The 5-Borough New York
City Summit Adventure
On April 22nd, 2006,
seven daring adventurers hiked up the summit of all New York City
boroughs.
Overcoming distance, hunger, fences, barbed wires, messed up subway schedules,
endless bus rides,
pouring rain, and bitter cold -
the seven heroes succeeded.
This is their story.
The 7 brave heroes who conquered the 5
summits. Left-to-right:
Asa, Colin,
Ryan, Ian, Clark, Mikolaj, and Vish (inset)
1.
Bronx - 285 feet, 11:48am
Fieldston Hill, near the corner of
250th street and Grovesnor Ave
2.
Manhattan - 265 feet, 12:47pm
Inside Bennet Park near 183rd Street
and Pinehurst Ave
3.
Queens - 258 feet, 4:14pm
A putting green at a private golf
course near 267th Street and Grand Central Parkway
4.
Brooklyn - 220 feet, 7:34pm
Inside the northern part of Greenwood
cemetery, near 24th Street and 6th Avenue
5.
Staten Island - 420 feet, 9:05pm
Atop Todt Hill, near Ocean Terrace and
Todt Hill Road
Our basic path across the city. We
started at Ian's apartment in Inwood (northern tip of Manhattan) and
traveled to the
summits in this order: Bronx,
Mahattan, Queen, Brooklyn, Staten Island. We then took the ferry back
to Manhattan
and returned to Inwood via the
subways.
This map highlights all the subway
stops (red dots) and subway lines (in black) we used during the trip,
in order.
9:34am
- Although 9:30am was our schedule departure time, here we see Asa
still asleep on Ian's couch.
10:25am
- When everyone finally arrived, Ian gave a speech summarizing
the travel plans.
10:30am
- Ryan is very excited to be taking this trip with Clark
10:31am
- They look so happy, unaware of the dangers that await us.
Bronx Summit
This map
shows the final approach to the Bronx summit atop Fieldston Hill, on
the corner of W 250th street and
Grovesnor avenue. The black line shows the subway route (1) we took to
get there. The red path depicts our walking
ascent route, and the blue path the descent.
11:10am - The trip began at a deli in Inwood,
where we grabbed some quick breakfast. We then walked to 207th &
10th ave,
where we boarded a north-bound 1 train to the Bronx.
11:40am - We took the 1 train to the last stop -
Van Cortland park. Ascending the steep hills in the afluent
neighborhood,
we encountered many mansions like this one.
11:41am
- Asa clearly hasn't gotten over his hangover at this point.
11:46am
- We've almost reached Mt. Bronx, and had to decide how best to
enter it. The hill was inside a fenced in construction area.
There were multiple gates into the
compound, all closed. There were also signs in the neighborhood saying
it was patroled by a private
security agency.
This older photo shows the actual
summit (the gates were closed this time around)
11:47am
- One of the gates had a very wide opening in it - big enough
for a person to slip through. Here we see Vish doing just that,
as the rest of us followed.
11:48am
- The summit is reached!
11:48am
- One down, four to go as Colin points off to the distance from atop
Mt. Bronx
11:49am
- Fearing getting caught, we quickly descend from the mountain and off
the private property
Manhattan Summit
This map
shows the final approach to the Manhattan summit in Bennet Park, near
the corner of W 183rd street and
Pinehurst avenue. The black line shows the subway route (1) we took to
get there and the A line we took afterwards.
The red path depicts our walking ascent route, and the blue dots the
descent.
12:10pm
- This is still in the Bronx; after descending from the summit, we took
a bathroom break at a Burger King.
12:20pm
- We're about to board the 1 train again, back to Manhattan
12:45pm
- Here it is - this rock in Bennet Park is the highest point in
Manhattan. We walked
there from the 181st stop of the 1 train.
12:46pm
- This was the only one of the 5 summits which was actually publicly
marked
12:46pm
- Technically the summit was off-limits, so we had to jump over the
fence to actually stand on it.
12:47pm
- Here we are at the top, celebrating.
