2016-02-27 - Shorewalkers 39th Great Manhattan Bridge Walk
I woke up at 8am, excited for the 40th Great Manhattan Bridge Walk led by my friend, Walter Wright. This would be my fourth or fifth time attending this walk which usually happens three times a year and goes across all the bridges on the perimeter of Manhattan in one day. My dad drove my friend Som and I to the start of the walk at the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge. The weather was great for this time of year with blue skies, feeling warm under the sun and cool against the wind. We started walking at about 9am and met a fellow walker, Sarah as we crossed this first of 17 bridges. We regrouped with Walt and the other walkers at the bus terminal in Manhattan. We learned that we would not split up into a slow and fast group and also that a cameraman would film a portion of us walking near the High Bridge. He had been hired to film a scene for a short documentary on walking in New York.
As a single large group of 31 walkers, we headed down to the riverside greenway path with the GWB behind us. We passed the site of a rock slide, a previous tourist beach, and Fort Tryon Park, the site of the Battle of Fort Washington during the American Revolutionary War. We used the new bike path shortcut into the wonderful Inwood Hill Park. Rounding out of the park, we crossed the Henry Hudson Bridge into the Bronx. 2 bridges down.
We turned right on 230th street in Bronx to walk down three long flights of stairs (that remind people of San Francisco) into Marble Hill, Manhattan. Our first short rest stop was at a playground here. The construction of the Harlem River Shipping Canal had separated Marble Hill from the rest of Manhattan since 1876. Residents, however, wanted to stay within Manhattan so telephone directories listed numbers from Manhattan and Bronx for years.
Our next bridge was the Broadway Bridge back into Manhattan. These were the three bridges Sarah, as part of the walking group last summer, did not complete due to the heat. The nearby University Bridge brought us into the Bronx. Ever since the High Bridge opened, we could walk down in the Bronx and not back track. Along the way, we saw two chickens with no owners in sight. I learned that it is legal to have pet chickens in the city now.
We reached Washington Bridge, across Manhattan from the George Washington Bridge. The GWB was originally known as the Hudson River Bridge but the Port Authority decided to name it the confusing George Washington Bridge instead. While walking over the older Washington Bridge, we had great views of the High Bridge and Hamilton Tower. It often surprises people to learn that the bridge ends on Amsterdam Avenue on the west end of Manhattan because of how narrow the borough is here.
Our next bridge was the Broadway Bridge back into Manhattan. These were the three bridges Sarah, as part of the walking group last summer, did not complete due to the heat. The nearby University Bridge brought us into the Bronx. Ever since the High Bridge opened, we could walk down in the Bronx and not back track. Along the way, we saw two chickens with no owners in sight. I learned that it is legal to have pet chickens in the city now.
We reached Washington Bridge, across Manhattan from the George Washington Bridge. The GWB was originally known as the Hudson River Bridge but the Port Authority decided to name it the confusing George Washington Bridge instead. While walking over the older Washington Bridge, we had great views of the High Bridge and Hamilton Tower. It often surprises people to learn that the bridge ends on Amsterdam Avenue on the west end of Manhattan because of how narrow the borough is here.
We spotted the cameraman before reaching the High Bridge Water Tower. We took a break here before walking across High Bridge, also known as the Aqueduct Bridge. This is the newest bridge in NYC but also the oldest bridge that links two boroughs and the oldest pedestrian bridge. Originally built to carry water into Manhattan as part of the Old Croton Aqueduct, it was eventually shut to pedestrians due to people throwing rocks while on the bridge at ferryboats underneath.
We crossed the Macomb's Dam Bridge next, near Yankee Stadium. The walk to the 145th Street Bridge from here reminded me strongly of a similar portion of the annual Great Saunter. We passed by a bust of Martin Luther King Jr and a wonderful drawing along the way.
We crossed the Macomb's Dam Bridge next, near Yankee Stadium. The walk to the 145th Street Bridge from here reminded me strongly of a similar portion of the annual Great Saunter. We passed by a bust of Martin Luther King Jr and a wonderful drawing along the way.
The next several bridges are all fairly close together and similar in structure. The 145th street Bridge took us into the Bronx and the Madison Ave Bridge carried us back to Manhattan. The Third Ave Bridge dropped us off at a previous piano store and a colorful mural of South Bronx. One or two of the walkers stopped at the delicious Bruckner's Bar and Grill. The rest of us had our mid-walk lunch stop at McDonald's several blocks away.
Our last bridge from Bronx was the blue Willis Avenue Bridge leading back into Manhattan. The newly renamed Robert F. Kennedy Bridge was next, allowing us onto the beautiful Randall's Island. A year ago on this very walk, I remember my cousin and I slowly trudging through a snow-filled Randall's Island before she dropped out to go home. The weather was much better this year and the island was lovely. The Little Hell Gate Bridge connected us to Ward's Island over the natural Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh. Our group was very spread out by now, with the faster and slower walkers out of sight from each other. We continued across Ward's Island Bridge and walked down Manhattan to regroup at Bed Bath and Beyond near the Queensboro Bridge.
The sun set and the temperature dropped. Everyone arrived at different times at the store and we took a break. We had a surprisingly large number of walkers at this point of the walk with only had 5 bridges left to go. The Queensboro Bridge arched over Roosevelt Island to Queens, our first and only time in this borough. We rode a bus from here to the Williamsburg Bridge. By now it was late and I was feeling tired. As our leader Walt pointed me out as a strong walker who knows the way and can lead people, I thought about heading home after this one. I also badly needed to use the restroom.
I told Som and after dropping off from the bridge into Chinatown, I split up with the group, hastily heading towards Burger King for their facilities. I sat inside for a break before walking to World Trade Center and taking the PATH train home. It reminded me of over a year ago when I used to work nearby. It was not much more recent than that that I was here last. Things are different and yet the same. I wondered how the Indian workers at a cart I frequently bought Kati Rolls from were doing. And what about that legless veteran outside the church who I handed $5 to one time? Do you know that there is a 77% 5 year mortality rate after a lower body amputation, with a median survival of 20.3 months? (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1078588413002256) It is extremely dangerous and relatively unknown. Grateful for my healthy legs that walked almost 26 miles, I descended the escalator for my train ride home.
The sun set and the temperature dropped. Everyone arrived at different times at the store and we took a break. We had a surprisingly large number of walkers at this point of the walk with only had 5 bridges left to go. The Queensboro Bridge arched over Roosevelt Island to Queens, our first and only time in this borough. We rode a bus from here to the Williamsburg Bridge. By now it was late and I was feeling tired. As our leader Walt pointed me out as a strong walker who knows the way and can lead people, I thought about heading home after this one. I also badly needed to use the restroom.
I told Som and after dropping off from the bridge into Chinatown, I split up with the group, hastily heading towards Burger King for their facilities. I sat inside for a break before walking to World Trade Center and taking the PATH train home. It reminded me of over a year ago when I used to work nearby. It was not much more recent than that that I was here last. Things are different and yet the same. I wondered how the Indian workers at a cart I frequently bought Kati Rolls from were doing. And what about that legless veteran outside the church who I handed $5 to one time? Do you know that there is a 77% 5 year mortality rate after a lower body amputation, with a median survival of 20.3 months? (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1078588413002256) It is extremely dangerous and relatively unknown. Grateful for my healthy legs that walked almost 26 miles, I descended the escalator for my train ride home.