On May 31st, 2014, Sierra Club’s New York Inspiring Connections Outdoors led a joint Ellis High School and OutdoorFest hike at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. 17 people plus Jasper the dog met at Ellis High School where our fearless and organized leader, Ray Greenwell, ensured everyone had maps and knew the Leave no Trace rules. Red Rabbit supplied lunches and Outdoor Exchange (http://www.usetheox.com/) generously lent us walking poles. Van Cortlandt isn’t terribly steep, but it was a great opportunity for our kids to learn how to use new equipment.
We walked to the park from the Ellis High School, entering at the southwest corner. Ray led us along the east side of the Parade Ground towards the Northwest Forest. We alternated trails between the cross country course, bridle trail, and the Cass Gallagher Nature Trail. There was an early snack break where some of the kids were already so hungry, they ate their lunches. Luckily there were extra lunches and plenty of extra snacks. The trails were well groomed and not overly steep. The weather was glorious and the forested areas were cool and peaceful. There was a brief afternoon rain shower to cool us off, and no one got too wet since we were in a protected area. Lunch was atop the rocks with great views of the city, and then it was back to the trails. We took a break to play some group games (including an epic "knot" game that had everyone laughing) and also made a pit stop at the Van Cortlandt family cemetery on Vault Hill, which prompted a lot of questions from the kids. During one of the breaks, Ray attempted to teach everyone how to whistle with a blade of grass. The kids loved this and an hour later some of them were still picking blades and practicing.
We returned to civilization along the opposite side of the Parade Ground and were lucky enough to catch a bus back towards the school. Volunteers and kids peeled off one-by-one as we came up to the various bus and train connections, each commenting how much they enjoyed the day and bidding farewell until the next trip.