Queens Summit
This map
shows the final approach to the Queens summit at a private golf course,
near the corner of 267th street
and Grand Central Parkway. The black line depicts the bus route that
got us there, and the red line our ascent. The
blue line shows our descent to a different bus route on Union Turnpike.
12:54pm
- Colin and Ryan fooling around on the escalator to the A train stop on
181st street. This
subway trip was rather long as the
train was running in sections, and we had to switch at 168th street.
1:44pm
- We got off at Times Square, with the intent to walk over to the E
line.
1:48pm
- No 5 borough summit adventure is complete without an encounter
with a Michael Jackson impersonator (in the Times Square
subway station). We barely dragged
Vish away.
2:02pm
- It turned out that the E train was running on the F line, so we had
to walk over to the Bryant Park stop to be able to board it.
Here, Asa tells Clark to "talk to the
hand."
2:10pm
- Here we are, finally aboard the E, as I gave Ryan the camera to be
able to take this picture.
2:18pm
- Less than 4 hours into the trip, Asa and Vish are already dozing off.
Ryan still seems energetic though.
2:35pm
- We've reached the Kew Gardens stop on the E. Quite a different
scenery out there.
2:48pm
- Lunch break. We grabbed some pizza and grinders at a local pizzeria
by Kew Gardens. Check out that mural on the wall.
Also, Asa's hangover was gone by this
point, as he asked the cashier if it was "ok to drink beer in here." He
and Vish got some Coors
at a nearby deli.
3:34pm
- After the meal, we board a bus to take us to the border of Nassau
County.
3:35pm
- Even Colin and Ryan are tired at this point. The bus ride is
even longer than we had expected.
3:47pm
- End of the line. The Long Island Jewish Medical Center where the bus
dropped us off is at the very edge of Queens.
3:48pm - The summit lies somewhere beyond those
towers.
3:52pm
- Asa gives me the finger as we walk along a fence on the hospital
grounds.
3:55pm
- As we reached the edge of hospital property, we had to scale this
fence - ironically to get out of the property, not in.
4:01pm
- Ascending 73rd Avenue. Asa had to go pee around here, and did so
behind some garbage dumpsters; some old lady
almost caught him.
4:09pm
- Behold - the Queens summit! It's a putting green on a private golf
course. How will we ever conquer those steep slopes?
4:10pm - The real peoblem here was the huge fence
surrounding the property. Colin attempts to cross by some woods.
4:10pm - An easier, but much more conspicuous
crossing point.
4:14pm - Colin was the first to reach the summit.
4:15pm
- He gets a little too excited and plays with the green's flag.
Ian makes him stop and put it back.
4:16pm
- Colin in a tree.
4:16pm
- Ryan jumps the fence.
4:16pm
- Others get confident and go to the summit.
Brooklyn
Summit
This map shows the final approach to
the Brooklyn summit in the northern section of Greenwood cemetery, The
black line depicts the bus route that got us there,
and the red line our ascent. Colin was the only one to actually go into
the cemetery, reaching a peak whose approximate location is marked
above.
Unfortunately, we later discovered the real summit was a few hundred
feet to the east of that spot, at a place called Battle Hill.
4:53pm
- We took a different route back from the Queens summit, boarding a bus
on Union Turnpike. On this trip I entertained
people with fun Scientology stories.
5:18pm
- We were outside briefly at Kew Gardens, and as you can see from Asa's
clothes, it started raining at this point.
5:19pm
- We boarded another bus that would take us to Ozone Park - where the
last stop on the A subway is located.
5:38pm
- Here we are waiting for the A at Lefferts Boulvard - the end of the
line.
6:20pm
- After taking the A train to the Jay street stop, we then had to walk
a block to the Borough Hall R stop.
We took a brief bathroom break
at Popeye's before boarding the R train.
6:37pm
-Waiting for the R, we discuss how to get to Staten Island later. Vish
conveniently grabbed a Staten Island bus map.
6:59pm
- We've arrived at the 25street stop on the R train, along 4th avenue.
The rain was getting steadily stronger - Clark was the
only one with an umbrella.
