So pretty! The bits with the rocks remind me of the Muskoka area in Ontario, Canada.

Thank you, deborah!

That 12-mile walk sounds like a bitch.

It wasn't fun at the time. But I survived it. I managed to stumble into New Paltz in the middle of the night and get a motel room at 2:30 in the morning.

The experience taught me several things, such as:

Don't assume you know more than you do. You are outside your comfort zone. This is not your territory.

Don't assume that resources -- like car services, public pay phones, etc. -- will be available.

Ask questions -- especially about things like the length of the trails, the locations of entrances, etc. I got into trouble by assuming that there would be an entrance on the far end of the park, the end closer to New Paltz. I was wrong. Very wrong.

Sometimes, things go pear-shaped. Plan for that possibility. Carry extra water. Take a cell phone.

If things are not going the way you planned, don't be afraid to back up, walk away, bail out, abort the mission. Don't keep throwing good effort after bad.

All things considered, I'm happy to have learned these lessons in the way that I did. I could have learned those lessons in a blizzard on a mountaintop. I could have learned those lessons in a politically dicey area of the world where I didn't speak the language. I could have learned those lessons in a storm at sea.

Instead, I learned those lessons under a clear, moonlit sky, in a reasonably safe area of the country and knowing that the resources I needed were there for me.

"The rock pile against the sky" -- wow, that shade of blue is gorgeous. Glad that you arrived at your destination safely!