It’s gorgeous at the summit of Brace Mountain, the highest point in Dutchess County, where a huge cairn sits surrounded by a grassy meadow, looking out over an enormous view of the Hudson Valley, clear across to the Catskills. Okay, okay, enough with the snakes already. As I was coming back down the trail near the waterfall, a copperhead was in the middle of the trail, staring at me and hissing a little.” I’m wearing hip waders next time I come here.
Update May 25, 2014: From a comment that just got dropped on this site’s Facebook page: “Hi Mike, man you weren’t kidding about the snakes on the NY side of Brace.
Also, I nearly stepped on that giant snake, and he decided to warn me, rather than attempt to kill me, so, you know, he did me a solid. The range of the timber rattlesnake runs pretty much from here to Texas, too, so this really could have happened anywhere.
A co-worker of mine also hiked this route earlier in the summer and saw no snakes. A couple weeks later, my neighbor hiked this exact route and saw no snakes. This happened on the sunny afternoon of August 10, 2013. Fortunately, the rest of the day was only eventful in the way you’d hope for a hike to be. I gulped and continued climbing, glad I brought my hiking poles to serve as decoy legs. “They don’t bother anybody.”Īll of a sudden, I felt like Indiana Jones in the snake pit. “We saw a three-footer on a rock up there, sunning itself,” one of the ladies replied, ho-hum, pointing up the way I was headed.
They stared back at me, not returning my excitement. “Dude, there was a giant rattlesnake just off the trail down there!” I said, motioning excitedly. Right after my snake incident (which I documented in more detail in one of my weekly columns here, in case you’re not already sick of hearing about it), I ran into a group of four ladies coming down from the summit. And for a nice, soothing take on this critter, check out .) (I’d also recommend reading the extremely informative Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperhead Snakes page, which is alternately comforting and horrifying, from the always helpful. It’s also the site of the closest call I’ve ever had in the outdoors, so even though you probably won’t have any rattlesnake run-ins, it seems prudent to emphasize some mindful stepping out there. This route up Brace Mountain is one of my favorite hikes in the Hudson Valley – it is stunning and wonderful in so many ways. Oh, you’re still hung up on the rattlesnake thing? Actually, I kind of am, too (as you may have noticed by the 37 rattlesnake references so far). The giant (4+ foot?) timber rattlesnake that rattled right next to my ankle, then slowly meandered across the trail as I got my heart palpitations under control.Īlso, there’s a beautiful waterfall! And did I mention the views? Man, it is gorgeous up there.Īnd the South Taconic Trail is really… Hello? Hey, where did everybody go? The rugged beauty of the South Taconic Trail.ģ. The amazing views from the highest point in Dutchess County.Ģ.
Background you can feel free to skip: During my most recent hike up Brace Mountain, three things made a big impression on me:ġ.