7:00pm
- It was time to break out the $1 "emergency ponchos" Ryan brought.
7:03pm
-We've reached the main gate to Greenwood cemetery, but we were 2 hours
too late - it was locked.
7:11pm
- We walked along the perimeter of the huge cemetery, seeking a way in.
It was surrounded by a tall fence with spikes, and
sometimes barbed wire, along with
these pleasant signs.
7:14pm
- Asa attempt to scale the fence, but we called him off after a car was
about to approach our
location.
7:39pm
- We walked along the fence some more, but then turned around and
returned to the most secluded
spot, on the corner of 23rd
street and 6th avenue. After much contemplation, Colin said he would
scale
the fence. Vish looks like some sort
of eskimo.
7:32pm
- Abandoning his poncho, Colin climbs the fence.
7:32pm
- Barbed wire was no match for Colin. He disappeared for a few
minutes while ascending the final summit.
7:34pm - Here is a frame from Colin's movie atop
Mr. Brooklyn, or at least as close to the real Mt. Brooklyn as he got.
Staten
Island Summit
This map shows the final approach to
the Staten Island summit on Todt Hill, near the corners of Todt Hill
Road and Ocean Terrace.
The
black line depicts the bus route that got us there, and the red line
our ascent. We went into the woods along Ocean Terrace to what
appeared to be the highest location.
7:58pm
- After leaving Greenwood, we went back to the R train. Ian forbid us
from stopping to eat due to time constraints,
but Asa ran ahead, went to a deli, and met back up with us at the
station. We took the R to
its final stop - Bay Ridge.
Originally we were planning on
taking the ferry to Staten Island,
but it turned out a bus across the Verazzano might be faster.
8:22pm
- The low point of the trip. We walked from the Bay Ridge stop
to a nearby bus stop. The sun had set, and the rain was
getting more intense. Not having
eaten since lunch, we were also hungry. Ian was contemplating giving
up, saying he had
"no more willpower." Clark was also considering defeat. We were about to flip a coin to decide what we
should do, when the bus
arrived. Colin was adamant about continuing on, and declared "I'm getting on this bus, and somebody else
better get on with me
because I don't know where I'm going." The PEER pressure got to everyone, and we all boarded as well.
8:43pm
- After reaching Victory Boulvard, we had to walk over to another bus
on Staten Island. Asa was having major
trouble with his poncho at this point,
saying his head was going "though the arm hole."
8:51pm
- We had to wait for a third bus on the island. Looking at the
timetable, we realized there was
only one more bus going back, and even
though we could make it to the summit, there was a chance
we would not be able to make it back.
Still, we pressed on.
8:58pm
- Aboard the final bus
9:02pm
- With only 20 minutes until the last return bus, we were literally
running up the street to reach the summit.
9:03pm
- Clark wasn't running, claiming the peak was "close."
9:05pm
- We veer off into the woods. My camera lens was fogged up and wet
because of the now pouring rain.
9:06pm
- This is it; can't see it too well in this picture, but this mound of
dirt looks to be the highest point on Todt Hill.
9:06pm
- Ryan about to rip his poncho in victory.
9:07pm
- We did it! Vish took this picture of the rest of us atop the 420 foot
Todt hill - the highest point in Staten Island and all of
New York City.
Return
Trip
9:16pm
- We hurried back down to the nearby bus stop, for the last one at
9:24. Here is one of the ponchos - completely usesless
and essentially equivalent to a
plastic bag.
9:39pm
- Clark leaves us to go stay at his parents' Staten Island home.
9:52pm
- The rest of us take a bus to the Staten Island ferry terminal. We got
some snacks at the store there, and awaited the 10pm
boat.
10:29pm
- We made it back to Manhattan by 10:30pm. Asa and Vish went directly
to some bar on the lower east side to meet with
their co-workers. Ryan and Colin went
back to Williamsburg, and Ian and I continued on to Inwood.
12:14am
- After switching from the R to the A at Times Square, we finally
completed the long trip to 207th street. Nearly 14 hours
after departing from his apartment,
Ian was back. I still had to drive back home to Connecticut.