy areas. They are beautiful to look at and peaked my interest. I wondered if they were edible as they look like healthy lettuce leaves. I ripped a piece off of one in curiosity. But the intensity of the smell was so strong, it deterred me from any experimental eating. Can you identify what these are?

 The internet is a wonderful learning tool. After a search, I came to the conclusion that these are called Skunk Cabbage. The smell emitted from these then made sense to me. The roots are toxic so nature gives fair warning to us not to eat them. They tend to grow in swampy areas near water.
 

 EMPOWER

We decided to cut off the trail and walk a few blocks to a pizza place in the neighborhood. With a few back and forth walks we found a pathway through the Babylon riding stables that led out onto the neighborhood streets. It is about a half mile walk to the pizza place from here. If you are up for that, you'd turn off the trail when you see the sign for the stables.

walking the streets to some pizza with a hiker appetite

A beautiful horse at the stables. I'm not sure what the purpose of the head mask is for.

Yes this slice has garlic knots on it's crust. Ingenious?

 After fueling up on our pizza, we hiked on!

 ACHIEVE

When I hear the word achieve I often think back to my school days and awards ceremonies to recognize scholastic achievements, but it applies to anything you've poured your heart and soul into and produced an end product to be proud of. It is another positive word that contains a lot of hard work behind it. A simple word for a lot of time and effort. What was your most important achievement of your life? What are you most proud of?

 ENDURE

 Congrats! You've endured the hike. A quite appropriate word for the end of a hike. When you are a beginner hiker, it can seem very difficult at first and you may want to give up or never go again. Whether it's a long distance on flat terrain, or a short distance on a very steep hill or a long distance on seemingly never ending hills, you must endure to reap the benefits. This applies not just to hiking, but anything you may encounter in life. Just know that if something seems difficult in the moment, that it will pass and you'll only come out better for it in the end.

I'm proud of my mom for enduring this hike with me as she is a newbie and I think she has caught the hiker contagion of enthusiasm.

 Here are the trip map details, with zoomed in details of the sections. The flags show places I stopped and restarted the gps. You can see we got lost a few times looking for a good place to exit on the way for pizza. Our hike ended up being over the trail length of 6 miles due to our pizza detour.

The next 3 pictures are from a hike in summer's past. I thought I'd include them as it's not often one gets to see baby ducklings. A woman saw me with my camera and had pointed them out to me.

A mother and it's offspring.

Cute little duckie :)

Hope all those who celebrate the holiday had a Happy Easter this weekend.

Links:

NYS Parks

Southard's Pond

Pizza!