A popular hike in the Hudson Valley got even harder thanks to the aftermath of last week's horrific storm.

Last Tuesday, May 15, severe storms caused heavy damage in the Hudson Valley. The National Weather Service confirmed four tornadoes touched down in the Hudson Valley.

Two of those were in Putnam County, in Kent and Patterson, and packed winds between 100 and 110 miles-per-hour. A tornado also touched down in Newburgh and Saugerties. The Ulster County twister then traveled across the Hudson River to Tivoli in Dutchess County. A downburst with winds up to 95 miles per hour impacted Sullivan County.

A macroburst occurred in southern Dutchess County, along the I-84 corridor roughly between Beacon, Wappingers Falls, East Fishkill and Hopewell Junction. Estimated wind speeds reached 105 MPH.

The macroburst toppled or uprooted hundreds of trees and some trees fell on structures, officials said. A macroburst has tornado-like winds, just winds that move straight, according to the National Weather Service.

With all of the uprooted trees across the Hudson Valley and Dutchess County, it shouldn't be a surprise that Mt. Beacon was impacted.

I love to hike Mt. Beacon because its a great workout, but a hike you can complete in under two hours, when hiking to the overlook and back.

On Wednesday, I decided to enjoy the sunshine and hike Mt. Beacon for the first time this Spring. I quickly learned, what is typically a strenuous hike is now even harder thanks to a number of downed trees that are now laying in the hiking path.

You can still make it to the top, but know, at certain spots, you'll have to either hop over downed trees, walk upwards and around down trees, or duck and crawl under downed trees.

In my trek up and down I had to do each of the above mentioned movements. At some point, my shoulder got cut from a branch of a downed tree.

There were a few times, where I thought it would probably be a good idea to just turn around. But, I'm glad I didn't. Because once you get all the way to the top, the view is just as beautiful!

B. Welber
B. Welber
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