Tip to effin’ Tip

For some reason, I’ve been wrongly accused of being outdoorsy. If being outdoorsy means walking around in the forest and mountains, not showering for days on end, then no thank you. Now I wear fleece and goretex like any real northwesterner. And I love sleeping in a tent as much as the next person (or maybe more so), but let’s put that tent in the backyard, or 10 feet from the car on a soft patch of grass. And if you get me to the top of a mountain, there better be snow on the ground and a board strapped to my feet. Anyway, when I was still confused (you can blame that on going to a rural hippie school where half the kids were from Montana or Idaho and felt that Seattle was way too fast-paced), I could somewhat easily be talked into going on hikes. I know I’ll get angry rebuttals for saying this, but there are only so many birds hiding in the trees or colorful Indian Paintbrush flowers I can see before I want to get the walk over with already. Even a 3 mile hike is BRUTAL. Kind of like running on a treadmill for 30 mins. But walking around the city? Piece of cake. I could do that all day, simply because there is SO MUCH to look at. Last weekend, I decided to put that theory to work. For the last few years, I’d been wanting to walk the entire length of Manhattan, tip to tip. Mainly for two reason: to prove that it didn’t matter the distance. I could walk anywhere as long as my mind was occupied. And to see the contrasts within Manhattan in the various neighborhoods. So here is a photo essay of my friend Sue Jean and I walking from Tip to effing Tip.

Some stats: Manhattan is 13.7 miles long. From 220th st. in Inwood all the way down to the appropriately named South Street, where the Staten Island Ferry Terminal is located. Because we did not walk in a straight line and meandered throughout Harlem, we estimate the trip was 15 miles long, 8 hours (including lunch and dinner breaks. And lunch at a bar in Morningside Heights takes a hell of a lot longer than pb&j and granola on the side of the trail. Especially when they are showing college football on the HDTVs.)

Yep, that’s the Bronx behind us. We are pretty excited at this point because it’s a beautiful day. And we have no idea what’s instore.

The obligatory graffiti photos. This is in Inwood.

Inwood always up to no good….

Pissed off because I forgot my sack of granola and hiking stick.

Hard to believe this really was in Manhattan (Fort Tryon Park to be exact)

Morris Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights. This is Manhattan’s oldest house and headquarters to General Washington in September and October of 1776. After Washington’s departure, the Mansion played host to a succession of British and Hessian military leaders, served briefly as an inn for weary travelers, and finally returned to its role as country house.

Morris Jumel Mansion’s carriageway, now a row of cute (and I’m sure expensive) apartments.

I wonder if the Sugar Hill Gang wrote rhymes here?!

Hey look- even the wildlife is more diverse in NY! This is a crazy looking black squirrel with red eyes.

Harlem Public School. Once again, yes I really like street art.

W 20th St. 200 blocks into the trip and pretty much where walking 15 miles no longer seemed like a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Sue Jean contemplating whether or not cutting off her feet will make her feel better.

Rachel and Sue Jean’s version of Hell. The never ending journey to the bottom of the seemingly endless Island of Manhattan. My god where the hell is the Staten Island Ferry?! Shouldn’t we have found it oh, like 45 minutes ago?!

Finally! The end! We made it! Sue Jean isn’t really smiling in this photo; she’s actually gritting her teeth in pain from walking 15 miles in flats and flip flops. Side note: the woman who took this photo said she had done the same thing, walking from the UN Building down to Battery Park. Uh NO. Walking from 46th St is NOT the same thing as starting at 220th St, actually.

So did I prove to myself that walking long distances is mental? Did I see a contrast in neighborhoods as we moved further downtown? Yes and yes. 15 miles is an awful long way to walk, no matter where. And somehow we did it. (I definitely spent all of Sunday with my feet up, watching movies and not really wanting to get up to get food.) I did get to see some contrasting neighborhoods. Yes. But no more than I saw wandering all over Brussels last March. I think you could see more so if you were to walk on the east side or throughout Brooklyn (next time ha ha). Until then, I’m going to utilize the subway and friends’ cars more often….

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